Babies and Biscuits!!

Last week was an eventful week.  Aside from the usual working in the garden, laundry, housecleaning, keeping up with the animals and other such things that happen on a farm, we had BABY GOATS!!! 

Our "Mama" goat, Orla Rose, came to us bred.  We have eagerly been awaiting the birth.  Of course, she was only about 4 wks along when we got her, so it's been a very long wait.  I thought I was in love with goats when I got my 3.  Pshaw!  What did I know?  When these babies were born, I was head over heels!!!  It just simply does not get any better than newborn babies.  

Poor Orla!

Tuesday, when I went out to feed everyone in the morning, Orla was acting a little funny.  Not anything I could really put my finger on, though.  She was kind of ho-hum about eating (a sign), but she ate all her breakfast.  She was a little slower (another sign), but so am I in the mornings, then she picked up during the day.  We did see her pawing the ground quite a bit (you guessed it, another sign).  Hmmmm, I thought.  Wednesday, nothing different than Tuesday, though she did lay around a bit more (yet another sign).  Thursday morning she still ate, but wasn't nearly as interested as normal.  In fact, I'm not sure she ate all her breakfast.  She separated herself from the other two.  Hubby had to run out of town for a bit and I thought - great!  She's gonna have them today with me here alone - what if something doesn't go right???  So - I was keeping a close eye on her as I worked in the garden.  Around 12:45 or so, I noticed the tell tale sign the babies were going to arrive w/in a short period of time (to us, that could be minutes but to a goat, that could be hours!).  Hubby still wasn't home.  I went inside, changed into a sweatshirt (it was nippy in the shade under the goat barn) and gathered the rest of my supplies for "delivery".  I made it to within 20 feet of the gate to their pen when I noticed a pair of hooves and nose peeking out!!  Hubby was pulling in right about then, so I motioned him over quickly.  Before I could get through the gate, she hit the ground. Baby # 1 was born!!!  It was a 8lb 4 oz little girl.  We named her Hope.  I was able to help clean Hope up.  What an experience!  Oh boy.  She made little squeaky sounds and came to life instantly.

Happy Birthday Hope!!!!

Hope, all clean and pretty

 
In about 20 minutes or so, Orla started having contractions again.  This time, I was able to do what's called a "clean catch".  I actually caught Baby #2!  This one was a 10 lb 4 oz baby boy!!  He is named Tom.  Once again, I got to help clean him up.  His squeaky sounds were a bit "bigger" than Hope's were, then again, he's 2 lbs bigger, so.....

Handsome Tom - Happy Birthday to you too!!

This was the most amazing experience.  My Hubby, being the wonderful man he is, wasn't "into" goats when we got them.  I wanted them.  This was my thing.  He simply supported me.  However - - the 3 (Orla, Winnie and Peanut) have made him realize there's more to goats than just milk and meat.  He was won over.  THEN....... these little guys were born!!

R - L - - Hope and Tom

I'll give you 3 guesses who is now just as in love with goats as I am?  

Hubby  with Hope, Tom and Orla

Because of the birth of our babies, and the weather, we did not make it to the Farmer's Market on Saturday.  Orla was having some issues with one side of her udder.  She wouldn't let the babies nurse, so we were having to contain her and milk her in order to prevent mastitis.  :-(  NOT something I hope to ever need to do again.  She is fine now, thankfully.  As well, the weather turned really nasty early, so had I left Hubby her to Orla-sit, I'd have gotten rained on nearly as soon as I got set up, so it ended up being good I didn't go.

Since I wasn't at the market, Hubby got a rare Saturday Morning Treat - Breakfast!  I make breakfast about 99% of the time, but not on Saturday mornings, since I have to leave for the market by 8:30 a.m. (or 7:30 a.m. when the time changes), there's no time.  While making his favorite - Biscuits and Gravy, I thought, why not make a "tutorial"?  I mean, what is better than fresh, hot from the oven, homemade biscuits?  And - - - since Heritage Preserved SELLS homemade jams and jellies at the Lake City Farmer's Market every Saturday, what better tutorial to put up, right?  So, with just a teeny little bit of pride, here is my recipe (adapted from several I've tried over the years - much to my family's dismay in the early years) for homemade, from scratch biscuits - with photos (because that just make sit all the more interesting.  

 2 c all-purpose flour

4 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

3/4 t salt

4 T butter

1 c buttermilk (may substitute plain yogurt)

 Place your flour into a large bowl.  Yes, large, well - if you're like me, I tend to make a mess while cutting fats into flour.  Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix well.

 

 Cut the butter into chunks and put into the flour.  Using a pastry blender or two knives, "cut" the butter into the flour.  You should almost not be able to see the butter anymore.  It should have somewhat of a "mealy" look to it.

 Make a well in the center of the flour/butter mixture.  Pour in the buttermilk.  (NOTE:  I do not keep "buttermilk" on hand.  Instead of real buttermilk, I pour a bit less than 1/4 c of vinegar into my measuring cup and fill the rest with regular whole milk.  I have also used yogurt in place of the buttermilk with great results.)   Mix well, but don't mix too much.  Mixing too much makes a tough biscuit.  Mix just until the buttermilk is incorporated, then stop.

 

Flour your counter - or work surface liberally.  You can see I don't have an inch of flour on the counter, but there's plenty to keep the dough from sticking.

Powder the top of the dough a little bit with flour.  Flour your hands as well.  Now, place your hands around the dough as if it were a warm mug of cocoa on a cold night.  Give it a squish/squeeze.  Turn it 180 degrees and do it again.  Squish the top down, turn it over and do the same thing.  This is what I do instead of "kneading".  It makes the dough cohesive, but doesn't overwork the dough making the biscuits tough. 

 Pick up your dough ball and re-flour the counter.  Using the flat of your hands and tips of your fingers, flatten the dough.  You could use a rolling pin to do this, but I prefer my hands and I like the slightly unevenness that's gained.  Also, I tend to roll too thin with a rolling pin.  You want the dough to be "about" 1/2" thick. 

Using a round cutter of some sort (I use my Mom's donut cutter, removing the "hole" cutting part, it's about 3" in diameter) Cut out your biscuits.  I am frugal and like to get the most out of my doughs, so I cut my biscuits really close together, lessening waste.

It is usually about this point, my kitty comes up and taps me on the leg, letting me know she's been neglected and unloved for the entire 10 minutes I've been working on these "things" that she knows she won't eat, so what's the use in my making them and not loving on her while doing it.  So, I stop and give her a few quick strokes, wash my hands and get back to my biscuits. 

 

When  you have completely finished cutting out your biscuits, gather up the bits and repeat the same process to bring them back to a dough ball as you did when you first dumped the dough onto the counter.  Here, you see the minimal waste I had and my new dough ball.  

Flatten and recut as you did the first time

Yes, I'm that frugal, I gathered the scraps from the second cutting and squished them into another biscuit!  It's barely larger than the cutter, so I didn't cut it, I just had one slightly larger biscuit.

 

Since I made a double batch, I'll have lots to put in the freezer!  Hubby and I only eat 2 each and it's a pain to make 1/4 or 1/3 of a batch, so I usually make a double batch and freeze them before baking so later all I have to do is pop them out of the freezer and into the oven.  I take the cut, uncooked dough and layer it into a freezer container.  Done - fresh biscuits anytime I want.  I put them, frozen, into a cold oven, heat to 400 degrees for "about" 15 minutes.

 

Place the biscuits on a cookie sheet or cast iron pan.  Place in a 400 degree oven for "about" 12 minutes, or until the golden color you desire.

 

These are the biscuits at 10 minutes.

Remove the biscuits from the oven and enjoy with your favorite jam/jelly or gravy, etc!!

Great Things Are Happening

Every day it is something else.  Not a bad something else, just something else.  When we bought this place, we knew we would have a LOT of work to do.  It has been a wonderful journey.  I can't say it's one I'd like to repeat, well, at least not to this extent.  I would do it all over again, though.

We fixed the leak under the kitchen sink this week.  That was a VERY good thing.  It is something we've put off for a while, thinking we'll get to it, but never did.  Hubby decided "I'm going to fix it", period.  One more "to do" off the list.

Market was pretty good last week.  I love visiting with everyone - vendors and customers alike.  I meant so many interesting people.  I have learned a lot as well.  It is true, what they say, you can learn something every day if you just pay attention.

A couple of weeks ago we picked up some cornish cross chicks.  I think I've said I don't care for the way they grow but the freezer is empty, so.....  Anyway, I had them in a dog crate on the front porch.  We HAD to start a chicken tractor to move them.  We had planned on having it done before now, but things kept creeping up.  I'm sure I'm the only one this happens to, right?  We started - or, I should say, HUBBY started on it this week.  It was finished up this afternoon - Wahoo!!  The chickies are now outside and no longer stinking up the front porch.  Yes, 12 little chickies will make a smelly mess.  They are enjoying their freedom.  They now have a much larger "house" and a nice yard as well.

Beginning

Middle

End!

They Love It!

One of the reasons I love having chickens - aside from the LOVE! - is for the eggs!  Right now, I get a variety of colors.  White, tan, brown, dark brown and GREEN!  Just love the green eggs.  My customers at the market enjoy the green ones too, especially those with children.  Green Eggs and Ham anyone?  I collect eggs every day and love finding them when they're still warm.  They come inside, get put in a carton and refrigerated right away.  I wait until the day before market (or just before I get ready to use them) to wash them.  This helps them stay fresh longer. 

Did you know eggs are laid with a protective coating on them?  It's called "Bloom".  It helps to keep out air and bacteria.  That is why an egg will last a long time w/out refrigeration and how a hen can lay eggs over several days before beginning to set.  Cool, huh?

 

In between working outside with the goats, chickens and gardens, I managed to knit my nephew that pair of wool socks he's been wanting for way too long.  I sure do hope he likes them.  Knitting and crocheting are not just hobbies for me, they're productive hobbies!!  How cool is it that you can enjoy something AND end up with a useful item in the end?  Hubby watches television while I create.  It's a good thing.

 Sock knitting is simple and can be relatively quick.  The hardest part is getting them the same size.  I have learned to use a ruler instead of my eyes.  My daughter will be the recipient of my next pair.

Friday is the due date for my goat, Orla.  I am so very excited.  I have worked on getting things prepared for the arrival of her baby/ies.  This week I'll get my kidding kit together.  With any luck, all I'll need to do is take care of the umbilical cord, give it/them their BoSe injection and admire the cuteness.  I wonder what Winnie and Peanut will think of the baby/ies?

Orla - laying at the gate where she moans and moans for attention or sympathy.

Either Winnie or Peanut (they're twins and I can't tell them apart in pictures unless I can see them from the side) trying to lure me in for extra loving.

 

Here are a few pictures of the rest of my "week", I love showing my babies off, so I hope you enjoy.

Roxie - total comfort

One of the pretty girls wondering why I'm in "her" blackberry patch

Bullseye - holding Daddy's remote

Idiot's tail feathers are starting to come back in!!!

Freaky - name says it all

Pugly Posing

Aussie Babies

Sentinel Aussie

Too Sweet!!

Market Day!!!

It has been a very eventful week here on SS farm.  Good eventful, that is.

Hubby has finished the tractor work in the garden.  He's broken ground, harrowed, leveled, harrowed, I added "enrichment" from the goats and chickens which he harrowed in, leveled, harrowed and finally, he pulled up "mounds" for me to tweak into semi-raised beds for planting.  I hope to get some seeds in the part that I've tweaked today.  Maybe by tomorrow, my hand will feel better and I'll be able to tweak the rest of the mounds so I can finish up my seed planting? 

The veggies I grow will be eaten fresh (of course!), canned or frozen, shared with friends and family as well as sold at the Lake City Farmer's Market.  I'm very excited - can you tell?

What Hubby did for me

What I tweaked Hubby's work to be

                                                

We have been having problems in the chicken coop.  The "girls" want to roost on the sides of the nest boxes at night.  The problem with this is that they poop IN the nest boxes which means my eggs are nasty when I collect them.  Yes, they wash nicely, but it's the idea.  SO - with scrap we had sitting around and an idea I found on Pinterest (if you haven't been there, you have to go - soooo many great ideas!), I revamped their nest boxes with Hubby's help.  Now, they have a roof (to prevent their perching on the walls), balcony (as Hubby calls it) and a "stairway".  What more does a chicken need?

As well as keeping the eggs clean, it forces the 3 rooster babies that Otter hatched out (she was the surrogate, as they're not "her" babies) can no longer try to get under her wings at night.  This is a good thing because the smallest of the roos is 2x her size!  They were knocking her over when they did it and with three doing it - well, you get the idea.

Otter saying NO!

Greta helping Otter say NO!

New Nest Box - ain't it perty?

 

We are eagerly awaiting the birth of our baby goats!  We've been inspecting and checking Orla each day.  Some days, we get so much Goat Love, it should be illegal.  :-)  Goats have as much personality as chickens do.  Who knew?  I cannot wait for my first glass of home-grown goat milk as well as the cheese, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, cream cheese I will be making.  Hubby was very supportive of my getting them, but not excited about "having goats".  Guess who's been converted?

Hubby getting some serious Goat Love!!!

And lastly, we had another milestone with my kitty, Bullseye this week.  She let Roxie (Hubby's kitty) groom her once again.  She was very shy, withdrawn and almost timid when Hubby and I met.  She wasn't mean or anything, just skittish, if you will.  Hubby has so completely won her over and turned her into a loving little thing.  Her distrust of Roxie is barely there now.  The only other kitty she'd ever been around was her Momma, Target.  She now sleeps next to Roxie (when Roxie comes to her) and even sits for grooming.  Won't be long before they'll be real friends.  Thank you Hubby for being so amazing not only to/for me, but to/for my Baby Bullseye!!!!

Roxie (left) giving Bullseye (right) a good grooming

Well, it's Market time, so off to set up and hopefully have a good day.  This week our fresh baked offerings include Oatmeal Wheat Bread, Rye Bread, Italian Tomato Bread and Soft Pretzels.  Of course, I'll have the usual Jellies and Jams, Feed Bag Totes and Hand Woven Baskets.

Enjoy your weekend and make sure to tell the special ones in your life that you LOVE them!  You won't regret actually saying it.

Good Evening!!!!

It was breezy and quite cool today with no sun.  We warm up, cool off, warm up, freeze, cool off, warm up . . . you get the picture.  Hard to know what to wear and what to plant. 

Today was hard to get motivated with the weather and I struggled to decide what to do.  I will admit to playing on the computer for a while.  But, I was reading blogs and articles on gardening, animals and health, so I think I'll call it a "research" time - sound good? 
When I'd sat as long as I could, I went outside and made two potato towers.  I've seen them online several times and finally decided to make them.  We'll see how they do.  They're planted and ready to go!  Also collected a bit of lettuce and some young collards to take to the market.  

After I finished the potato tower, I played with the goats.  I am working on getting them used to getting up onto the milking stand w/out a fight!  Orla, the oldest, knows how, as she's been milked before, but because I'm new at this, she's taking full advantage.  What she doesn't know is I have lots more years of being stubborn behind me than she does.  The little ones, Peanut and Winnie are learning how to get on the stand (which they love jumping up on, of course) and standing while I pick up their feet, rub their tummy and generally touch them all over. 

Orla is due to kid on or around March 20.  I am very excited.  Since I've not owned goats before, this is a completely new experience for me.  Part of me wants to just go out to visit with them and find an adorable kid (or kids) looking up at me, all healthy and clean and the other part wants to be there when it (they) is born.  However, in all the reading I've done, it starts out with the details of birth - things that will happen.  Then, it gets into details of what "can" happen.  Um - - so, I go back and forth on what I want. 
With any luck, I'll be milking her by the middle of April.  I hope to get enough milk to supply us here at home, as well as offer goat milk products at the market (of course it will be sold "For Animal Consumption Only" per Florida Law).

Orla

The chickens were doing their normal chicken thing today.  Then at one point, they threw up a huge fuss.  We went out to see what was up and lo and behold, there was a hawk sitting on the ground IN their pen!!  Hubby threw a stick at it to make it go away.  Hawks are natural predators and I respect that, but this was a bit much!  Sitting on the ground IN the pen trying to figure out how to get into the biddy enclosure??  No thanks.  Once the hawk was gone, they were back to their chicken-ness.  I collected eggs - no green ones today, sadly. 

  

Meet Otter and Adonis

This evening, I did my baking for the market - the house smells so good!!

This week at the market, you'll find:  Whole Wheat Bread, Oatmeal Wheat Bread, Zucchini Bread, Peanut Butter Cookies, Oatmeal Craisin Chews, Tomato and Basil Noodles, Various Jellies, as well as Fresh Eggs.  You'll also find Hand Woven Baskets, Feed Bag Totes and, while they last, a few doggie sweaters. 

Come and visit us at the Lake City Farmer's Market at Wilson Park on Lake DeSoto if you're in the area!!

Meet the Newest Members of SS Farm!!

Yesterday, my neighbor and I went to Tractor Supply and picked up 12 Cornish Cross Chicks.  Yes, I decided to go with the cornish cross chicks this time.  Our freezer is empty and we need some meat!  So, for the sake of time, I went ahead with them.  In the future, I will be using heritage breeds for our meat.  I much prefer nature doing the natural thing to hybrids. 

Currently, we have 21 3 week old Australorp hens, 2 Cuckoo Maran hens (Pretty Lady and Pretty Penny) and 2 Americauna hens (Idiot and Freaky) - a year old, 5 Golden Comets and 2 Rhode Island Reds - 6 months old as well as 6 Freedom Ranger hens (one named Snotty) and a Freedom Ranger Rooster (Little Man) which are 11 months old and one hen I have no idea her breed or age.  There are also 6 Pets of varying ages (Mumbo - Cochin, Adonis - Bantam Cochin, Poof and Pugly - Silkies, Otter - Silkie/Polish mix, and Maci - Australorp).  Once the Australorps are laying, the Freedom Ranger hens will be processed.  As the others turn approximately 2 years old, they'll be processed.  The Pets will NOT be processed.  They will live out their lives being spoiled. 

Since I sell eggs at the Lake City Farmers Market, you can see why I am keeping the Freedom Ranger hens longer than the intended 12 - 16 weeks in which they were supposed to have been harvested. 

The babies are currently in a dog crate on the front porch!  Tomorrow, we will begin working on a tractor to place them into so they will have more room to run around and be able to eat grass and bugs like the big chickens do.

Bullseye Watching Over The New Babies

As well, today we worked in the gardens.  Hubby harrowed and leveled the new garden.  It is going to be BIG!  Before we start on the chicken tractor, tomorrow, he is going to work on some rows for me so I can start planting over the weekend.  I worked in the small garden (my original "test" garden), weeding and doing a bit of bed repair.  I'll add some seeds in there as well this weekend.  

 Small Side Garden

The chickens greatly appreciate my weeding!  Too bad I can't teach them to weed around the plants.  Sure would make my work in the gardens a bit less hectic.

Changes - they can be good

I have been reading lots of blogs lately.  In doing so, I have learned a lot.  Simply put, a business is not an entity all by itself.  It is made up of people and places.  Mine, particularly, occurs on SS Farm (owned by myself and my husband) and is generated by our love and ideas.  My friends and family are as much a part of the farm and business as we are.  The support, ideas and critiques from them encourage us each and every day. 

With that said, I am incorporating what happens around here, on the farm and in our lives with the business.  I hope you like the changes. 

Why Don't The "Best" Ideas Crop Up BEFORE You Do A Project?

Monday, February 25, 2013

Hubby and I finished our mini-chicken-coop/run yesterday.  We have 21 three week old Australorps that have outgrown their dog crate.  Since we've had a huge problem with dogs lately (us and our neighbor both have lost birds (as well as rabbits for the neighbor) to roaming dogs) I took down the old chicken nursery (which aforementioned dogs got into) and modified the coop and added an above ground run - IN the big chicken pen.  They are now doubly secure.

It was a process.

1st - cut the old coop in half, add a wall on the cut side 
2nd - add a roost
3rd - add legs to the new coop
4th - frame a run (eyeballing everything instead of going and getting the level to ensure it was straight - where's the fun in straight, right?)
5th - run wire
6th - add roof
7th - take the roof back off because I forgot to measure the height of the door - AND take into account placing it in it's track (hmmmm)
8th - add a door to the run area so I can access the chicks in there as well as their coop (which I hadn't done in the first nursery I made thus making maintenance much more difficult
9th -  add lock for the doors and pulley thingee for the coop door

Whew! Best part of the project, though - it was ALL free - aside from $3 in staples.  Everything came from my "no, honey, don't throw that out, I'll use it for something" pile.  :-)

Once we had moved the babies over (right before it started raining - woo-hoo!), hubby says "You know, I just had an idea for a permanent chicken nursery".  ARGH!!!  Worst part?  It's a FABULOUS idea!  So, perhaps over the summer, we'll implement it?

It started raining yesterday afternoon and pretty much hasn't quit yet.  I'm not complaining as I'm quite satisfied with the fact that it's packing down the dirt we moved in to help level out the yard and the garden hubby has harrowed for me.  It's great for the goat and horse pasture as well as the grass in the chicken pen.  However, it has made for a very grey and dismal day.  So, I decided I would at least do "something" productive.  I took all the seedlings I had started and potted them up.  I also started some more seeds.  I'm trying to get a jump on spring.  I should have had my seed orders in a long time ago so my seeds could have been started weeks ago, but - this is somewhat new to me.  Oh, I've started seeds before, but not as many as I'm starting now.  I've never grown a full blown eating garden, one where I will be able to feed us w/out going to the grocery store except for essentials.  :-)  It's a very good thing.