My granddaughter Nikki has always loved animals. She has had pet birds, dogs, cats, snakes and even a lizard as pets at one time or another. Now she has taken over the care of the goats, chickens and rabbits. She is becoming quite the farmer. She has poured over all the information that I collected on how to care for livestock again and again. I will never forget the first time she milked one of the goats. None of us had ever milked a goat before but after reading the instructions on how to do it Nikki felt sure she could manage. We all stood around watching her atempt to milk her first goat. She tied the goat to the fence then got down on her knees to milk it. She must have done some thing wrong because after the first few second of getting a little milk in the pail suddenly the goat jumped and knock Nikki on the ground and kicked over the pail of milk. Not one to give up Nikki got back up on her knees, put the pail back under the goat and tried again. Every thing was going good until a neighbors goat spotted the goat. Here came the dog at top speed barking like crazy. The goat reared and broke the rope, knocked Nikki down again spilling the pail of milk and headed to the goat shed. It was hard to tell which of us was laughing the most at the scene that just unfolded before our eyes and the look of surprise that both Nikki and the goat had on their faces when the dog came running.
Once we recovered from our laughing binge the guys chased the dog away while we went and soothed the poor goat. Nikki not being a person to give up got the other goat and started milking her. This time we stood guard to keep the dog away. Nikki was able to milk the second goat but she decided to leave the first goat alone for a little while and give her time to calm down. Now Nikki has gotten milking the goats down to a science. She milks them while they are still in the shed so they are not frightened by the neighbors dogs and then she lets them out to graze. They are kept on thick dog chains and fastened to the chain link fence in different areas of the yard. By doing this they are able to graze and keep the lawn down and we are able to keep them out of the garden. We found out quick that if they get a chance it make it to the garden they have a pig out fest.
Today we are going to butcher some of the rabbits. The two females each and a litter of babies. One had six babies and the other had five. We are going to keep two females from one litter and one male from the other litter for mating and the rest are going to be meat for our meals. I am not sure how Nikki is going to handle this because she has become quite attached to all the animals and has given them names.
While we were sitting up things to butcher the rabbits I asked Nikki if she was sure she wanted to be outside when we done it. She looked at me and said " Nana I love animals but I know that Maci needs meat to grow healthy. She and the rest of the family mean more to me than the animals. Even though I am going to miss them I know they are needed for meat not pets so I can handle it." And handle it she did. She got right in there and helped with the skinning, butchering and canning of the rabbits. We save two of the rabbits for dinner that night and while she took a moment to look at the cooked meat she picked up her fork and dug in. I am really proud of how much she has grown since the power went out. She was on 17 and a new mother but she was still a little girl in some ways when the lights went out. Now she is a real woman having grown strong in mind and in actions. She knows what she needs to do to ensure that Maci's needs are met and she doesn't back down from meeting those needs. If her loser of a hubby ever shows up he is going to find a much different female who will no longer take his bull.
Steve and Mike also decided to check the bee hive today to see if there was any honey in there. They brought back a nice size piece of honeycomb with beautiful golden honey in it. We are going to have some tomorrow morning with hot biscuits.
Tonight I am going to use the cob oven the guys made yesterday to try and make some pizzas. We have not had any since the power went out because we didn't have a way to make them. The girls and I have gotten pretty good at making goat cheese and I saved enough of the cheese to make 4 pizzas tonight. With as many of us as there is and being that is been so long since we had pizza I am hoping that four are enough. We will also have a fresh salad to go with the pizza and fresh made vanilla icecream made in my ice cream maker. Julie and Amy picked strawberries today and are fixing them to go over top of the ice cream.
The pizzas turned out pretty well even though they did get a little overly brown in some places. It my first time using the cob oven so I have to get use to cooking on it. I made a sourdough pizza dough then Tammy and I shaped them in to rounds, added some canned pizza sauce I had made last year, topped them with some fresh goat cheese, fresh chopped bell peppers from the garden and the last of the canned ham I had. No one minded the overly browned spots and not one little crumb of the pizzas was left. It was Maci's very first pizza and even though I think she wound up wearing more of it than eating it she sure did like it.
Tomorrow I am going to try making french bread in the cob oven. Its been a long time since we have had that to. A meal of spaghetti with meatsauce, and garlic bread sounds good. JR had made me a pizza paddle to use in the cob oven and it works really good. I love the new cob oven. I have a feeling I will be using it a lot even when the lights come back on.
I am beginning to not want the power back. I know once it is everyone will go their separate ways and I do not want that to happen. I love having my kids and grandkids living with us and I love having my bil and his family living with us. I am going to feel so lonely when they all leave and go back to their own lives. I hope Tammy and her bunch decide to stay here in town instead of going back to Indiana. That way I will at least get to see them more often than before. I hate having my child and my grandchildren living so far away that I only get to see them every couple of months.
Once we recovered from our laughing binge the guys chased the dog away while we went and soothed the poor goat. Nikki not being a person to give up got the other goat and started milking her. This time we stood guard to keep the dog away. Nikki was able to milk the second goat but she decided to leave the first goat alone for a little while and give her time to calm down. Now Nikki has gotten milking the goats down to a science. She milks them while they are still in the shed so they are not frightened by the neighbors dogs and then she lets them out to graze. They are kept on thick dog chains and fastened to the chain link fence in different areas of the yard. By doing this they are able to graze and keep the lawn down and we are able to keep them out of the garden. We found out quick that if they get a chance it make it to the garden they have a pig out fest.
Today we are going to butcher some of the rabbits. The two females each and a litter of babies. One had six babies and the other had five. We are going to keep two females from one litter and one male from the other litter for mating and the rest are going to be meat for our meals. I am not sure how Nikki is going to handle this because she has become quite attached to all the animals and has given them names.
While we were sitting up things to butcher the rabbits I asked Nikki if she was sure she wanted to be outside when we done it. She looked at me and said " Nana I love animals but I know that Maci needs meat to grow healthy. She and the rest of the family mean more to me than the animals. Even though I am going to miss them I know they are needed for meat not pets so I can handle it." And handle it she did. She got right in there and helped with the skinning, butchering and canning of the rabbits. We save two of the rabbits for dinner that night and while she took a moment to look at the cooked meat she picked up her fork and dug in. I am really proud of how much she has grown since the power went out. She was on 17 and a new mother but she was still a little girl in some ways when the lights went out. Now she is a real woman having grown strong in mind and in actions. She knows what she needs to do to ensure that Maci's needs are met and she doesn't back down from meeting those needs. If her loser of a hubby ever shows up he is going to find a much different female who will no longer take his bull.
Steve and Mike also decided to check the bee hive today to see if there was any honey in there. They brought back a nice size piece of honeycomb with beautiful golden honey in it. We are going to have some tomorrow morning with hot biscuits.
Tonight I am going to use the cob oven the guys made yesterday to try and make some pizzas. We have not had any since the power went out because we didn't have a way to make them. The girls and I have gotten pretty good at making goat cheese and I saved enough of the cheese to make 4 pizzas tonight. With as many of us as there is and being that is been so long since we had pizza I am hoping that four are enough. We will also have a fresh salad to go with the pizza and fresh made vanilla icecream made in my ice cream maker. Julie and Amy picked strawberries today and are fixing them to go over top of the ice cream.
The pizzas turned out pretty well even though they did get a little overly brown in some places. It my first time using the cob oven so I have to get use to cooking on it. I made a sourdough pizza dough then Tammy and I shaped them in to rounds, added some canned pizza sauce I had made last year, topped them with some fresh goat cheese, fresh chopped bell peppers from the garden and the last of the canned ham I had. No one minded the overly browned spots and not one little crumb of the pizzas was left. It was Maci's very first pizza and even though I think she wound up wearing more of it than eating it she sure did like it.
Tomorrow I am going to try making french bread in the cob oven. Its been a long time since we have had that to. A meal of spaghetti with meatsauce, and garlic bread sounds good. JR had made me a pizza paddle to use in the cob oven and it works really good. I love the new cob oven. I have a feeling I will be using it a lot even when the lights come back on.
I am beginning to not want the power back. I know once it is everyone will go their separate ways and I do not want that to happen. I love having my kids and grandkids living with us and I love having my bil and his family living with us. I am going to feel so lonely when they all leave and go back to their own lives. I hope Tammy and her bunch decide to stay here in town instead of going back to Indiana. That way I will at least get to see them more often than before. I hate having my child and my grandchildren living so far away that I only get to see them every couple of months.