VIEW FROM TOP OF BARN
OH PLEASE DON'T HIT ME WITH YOUR HORNS
ME AND MY LLAMA (click on this link)
PETTING OOPS
BATTING PRACTICE
WINSTON OREGON MASCOT
Today was the last day of the 6:30 am rise and shine for goat milking. We have become pseudo experts after a week and a half of "juicing." We strutted from the barn back to the main house toting our gallon of fresh milk, but this time, instead of saving it for cheese making, we put it in a cream separator. The green manual crank device is an old product from Istanbul. It has a series of little metal bowls with holes in the bottom, where the fat globules get filtered out because they cannot pass through the holes. The device shoots out a stream of milk from one spout, and a separate stream of cream from the other. Initially the plan was the turn the cream into whipped cream to use as a garnish for the blueberry pie Jen made, but the pie was devoured in one evening, and the cream wasn't ready until the next day. So with all the cream, we decided to make butter instead. We shook the cream and soon, the fattiest of the fat cream molecules separated and congealed and became a smooth, delicious, and creamy butter. We spread the butter on toast, sprinkled some salt on it, and smiled with satisfaction as we chomped away. It was probably the best butter we've ever tasted.
Our entire relationship with the goats made us respect the true value of dairy products and also made us realize how much energy is required to get milk and make it into butter/cream/yogurt/cheese. The next time you purchase dairy products for less than $2, understand this: the nutritional value is very poor, the life of the animal lactating is likely horrible, the food that animal eats is often toxic, and the workers who make the product have terribly dangerous, low paying jobs. If you spend slightly more on high quality animal foods, rest assured they are better for the health and well being of you, the animal, and everyone involved.
After breakfast, we bid adieu to Myrtle Glen Farm and made our way north to Feel Good Farm. We stopped in Eugene en route for some lunch, and arrived at our new home in the late afternoon. Now that's it's June, arriving before sunset is easier than when we started our journey, because the sun doesn't set until 8:30 pm. Feel Good Farm is owned and operated by Jen, a wonderfully kind woman. She runs a small CSA in Eugene, and we are eager to learn about her relatively small operation. She has several hoop houses, a greenhouse, and over an acre or vegetable beds. We tried some of her sugar snap peas tonight and they were incredible. The first time you eat the new season's bounty is always amazing.
MAKING GOAT CHEESE
There's no such thing as Easy Cheez! Words to live by.
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