Introducing...

New to Dandelion's Acre: Whisper and Tania (tu-nee-uh)- we call her Tia because the kids couldn't remember Tania. "What's her name again, Mom?" They both respond to their names which is pretty amazing considering the woman I bought them from had over 100 goats (all named, all came when called) Loved it. Here's her blog http://blog.tricottdairy.com/. Whisper, a mostly white Alpine/Saanen, and Tia a white and black Alpine/Togg. Both friendly and well behaved ( desirable traits in a goat ;) They give us about 1 and 2/3 gallon a day of sweet, creamy milk and we are thankful. Tia is easy to milk, but gives a little less milk than Whisper. She managed to put her hoof in the bucket yesterday (after 25 long minutes of milking), but I'm hoping it was a mistake (rather than a habit) and really, the chickens didn't mind at all that I had to give (all) yesterday morning's milk to them.

Whisper with the chickens

Just about all my pictures of Tia are close-ups because she never leaves my side (laugh) 

Whisper gives about a gallon a day but was unfortunately endowed with small orifices (undesirable traits in a goat) Oh dear. In all fairness to the seller I will say that I was duly warned :) The first couple milkings it took me almost 20 minutes just to milk her out. Tia takes about 3-4 minutes. I could barely feel my hands for the first couple days. It has gotten progressively a little easier and after 3 days of milking her I can do it in about 10 minutes now. Still a long time, but better. And really, Whisper's name should be Patience because she stands there so quietly all the while. And for that I am so grateful. My hands are already feeling stonger than they ever have been. I wonder how long till carpel tunnel sets in?
I had Joe out there last night with me to give it a try. After all, it'll be his job on the evenings I work, and he needs to know just what he's getting himself in to   how to do it ;) Good sport that he is, he milked out one side while I worked on the other and we were done in about 10 minutes. This morning I had Connor help me out in the same way. He milked out the easier side while I did the harder and it went much faster and saved my hands a bit. I do love to have my husband out in the barn with me and think I may be on to something. ~"Honey, you have to come milk with me or I'll be out there forever!"~

 In fact, I actually thought I would be out there forever this morning. As Connor was leaving, he inadvertently (and so like Connor) locked me in the milking side of the barn. There I was, locked in the barn, stuck with Whisper who was mournfully looking at me like, what the heck lady, I gave you your milk now let me out already. It really wouldn't have been too bad except that Brenna my exuberant and over-ambitious 3 year old had insisted on following us out this cold morning to help me milk ("I milk the goats for you mom!!"), had lost her gloves somewhere between the barn and the house and was now at a high pitched wail because she was cold (and on the other side of the door I was locked behind of course). She was too short to unlock the door for me and too upset to go back to the house for me and get Joe. So she just stood there screaming and I stood there (with Whisper now exploring all this side the barn had to offer) helpless. In the end, I managed to climb on top of the hay and over top of the divider between the milking side and the other side and jump down to free myself. But it was traumatic, and my poor little (but not so light) Brenna then had to be carried to the house (still screaming) along with the 3/4 gallon of milk and the two empty water buckets.

We have goats again.

Let the adventures begin.

To My Valentine

For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow. ~Rosemonde Gerard

Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.
Robert Browning

A woman knows the face of the man she loves like a sailor knows the open sea.
Honoré de Balzac

Are we not like two volumes of one book?  ~Marceline Desbordes-Valmore

Happy Valentine's Day to my man. The father of our children, the head of our home, the keeper of my heart...


And... our barn is occupied once more, my hands are sore from milking, and yogurt and cheese and soap (oh my) are being made by the pot-fuls! What is it about an abundance of milk that makes one feel rich? (insert contented sigh...)
More about that later. I have a Valentine's cake to bake :)

Happy Valentine's To You!

GOaT YOGURT?

Creativity has been alluding me lately and thus my blogging desire has been scant. Perhaps it was the (non) purchase of the goats I had so been looking forward to, the below zero temps which had the (very loud)children running circles around me all weekend, my husband's absense for two days while he attended the funeral of his Grandaddy (and all the somberness that goes with those such things), chickens who don't care enough to even lay (just one?) egg, or simply, writer's block. But here I am, at 11pm, in a quiet house, feeling blessed enough for ten lifetimes. I love my simple life. I love my loud, crazy children, I love my husband who I could hardly stand to be away from for even two days, I love my Momma (who I'm so thankful to have sleeping on my couch because she was in town for a speaking engagement) and my Poppa who I'm sure is very lonely without her at the moment. I love my sister who is my best friend and consistently makes me laugh harder than anyone ever has, my brother who I don't see nearly enough, and my small circle of friends who share in my joys and encourage me along the way.  I love the beauty of the snow- especially on a cold clear night, and the rosy cheeks of children who've just come in from playing in it. And while I can't say that I love my chickens, I enjoy them well enough and am thankful for the peaceful busy-ness they provide me with each morning and evening when I bring them warm water and check for (just one? please?) egg.

So, a friend of mine asked me to share my recipe for yogurt. I make yogurt weekly because Brenna is lactose intolerant, but does very well on goat's milk products. This recipe can be made with goat or cow (or sheep or horse or yak ~hee hee) milk. It is really very simple and economical to make your own yogurt. I encourage you to give it a try!

You can make any size recipe you wish. For this recipe I used about 1 and 2/3 quart of milk, which will produce that same amount in yogurt. I usually make two full quarts at a time, but did not have enough milk for that this time.

Heat milk slowly and stir regularly to 180 degrees fahrenheit on top of the stove.

Let cool to 115 degrees.

To speed up this process, I usually put the pot in a cold water bath in the sink.

(Just be sure not to get any water in the milk)

When it has reached 115 degrees, whisk in approximately 1-2 Tbsp of store-bought yogurt (or yogurt from a previous homemade batch)  per quart of milk used. For your first batch of yogurt you will have to purchase a small container of store bought yogurt. Make sure it says it has "live active cultures". For future batches, just save a few tablespoons from your homemade yogurt to use.

As you can see here, I don't measure exact amounts- a large spoonful will work for two quarts.

You may also add as much or as little sugar (or maple syrup, or honey) as you would like at this point, and some vanilla extract  if you prefer a vanilla flavor (or lemon, orange, maple extracts etc...) You need to have all these ready and add them quickly so that your milk does not cool too much.

If you plan to add berries, wait until the yogurt has "set" or it will be too runny and won't set properly. Also, goat's milk yogurt tends to be thinner than store bought yogurts and so some people like to add some unflavored gelatin or some powdered milk at this point to help it set firmer. I don't mind the thinner consistency, so I leave these out.

At this point, you need to pour your milk into your jars and insulate your yogurt to keep it at around 110 degrees for 8 hours. There are many different ways to do this. The easiest way I've found is to wrap each jar in a towel and set them in an igloo cooler with another jar (or two if you can fit it) of very hot tap water.

and wait...

Brenna just loves her yogurt with berries :)