New Kids on the Block!-- Caution Graphic photos

My Molly, the black goat, had her kids yesterday at 3:15 in the afternoon. It was an easy and perfect birth. She had two beautiful white kids, a buck and a doe. They have been nursing well and are skipping and jumping already!





Today we will be seperating them from Mom because we need to get them on the bottle as we will be milking the mom for our own use. Sounds terrible, but that's how it works.


Hubby built a milk stand and we will be trying that out tonight. I had trouble milking yesterday so He is going to teach me how to do it correctly.
I am so excited.
All the kiddos of mine, got to watch the birth of the new babies. I think it was a great experience. I'll find out later what my little one told his kindergarten teacher!

As I'm not all that computer savy... The pictures are pretty much in the wrong order. if you scroll from bottom to top that's how it went!

Capuccino Muffins

Yummy!



These Muffins were simple and oh so good that the kiddos have asked that I make more.

Cappucino Muffins
Lancater Farming Newspaper

Muffin
2C. Flour
3/4C. sugar
2 1/2t. baking powder
1t. cinnamon
1/2t. salt
1c. milk
2T instant coffee granules
1/2C. butter melted
1 egg
1t. vanilla
3/4c. mini choc chips


Spread
4oz cream cheese softened
1T sugar
1/2t. instant coffee granules
1/2t. vanilla
1/4c. mini choc chips



Start by making the spread. Mix all ingredients together and place in fridge to chill


Muffins
Mix flour, sugar, b. powder, cinn, & salt in a large bowl
In a seperate bowl, mix milk and coffee granules and melted butter, egg and vanilla...
Stir wet ingredients into dry until moistened and fold in chips
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full
Bake @ 375 for 17-20
Makes 12 muffins

Farmgirl to Milkmaid!

These are my new dairy goats. They are part LaMancha which is why they have no ears.
They are due to freshen the first part of February. I am so excited to learn more about dairy goats and milking! We drove an hour and a half to the Amish farm to pick them out of the herd.
They each have their own personality. The black one is very docile and timid. The brown one is more vocal and assertive leaning more towards aggressive.
We haven't named them yet. We are still trying to pick out the perfect names.

The pen is made with scrap wood we had laying around the garage and old floor boards that were stored up in the garage loft.

I am so lucky to have a talented Hubby who can build anything.

Turkeys are gone and Christmas is on the way

I guess for me Thanksgiving is our doorway to the Christmas season. We butchered our Turkeys and sold all but two for Thanksgiving. This years largest turkey was 38.5lbs. Our smallest was 20lbs. The two not sold were deboned and Beth and I ground most of it into burger and then I canned 7quarts. I've never canned poultry before but I wanted to have some in jars to save on a little freezer space.
If anyone watches Glenn Beck he is encouraging everyone to stock up on food. I believe it is the right thing to do anyway, but I am trying harder and making a more conscience choice to do it. I have been picking up extra bags of flour, now that it is on sale for the holidays, and putting them in the freezer to keep it from going rancid. I have also been going to the local Amish store and buying more bulk items. I can get 7lbs. of oats for a lower price then you pay for the canister of Quaker oats at the regular grocery store.
Today I am taking the rest of a Turkey carcass and making a giant batch of soup. If all goes well, I can can it and have a supply for another time. Tonight I will have potpie noodles in it but I will only put it in the portion I will serve. The rest will be noodle free so that if I want to add rice another time or corn or whatever just to change it up. So basically I am going to make a base soup that can be turned into what ever at a later time.
So I had better get busy with that now so My intentions turn into actions!

Farmgirl putting up

Yesterday Miriam came over to help me with my pears. I am so glad she did. We canned 35 quarts and still have a bushel box left to do. She is coming back this afternon to help me.


I have to go to the store and pick up lids, sugar and candies.
I may make some pear jam or butter. Not sure.
I want to try the peppermint pears and maybe cinnimon spiced. Again I will go where I feel led to go with that!
I think that is what society is really missing. The gathering together to get a job done mentality. It seems to me that people are out just for themselves and if they aren't gaining something they aren't helping. It's really sad. I am so greatful for miriam that she would take her time and drive 40 minutes to come help me can and she's willing to come again today!
I hope to have another pic of my finished pears. Un til the next post...

Saturday sewing

I finished my girlfriends apron. She gave me a pair of her Hubby's jeans and I made an apron from one leg. The stain on the apron is from his greasy knee. I was going to put the pocket over the grease but T said it's Art's grease. So it remains out in the open.

I also used my pinkeep that I made myself with material scraps and an old candle stick holder.

Today I made a few apple pies for the church dinner and a batch of chocolate chip cookies.
I'm going to go up to the sewing room again and work on some bowl fillers and scented sachets. I want to have gifty things made for the unexpected gift exchange or as a hostess gift.

Farmgirl return

I've been really busy. Canning freezing and working the farm stuff. Family issues and weekly therapy sessions take up so much time. I just got my newest MaryJane's Farm Magazine. I want to make some of the ornaments she has listed. She has a whole list of holiday beverages also. The alcoholic kind. If I hadn't stopped drinking, I'd try out a few of those two!
I'm going to try to post pics of my critters. I bought a calf six weeks ago. I saw a sign on the way to a Dr. Appt. Jersey Bull Calves $20. So I stopped and bought one. Then I had to get milk replacer and a bottle at tractor supply. I took Beth back to school and came home for the big van. I called my husbands uncle. I said " I bought something and I need help getting it home." He swore a bit and then agreed to help. I drove the van to his house and he drove it to the farm and backed it up to the barn. I helped load the calf in the van and we came home. I used a dog leash to unload the calf from the van and walked/dragged the calf to the goat pen. Once I had him settled I called Hubby and told him what I bought. I fully expected him to throw a fit because we really weren't prepared for a calf but instead he said why didn't you buy two. So now I have Moo Moo the calf. We knew we had to castrate him so we bought a banding tool and now he is a steer.
That is something else I learned. A cow is female and grows into a heifer. A Bull is a male unless you castrate him, then he's a steer. I figure if it moos it's a cow. But you can't talk like that around other farm people, it annoys them.
So for the past six weeks I have gotten up every morning to give the calf a bottle and then again at night. It takes one 50lb bag of milk replacer to feed a calf for eight weeks.
He is now finished with the bottle but he still sucks on everything. It was funny when my daughter went out to help and the calf was trying to eat her butt and suck on her elbows.


I have a system. I throw scratch to the chickens so I can get in the gate, toss food to the goats so I can harness the calf. I bring the calf out of the fence to the field so he can eat grass all day. Now I just have problems with the goats because they have figured a way to get out of the fence and they visit the calf.
So that is what's going on now. I hope to post pics of baby bunnies next week. If all goes well and she has a litter and doesn't kill any of them.