Holy cuteness

So I recently got goat fever. Think baby fever then change "babies" to "goats". It all gained speed in my mind as I posted a while back about a horrible dairy cow story I saw and our efforts to live more sustainable whether by choice or necessity. From the thought of, "I should really consider goats. If hubby agreed to chickens after nagging for about 2 years why not goats." to falling in love with the idea took about 2 weeks. I had mentioned it before but never really thought of it as a serious possibility. So I first started my dairy goat search and read a bit about Kinder goats and then Nigerians and the various cross-bred mini-goats that you can breed. Frankly they are smaller than my dog..with the benefit of producing milk. Now Nadia is a great dog: she lovingly puts up with our inattention and makes me feel safe but she doesn't produce anything. Maybe she wants to be a goat herder in her spare time? Wonder if people would even notice if I had goats? Gotta get 2 so they don't get lonely.
I had briefly looked for Nebraska breeders but couldn't find any online. But then I mentioned it to my sister who lives in Worms and she has a neighbor who has mini-goats she is sure I get get stock from!! So when we are out that way for the Nebraska State Fair I am planning on a field trip to see them and how feasible it would be to have 2. It would be nice to make sure I like their milk, too, although I ultimately hope to make herbed cheeses and maybe soap. Now that you think I am crazy look at these cuties and tell me you could resist!


Check out these adorable goats.. http://playritefarm.webs.com/2010kids.htm




My friend wants mini-sheep. They are CUTE too!
http://mylittlesheep.com/

Asian Pear Miracle

About 4-5 years ago I planted 3 Asian Pear trees. Two got mowed over. The one that I still have was planted in a "temporary" spot. It was just set there to heal in for a bit. It is in an awful spot under the canopy of another tree. I figured it would not ever set fruit due to the shade and that it is not a self-pollinator but amazingly I have 5!! cherry sized or larger fruit on it. I see about 3 that aborted as well. So exciting..now to decide to move it this fall or not. I would possibly get a better yield and ultimately a healthier tree but I could also kill it.

Eatin' local

I may not be good at eating local and eating simple yet but my daughter sure is! Tonight's dinner... homemade applesauce and peas straight from the vine! The snow peas are going wild but she likes the shelling peas and sharing them with the chickens and feeding the shell to Nadia.

Lots of teeth to come

As of June 15th, Liam has his first tooth. Here he is the day prior gnawing on a green bean.


Ever watchful sister looking on.

Sitting pretty

Babies are sitting unsupported for long stretches now. Here is a pic from June 2nd before they were quite solid yet.

Homemade applesauce Yum!

I have never had homemade applesauce before so I had no idea how yummy and easy it is. Frankly I don't like the storebought stuff so I just assumed I didn't like applesauce. So turning lemons into lemonade, I used a batch of apples that was spoiling before they should have been. All I did was peel them using a handy little apple peeler I found at a thrift store for a $1 and put them in a pot with a bit of water. Actually Etta peeled them and she loved doing it! It was a great task for an almost 3 year old. Several hours later after treating myself to a food mill we had yummy applesauce that the babies loved!

All about eggs

How do you tell how old your store-bought eggs really are?
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/EggsSell.htm

About American egg handling processes.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/06/08/why-you-dont-want-to-buy-organic-eggs-at-the-grocery-store.aspx?aid=CD945

Hmm..now don't you wish you had a coop in your backyard?