Fish Pepper, An Heirloom Pepper

This one is ready to eat.

Some like it hot...  I am one of those who like a little heat in their food.  However, I do not like to be in pain- you can have too much of a good thing.  I do love Tabasco peppers in vinegar to sprinkle on my greens or my peas and I wanted to make my own when I figured out how easy it is to preserve peppers and herbs in vinegars.

I had read an article about fish peppers, a pepper native to the Caribbean and common in fish dishes of that area.  A gentleman up North had been growing them with seed that came from his grandfather.  The peppers are pretty and can come multicolored.  So, when placing my seed order this year I decided to give these a try.  I am so glad I did!  They germinated easily and grew great.  Because I don't eat a lot of hot peppers and only one of my kids likes spicy food, I planted only four plants in my garden. Four was plenty, these plants really produce!

A Fish Pepper plant loaded up with peppers.

Each pepper is only about 2 inches long, not very big.  However, they pack a lot into that little package.  These peppers are hot, but with a deep warmth and sweetness.  Even my kids who don't like things too hot have commented that this was a different kind of heat and they liked it.  It took only two peppers with seeds removed to warm up a pound of pinto beans cooked in the crock-pot.  I am hooked on these little beauties.
I have decided to use these in vinegar in place of the Tabasco peppers and see how it goes.  I find it hard to believe that this wouldn't taste good considering how great a flavor these peppers posses.

 To save the seeds, wait to pick until they turn red and shrivel up just a bit.  Then you can split them open and save the seeds.  Allow the seeds to dry completely- I usually put them in a small bowl on the window sill.  Then store them in a cool dry place until ready to plant next spring.  Being an Heirloom variety, you can save these seeds and get the same wonderful peppers next summer.

Like most peppers, as it matures it will turn red and orange.

I ordered my seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  This link will take you to the page with information about the Fish Pepper:  http://www.southernexposure.com/fish-pepper-hot-05-g-p-922.html
Try some in your garden next year, you will be glad you did!

For the love of Salsa!

Me & Cheyenne (drinking bubbly apple juice)

Cheyenne and I share a lot of things.  For instance, neither one of us can hide our feelings very well, what we think is telegraphed on our faces, we love taking care of our animals, we are strong willed, and we love babies.  Also, we share a love of really good Salsa.  Mexican food makes us happy and we like a little heat.  She is her mother's daughter, with just enough of her daddy mixed in to mellow her out in a nice way.

She has been making some noise about needing to make salsa with our bountiful harvest of tomatoes.  Apparently, Cheyenne has not thought that using the tomatoes to make tomato sauce was a very wise use of those beautiful ‘maters.  A love of spaghetti is not something we share.  So, I surfed the internet for a recipe and found one that was simple and looked promising. And yesterday we got busy over some tomatoes, hot peppers, and cilantro.

The recipe was simple and we followed it up until we tasted the salsa, then we went to tinkering.  Cheyenne is really good about making notes as she improvises so we were able to recreate the same flavor this morning, as we already needed more.

Below is the recipe- our rendition, not the one from the internet.  Before putting everything in the food processor, we cored the tomatoes and scored the other ends and dropped them into boiling water for about a minute.  The tomatoes are in the boiling water just long enough for the skin to start to curl.  Then the peeling just slips off, chop the tomatoes roughly and toss in the processor.  The longer you run the food processor the finer the salsa, so if you like chunky then just pulse a few times.  Also, for thicker salsa use paste tomatoes such as roma or Illini Gold.

Cheyenne’s Fresh Salsa

2-3 medium tomatoes, stems and peelings removed (see above)

½  onion coarsely chopped

2- fish peppers seeds removed- unless you want to up the heat then leave the seeds in. (if you don’t have fish peppers, jalapeno or any other hot pepper will work.

Juice of one lime

1 cup cilantro

1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

½ tsp of cumin

Put tomatoes, peppers & onions in food processor and pulse for about 2 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse till you are happy with the consistency.  Taste- if too hot add more tomatoes, if not hot enough, add more peppers.

Let set in the refrigerator for one hour to let the flavors blend- if you can wait that long, we just eat right out of the blender bowl. 

ENJOY!

Heirloom Tomatoes

Lovely Tomatoes, my best harvest ever!!!

For several years I have been trying to grow tomatoes.  It would seem that this would be easy in the south.  After all, according to Shirley McLain in "Steel Magnolias" growing tomatoes is what southern women do.  For me, however, this has not been the case.

The first year I planted tomatoes I planted Brandy-wine.  These are heralded as the best tasting tomato ever.  And they may be, but once the temps get into the 90's they don't set fruit very well ( you will find this in the small print in a good seed catalog).  Well, in Texas we can be in the 90's before April says good-bye.  So, that summer the temps went high quickly and I got no tomatoes, large beautiful vines, but no tomatoes.  To this day, I can not tell you if Brandy-wine lives up to its billing or not.

The next summer, I don't even remember what I planted, but all I got was a few little fruits.  This was quite frustrating to me since it was a desire of mine to can my own tomato sauce from tomatoes grown in my own garden.  At the rate I was going, I would be doing good to make a salad much less can many quarts of sauce.  However, I did get one Black Krim Tomato and it was the best I ever tasted.  It will be in my garden this next year.

But, hope springs eternal in a gardeners heart and the next summer I went at it hard.  I scoured the catalogs looking for varieties that would be good in high heat, mild drought conditions and so forth.  Then I planted like crazy.  Well the season I am talking about was last summer.  Hell turned on its blow dryers and a hideous western wind blew for months, no rain fell for months and the temperatures hit one hundred before May had come and gone and did not come down until the end of August.  So, the little tomato plants just didn't stand a chance.  I did get a few tomatoes from volunteers that had come from tomatoes that we had fed to the pigs the summer before.  Think about it for a minute and you will figure it out.  I must say I felt a bit insulted at the fact that the garden snubbed all my hard work and research in favor of pig poo, but oh well at least I got a few tomatoes.

June Pink sliced up and ready for breakfast.

Now, each season may have looked like a failure in regards to my tomato aspirations, but each season I learned something to apply to the next try.  After all, I could not give up.  Because of the land on which I garden, I have to be shrewd.  My property is a very steep hill that slopes towards the North.  I have essentially a walled garden because of the 80' trees surrounding my 2 acres.  What this means is, not all my property gets enough sun to grow heat loving veggies like eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers.  Of these, the most choosy is the tomatoes. Not only is sun exposure a problem, but the soil temperature is tricky.  The soil takes its time warming to the temps that tomatoes need to thrive do to the micro-climate I have on my place.

The soil temps is what was really getting me into trouble.  I was so excited and ready to get gardening, that I would plant seedlings as soon as possible.  However, by the time the soil temps warmed up sufficiently the seedlings would be getting stressed and then be a target for bugs.  So, I learned from the volunteers that my garden needed tomatoes planted in mid-April, this is when they came up on their own.  Left alone, plants do know when they need to come up and greet the new season.

Rambling Tomato Vines

Well, this year I choose the hottest spot on my acreage to till the tomato patch.  Due to the business of the nursery, it was easy to wait until mid-April to plant.  I mulched the seedlings immediately- I believe this is a key to successful gardening, MULCH, MULCH, MULCH!  Well, the tomatoes took their sweet time getting ripe, but I had green tomatoes on the vines very quickly.  I have been harvesting everyday now for about 2 weeks.  I am so happy.  I did not plant enough to have me canning many quarts of sauce, but I have canned 3 quarts and made many tasty dishes.

I chose 4 varieties this year.  June Pink- an early tomato, Cherokee Purple, Arkansas Traveler, and Illini Gold.  I have been very pleased with each of them.  Being Heirloom varieties, I could save seeds to grow next year and the plants are indeterminate.  This means the plants ramble much like a cucumber or pea vine, but they do not climb on their own.  Now, good supports will keep these beauties off the ground but I obviously need to work on the support things in my garden.  I have tomato plants rambling all over, but I am so happy!  The pig is happy too, I toss any tomatoes that have gone bad or been eaten too badly by bugs over the fence to her- who knows what gifts she will leave me for next year....

Homemade Tomato Sauce & Some Ripe Illini Gold & Cherokee Purple

Such A Pretty Day

Our Greenhouse and the herb garden.

The weather we are having is just wonderful.  I love traveling down the highways seeing the hay meadows lush and green, many of them already being cut and baled.  What a change from last year.  Thank God for the rain, I don't care how inconvenient it may have been- I will not complain.

Little Californian Bunnies

The farm has been bustling with activity.  Baby bunnies have been arriving with more on the way and the chicks & ducklings we purchased at TSC are growing.  To accommodate our growing flocks, Tony has been relocating our fencing supplies and extra materials to another paddock so that another pen can go up.  

Predators have been a bit of a problem lately.  We had a fantastic hunter in the way of our cat, Twister, but she has gone missing.  We are quite sad about the whole thing.  When she was here we rarely ever saw a snake, this year we have killed about 3 chicken snakes, seen 3 racers and a few garden snakes- the kind with tiny little heads that are a huge help in the garden.  Twister was born the night a tornado went through our backyard, about 9 yeas ago, hence the name.  Her mother was Raja, and she came from my grandmother's house.  

Twister- a great cat, may she rest in peace.

Tony was never a fan of cats and continually said "NO" when the girls asked if they could have one.  I am not a cat lover either, but I did know the value of a good barn cat for keeping the snakes and mice at bay.  My grandmother's cats were (and are) wild beasts that want nothing to do with people- my kind of cats.  Anyway, Tony thought he would be smart and told the girls (Cheyenne and Savannah were only about 8 and 6 at the time) if they could catch one they could keep it.  So, that next weekend was Easter and we spent the day a Grandmother's house.  All afternoon those two were busy with the business of kitten catching.  We knew Savannah loved animals and had a way with them, but we really didn't know just how good she was- yet.  Tony was quiet surprised to get a phone call at the ambulance station from Savannah stating that she had caught 5 kittens and wanted to bring them all home.  I still have no idea how she did it, I know Cheyenne helped her, but those kittens were well hid and wild.  So much for his well laid plan.  A compromise was reached and two kittens came home in a shoe box.  Only one kitten made it to adult hood, the mean one.  She was an excellent hunter and passed it on to her daughter.  Twister was friendly enough, but preferred to live in  the barn and hunt for her supper.  A good barn cat is worth their weight in gold!

So, with our faithful barn cat gone we have lost several chicks and many eggs to snakes.  Along with the snakes, raccoons have made themselves a pest as well as something that grabbed a rooster out of the hen house before we got the door shut the other night.  Tony has taken to keeping the shotgun by the bed and the spotlight handy.  Several times he has just popped up and ran out the door with no explanation whatsoever, only to return with no wild beast in his bag.  He hears things that I miss and it will pay off.  Tony has shot several coyotes and bobcats that were marauding in the hen house.  Chickens are just easy targets.  Because of this, anything we put up for poultry in way of pens or housing must be really safe.

Not only are snakes about, but all kinds of reptiles are being spotted in the gardens.  I am so happy to see all the life existing on our place.  About 6 years ago, before I began gardening organically, we didn't have much in the way of lizards and such.  It seems that all the synthetic chemicals I was using in the gardens was harmful to the good insects and the reptiles.  Since we changed our ways, we have been rewarded with many new visitors- many who are deciding to call our farm home.

A bird feeder made from an old drawer.

I had an idea for a bird feeder when I spied an old drawer at a flea market.  I painted the drawer and screwed eyelets in all four corners.  I then ran wire through the eyelets and hung it on a Shepard's hook.  It works really well.  It is not squirrel proof, but then what is?  

I love spring, everything is just so pretty.

Catching Up...

Well, it has been several weeks since I posted anything.  We have had a really busy month filled with lots of great things and a lot of work.  I have been thinking that I needed to get all the news posted in chronological order, but that seemed too forced and boring and I was getting farther behind and feeling defeated.  So, I decided to pick up today and fill in with the other things in story form.

Katie Mae Preston is the cutest 7 year-old in the world.  She just happens to be my niece and a cracker-jack soccer player.  We had the best time watching her play soccer tonight.  Katie has a sister, Rylie Grace, who is the cutest 5 year-old in the world.  Rylie didn't play soccer this year, but we had a good time watching her be herself tonight.  All the girls played hard and ran and ran and ran.  Katie plays defender most of the time and is very good.  In the game of soccer you run more than probably any other sport, those who play have the thighs to prove it.  Given that fact, it is odd to me that they make the jerseys out of polyester.  Polyester does not breathe and is hot.  However, it looks great for years. 

My sister, Sunny, had a birthday today.  Her birthday fell close to Easter this year, but her birth fell on Easter Sunday.  Because of the way the calender works, it has yet to happen again.  Sunny Bunny was her nickname for awhile given her birth date.

We had a great time visiting with lots of our family on Easter.  It seems crazy that there were only 3 kids to hunt eggs.  For years there were throngs of kiddos to participate.  I guess that is what happens when one generation waits till later in life to get married and have babies, then they only have one or two kids- the numbers just decrease.  I did my part- four kids is an ample contribution to the Easter Egg Hunt of course those four are now too old for hunting eggs. 

Now for the week ahead.  McKinney is coming up and we have plants to purchase.  The bunnies are growing like mad and will soon be weaned from their mothers.  Sierra has sold some already and we have several more folks coming to look at them.  I guess that the bunnies that are ready will go with us to McKinney.  Spring is moving quickly and we are enjoying ourselves.

A Day Off....

Verbena that has bloomed all through the summer and winter.

First Monday Trades Days has come and gone, it was a great one.  Being such a good weekend with folks out buying plants for their homes, we were wore out!  So, we took Monday off.

For such a relaxed day, I accomplished a lot in the garden.  The last of the garden boxes had been weeded and all the boxes prepped, so I planted our cool season veggies along with a few others that should do well being planted a little early.  Cucumbers and Squash have always done well for me when planted in March.  Our last freeze date is mid-March and these seedlings should be popping up just after that date.  No matter the previous year, hope springs eternal in the gardener's heart and spring is always full of hope and excitement of what the new growing season holds.

Speaking of the previous year, it would be an understatement to say that it was disappointing.  If anyone managed to grow much, it was with much labor and a high water bill.  Many of us had to draw the line at what would get water and what wouldn't and then just hope that the plants we loved would make it through.  Lots of the plants did not make it.  I have many beds that did not make the watering list.  So, when I began weeding those beds on Monday I was greatly surprised to find many things growing.  The Autumn Sage is looking great, Chamomile, Parsley, and Running Petunia were up and looking great.  The petunias are an heirloom variety that will re-seed itself.  I will be honest, those plants struggled so that I did not think I would see it again.  I am happy to report that I was wrong.  I have about 5 plants up from seed and looking wonderful.

For such a cool, sunny day, I was amazed at how hot it was inside the greenhouse.  Before weeding and planting, I spent the morning in the greenhouse bumping seedlings into their four inch pots.  Cherokee Purple is one of my favorite tomatoes, its flavor is simply outstanding.  Once you have had these heirloom veggies, you just can't be satisfied by what is offered in the grocery store.  Now there are several flats of these plants growing great along with oregano and basil.  Next to be bumped is Ilini Gold and Arkansas Traveler tomatoes, Fish Peppers, Sweet Banana Peppers, Eggplant and winter Thyme.  These are sprouted and should be ready to bump when we get back from Hot Springs.

It was a wonderful day, the kind you would love to say linger on.  Tony and I finished the day sitting in the swing watching the dove and the sunset.  It just doesn't get better than that...                                                

Babies, Babies, Babies!

A rare Barred Holland chick.

Wow, what a day yesterday was!  Spring may be springing a little early this year, as we have babies coming and going.  This is the part of farming that everyone enjoys, there is just nothing cuter than baby animals.

Thursday began with a call before dark from the post office letting me know that my chicks had arrived.  I love getting that call, no matter how many times we have ordered chicks- it never gets old.   I can't really explain why, but you feel like you are on some kind of secret mission as you drive through town in the dark with downtown so quiet and the streetlights reflecting of the damp pavement.  Then you get to the post office and you are the only car in the parking lot and entering a government building during the un-open hours can make you feel like you are committing some crime.  Once inside you ring the little door bell, I did not even know this doorbell existed until I started ordering chicks by mail.  The half-door opens and the post lady hands you a box of chirping chicks. When it is cold I run the heater full blast and then set the box in the floor board so they can get warmed up.  Before I leave the post office, I always open and check for dead chicks.  Thankfully, in all the chicks I have ordered, I have never had a DOA.  However, you must check before you leave so that the hatchery can refund you for any that did not make the trip.

.

Sierra and a Silver Penciled Hamburg.

 We chose Barred Holland, Silver Laced Penciled Hamburgs, Black Australorps, and Minorcas.  Jonathan wanted the Hamburgs because he thought they were so beautiflul.  They are beautiful and supposed to be excellent layers of white eggs.  A lot of people think white eggs means the chickens are in commercial egg farms, however, egg color is simply  a genetic trait like blue eyes.

Savannah named this one "Clarice" because she thinks she looks elegant.

After the chicks were settled, Tony and I went to the dairy sale in Sulphur Springs.  That sale was very nice and clean, I was really impressed.  We have been looking for a pair of bull calves so we can keep our home grown meat coming.  Also, I have been looking and researching about what breed of family cow I want for about 2 years.  I finally decided that a Jersey is for me.  I am happy to report that I got a jersey heifer and a jerseyXholstein cross heifer.  I am very excited.
 
The cross is a little older and already knew exactly what a bottle was and just took right to it.  The other 3 are younger and we have had to teach them what to do.  This is quite messy, but fun.  So, between the lambs and the four calves, it is bottle central around here.

One happy farm girl and Tawanda

In 24 months, my heifer will give birth and we will have milk!  The jersey heifer is named Tallulah, we love Cool Runnings, the movie about the Jamaican bobsled team.  That name just makes me smile.  Due to the fact that when we put the little cross heifer in the stall and she decided the gate should be open and began to ram the stall door, we gave her the name "Tawanda"  Love Fried Green Tomatoes!

My jersey girl, Tallulah

Bottle feeding has its hazards, in a second she is going to butt my butt looking for an udder.

Waiting 24 months seems like a long time, but by starting with a bottle baby I will have a family cow that was raise on our place.  She and I will know each other and trust each other by the time I start setting down to milk.  And as I have gotten older, 24 months just aren't as long as they used to be!!!

The Farm Has Expanded

Minnie Pearl and Lou Lou, my new lambs

Last week some friends gave us a Boer baby that was the smallest of a set of triplets.  She was just a few hours old and very small.  We were so excited.  However, as it happens, she did not make it.  I was very upset.  I knew better, but we hadn't had a bottle baby in a long time and I was so excited. 

My sweet family began whispering behind my back and making me leave the room so they could talk.  They were making plans to buy me a new bottle baby because I was sad.  So, tonight I was surprised when Tony said we could go get these little lambs if I wanted to.

At first I wasn't sure.  Painted Desert sheep are not my favorites.  I prefer the "regular" looking sheep or the Jacob Sheep.  When I started with milk goats I choose the breed that I thought was the cutest.  The problem with that was that I choose Saanens which originated in the Alps.  For those of you not familiar with that area of the world- it is very cold there.  This means that these guys are great for snow, but not Texas summers.  After last summer I made the decision to sell the Saanens to folks more north of us and switch to the desert breeds- Nubians and La Manchas.  I am glad I did.  So when pondering the sheep questions, the thought popped into my head "Are we really going to do that again?".  So, I went with the desert sheep.

These little girls are so cute!  The are furry and warm, very different from goats.  Now, when these girls get big enough we will breed them.  Then lamb will be on the menu at the Farm On Holly's Hill.  The thought of eating lamb may make some of you squeamish, but you need to understand that lambs that go to the butcher are weighing in at 125 lbs or more.  Lambs are not the little furry cute things you see in the picture books.

But for now, we will simply enjoy bottle feeding these two and watching them play.  You never know, I may decide I like Painted Desert Sheep.  I didn't think I would like La Mancha goats either, but I love Salsa now!  She is my favorite dairy goat- next to Saphire.  But she is my best milker.  Being breeders, it is ok to get attached, breeders don't go to the butcher.  The girls are named Minnie Pearl and Lou Lou, after Hee-Haw one of my favorite shows growing up.  The kids love to get those DVDs from Netflix.

New Peeps!

The first little puff ball- he surprised us by being early.

In November, my biology teaching sister hatched some eggs for a class project.  They had one hatch out of 2 and a half dozen eggs.  I had hatched just before her and only got 3 out of 18 eggs.  I have never had hatch rates so pitiful.  So, I decided to get to the bottom of the problem.

Considering the awful summer we had, I suspected the heat.  I still think that was a factor.  I also wondered about the potency of my rooster.  This was the first time I had hatched eggs that he was responsible for fertilizing.  I never witnessed much from him, but thought maybe he was a gentleman and private lives were just that- private.  There are a few humans who could take lessons from that bird and then we would have a lot less "reality" on television.  Anyway, I collected another batch of eggs once the girls were done with their molting.

Molting is when the chickens shed feathers and put on a fresh, new batch.  The first time your chickens molt it can be quite a scare.  You walk into the coop one morning and there are feathers everywhere!  However, once you start counting chickens you realize that none are missing or injured.  Then in a few days you begin to notice naked necks and bald spots.  This is normal and during this time the laying declines and the fertility is decreased.  I just learned from a very seasoned chicken fellow that if I pull the rooster away and put out a high protein feed like game bird feed, the molt will be over much quicker.  That little tidbit of advice has been filed away till next fall.

Well, 21 days have come and gone and hatching began yesterday afternoon.  I am definitely suspecting the rooster now.   Out of 1 dozen, only 3 have hatched.  All three are from the same colored egg and the chicks are identical.  So, it would seem that he had a particular girl that he was cozy with and ignored the rest.  One might equate this monogamy with being a gentleman, but in the farm world this is considered being a slacker.  Time will tell, I won't get rid of the eggs for another few days.  We might have a few more pop out.

Hands down, every batch of chicks thinks the top of the feeder is the best place to sleep.

Hatching eggs is so much fun.  You would think it would become mundane as many times as we have done it, but it doesn't.  I love seeing the chicks emerge.  It seems to me that if anyone watched this they would have a hard time believing that there is not a Creator and all of this happened by accident.  I also find it amazing that an egg can go from embryo to fuzzy chirping chick in 21 days- that is less time than it takes to grow a cucumber. 

What a Week

As I write this blog today, I am enjoying the warm sunshine at Third Monday Trades Days in McKinney, Texas.  This weather is just beautiful.  I was worried about being cold, but no need to worry.  Folks are out and having a good time.  Tony and I are alone this month because we thought the weather would make any of the kids who came along miserable.  Nope, but we are having a good time.

McKinney was the cap on a very busy week.  Savannah had her interview with the Dallas Zoo for a volunteer position in the Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park.  All went well.  He complimented her on her speaking skills and her easy demeanor and she then told him of her public speaking experience- thank you 4H.  He was impressed, of course.  He then asked about her experience with animals and she proceeded to list our livestock and he said “Wow, so you have a zoo at your house.  He has no idea how right he is!  Again, thank you 4H.  We won’t hear for a couple of weeks, Savannah is set to volunteer in the summer, so they will fill the spring session first and then tend to the summer schedule.

Savannah’s meeting was on Tuesday morning and she went to Renea’s house to make a dress.  I must say I was impressed with her first full blown sewing project.  I am grateful to Sara for helping them do this.  She came back home on Thursday, which means that Jonathan is owed two more days of having her do his chores for him.

Early Wednesday morning, Tony & Cheyenne headed west to Stephenville to pick up the 2012 show lamb.  This is always very exciting for Cheyenne.  She loves the lambs.  With all her experience in dealing with market animals (animals destined for the dinner plate) she understands not getting too attached.  We were all so shocked at the tears she shed last year when her lamb was sold at the Youth Expo Auction.  It was so sad, and to boot, if we had known she wanted the lamb her buyer would have given her back.  She told us that she didn’t say anything because she didn’t know she was so attached.  Sometimes you find your heart in the darndest places.  This year, however, we will make a deal to get the lamb back so Cheyenne can keep and breed her.  

The day was eventful for the two of them.  Long about Weatherford, fluids began spewing out from under the hood.  The limped along for a few miles till they got to the Ford house.  As it turns out, another defect of the 6.0 diesel is that the vibrations split the radiators.  Isn’t that just dandy?  Thankfully, they had the part in stock and Tony was back home by 5:30 that evening.  In the meantime, our trusty extension agent, Tommy Phillips was headed down to get lambs with a few others.  He was kind and picked her up and away they went to pick out the lamb.  

Thursday was less eventful; once Tony and I headed to Athens to decide what vendor space we wanted in Winnie & Tallulah’s- an antique shop on the square- we worked at home.  I had a stack of sewing and painting  to be done to get things ready for my booth in Ye Olde City Antique mall in Tyler.  Once we get back from McKinney we will head there on Monday.

Friday was intended to be a work at home day; however Sierra woke up saying that her neck hurt.  This is not too unusual for her; it seems that when she gets wound up her neck is where her stress goes.  But this day was different; she was in tears in a short time and just got worse.  I made her an appointment with Dr. Tina Ingram.  Tina ran tests and discovered that Sierra had viral meningitis.  It seems that the vaccination that Cheyenne got a few weeks ago had made Cheyenne a carrier or at least contagious. So needless to say, no one else in the family will be getting that vaccination.   Dr. Tina worked her magic and before my eyes Sierra got better.  I could not believe the difference in that kid from when we walked in and when we left.

I told Sierra how happy I was that she was so much better.  I wouldn’t have left for McKinney if she was sick.  She replied, “I know and I have been looking forward to this weekend and I didn’t want it to be ruined.”  You gotta have thick skin if you are going to raise children!  Thankfully, she is fully recovered and enjoying her weekend with the parents out of the house.

A Messy Morning

These ladies thought this one box was the best one!

When doing farm chores, especially the morning chores I have a particular pair of green, cordorory overalls that I love to wear in the winter.  They are warm and comfortable with plenty of pockets.  Of course, they are not pretty and I have no idea of where they came from, but they are my favorites!  I call them my nerd clothes and my children agree.

My morning chores usually consist of milking and feeding the goats and pig in the barn.  Every now and then, I beat Savannah to the chicken house and get to collect eggs.  Again, I love the overalls, plenty of pockets to stash the eggs to carry them inside.

The chickens are constantly scratching around in the hen house looking for goodies. Invariably, they pile bedding up around the door.  When you shut it, you have to push in to get the door to latch.  As I leaned on the door this morning, I heard/felt a "pop" and realized that I had just cracked the egg in my pocket!  Words cannot describe what it feels like to reach into your pocket and feel the warm gooey egg oozing around.  I quickly grabbed all that I could scoop and tossed it on the ground for the dog to clean up.  Then I walked briskly to the house as the warm egg quickly changed to cold egg spreading on my thigh!  Always something to laugh about!

A land that flows with milk.....

There is a lot of excitement around the farm.  Given the time of the year, you might think it has to do with Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And all though the holidays to bring lots of cheer, the excitement right centers around a creamy white liquid….

We have raw milk again!

Since the summer was so hot, I stopped milking in August.  This means we have been buying store bought milk for a couple of months.  No one has been really crazy about this fact.  The kids have been making a lot of noise about the obvious deficiencies of the processed milk.  So, while my current milk does are with a buck so that they will kid in the spring and give milk again, I have been looking for a goat in milk to purchase to give us milk today!

How can you not LOVE a face like that?

Although I love my Saanen milk goats, I have been fazing them out.  You see, Saanens are an Alpine breed- as in the Swiss Alps.  So while they come with a genetic disposition to tolerate very cold winters and all that comes with it, they do not have a genetic disposition to handle a Texas summer.  It was a hard choice, Saanens have these cute ears that poke out from their heads like airplane wings, they have been a very sweet tempered breed, and their babies are CUTE!  I am a little surprised at how much I like their look given they are solid white.  Usually I am not a girl who goes for solid white.  You won’t find a white wall in my home- yellow, blue, green, - but no white.  But I love those goats.  I have kept one, Sapphire.  My birthday is in September and my kids bought me the little goat for my birthday a few years back.  I simply won’t milk her in the summer.

Happily, I found a new milk goat last weekend.  A lovely lady had her Nubian doe and her 3 doe babies up for sale.  After Third Monday McKinney, we picked her and the girls up on our way home.  I love, love, love this goat.  She milks so easy and is so sweet.  The only problem is that her name is Windy and given that my sister’s name is also Windy this could create some confusion in future blog posts.  I love roses and am leaning towards Julia Child.  The rose of this name is gorgeous and yellow and I love watching “The French Chef”, so this seems to be a good choice.

My new milker!

 

I am so happy to be milking again!