Late snow, birthday preparations and goat shares

There are a couple inches of loose white powder blanketing everything; railing, porch, rocking horse and trike. The birch are once more outlined and frosted in winter. As long as our winters are, a fresh snowfall is always pretty, however, we are having a birthday party for Noah tomorrow. We were hoping to use the back porch for games. There were just a few clumps of dirty ice that needed chipped away, that we were eying and hoping they'd take care of themselves by melting in time. It is suppose to be in the forties today and tomorrow, so maybe the porch will at least clear itself into puddles and wet boards.

These gray days get to me more than the cold and dark. I'm trying to look ahead, plan, dream and take what action I may. There is so much to be excited about this time of year. Five flats of seedlings are started. Duck eggs are set. Today I'm adding chicken eggs to the incubator in hopes that all the eggs will hatch within a day or so of each other. Last night I separated the goat kids from their moms for the first time, so I can get more than a few cups of milk. The kids are three weeks plus. Their dams were starting to get restless being penned up every night.

Xanadu is due on Sunday. I suppose she is either waiting to have her babies till Dustin goes to work tonight and I'm home alone with the kids, or until the birthday party tomorrow. I'm excited for more kids. Xanadu is a reddish brown doe. Her paperwork says she is Chamoisee, sounds elegant. She is bred to Zanzibar, our pinto buck. So, this is our last chance to see something different this season.

I've been doing some raw milk, goat share research. This is something we've discussed since we first started milking. The herd has been growing and eating, more and more. I've decided that it is time for the goats to start earning their keep, or at least paying their feed bill. I think I'm finally up for it. My kids are sturdier, older, and in some ways easier to drag along for chores. We've got committed farm help for the summer as well. To be honest I'm not looking forward to dealing with customers, paperwork, money, and milk drop offs etc. This is the sort of commitment that there is no coming back from. Once we start, there will forever be a group of crazy (no offense) milk customers hungry for milk. I get monthly emails and phone calls from folks looking to buy milk, even with stating that I don't sell milk. So, if you are one of those hungry milk customers who has emailed or called over the last few years, get back in touch with me. I'll be posting more details and prices soon. I'm starting out small and will probably be taking more customers as the summer progresses. There is limited room, so...emilycstahl@gmail.com is the way to reach me.

I'm baking a cake today. Noah requested a strawberry short cake. I'm making almond butter cake layers, a strawberry sauce and tomorrow, whipped cream. Other than that, I'm doing some spring cleaning, making some lemonade and a bean and maybe a pasta salad to go with some local beef/moose burgers for the party, and watching a soon to be in labor huge goat. The snow is starting to plop off the trees. I imagine it will be like living somewhere else today, somewhere that gets snow once or twice a year, but turns to slush and puddles by afternoon.

March kids and goats

The daylight is waking us up around seven a.m. The sun is pouring into the house all afternoon and into the evening. It is so bright outside, that I've been needing sunglasses on while outside doing afternoon chores. The kids and I have been getting out most afternoons for a walk. We've been choosing a select few goats to come along as well. Two does get left out as they've taken to butting Avery and Noah when given the opportunity. Rose and now Zinnia are getting left behind because they are too uncomfortably pregnant, and while I thought a walk would still be good for them, Zinnia complained, bawled the whole way on her last walk- poor thing.

Avery got this new snowsuit - Thankyou Grandma! As you can see it is cute if a little impractical. Avery is getting opinionated about what she wants to wear these days. She is into pink, purple and pockets. I do not recall Noah being choosy about his clothes when he was two.

Noah has been enjoying the freedom of walking on top of the snow, venturing away from the driveway and trails. We had some serious winds a while back that seemed to compress the snow.

This is Zinnia on her last walk for a while. She has two due dates, as I bred her once and then she continued to act like she was in heat for the following week, so I re-bred her six days later. The due date I put on the calender for the goats is 150 days from when they are bred. They tend to kid a few days earlier. Zinnia's first due date was this Friday, so we started checking on her at night and throughout the day last Monday. Of course, once you start watching goats constantly, they act totally suspicious and like they are about to go into labor at any moment - at least the first doe of the season does- most likely I'm just overly jumpy. Zinnia is so uncomfortable right now, she paces, paws at the ground, nudges and nips at her belly, scratches her head with her back hoof, paws some more. Then when she tries to lay down she stops half way so she is sitting on her hind haunches unsure of how to lower herself down any further, before rising and pacing some more. She shifts her weight, grunts, huffs and begins chewing her cud again, but only after staring off as though she is closely paying attention to something internal, eyes glazing over as I wonder if she is having an early labor contraction - nope.

Zinnia is either at day 151, or more likely, day 145. She and her mom are in their own stall and pen. We can monitor them on the "goat cam" which is a security camera in their stall which is wired to our TV. This makes late night checks oh so much easier. I just get out of bed, turn on the TV, watch for a few minutes and go back to bed, rather than getting dressed in under and outer layers, boots, gloves, hat and headlamp to trek down that slippery slope and disturbing a bunch of sleeping goats. We've been going to bed and getting up early. Last night the alarm went off too many times, I think every 4-5 hours should suffice. Although, when the overly pregnant goat is pacing late at night instead of sleeping, you've got to wonder if she knows something you don't.

This is Zuri. Hard to believe that she is due in just two weeks, but she is! Her udder is just starting to take shape. So far she is keeping up with the un-bred doelings, running, jumping, letting them know she is still boss. Yesterday I moved three does up to our extra top pen, reserved for breeding and this time of year, when we need to weed out any extras who aren't close to kidding. So Xoe, who is bred but not due till May, and her daughter'sYin and Asia are up next to the bucks and not too happy about the arrangement, but everyone else is. Now, Zuri and Xan, the next does due, won't be picked on. The doe pen is peaceful and calm, for the moment.

Is it spring yet?

I am ready for spring! There was one morning last week, where I stepped outside and the air was warmer than I expected, (above zero) and I could almost smell soil, dirt, the ground that is buried way down there somewhere. I thought, spring! I forget about the absence of scents outdoors in the winter. The farm doesn't smell, not when everything is frozen. I dreamed that I was hearing the songs that the chickadees sing only on spring mornings. We are gaining around seven minutes of light each day. Each morning I am surprised at how early it is light out. At evening I find myself looking at the clock and thinking; is it really this late? Shouldn't it be dark by now?

Yesterday as I drove into town the sun was so high and intense. The warmth seeped into my skin. I had to put my sunglasses on. Everywhere was sun. Sun glaring off the shiny metal buildings and white snow banks. The roads are icy and slick. I thought, isn't this what spring is - in Fairbanks?

I'm watching the goats belly's grow heavy and thick with kids, their udders filling with milk. I looked back at last years posts on goat kids this morning. Spring is: goat babies, collecting eggs for setting, bags of seedling mix and tinier bags of seeds, the smells of thawing manure, a warm day followed by a cold one and the sun; most importantly, the sun, full of promise and certainty.

More kitchen winter days

We've been trying to enjoy the last of the cold winter days - or at least the slow winter days -before kidding season begins. The kids have been spending lots of time playing with legos, homemade playdough, and helping me in the kitchen. We've been reading a lot of books and doing a bit of yoga (rough-house with mom time).

First of the seedlings are coming up. Basil and thyme up in three days, followed by the lavender. Usually, I sow one seed per cell as I don't ever waste or pull any. I usually sow thyme, lavender, oregano, chamomile and rosemary heavily as they don't seem to have the highest germination - or maybe I'm not giving them the right conditions.

Blueberry muffins for breakfast. If there is anything to be stirred, Avery is not to be left out of the action.

Steamed Asian bbq pork buns, made with one of our own pork roasts. The ultimate comfort food.

I brined and smoked one of our turkey breasts from our fall turkeys. It was all that I'd hoped for, not too smoky. Perfect for lunch meat as well as a rich turkey vegetable soup.

Today I'm making cherry almond Babka for breakfast, our weekly bread, a pizza roll, chicken stock, chicken salad and soup from last nights roast chicken.  As you can see I'm enjoying my kitchen, and all of our wonderful meat; labors of last summer. Kidding season is sneaking up on us, only a couple weeks away. I'll be getting up for night time checks, most likely attending midnight births, and constantly obsessed with the backside of whichever goat is due next. I'll probably be pulling out frozen breads and soups then and won't have as much time or energy for expressing creativity through baking and cooking.

February projects in and out of the kitchen

Our thermometer has bottomed out at twenty below. Forty below is the low for the night. Until this weekend our temperatures have been relatively mild and we've all been spending more time outside. Our property is finally receiving a couple hours of midday sun. Here are some pictures from the last week. I've been enjoying spending time in the kitchen.  I've also been doing various research, trying to make some decisions for the year on what eggs to hatch, what breeds of poultry to raise etc. On the table are all of our feed receipts for the past year. I'm going to attempt to figure out our yearly feed and hay costs. Above is the doe's daily grain ration, a picture appropriate for my last couple posts on feeding grain to goats.

 The last of our own Copra onions. They are beginning to grow, as we don't quite have the right temperature/humidity area to store them. I used up the last of our garlic today. So I just bought the first bag of onions and garlic since last spring. We have enough potatoes for a couple months.

 Homemade hot chocolate after playing outside.

I made a batch of beef jerky for the first time this winter. It turned out good, if a little plain for my taste. I like my jerky to have a full garlicky peppery soy sweet flavor. I should have marinated it more than just overnight- but I was jerkey hungry. I did do a nice job of slicing it thinly while still partially frozen.

 I've finally gotten into a rhythm with Chana's dog food. I've been making chicken/duck or other turkey stock every other week. I take all the meat off the bones, smoosh up the soft stock vegetables and add rice. She gets a couple cups once a day. Daily scraps usually make up her second meal.

Our weekly 100% organic hard red winter wheat bread. I grind the flour every couple weeks, store it outside (in our natural freezer) I start it a day ahead before baking, by soaking a biga and starter with yogurt and raw goat milk overnight to help break down the gluten and make it more digestible. The bread is mild and soft. It is great fresh or frozen and keeps at least a week on the counter.

I've pulled in a bag of Copper River Red Salmon to brine and smoke - I'm counting on the temperature outside warming up. I also pulled in a large turkey breast to smoke for lunch meat. I'm hoping to pull out the grinder and turn some various bags of pork lard and pork scraps into rendered lard and sausage. Tonight we are having roast, mashed potatoes and salad. Tomorrow we are having stew with turnips and biscuits. I've also had meat pies on the mind, empanadas, Asian style BBQ pork buns. I guess it is just that time of year.

I'm gearing up for a soap making spree next weekend. This is the first time I've looked up other soap making blogs for inspiration, and lets just say, I have been blown away by some handmade soaps folks are making out there. I've been inspired to try some layering and and marbling this time around, so I'll be sticking with some simple recipes and focus on colors, scents and decorative techniques.

OK, lets here it, what yummy things are you cooking? What winter projects are you enjoying?