Plagued...

… by grasshoppers eating up all my potato and onion plants not to mention every other plant in their wake… and various grass seeds wheedling their way deep down into the fur of the dogs (and our clothing).

Ugh!

The Great Goat Experiment

One day a friend with beautiful Nubian goats called and said one of their new fresheners, named Moonshine, needed a home and asked if we would be interested. Being that circumstances haven’t allowed me to milk my cow we have been missing fresh milk very badly to say the least. And we already knew we like goat’s milk.

After careful consideration, I decided to give it a go, so we brought Moonshine home that very evening, along with a borrowed milking stand.

Moonshine is a gentle, sweet girl! Reminds me of a dog the way she wants to follow me around; and very pretty with her coloration, markings, and floppy ears. She is 5 years old, lead trained, hand milking trained, and this is her fourth freshening. She really knows the ropes! We keep her with our sheep for company. She looks like a pony next to the little Shetlands! Everyone gets along quite well.

I already had the necessary milking accoutrements, except my milk pail is way too big. So I’m borrowing a stainless steel 3 qt. pot from the kitchen. The first time milking her she was so patient with my slowness, even with being at a new home and all the animals she’s never before seen - sheep, cattle, chickens, and dogs. Her smaller size compared to a cow is quite of nice! On her 7^th day after freshening she was already giving 3 quarts of milk. Way to go Moonshine! Of course, my mind turned to thoughts of cheesemaking.

Now comes the “experiment” part. With my health issues I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to keep up with twice a day milking but I needed to find out. Usually by evening I’m down for the count, or on the days I feel quite ill, am down all day. The evening milking was really, really difficult. I calf-share with my cow, but Moonshines’ kids died so I didn’t have that assistance on such days. And Himself is not adept with milking in the least, although he did try. After 3 weeks I knew it was too much.

In addition, increasingly we could tell Moonshine wasn’t as happy with her new living arrangement as she should be. Although she bonded with me almost immediately, she didn’t want to go with the sheep browsing around the property; all she wanted was for me to hang out with her all day. She spent a lot of time calling for me and not eating like she should, poor dear. And more goats for company just don’t fit into our Ranch picture.

So I found a wonderful home for her with a family new to the area that happened to want goats on their homestead. Everyone is completely happy now!!!

I enjoyed my brief goat experiment with sweet Moonshine and would recommend a milk goat to anyone so inclined!

When the Mozzie Bites

Folks, it is the time of year when flying critters of the insect variety start to annoy us. We do our best to live in peace with bees, wasps and yellow jackets (although I have childhood trauma from the later), but mosquitoes, also known as mozzies, are a particular nemesis. One tiny little stab results in a sometimes huge welt that itches like for mad for days.

Prevention is the key. This year I have been experimenting with an essential oil blend from Young Living called “Purification”. We usually use it on the dogs to repel ticks, which it does. So I tried it for repelling mozzies, too. It works! And wiping just a bit on my hair and clothing every other day does the job. Only I forgot yesterday… and today. While out milking this morning sure enough I got zapped. I felt the little blood sucker jab me on the inside of the wrist and blew him off immediately, but just that second was enough for a welt and itching to begin. I seem to be pretty sensitive to them. My first mozzie bite of the season. Oh yay.  

Last year I heard that a dab of lavender essential oil helps, and it does, relieving the itch for a couple hours at which time another application is necessary. However, I recently read about an old-time remedy involving witch hazel. Being the kitchen herbalist I am, it just so happens I have a bottle of witch hazel extract on hand. So I employed it this morning.

I am thrilled to report that it works! The itching stopped immediately, really! And the welt subsided somewhat, something the lavender oil didn’t help with. I found it took a dab two times per day to keep itching at bay, but then after about 3 days there was no more need.

I call that success!!!

Gold!

We struck black gold… SOIL that is! The kitchen garden has been underway for the past several weeks - drawing the plans dreamt of during winter, deciding what varieties we just had to grow (or attempt to grow) this year, ordering seeds/plants, and site prep work.

Once the surface was broken through, there it was… beautiful black soil!!! The friability, or colloidal content, is terrific – compacts when squeezed in your hand yet breaks up. Just half an inch down and there is moisture despite it being a dry spring (the last measurable rainfall was one month ago). Soil quality will only get better from here. 

Although avid gardeners, neither of us has ever grown a vegetable garden in such a northerly location or such a short growing season. And we don’t have a greenhouse. So we chose the earliest maturing varieties suited for northern locations, heirlooms that originated in places like Siberia. Many items will be an experiment. But every year is different and somewhat of an experiment anyway no matter where you are! 

Talking about experimental, we’re constructing a couple hugelkultur beds in the garden. This German word means “mound culture”. These are basically mounds of raw wood (logs, branches, twigs, etc.) anywhere from 4-6 feet high, about five feet wide, any length, covered with soil. We’ve read hugelkultur popularity is on the rise because: 1) it effectively utilizes downed timber/debris from woodcutting or storms, or in our case slash piles from past selective logging; 2) eliminates the need to burn such thereby putting it to good use; 3) it fits in well with permaculture practices; 4) since rotting wood holds onto moisture like a sponge, after the first year water needs are reduced; and 5) as the wood breaks down it adds nutrients to the soil much like a “nurse log” in the forest. Sounds pretty cool, hey! 

Yes, it is a lot more work initially to build them, but the end result seems well worth it. Depending on how it goes, in future we may convert the entire garden to hugelkultur beds. We’ll keep you posted on the progress.

There are many major Ranch projects going on simultaneously, each equally important. However, priorities are different. The kitchen garden is a food system which will provide most of our fresh food for summer/fall, preserved food for this winter, herbs for nutrition and medicine - so getting it into shape and growing is at the top of the list. 

Once the dirt work is complete (Tom’s forte), I, Krystal, take over with the planting, and then daily maintenance is mostly my pleasure as well.  Although, I must here admit a strange quirk about myself – I am fascinated watching how plants grow, and so enjoy the green lushness and bounty, that harvesting is sometimes difficult for me! That’s when I know Tom will step in and help.   ;)

I can almost taste the delicious vegetables already!

The Last Lambs

We didn’t know if the two yearling ewes Poppy and Honeysuckle actually bred their first year. Although new Shepherds, I was fairly sure they were pregnant since they had the characteristic “full” look, the right side (baby side in ruminants) was more prominent then the rumen side, and their belly hung lower (when not pregnant they have a tucked-up look). But we weren’t counting on it.

Sure enough, SSR Poppy delivered a tiny little ram Tuesday, April 16^th. But he was too tiny, we think a preemie. He only weighed around 3 pounds, the entire hoof was soft and white still, teeth not erupted, and the horn area was just bare skin. He was very weak and couldn’t stand or suckle. As the morning went on he grew weaker, soon he was barely breathing and seemed unconscious. The poor wee one didn’t make it. Poppy grieved for a couple days, but is doing well. She appears to have adopted the role of flock Auntie with the lamb’s often taking naps all around her, and licking her ears; she checks on them all. She is a very sweet tempered ewe anyway and had been quite gentle with each new lamb born. 

Then on the 21^st, SSR Honeysuckle delivered a darling little ewe. She is small too at 4lbs. 7oz, but is fully developed and vigorous. She is dark brown with white spotting, really adorable. We watched most of the day to make sure she had nursed but Honeysuckle always seemed to step away from her when she tried. Being that Honeysuckle is a first time mom, we couldn’t rest easy so we got hold of her and helped the lamb get a teat. Boy was she happy for that meal! My coat buttons, collar, and chin just didn’t satisfy! And for anyone who has ever had a milk cow, Honeysuckle went into “the zone” while the lamb was nursing.   ;)    Both seem fine today but we’re keeping a close eye on them. The lambs sire is Cedar Haven Max.