Update: Farm Hand Dad

Hi, it's Celia again.

I have the best dad in the world. Not only is he a full time carpenter and a part time caterer, he volunteers a lot at our church. But most importantly, he's my farm hand. I can't pay him, but he never complains. He always is willing to help me with my goats and horse. So I decided to ask him what he REALLY thought about all of the work he has to do around the mini farm.

"So Dad, what do you think about the goats? Do you think they are loud and annoying?"
"No, I think Mom's chickens are louder than the goats." (Did you hear that, Mom?)
"Did you think you would be a farmer at the age of 55?"
Silence. About 3 minutes later he said, "Hmmm. No."
Real deep, Dad. But I was competing with the Cubs/Sox baseball game. I decided to ask some better questions. I went with a carpenter question.
"If I rub sand on a stick, is that the same as using sand paper?"
"No." Hmm. Not quite the depth I was looking for.
I decided to try one more time.
"What's your favorite thing to do?"
He put on his thinking face.
"Hmm. My favorite thing to do. Probably watch football."

And there you have it. An update on Farm Hand Dad.

Snazzy goats

Hi, it's Celia again!

Last week we had a dog attack our goats. The goats are okay, but Brie broke her collar. We had to replace it along with two leads that were snapped during the attack. You can read more about that incident here.

I think that a goat absolutely needs to wear a collar. It really helps you control the goat. If it doesn't have a collar than you need to grab its horns (ouch!) or ears to make it do what you want. A collar just makes life easier. No one makes goat collars, so Mom and I went to our favorite pet store to buy a dog collar and leads.

Our favorite pet store!

Good news! The leads were on sale, so we had enough money to buy not only a replacement collar for Brie, but collars for Taz and Cooper, my baby goats. So many choices! It took me a long time to make a decision. I loved the day glow orange one. It had an LED light that blinked.

 After some consideration, I decided that Brie probably wouldn't like having a flashing light around her neck. I loved this pink one with the metal spikes, too.

But nothing says goat like a GLITTER collar! They were definitely the best. So I got Brie a pink one, and Taz a blue one. I didn't think a boy goat should wear glitter, so Cooper got a green one. Here are the goats with their stunning new collars:

Here's Brie sporting a pink glitter collar.

Taz is wearing a blue glitter collar. It's a little big.

And here's Cooper looking dapper in his green collar.

And of course, Mom got me a snack.

Improving the Flavor of Goat's Milk

Hi, it's Celia again.

Before I get to today's post, I want to let everyone know that I pet sit. So if you have a dog, cat, lizard, frog, rabbit, bird...anything that needs watched while you go on vacation, I'm your girl! Contact me for more details. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post.

Last week I blogged about the flavor of goat's milk, and how it changes depending on what our goats eat. Right after I wrote that post, Mom told me she wanted to "improve" the flavor of the milk. By "improve" she means make it taste more like cow's milk. I don't think that's an improvement at all. I like that my milk tastes different. Mom wants to do it so my brother, James, will drink it. James doesn't want to know anything about his food. He is one of the few people that prefers his food to be made in a factory. See, James doesn't like nature. And to think that his food comes (or should come) from nature grosses him out. And it pushes him over the edge to know that something he drinks is coming out of our goats' udders.

Anyway, Mom has been on this mission to improve the milk's flavor. Her plan is to make the milk taste like cows' milk, and then trick James into drinking it. She's sneaky that way.

She's been doing research and experimenting in the kitchen. She's a caterer and she's always experimenting in the kitchen, so James didn't suspect anything. And she did it! She figured out how to take the "goat" out of "goat's milk".

Her trick is to put the milk into an ice bath as soon as we're done milking. It's my job to run (and I mean run) the milk into the house and put it in the fridge as soon as we're done milking the goats. Then we clean up and put the goats out to pasture. When we come in the house Mom filters the milk into a glass jar. Previously she put the jar in the fridge, but now she puts it in an ice bath so it gets cold quicker. And what a difference that makes. It tastes just like cow's milk. But I don't think that's an improvement.

Introducing....THE GOAT CAM!

Hi, it's Celia again.

Just when I thought I couldn't have any more fun with my goats, I invented The Goat Cam.

I attached my Ipod to my RC truck, and drove it down the hill. Poor Babybel! She was the first target. I hope you enjoy!

No goats were harmed in the filming of this video.

The World's Ugliest Tree

Hi, it's Celia again!

My mom bought a tree five years ago and planted it in our front garden. It is a weeping crab apple. Last week she was pruning it.
"What's wrong with that tree, Mom?" I asked her.
"It's supposed to weep, but it doesn't. So I have to cut off all the branches that grow upward, and leave the ones that grow downward."
"But that's most of the branches, Mom. There's hardly any branches left!"
"I know, but that's what the man at the nursery told me to do."
"That's one ugly tree." I informed her. "It looks like a Charlie Brown tree, all bent over like that."
Silence.
"That's gotta be the ugliest tree in the world."
More silence
"Isn't that the tree that Aunt Debbie said she was going to run over with her car, just to put it out of its misery?" I asked.
"Yes, it is."
"Isn't that the tree that perfect strangers drive up our driveway to snicker at?"
"Now you're exaggerating," she replied.
"Well why don't you cut it down and plant a new one?"
"Because I think with enough time it can be beautiful."
"Mom! It's been five years! Admit defeat and move on!"
But she didn't. And I don't think she will. Here's the tree.

Micro Farm in Pictures (9)

Here is my week in pictures

I cantered bareback

Me and my friend found some eggs

Me and Molly jumping

Mali being milked

Apple blossoms

Update: Molly

Hi, it's Celia again!

Molly is my pony. Mom says she looks like a horse, but she really is a pony. She is a rescue pony, which means her owner was abusing her, and a rescue group bought her to keep her from dying. The rescue group boarded her at the farm where I used to work, which is how I met her. Right away I knew I wanted her, and after having my mom talk to the rescue group, we got her. She is extremely gentle, and very smart, which makes her a good first horse.

When I got her she was skinny, and a little sickly. Now she is fat (but not too fat) and healthy. I ride her almost every day, and spend a lot of time training her. One of the things I like to do is train her to ride in equestrian events. I belong to the Columbia Riding Club, and they have a big riding show  twice a year. The latest show was on Saturday. Molly and I did well!

We won a first place in Barrel Racing:
a fourth place in Carrot Race (sort of like the 50 yard dash); a fourth place in Dollar Bareback (you ride bareback with a dollar stuck under your leg, and if your dollar falls you're out); and a fifth place in Choice Trail (an obstacle course-type race where you get to choose your obstacles). I'm sorry I don't have more "action" pictures but Mom was too busy watching and forgot to take pictures.

Fourth place for Dollar Bareback

First in Barrel Racing

The Flavor of Goat's Milk

Hi, it's Celia again.

When people find out I milk my goats, they usually ask, "What does goat's milk taste like?" If I'm feeling ornery I say, "Like goat's milk." If I'm not feeling ornery I tell them it tastes like cow's milk, but wilder. Some people say it tastes "goaty" but I don't think that's accurate. I had a gyro made with goat meat once, and goat milk doesn't taste anything like that.

Our goats eat grass, weeds, trees, shrubs, bark, and sometimes Mom's hostas and roses--pretty much any plant they can reach. The flavor of the milk reflects what they eat. If they eat Mom's pine trees, the milk tastes different than if they eat Mom's roses. And in the spring when there are lots of wild onions around the milk tastes different than in the autumn when the goats eat fallen leaves.I prefer fallen leaves milk to onion milk. Mom can barely tell the difference. She says it's because she has old taste buds.

When you raise your own food, this change in flavor is just the way it is. Our eggs, broilers (those are meat chickens), honey, and goat's milk are all influenced by what the critters eat. Mom says that's a good thing. She says this isn't McDonald's where the food is made in a factory. She says this is real life, and we're eating real food.

I'm tempted to feed the goats chocolate and see if I get chocolate flavored milk, but I know that won't happen.

Mom vs John

Hi, it's Celia again.

My big brother, John, has an ongoing discussion with my mom about our cat, Peanut. Mom insists that the cat loves her more, and John says, no, Peanut likes him better. Mom says that what John thinks is affection from the cat is really annoyance. I think this video proves Mom's point.