Stan is the Man

John and Stan look at what has been cleared and discuss the next move. Asa likes what he sees.

Backhoe Bliss

This weekend we finally got one side of the pasture cleared out with a backhoe and a bushhog. Thanks to "Stan the Man". We feel like we have more land to work with and it it so much easier to get down to the creek. It feels really great to have that done, and Stan plans to clear our land on the other side of the creek soon.

John sends sparks flying while sharpening our tools 

Survey

We had a survey done of the property since we plan to put up fencing soon. We figured that it would be a good idea to know exactly where the property lines were. When we were looking at the land before we bought it, the seller said that he wasn't exactly sure where the lines were, but showed us the general perameters. Good thing that we had a survey done, because we would have put a fence on our neighbor's land! Sadly, we lost a lot of what was thought of as ours. So it's closer to two acres of land instead of three. I won't be able to do as much pasturing of the goats as I had thought. I am hoping that eventually we could rent some land from a neighbor next to us. I haven't met these people yet, but right behind us they have acres and acres that they do nothing with. They keep it mowed and the fences trimmed. It would be really convenient to use after putting up a temporary fence. The current fencing wouldn't keep in goats!

We are waiting for our backhoeing neighbor to come and clear half of the pasture. That is tentative for this Saturday. Then we will be ready to fence that in. Progress!!

Learning to Make Cheese

I made a small batch of lemon cheese for the first time in a very long time. Asa was my assistant. I followed the directions. I'm sure of it. But, for some reason, it didn't coagulate. And it had a coarse texture instead of a smooth and creamy one. Then I put too much salt on it. Asa insisted on sampling some on a cracker. He announced that it was delicious. I had a different opinion. We went and bought two more quarts of goat's milk, and I plan to make more lemon cheese today. I am going to make it until I perfect it, then I'm going to make it a few more times. I have about a year and a half to work on my cheesemaking skills. I would love to be able to go and "intern" at a farm that makes cheeses. Learn from folks that know what they're doing. That would be really wonderful.
Our family went to the York Fair in September. Asa and I went together on a weekday - and we met a man who was there with his family showing their Alpine goats. They were winning ribbons left and right. The man, who I later found out to be Rick Musselman of Rainbow Colors farm, was milking one of his goats. I've never actually seen a goat (or a cow, for that matter) being milked. I was fascinated by this - so Asa and I stopped to watch. This man's hands moved so quickly. He was able to empty that udder in about 2-3 minutes - and I couldn't believe how much foamy warm milk emptied into the pail! I had so many questions for Rick, and he was happy to answer all of them. He was very friendly, warm, and full of goat information. He let Asa bottle-feel one of the kids that was just two months old. This thrilled Asa - he'd always wanted to do this. It was really nice to meet someone who has been doing for years what I hope to be doing very soon.

Movement

We have made a decision regarding the "pasture". We have contacted a neighbor who has his own backhoe. Another neighbor recommended him - saying he did good work at a good price. This man will clear out the whole area on one side of the stream. So he will get rid of the huge brush and near-trees and use a brushhog in areas that are not so savage. Just having made this decision feels really great, like we are making progress.
No movement on the barn. There is lots to be done there. There is exposed fiberglass insulation on one wall that must be removed or enclosed, and just seeing the piles of lumber that need to be moved to another room makes me get the vapors. I don't mind the work; I just have a bum wrist (intersection syndrome) that can only handle brief periods of heavy lifting. I can see it taking weeks to complete. Now we just have to decide where to move the wood to.