News from the kitchen today

I've managed to figure out how to make camembert and cheddar using my goats milk.
I've not gotten the aging perfect as of yet but I'm determined and I'm brave.
It helps that I've got a ton of goats milk.
I weaned the three remaining babies. They definitely aren't thrilled with me. But they'll get over it. A little less work in the barn without bottle feeding the babies.
Jade (one of my senior does) is due June 11. I'll be back to bottle feeding fairly quickly. She's getting huge. She still seems quite comfortable. The cooler weather is helping with that I'm sure.

Looks like this is all I've got time to post at the moment.

Have a great day.

Daily milking chores.

When I bought the goaties I'd imagined being able to feed myself and my friends. Little did I know I'd be running over with milk.My girls(all 5 of them) are at full production.This gives me 3 gallons of milk per day.Luckily for me I love milk and all of the products made with milk.
I was lucky enough to have been given a nice little refrigerator(4.4 cu.feet).I am aging my first attempts at camembert cheese.I must say they look beautiful.I'll let you all know how they taste in a week or so.
I've attempted mozzarella cheese. I haven't been thrilled with the end results but the dogs are willing to take my mistake and make them dinner.
I gave in and purchased a milk machine. Giles dairy supply put this together for me. Should be here next week. I'll let you know how well it's working.
Looks like I'm off to start the day.

Happy Monday!

Had a beautiful, restful weekend. Watched a couple amazing movies. I recommend August Rush. It was easily one of the most uplifting movies I've seen in a very long time. I also recommend Dan in Real Life and In her shoes. Both of them were worth my time. I've not spent this much time watching movies in years. This weekend was perfect for doing nothing more than regular chores. The weather is really starting to get to me. Today is supposed to begin the warm up. I'm so ready. Today I'm going to spend the day getting the orchard in better shape. I'll be posting pics.
Have a great day!

Kidding season is over!!!

Don't get me wrong...I love the new babies. But I getting up in the wee hours for weeks on end is the toughest part of raising dairy goats. I know...you all are saying they can do it without you. Sure they can. But as a new goat owner I was entirely too excited to let my first kidding season go on without me being involved "up to my elbows" in it. We ended the season on a wonderful note. 4 doelings and 1 buckling. Murphy(my herdsire) will be thrilled to know he got a buddy out of this crop. We still have two doelings available. If anyone is interested please contact me at vicki@afterthoughtfarm.com
I'm off to get the day started.

Ultra sounding goaties!

I have one girl that was long over due. I was getting worried so I called my local veterinarian. They came out and did an Ultrasound. We could see a little heartbeat so I was reassured and able to calm down. This evening I went out for evening milking and I was surprised with my last baby of the season. I was blessed with another doeling! Of my 6 kids born all but one were girls! How's that for beginners luck!
The sixth flower in my bouquet! I'll take the time to post some pictures as soon as things get settled down. In the mean time I'll tell you all of their names. Persnickety(my first), Chickweed(the little buckling), Pansy(Chickweeds little sister), Violet and now Easter Lily(Lily for short).

Good Morning All

Not much time this morning.It's SPRING!!!Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can get planting into the full swing of things
I don't mind a little dirt under my fingers but this mud has been rough going.
Baby goat update.Of the six five babies we've had we are retaining two.The rest are going to their new homes.Hope everyone is as happy with them as I am.It's been a great season.I'll be posting new pictures soon.
Have a great day!

Kidding update FINALLY!!!!

Things started getting hectic around here.This is my first kidding season as a new goat owner.It's been a little nutty.Maxine started things rolling here with the first baby of the season.She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl(Persnickety or Percy for short) on Jan 31.She turned out not to be too keen on the bottle.I was getting frustrated but we managed to get past that.


Okay...here's where I change the subject. Andrea James of James Family Farm has such a wonderful way of "hitting the nail on the head". I am trying to feed my family healthy locally produced food. To do that I've decided I can grow it all or at least find small family farms that can supply what I cannot grow. I raised 300 chickens last year. I could not find a "cheap source" for organic feed so I made the decision to find a local source for the best organic feed I could find. I discovered Marve Manges of Fizzle Flat Farm. I trust him to put the best grain available in his feed. He's not the cheapest but he is the best in my opinion. But in having made that decision I had to raise my prices and cut my production. I no longer am confident that there are that many people as concerned as I am about food safety. So I am only producing a limited number of birds. I'm rambling at this point but it's just time to get off here and do my chores.

Take a minute and read Andrea's blog...and also if you are interested in food safety and healthy food please do not hesitate to order from her. She is the real deal folks! She is looking out for all of us even if we aren't doing it ourselves.