Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Iris and Iris


SO, never name a goat after your mother. Remember this. I have the sweetest most gentle mother ever. And the little devil, I mean goat kid,  she's holding was born the day after her birthday. And she was so cute and sweet. So I decided to name her after my mother, Iris. BIG MISTAKE! If I could have chosen 2 people and animals totally different, I did a great job. Most of the time, Iris the goat is driving me crazy. I want to kill her. Iris the goat, not my mom. She is the most annoying of goats I have ever had. And I will not be keeping any more of Abby's kids. EVER! Really. I mean it. Because I also have her doe kid from last year. Zarah. Another little devil goat. I should have learned from her. She was just a few months old when she broke her leg. I have never had a goat with a broken leg til her.

So, never name an animal after any family members. Especially a goat after your mother. I am here to tell you it's NOT a good idea at all. I say things to Iris the goat that I would never let my mother hear me say.

And I got Abby because that's my youngest daughter's name. And then I have named my first 3 ewes after my grandkids middle names. But the sheep are really sweet good animals. Really.


Just remember this. Even though they LOOK like they are the sweetest thing you ever did see and want to remember them always and honor your mother, DON'T do it!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Great Day To Make Soap

It is really hot outside.  The dogs are already back inside under the ceiling fan. Smart animals, they are. I did go out this morning after feeding critters and finished up the mowing in the orchard. It kind of looks like it might just rain some. Fine with me.

So I am making soap. And bread. More on that in a minute.

First batch is from the  base I made a few weeks ago. I remelted 3 lbs. with 36oz. of goat milk. Then when it was all melted really good, I added lots of Patchouli EO and Sweet Orange EO. And some grated orange rind. Put some orange rind on top in the mold. It smells SO GOOD! This is my very favorite soap ever.

Next I made a veggie base. Then added at trace about 2 1/2 T of finely ground coconut and about 2 1/2 oz. of rosewood EO. I put coconut on top in the mold.

I am now waiting on the lye to get near 100 degrees to melt the oil for some peppermint soap. I'll add about 2 oz. of peppermint EO and some crushed dried peppermint leaves from my herb garden. Then put some on top as well. So 3 batches of soap today. Not bad.

I was just thinking how comfortable I am now making soap. Maybe a little too comfortable. I usually wear gloves and do the lye on the back porch. Today I did it in the kitchen. With no gloves. I know I should be way more careful with the lye solution. But it's just way too hot outside for it to cool. So I am doing it the slow way and just letting it cool on it's own in the kitchen.  I have plenty of time. While it's cooling I get the oils in the pot and set on the stove and get my molds ready and all the oils lined up. And the blankets on the dining room table.

So now the bread. I have been making the best bread ever. I just love crunchy chewy sour dough type breads. And they are about $4-$6 at Wholefoods. So I found a recipe in a Mother Earth News magazine. I make it at least once a week now. But yesterday I added chopped crushed fresh rosemary leaves and crushed garlic cloves chopped up. It just came out of the oven and smells so good. The only bad part about this bread is I have to wait an hour to eat it after it comes out of the oven.

I have made the cranberry walnut bread too. So yummy! If anyone wants the recipe, I can post it. I am taking pictures of all this so when I learn how to get them in here again, I'll show all this good stuff.

I am waiting on my order from Brambleberry to come hopefully tomorrow. Then I will make some more soaps. This is fun! And makes my house smell really good and clean.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

I Wanna Live In A Condo

In downtown Chattanooga. A highrise. No grass anywhere. Not even any plants on the balcony. Only a few chairs and a table with an umbrella. And a small fridge with ice cold drinks. That is what I am thinking right now.

I am tired. It seems like I am mowing grass somewhere on this property every day. There is always something to do somewhere. In the garden. In the house. In the goat yard. In the barn. In the sheep pasture. In the gardens. In the chicken yard. Last night I added on to the chicken run area because I got 10 more laying hens. They're just 3 months old. But I already had 29 hens and Mr. Rooney. So this makes 39 hens. Well, actually, I think 2 of the Barred Rock young chicks I got a few months ago could quite possible be roosters. They are quite alot bigger than the other one I got at the same time. They have really long white legs. I was looking at my older BR hen, Judy Moody, and she has short yellow legs. Hmmm...

So I was out there in the field behind the chicken house getting the netting on the other side of the fence. They had just mowed and baled hay so I was feeling like it would be ok to go out there. But next to the fence was still really tall. I made my dog Bubba go with me. For protection. He's a good snake killing dog, for the record. So got that all done. The chickens all thanked me this morning as they were eating the grass in the new run. They have alot more room now.

It just seems like something has to be done, or has to be fixed. Or mowed again. And it's been 93 the past few days. I finally broke down and turned the AC on yesterday morning. I might as well enjoy it.

But as I was taking my sheets and towels off the line just now, I was thinking how at least I can do all this myself. I can walk. I am still young and can do things. I am thankful I can mow. And that the grass is green. Just a few weeks ago the grass was crunchy from no rain. Now it's growing like crazy again. And flowers are blooming. And birds are drinking in the bird bath that has water in it. And we do have water. I can take a nice cool shower after sweating profusely. And jump in my bed with freshly cleaned sheets dried in the sun all day under a beautiful blue sky. Yes, I am thankful. Mighty thankful.