I got sucked in.

Went to the feed store yesterday to get chicken feed. I had seen the chicks for weeks now, all fluffy and cute, but did not want to get any. That was like the farthest thing from my mind. Really. I don't need anything else to have to feed and take care of!

But yesterday, they had these. Cuckoo Marans. Yeah. I have ALWAYS wanted these chickens. Like always. I love their eggs. They are just beautiful.

So on the way home, I stopped and got 6 of them. And a bag of these chips because they didn't have any more of those amazing new pellets. And a bag of organic chick starter-grower. About $70 right there. I have not had chicks in years just because they are SO expensive to raise and no eggs for at least 6 months. I'd much rather spend that money and buy some already laying. Makes more sense to me.

                                    But just look at these sweet little cuties. I could not resist them.

They are in the dining room for now, til we get through this crazy April "winter". Then they might come over here to my studio til I can put them out in the coop. I might even go back and get some Buff chicks too. Maybe.

So here are the newest babies at Outback Farm. I love them.

And I did get into the St. Elmo Farmers Market!!! I am so happy! It's on Fridays from 4-7 in St. Elmo, right at the foot of Lookout Mt. at the Incline Railway. So exciting! They get all the mountain traffic and tourists too. And they have a street market the last Friday of the month that goes down behind St. Elmo Ave. So fun! And a Christmas street market in December. I am so excited. Now to get planting! And planning. And making more soap. And yarn. And dryer balls. But I think I want to call them sheep balls. Just because.

Random stuff.

I like this picture. I was walking down the driveway and noticed the forsythia, then the elderberry tree, then the pear tree in bloom behind it. So much going on right now. The honey bees are bringing in pollen like crazy! Loaded down with it. I don't see how they fly with all that pollen on them.

My husband has mowed the front yard twice already. Everything is SO green right now. But Sunday morning, it's supposed to be 32 here. What?! I have figs already on the fig bushed. Blueberry bushes are loaded with blossoms. I am going to put my canopy over the figs Sat. night. Then figure something out for the blueberries. I do not want to lose them. Crazy April!

I have finally started putting the kids in a crate at night, so I can milk in the morning.

This is Olga. Doesn't look to awfully big, but there's a lot of milk in there! I do leave some for the kids. And she is really hard to milk. Very small teats. Like a thumb and index finger small. I figured out if I squeeze up high with my thumbs, it's much easier. So this morning, it only took about 10 minutes! And her milk is SO good!

This is Freya's back end. She has the perfect udder and teats for me. My whole hand fits. She is so easy to milk. I can milk her out in just a few minutes. But her milk still has an off taste to it. The first day is ok, but after that it has a flavor that I just don't like.  So for now I am keeping their milk separate. And I'll use most of Freya's for soap, which I am making a lot of right now.

Silly baby! This is where I find the kids sometimes when I go in to play with them. They are so cute!

Monday, a friend and her 3 kids came to learn about sheep wool. They missed the shearing, so wanted to see what happens after that. I showed them all the ways to card the wool. They got to hand card and turn the handle on the drum carder. They got to see how each thing made different roving or batts. This little sheep was their favorite thing in the studio. Outside, the trampoline was a big hit!

                                   This is Cara's fleece. Oh my goodness, it is so soft! Really long locks too.

                                                       This is Campbelle's fleece. Really nice.

So I am thinking about sending all this year's fleeces to a mill. I just do not have time to process all this wool right now. And the alpacas get sheared the 15th, so I'll have 6 alpaca fleeces too. There's a mill in Tn. not too far from me. I can just drive it up there. I just want it all made into roving so I can spin it myself. It was all fairly clean too, which was surprising. I couldn't use any of Adalaide's wool. It was so matted.

And this is my very first salt scrub bar. It's peppermint. I had no idea how to make it. I just used my recipe and added a lot of salt. I hope it works. It smells good and feels salty.

So now I am off to spend time with my mom and brother. He's still here for a little while longer. Y'all have a great day!

Making soap.

 I have been trying to make at least 2 batches of soap every few days now. So far I have 2 of the honey oatmeal, a blueberry oatmeal, honeysuckle, rose, orange patchouli, and another with Nag Champa, bergamot and chamomile with calendula petas. This one has sunflower oil as well as castor oil. The others have castor oil too. I like the way castor oil makes the soap more bubbly.

With these 2 soaps, I tried the way Suzanne over at http://chickensintheroad.com/house/making-perfect-hot-process-goats-milk-soap/ made hers for a whiter goat milk soap. I don't think these are very much lighter than the ones I made before, but they are considerably lighter than they would have been had I not used this method. I did use a few fragrance oils, which usually makes soap darker. I put these 2 molds in the freezer for 2 hours. (my freezer still smells so good! I hope it doesn't affect the food in there.) They have not darkened the 2 days since I cut them. So I think I have successfully made a lighter 100% goat milk soap using some fragrance oils. I will for sure use this method on the Dragon's Blood soap I'll be making soon. It always turns a dark chocolate color.

Almost forgot to say that I use totally frozen fresh raw goat milk too. That makes the soap light anyway. But making the liquid as cold as possible keeps it from burning when adding the lye to it. Especially use frozen when using anything acidic, like juice, wine or kombucha!

I have been making dandelion tea for the past month now. Last year it really helped my allergies. And it's SO good! It's also really good exercise, all that walking and bending and squatting. Just good all around!

And I just have to talk about this dog. Stella always has to have something in her mouth. Always. Lately she's helped bring in wood for the fire. She's so sweet and helpful. But she is filthy and stinky! She so needs a good bath and a shave. Bubba does too. All over the house they leave dog hairs. We sweep sometimes twice a day and still there is dog hair all over. I have a friend who is a dog groomer. I'll take them both to her in April to be shaved and bathed. But they'll come right home and roll in some kind of nastiness somewhere. Just because.