A new baby!

We have a new bull calf. He was born yesterday, September 2, 2012, at about 4:05p.m. (Of course he was, we were supposed to be at a dinner party at 4:00.)
Cupcake, the mama cow, and the new calf are both doing well. She had an easy delivery assisted by Heidi (since we were both dressed to leave).
He had his first bottle last night and loved it.
He is a nice big calf, dark in color.
Visiting hours are daily 6-7 p.m. , by appointment or by chance.

*For those of you who don't know; this is Cupcake's first calf. She will now be a milking cow in our little herd. She is a Jersey cow.

Stay on a Farm

Farm vacations are becoming increasingly popular in Vermont and the U.S. We own Falkenbury Farm Guest House in Benson, VT. We welcome visitors from all over the world, but the majority are from the Boston or NYC areas. The parents who plan the trips often plan all kinds of day trips and want to drive all over creation thinking that is what their kids want. It isn't. I've had parent after parent tell me they've changed their plans because their children beg to stay on the farm. The kids themselves know they need to take a break from it all and just be kids. It takes the parents a bit longer. It is wonderful to see folks unwind after they've been here about 3 days. They are often so high strung that it actually takes them that long to feel the relaxation set in. When they hit that point, something just comes over them. We'll just see them sitting in a chair out back sipping a glass of wine, reading a book or simply staring at the sunset. People don't realize how stressed their lives are until they take the time to unwind in the peaceful, relaxing, quiet country setting.

Raw Milk

Raw milk

“Fresh from our Jerseys”

Falkenbury Farm

$5 per gallon ($1.25 qt.)

Please bring your own clean glass containers.
Please call ahead to arrange for pick-up.
802-537-2979

1520 Park Hill Rd.
Benson, VT

jojoerobert@yahoo.com

www.falkenburyfarm.com

Hay!

Finally made some hay today! I need to ask what the count was. We were rushing the clock when the clouds started moving in. It's pouring now. There was a rainbow earlier.

We have guests arriving any time now. I hope they get here before dark. I don't want to leave lights on for the bugs.

They started ripping and tearing on our house today. They made a few test holes yesterday but today they really got into it. The boys took 2 truckloads to the dump and there are 2 trailers full of wood for a fire. Oh, what a mess we are in for! There is a blue tarp trying to keep the rain out of the kitchen and bathroom right now.

Our 12 year old milked the cows tonight all by herself! She really had no choice, we were all busy. Dad was baling, mom was raking hay and the boys were unloading wagons. At least it got her out of unloading a couple of them.

Our 10 year old has been spending a lot of time with my camera lately. She has taken tons of photos. Some are pretty good. I keep telling her it will make a good hobby. Something to do on the side....She really loves taking pictures.

Cheddar today

Making cheddar cheese again today. Used yogurt as starter. I made the yogurt a couple days ago from raw Jersey milk and it makes the creamiest cheese ever. I can't wait to see what it tastes like.
My washing machine is giving me trouble once again. It has been making the worst piercing, screeching noises lately. Today it wouldn't finish the rinse cycle. I think our repairman is probably getting as sick and tired of it as I am.
It's not raining as promised. I think it's in the low 40's.
Everyone is in school today. Let's hope the bug that was w/ us earlier in the week is G-O-N-E!

Just flurries

No big snow here yet, just a few flurries. But the wind is sure howling!
Yes, still making cheese. I have 2 gallons of fresh Jersey milk waiting to get up to temp down there. Today I think I'll wing it. I can't seem to find a recipe that calls for all the things I feel like doing today. I'm going to use yogurt for a starter....oh, I don't know. The hardest part is the wait. Hopefully all this cheese I've been making isn't awful. Since it has to be waxed and aged for months I have no idea if it will be any good in the long run.
We had another new baby calf over the weekend. She's a heifer and all black.

Cheese blog from Feb 3rd

I had a blog on our website and it had to go. It wasn't working correctly. That is why these entries have old dates.

I spent the morning making cheese. Usually I get side tracked and forget I've set the timer or can't seem to get the temperatures just right. Not today. Everything went quite smoothly and the mozzarella came out great. There is probably 2.5-3 pounds of nice fresh cheese. I make the cheese with raw milk from our Jersey cows. Sometimes we experiment and make cheddars, or jack. We've made provolone and many soft cheeses as well. Later on I'll make ricotta with the whey that I saved from the mozzarella.

Cheese blog from Feb 6th

Feeling domestic this morning….. I’ve been busy again today with my cheese making. I’ve got a batch of Monterey Jack setting right now. I just cut the curd and need to keep it at temp for a while longer. Meanwhile the cheese I made yesterday came out of the press this morning and is now in a salt brine. I also started a buttermilk culture that will be used in making other types of cheeses. Butter was on the docket this morning too. Made a decent size batch of butter from the cream fresh off the top of 2 gallons of raw milk. I’ll freeze a little bit for baking and try to use up the rest right away.

Today I made Colby cheese

I made Colby cheese today. The last couple of days I made Monterey Jack. All of these cheeses were made with raw milk from our Jersey cows. The Colby is still in the press, the others are drying and they will all be waxed w/in the next few days.
To read the blog on our website, go to http://www.falkenburyfarm.com/blog