Where's my mask?

This is the year many of us have been feeling dressed up for Halloween, just to go to the corner store. Very early in the pandemic I felt very self-conscious walking into a store with a ball cap and a face mask on, thinking that at any other time I would be mistaken for someone trying to rob the store, or some other misdeed for which I wanted to hide my identity.

One of our Jack-O-Lanterns this year reflected the theme of wearing a mask to ward off the evil COVID spirits. So far we have been very fortunate or our Jack-o-Lanterns were effective! 

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©2020 

Time Passing

Each Spring, these deck chairs get stationed somewhere in the yard, and we both smile thinking how little they will get used! Several years ago, my parents were visiting and they spent some time in the chairs looking out over the pond in a shady spot, feeling the breeze.

In the Fall, as the afternoons grow shorter, we dance around the day when the chairs will go into the barn, with the picnic table and other outdoor gear. I think about how little time was spent in the chair, watching the red-wing blackbirds, nesting in the cattails, listening to the frogs, watching the sunset. The Winter seems to close in fast.

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©2020 

 

Milking Lolly

Lolly, the goat on the right in the pic, was the only goat in milk this year and it was a real treat to have fresh goat milk each day for coffee, and the cheese Bev made. The dwarf goats, like Lolly, have a milk with a bit more fat than the other breeds, like Simone, the larger goat in the pic, who is more an Alpine goat.

In year's past there were enough goats to justify a milking machine, but that was sold earlier this year, knowing that there would be only one goat. Lolly was milked by hand or by using  a pneumatic milker. In spite of her smaller size, Lolly produced a lot of milk for several months, and the freezer is full of a soft cheese, like cream cheese called chevre cheese, we will be enjoying for months to come. Bev also made a simple cheese called Farmer's Cheese, made with vinegar, that caused the milk to curdle. The curds were added to lasagna with delicious results!

Thank you Lolly!

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©2020 

Farewell to a Buddy

Farewell to our buddy Cody, on September 19, who was a faithful companion to Bev through some trying times. Cody had a great personality--adored Dan and Steve, and was always willing to roll with whatever was going on, so long as food was involved! You could find Cody with the hens trying to figure out if they had any connection with grilled chicken, one of his favorites, with the goats when he wandered into their pen, and couldn't figure out how to get out, with Steve on the four wheeler, having breakfast with Natalie, who always save a little something for him, just hanging out beneath a blanket next to Bev in her reading chair, or in his bed by the wood stove.

We already miss the Cody paws in the hallway and beneath the dinner table, helping us cook and clean up for dinner. It is hard to imagine sitting by the fire without him napping between us, and the "long walks" from the wood stove to the crate when he would walk ever so slowly to bed...Bev promised him we would regularly pick on Homey the cat, who took great pains to tease him and instigate a scuffle. 

 We will miss you friend and will share many stories and smiles recounting Cody stories sitting by the fire. Thank you for your spirit and the many smiles you added to our lives over the years!

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©2020