Summer vacation

The boys have their last exams today. The girls got out of school Monday. Now if it ever stops raining we can make some hay!
We've got oatmeal cookies in the oven. Boy, do they smell great. Taste even better.
The girls are walking their calf to where their dad is working this morning. It's quite the hike. Over 3 miles one way! I'm off to meet them there with a picnic lunch.

New baby calf!

Black Jersey had a heifer calf this morning. She is a really neat dark red color. The girls are in love with her already. Looks like a beautiful day. There is some freshly smoked bacon in the pan in the kitchen. Have to run. I'll try to post a photo of our new addition soon.

Beautiful Day!!

Supposed to be near 75º today.
The baby goats are out on the lawn enjoying the sunshine.
Almost all of the mama goats are outside searching for those sweet green tidbits too.
I've got some peas planted and need to get the spinach seeds in the ground. Should probably plant some carrots too. I've been busy trying to get all the flower beds in order. We're supposed to get 4 new apple trees so I need to figure out where to put those.

The first kid of the season at a couple hours old.

We are now up to 14. We had twin does born this morning and have several more on the way but they're not coming for a while yet.

Today's mother is named Belle. I think she's going to name the twins Liberty and _______??

They're keeping us busy.

Bottle babies

Anyone have any spare time and care to bound with some really cute babies? Baby goats, that is. We have 6 bottle babies at the moment. They are sooooo cute and funny to watch too. If anyone was planning a visit and couldn't decide when to come? The time is now. Especially if you wanted to help with barn chores!

46ºF on the farm today!

They say the rain is on it's way but it's great outside right now!
I've been out pruning our Mulberry trees. I've never really pruned them before but noticed this year they have lots of sucker shoots and have really filled in. Our little guests love picking the mulberries and climbing the ladder we usually have set up in them. Their mom's really like their purple hands and faces when their done too!
I took the snowmobile out this a.m.. Couldn't resist. It was just setting there. We still have some snow-cover but there are certainly lots of bare spots too, especially on the side hill where you can see deer eating every afternoon.
Yesterday we took what seemed like an endless drive to NY to pick up a new fullblood Boer buckling for our herd. He is only 8 weeks old. We went all the way to Halcott Center to find him. I'll try to get a photo up of him in a day or so.
Made a soft cheese for dinner tonight. We'll serve it w/ crackers for an appetizer. I think I'm making chili.

Kid's February vacation almost over

Our kids have been off all week. A long weekend probably would've been enough for them. I'd rather they have a longer summer break. I guess if we were going on some fabulous trip somewhere then it would be different.

Baby goats aren't scheduled to start arriving until the 3rd week in March. That is really late for us to be kidding. Our buck goat had a mishap and we were lucky enough to borrow one from a friend. Let's just say our babies should be like opening Christmas gifts this year. All different colors. They should be super adorable.

We've got quite a few bunnies in the barn. Anyone looking for a bunny for Easter should give us a holler.

Our son is working on a house that is off the grid. I've never seen it. If the directions he left me are any good at all, hopefully I'll see it today. I would love to be off the grid and not be dependant on the power company. We receive 3 bills every month and I never look forward to it.

The snow is melting

We've had a couple days that have gotten into the 40s. Wow did it take away our snow quickly. We are still pretty much snow covered but the layer is pretty thin in spots.
Basketball season is almost over. YEAH! Chasing two teams is quite the challenge.

Still hooked on cheese making

It's the weather and I'm itchy to be doing something creative. Would rather be playing outside in the dirt getting gardens ready. Yesterday I made 'brick cheese'. That didn't work so well. It was only supposed to press for 12 hours but this a.m. it was still way to crumbly so I put it in the press. I don't have high hopes it's going to stay together.
Last night we waxed two of the cheeses. They look really good. Time will tell. We now have to wait month to see if all this energy has been worth it.
This a.m. I made a chive and garlic cheese from raw cow milk that only needed to be pressed for 2 hours. I wasn't very impressed but the neighbors loved it.
I need to look up on the goat calendars to see when the kids are due to start arriving. I'm looking forward to that.
Our guests left this a.m. They're now driving back to a warmer climate down south a bit. They were great.

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

-22ºF this a.m.

Too cold! It was 22 degrees below zero and no school delay. Borderline crazy, especially since the bus was 45 minutes late!
It is so cold we let the goats stay in this morning. I think they are healthier when they go outside every day but this is ridiculous. Maybe around lunch time I'll let them out for a bit?
The boys start exams at the high school today. They'll be done at noon. One will go to work, the other will be home on the bus. He gets dropped off almost a mile from home so I should go pick him up so he doesn't freeze.
A family is coming later today for the weekend in the guest house. I would love to write about our guests on this blog because they very often are quite interesting but I guess that wouldn't be right. We've had people from many different parts of the US and world and it is extremely fascinating to meet them and have the kids learn things about their ways of life. It is very enriching.

Welcoming children with special needs

Recently we welcomed a family with a child with Autism to our farm. He seemed to enjoy his stay immensely. You could see that his parents were relaxed and comfortable during their stay. They really enjoyed helping out at chore time. They fed the cows, goats and llamas. Their child seemed to particularly bond with the goats. They really have unique personalities and can be very curious. While talking with the mom she conveyed to me that is often difficult to find places to go that are "hands on". At Falkenbury Farm you are welcome to be very "hands on" if you desire. I've read a bit about Autism and understand that it is often helpful to show your child photos of where he will visit before arriving so that he is more comfortable. On our website we have many of the animals that are here on the farm. Also there are photos of our own children on the website. They love to meet new people and will be in the barn to help visitors get to know the animals. It is also quiet in the guest house since you are not sharing it with others as compared to a hotel or B&B. If you need to take a walk to 'get away from it all' and have some quiet moments alone, there are also plenty of places for that. If anyone has any questions about our farm, please feel free to contact us. www.falkenburyfarm.com We are located in Benson, Vermont.

Boy! It's cold outside!

It's 15ºF at 9:15 a.m. and not expected to get much warmer today. We heat the main house with wood. Lots of wood! We have a wood furnace in the cellar. There are also 2 wood stoves upstairs that we light of it gets really cold. The guest house is heated with oil. I'm waiting for an oil delivery this morning. It's supposed to be $2.34 per gallon. If the last people didn't leave the windows open, maybe we wouldn't need to buy any oil. Why would people leave the windows open when it was 20 degrees F out anyway?
I think I better go throw another log on the fire. I'm cold.

Merry Christmas Eve!

We have some great people in the guest house for Christmas. They actually celebrate Hanukkah too, so that is neat. We put up a Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the guest house for the first time. We asked the visitors if they would like one and they said yes. So the girls and I went for a hike to find one. The snow was up to the middle of my thighs in places. What an exhausting walk back to the house dragging that! Wow!
It's quite a bit warmer today (around 20º) and is supposed to be raining. So far we've really only gotten snow.
The girls are downstairs making a gingerbread house with their oldest sister who is here with her husband for the holiday.
We'll do chores early tonight and go to church tonight. We go to a small local church in the village. It will be nice to see all the neighbors and their families who are here for the celebration.
Merry Christmas!!

Winter has arrived!

The girls have had their sleds out already today........yes, it's the first SNOW DAY of the season!!!
Joe has his snowmobile for sale so he's out there running it and fine tuning it. A few guys are supposed to come to see it later today.
We're covered with snow! Now it's raining and about 24º so the roads are a sheet of ice and the snow is crusty. Hopefully it will be good for runner sleds later this afternoon!
The goats were hesitant about going out in the white stuff. The cows were wild like young calves, kicking up their heels when we let them out. They'll probably be let in early this afternoon since they aren't going to find too much to munch on out in the pasture.
No reservations for the guest house until the 17th so you can come on up!

Rain and crazy temps

Two days ago it didn't get out if the teens. Actually I don't think it got above 10º! Last night it was about 47º at 10pm. And now it is about 32º at 3:30 in the afternoon and it's been raining all day so we are in for a frozen mess. Girls called to say after school activities have been cancelled.
The goats are still outside. Since it was so warm this a.m., we let them out. It is breeding season, so 150 days from now we should have baby goats coming out of our ears! That is when you really want to visit even though it will be mud season. They are the cutest little things ever!