First day back at the farmers market!

 Today was my first day back to the Brainerd market. I had loaded all the yarn and salves and lotions and soap and tables and all that stuff in the car last night. Woke up at 6 this morning and went outside to pich radishes, kale and lettuce and get them ready to go. Fixed breakfast, got the grand daughter up and off we went.

I left at 8:30. Got there at 9:15. So I need to leave at least by 8:15 to get there by 9. It starts at 10. So that'll give me plenty of time to get all set up.

I still need a display thing for the yarn. I just don't like laying it down. It needs to be up at eye level. Like some peg board with hooks to hang the skeins on.

I had a lot of interest in the yarns. Everyone came over and asked questions about them.There was more interest when I tell them they are from my sheep. I was just charging $5 an oz. And most people said that was really reasonable for hand spun yarn straight from my own sheep. But I didn't sell anything wool today.

I took 7 bunches of radishes, sold all but 1. I had 4 bags of loose leaf lettuce, sold 3. And the black tote of kale. Sold most of that. Took what was left to my mom and oldest daughter.

I sold a plantain salve. I love it when I have a few people at my booth and someone talks about having my salve and how good it is and someone else buys some! This one lady had bought some plantain salve the Christmas before last and just started using it on her very cracked heels. She said they were horribly cracked and she started using the salve on her heels and they are SO much better! So the other lady bought some for a friend. Cool! I cannot make any "claims" like that myself, so it really makes a difference when someone else has used it.

And I had made lemongrass lotion bars and a bug repellent bar. Sold several of each today! And 2 of my lavender goat milk soaps! So all in  all, a pretty good first day back.

Now I hope they vote me back in at the Main St market. They're having a meeting after the market next Wed. and will bring it up that I want to come back, since it is way past the march dead line. But since I have been there a few years, it should be ok. I talked to a few of the board members and told them. So I hope they let me back. I miss that market. It's a totally different crowd over there. I love it.

I think the guy who came to shear my sheep last week is coming back tomorrow morning to the farm up the road. She has 15 Finn sheep that did not get sheared last year. So I told them to please start with hers and get as many done as they can tomorrow, then come back next week to finish my 4 and hers. It's not going to be too awful bad temperature wise next week. This weekend is in the high 80's, then it goes down a bit through the week. I think they'll be fine.

I hope you all are having a great weekend so far. I am having the family out for some BBQ pork and stuff Sunday, to celebrate the May and June birthdays. Now I have to go clean the house. Not my favorite thing to do. But it makes me clean up every now and then when I know people are coming. Like who wants to eat with dog hairs on the table, right?

(The shearer IS coming in the morning for my friend's sheep! I am so happy for her! I hope they can get all of her 15 sheep sheared at one time.)

Happy birthday to me! And Allan!

Got a call from my friend Allan from up  the road. He first told me happy birthday and that his was today too. And wanted to know if I had an extra hive box. He had a swarm at the edge of his garden.  So I went to see if I did and yes, sure enough, I had the super from the Outback hive, full of frames. And 2 frames had drawn comb. So put it all in the car and drove to their farm.

I handed all the kids some of the hive parts and they followed daddy to the swarm. It was so cute. He and Carrie have the cutest 3 kids ever. Look at that little red head! Adorable! And of course her favorite color is purple.

They have a few hives to the left of the garden. The swarm is at the end of these rows. ON THE GROUND! How cool is that?

Just look at these beautiful bees! It was like the best present ever, for both of us!

So Allan shook the bucket in first. This is them, inside their new home. They were all so good. We sprayed them with sugar water. They were all very nice and calm. No one was stung! There were a few bee casualties though.

Next, he shook that round spool with all those bees into the hive

Then the cinder block. It had the most bees in it. Plus a lot of dirt.

This is most of the girls, inside and all around. He picked up as many as he could and put them inside. There were still a lot buzzing around at this time.

I put the rest of the frames back in, then the top board, the the top.

Isn't this the most beautiful view? And what a great place for honey bees. That's Lookout Mountain back there.

                                                          And a pond to boot.

So Allan was going to feed the bees, then wait til tonight, when they would all be in the hive, and put screen at the entrance and move them over by the other 2 hives. Then sometime, we'll split this hive and I'll get another bee hive for my farm! How cool!

It was the best ending to a birthday I've ever had! Just amazing. Who'd have thought this would happen. And it was SO flippin' EASY! We all had the best time. The kids were great. Not a single sting. Perfect ending to 2 birthday bee keepers. I am so happy right now.

Now to get ready for an early farmer market tomorrow.  Then more sheep shearing Sunday. Great weekend!

SO excited!

I just had to share this. My very first ever hot process goat milk soap!! I have always had a hard time with goat milk soap. It's always too soft. So I've been watching you tube videos and asking questions about hot process soap. It looks so fun and easy and you can use the soap right away. No curing for 2 months, like cold process. So I decided to give this a try.

Got my coconut and olive oil in the crock pot on warm. I had goat milk frozen in 8 oz baggies. So got out 2 cups and thawed it out a little. When the oils were melted, I added the lye-goat milk. Stirred, then stick blended. For ever and ever. I had bought a new blender and it was getting hot! My hands were burning. But it finally got to a good trace.

So every 10 minutes or so, I'd stir it. It has several different stages it goes through. I think this is the "mashed potato" stage.

I waited too long to stir again and thought I'd lost it. All the oils were on top and it was brown. So I just stirred and stirred, for a long time, til it all blended back together again. I was quite happy to see that!

Then it got to this last stage, quite shiny and soapy. So took it out of the pot and added some lavender EO. This is a 5 pound recipe, so had a little less than a half of an 8 oz. bottle, so added it all.  And stirred and stirred, til it was all stirred together.

Then poured, or really glopped, it into my mold.

Isn't this pretty? I am so amazed I did this! Now I just hope it gets hard. So, my first ever hot process goat milk soap. Done! All this is in olive oil and coconut oil and goat milk with lavender essential oil.

I also made some lotion bars. On the left, I just came up with a blend of EO's for a bug repellent bar. I hope it works.

On the right is lemongrass, my favorite. I still have lard lemongrass soap too.

Now I want to make more of this soap. It's so cool. And fun and easy and didn't take near as long as cold process. I always worried about getting the temps all just right. With hot process, I don't have to worry about the temperature!