Special Blessings

March 17th, 2010
Here's a picture of the cream crock and skimmer that she gave me. What's interesting is that the skimmer is extremely light - aluminum I think

Here's a picture of the cream crock and skimmer that she gave me. What's interesting is that the skimmer is extremely light - aluminum I think

I have to tell you about a HUGE blessing that I received from a very
special friend. Joyce comes every week to get her eggs and things from
us. Last week she was watching me skim the cream off the milk. I asked
her again how they used to do it. (My "always" question to her). She
told of this special crock called a cream crock with a skimmer that
her family always used. It was so much easier than the way I was doing
it. I went on-line and researched it and while I saw a lot of things,
I wasn't sure any of them were what she was talking about. Today,
Joyce came and had me meet her at her car. She was feeling terrible
and didn't want to have to walk. Yes, Joyce is about my mother's age -
but my dear friend. She had brought me her cream crock! And that's not
all - she brought me the special skimmer and a meat grinder (we'd been
making turkey sausage the week before with a much smaller electric
grinder)!!!! I tried not to cry. She's moving out of a farmhouse and
if I need it and the kids don't want it, she knows it'll be used and
loved here - isn't she sweet, kind and just the best????

Milking vacation is officially over

March 1st, 2010
Well, it’s out! The Saponifier magazine for March and April came out today.
Beth Byrne did a great job with what I had to tell her – she turned it into a beautiful article!!!
During the crazy week of losing Maggie, they asked for a picture and I’m afraid the one we gave them was just horrible. It was a quick snapshot, not a portrait picture.

We are barely starting to milk Star – who is horrible. She kicks, jumps and tries to get down off the stanchion while she eats the whole time. She’s quite “athletic” let’s say. Whisper is back to milking nicely – she doesn’t give much. Her newborn “tank” boy has decided that she has two teats and they belong to him. Bother! Megan does not get milked. She is put on the stand, rubbed, her udder washed and dried – anything to make it pleasant for her while she eats enough to feed 3 growing babies. Now if it was Whisper who had the 3 babies on her, I think I wouldn’t worry so much. After Wednesday Star’s babies will have to be put away late at night and let out after we milk in the early am. We have to change back to our “hours”. Sorry boys – vacation from milking is over! The babies run with their moms all day and late into the night to make sure they get all the nutrition they need – plus they’re now drinking water and eating hay.

We need to do the nasty deed called de-horning. It makes it safer for the moms, children and people that want to be around the goats – and the goats themselves. They cannot get stuck in the fence line with no horns. We also must do all the adult hooves. I think the cow needs done too – but I’ll leave that to the vet if he thinks it needs done.

Well, that’s the update from the goat woman – Now let’s see if I can get the inside of the house back in some kind of order after this crazy month of February is finally over! Plant more seeds, make more cheese, make yogurt, make kefir . . . . well, at least I have job security!!!

Marilyn, aka the goat woman

Coming Soon… New Babies!!!

February 2nd, 2010
We’re anxiously awaiting a new set of twins from our Star. Star’s bag is getting huge – probably bigger than any other goat we’ve ever had – and she’s going to be a brand new mommy! We’ve got her organic oats/raisins ready and will heat her molasses water for the grand celebration moment.

Our cow is also due. Since she wasn’t trained to a halter, we’ve been looking at different ways to make it easier and pleasant for all. Pat and the boys set up a series of fences and gates so she will have an alley way to walk to her pen where she can give birth (she might trick us on timing of course). I’ve read that Jersey babies can freeze in 40 degree weather and get chilled easily. So, Pat’s hurrying to make her a deep bedding box stall so that the baby can snuggle down and be warm when it’s born. (Or move there if she is sneaky on her timing!).

I have been planting seeds for our CSA. We are trying to do several sets of plantings this year. (Last year we lost a bunch of plants due to chickens and didn’t have any to replace them with). We will be doing a lot of our beds in back like square foot gardening beds and will start assembling them next weekend (after the 12th). We will also be collecting all of our compost beds and materials to fill the beds with. Although we’ve been working on the soil in the garden for over 4 years, we have to stop the take over from the Johnson grass. We have to do it naturally and organically and NOT try to dig/sift it out ever again. We will be using the smother technique to a new level. We are adding a lot of beds out front to attract attention – can you imagine what people will say when they see 30 pound pumpkins growing on special trellis panels??? I can’t wait to get pictures!

We are getting the buck paddock ready for the rotovator. We will clean up anything that might be in the pen and spread the composting hay everywhere. Then Galen will come and rotovate it all. We will make mounds and put the 3 sisters garden out there. Corn/green beans/squash – just like was done by our ancestors to save space and to create the perfect growing environment.

We are awaiting the seeds for the hyssop . . . special hyssop plants that bees love that will support the hives even during a time of drought. We need it – with all our neighbors having 100’s of acres of manicured grass – there’s not a lot for our bees to find unless we plant it right here ourselves. We are going to take back the strip of yard that runs along the driveway where our neighbors horses have been for years. We will fill that pasture with several kinds of clover and the hyssop. Along the driveway will be wildflowers for CSA cuttings. By the bees will be bee-friendly flower gardens. Still looking for a few more farms to put some hives on.

Did I tell you that a week or so ago that I was interviewed for The Saponifier Magazine??? The article will be in the March/April issue. I think the interview went well and was very pleased with the  rough draft of the article I was sent to check for errors.

I’m still waiting on hearing from The Artisan Center at Berea . . . January judging time is over – so, I guess the answers could be anytime.

Pat is taking off Thursday – - – we have the final giant white turkeys to do. We’re doing a couple for the freezer and for others . . . but most will end up turkey sausage or ground turkey for the year. Anyone that would like to help – I’m sure we’re starting around 12. We always share with helpers!

We would enjoy having your company for any of our projects if you’d like to come help – and who knows? If you time it right – you might get to see the miracles of birth that happen this time of year!!! (Feb. 13th is when Star is due and the cow is due to calve in Feb/March). Call us or email us if you want to come help and learn how to survive away from the grocery store!

Blessings -

OK – What have you done this week????

January 22nd, 2010
This week has been a whirlwind of restocking and product testing. So far I’ve restocked on *Non-chemical baby wash*, Med-Dry Shampoo, Med-Oily Shampoo and Summer version Shower Gel. I just made a new exciting No SLS, SELS or anything but soap Bubbly Bubble Bath . . . Right now it only comes in  Cucumber Melon but if the testers (aka Guinea Pigs) love it – then I’ll be bottling it in those gorgeous green/black bottles with our goat milk lotion in the same scent as a set. With more scents to come.

I’m working on Baby Shampoo and will trying out my new Ph tester sets (I have 2 kinds now). I need to see how close it is to Ph of 7 (no stinging sensation) without adding those nasty chemicals. Personally, I’d rather just be careful not to get it in a young one’s eyes than put chemicals in it to make it Ph of 7.

I’m in the middle of making cloth diapers in several different styles for a sweet friend of mine – saving the landfill of 1800 disposables. I’m also working along these same lines to get the final products in the baby carriage basket and making possible non-scratch baby mittens and a snuggle blanket or swaddle sheet to line the basket with as an additional practical, fun gift for babies. After this little hurdle, it’s off to the local baby shops and either etsy or EBay. My dream is almost finalized – - my own natural, safe, non-chemical baby line that I can be proud of.

Still waiting to hear on the Artisan Center at Berea . . . but I will be patient – I have too many distractions to think about it much.

Goats due soon . . . I love watching babies being born and helping when I can. Next month it’s baby cow. Isn’t life great??

If it weren’t for the muddy, yucky mess outside and the half-done, barely started projects here and there, I’d tell you to come over for a nice chat and a cup of tea . . .

Marilyn, aka the Goat Woman

One of the “Soaping” Greats has Passed Away

January 18th, 2010
Ah, I’m very sad to inform you that one of the soaping greats has passed away. My dear mentor and friend, Rita from TLC Soaps has gone to be with her Savior this morning.

This precious woman fought her breast cancer bravely and it did not win. In the midst of her meetings with the chemo team she always made her products available to all the patients in there with her. My own salve came from the careful tutorship of Rita herself.

I have her books to cling to. Reading them will be like sitting across the table from her sipping tea with a dear friend discussing the merits of herbs and the horrors of fragrances . . . it’s just the way she wrote.

Our family will be praying for her family in the midst of their deep loss and Heaven’s gain.

Marilyn, AKA The Goat Woman

Happy Thanksgiving

November 25th, 2009
Hello all – and Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!

I sure hope you all have much to be thankful for this season! Bypass the negative things happening and your list will grow and grow.
I know mine did when I put aside the worrying and the ugly things swirling around me for a time.

I was thinking of you all while cutting up my white pumpkins from the garden and butternut squash from a dear neighbor’s garden. I will be draining the pumpkin and the butternut squash and they will turn into pumpkin pies and butternut cheesecake on a pecan crust by tomorrow. The weather is cooperating for a lovely fall day with a slight chill in the air.

Last night we got our turkeys ready for our table and a few friend’s and neighbor’s tables as well. It was rather chilly. I didn’t have one small enough for a family that was trying to do the “American” holiday and offered them a very large chicken – but they didn’t understand that that was ok – at least it was for me. I went to Whole Foods website to see if they had a variety of turkeys for people to buy and they did. But what shocked me was their information about “fresh” turkeys – how the government says it’s ok to kill the turkeys in February, keep them at 27 degrees all year and sell them as fresh!!! Oh my goodness! Natural, fresh, what other words can I use to describe the wonderful bounty that has been provided to us here at the farm?
We have several turkeys out there that will be well close to 35/40 lbs it looks like before they are prepared for the freezer/canning or whatever else we decide to do with them. I can’t put them in the freezer right now because of all the frozen milk and frozen chickens that we have! 2 full freezers and 2 over the fridge freezers full to the brim.

After the craft fair season is done you can bet that I’ll be pulling a lot of them out and baking them to ready them for fast food – we call  home-canned chicken our fast food. Make up a bit of bbq sauce, heat the meat in it and serve it on homemade ww/oat rolls – yum! (I guess we’ll be using some of our giant turkey for this too after Thanksgiving dinner). Oh turkey and homemade noodles – I’d better stop – I think I like making the after Thanksgiving food better than the big day’s food!

Well, off to finish up something – I have a lot of soaps that we’ve run out of for the season and have to get them made and ready for you all . . .

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being our friends, family and customers . . . we are so very thankful for you!!!!

Marilyn

Craft show season!

November 23rd, 2009

I have done nothing but mock set-ups, packing, re-packing, labeling of bags, etc., etc. to get ready for this show coming up.
Ryle HS in Union, KY is by far the biggest show we do all year – It is the only Tri-State show so far that is inspected by the Health Dept.  It is finally paying off to have gone through all the leaps and bounds of the licensing hurdles to have become the First(!!!! Yeh!!!) Licensed Cosmetic Manufacturer in KY. This is so exciting to me – can you tell??? LOL.

We are still trying very hard to get into the KY Proud Market in the Shops at Lexington. It’s been a LONG process. Now, instead of waiting for “them” to come and check out the farm, I will be taking in a selection of products to the store itself. I am also waiting for the final application for the Equestrian Games for the 16 weeks it will run in 2010. The will have a KY Proud Pavilion at the games to showcase KY products . . .

So, you can imagine the state of the farm here . . . the animals are top priority and everything else takes a 2nd or 3rd seat.

My lemon tree is almost done ripening its first lemon. I think it will be perfectly yellow by the time Christmas comes around. I can’t wait. It was a lovely anniversary present from my sweet Pat – 2 years ago. A little reminder of all the citrus we had available to us in Fall/Winter in AZ.

This year of course was the addition of Fern, the Miniature Jersey to our family of animals. (My 12 year old has already claimed Fern as his own – - – I’ll remind him, but since he’ll be milking and teaching her more than I am, I’ll share!!!).

I hope to visit with you all soon . . . December thru February is a little bit more relaxed around here after the shows are done the first week in December.

Blessings – Marilyn

OK, the Goatwoman has a new project – Say Cheese!

October 29th, 2009
The Goatwoman pets her newest family addition - Red Fern

The Goatwoman pets her newest family addition - Red Fern

Say Cheese!!!  – well, in about 5 months we’ll have lots of cheese, butter (and yes, ice cream too Pat).
Meet my new friend Fern.

She’s not halter broke or anything to do with 2-legged broke, but we’re working on it.
She gets her grain by following me on the lead line – she does now know what her grain pan looks like and what it has in it – some kind of a treat. She got brushed all except her hind end today – first time. She looks so much better.

But the amazing thing is the picture . . . she came to the fence 2 times after I was done and outside just talking to her and she let me scratch her all over. Does she have her eyes closed in the picture – oh yes, she’s loving it!

Thanks Sam for the picture!

It’s Chilly for Fall…

October 6th, 2009

Wow, it has really gotten chilly. I just sent the boys up to check on all the goats and birds . . . we just got new chicks to replace the layers that have come up missing and it’s probably a bit too cold without their light on. The soon-due goats are all snuggled up in their shed barn. I was ready for falling leaves and great working outside weather – just not the deep chill that has seemingly settled in. I’m going to have to start a fire!

Sam’s out collecting black walnuts and will be doing his English report on the processing of walnuts. He just couldn’t decide on a subject that he thought was worthy of the time he’d spend writing – LOL. Gotta love Sam – things have to be just so-so or it’ll be a huge “discussion”.

I am so excited – we’re trying a fried chicken recipe from Emeril (except we’re using fresh Kefir instead of the buttermilk). I don’t usually make fried chicken – but Nathan LOVES it. So, tonight’s dinner – without even thinking about it, will be completely from our little farm: chicken – the breast was so huge I had to cut it up into 2 pieces!, mashed potatoes from the bounty that’s been curing on the porch table and finally the green beans. The dessert? White pumpkin pies – the inside of the pumpkins are only slightly less “orange” than the normal pumpkin – but it smells so much better. The only thing that isn’t from the farm – spices and flour! If I could find a way to grow my own of those – I’m sure Pat’s already getting more tired!!!

We finished doing all but the handwork on Melinda’s intricate gown for the Renaissance Fair  -  what a gown it has turned out to be. She’s very happy with it.  I’m glad we got to do it together. Yesterday was her birthday and it was a blast to  show her some tricks to make things easier – plus making her birthday cake – (fresh cooked pumpkin only pumpkin pies ). She’s only getting better with age!

Off to get something warm to drink, finish the pies and get some goat milk soaps made that I’ve either run out of or not made yet – Shaving soaps scented especially with ladies in mind.

Blessings to you -

Marilyn – The Goatwoman

Raw Milk is always targeted while Pasteurized Milk Issues Ignored

September 30th, 2009
Found this article and it really is exactly what’s been happening . . .
Always something making it so the healthiest food is not accessible to the normal person:

Quote:

http://www.naturalnews.com/027111_raw_milk_health_food.html <http://www.naturalnews.com/027111_raw_milk_health_food.html>

Raw Milk Continually Targeted Despite True Dangers of Pasteurized Product (Opinion)
by Ethan Huff, citizen journalist
See all articles by this author
Email this author

(NaturalNews) Many state and federal food regulators are notorious for employing selective, biased enforcement of food safety protocols within the food industry. In order to appease big industry’s lobbyists and other political lapdogs, the nation’s food safety experts repeat, ad nauseum, unscientific and illegitimate talking points in favor of the industry giants that pull the purse strings behind the scenes. When it comes to the issue of raw milk, the endless charade of bastardized data and phony fear-mongering over its safety is never in short supply among those that want it outlawed.

Milk has been a staple of the human diet for many millennia. Raw milk, that is. Milk had always been drunk in its pure, unpasteurized form prior to early twentieth-century America. It is a rich, whole food packed with beneficial colloidal minerals, enzymes, vitamins, nutrients, probiotics, and healthy fats. Milk from healthy, pasture-raised animals is a vibrant, life-giving food that not only bolsters the immune system but fends off countless degenerative diseases that were virtually unheard of just a century ago.

Despite popular belief on the subject, raw milk is not inherently dangerous and pasteurization was not invented in order to make milk safe. On the contrary, milk pasteurization was borne in reaction to the filthy “swill” milk system that resulted after the onset of the domestic liquor industry. Louis Pasteur, the man credited with inventing pasteurization, actually invented it for preserving wine and beer, not milk.

Following the elimination of America’s whiskey imports after the War of 1812, domestic grain distilleries began popping up across the nation’s landscape. Distillery owners would house cows next to their distilleries and feed them the slop byproduct of whiskey production. Since the slop had no nutritional value, it caused the animals to get emaciated and diseased, leading to the need for pasteurization.

Because many people and their physicians recognized raw milk as an essential nutrient both in health promotion, disease prevention, and disease treatment, concerned citizens worked together to establish certified raw milk dairies that would produce wholesome, raw milk just like what was available prior to the “swill” milk system that was emerging. Thus, both swill milk and certified raw milk were produced side by side for a time.

Slowly but surely the industrialization of our nation led to increasing amounts of filthy milking operations taking advantage of pasteurization to hide their tainted milk. As the mass production of milk increased, smaller dairies began to increase their operations and pasteurize their milk in order to increase volume and profits. Eventually raw milk would be unfairly blamed for all sorts of outbreaks and diseases, causing public opinion to favor pasteurized milk as superior to raw milk.

The interesting thing about all the raw milk hubbub is the fact that pasteurized milk has a far worse track record of contamination and outbreaks than raw milk, despite propaganda claiming otherwise. A few examples include:

1983 – 49 Massachusetts residents contracted listeriosis from pasteurized milk and 14 of them died. The New England Journal of Medicine concluded in 1985 that since there was no evidence that improper pasteurization caused the outbreak, the legitimacy of pasteurization as an effective eradicator of harmful pathogens was in question.

1985 – Nearly 200,000 people were estimated to have been infected with salmonella from a single dairy’s 2 percent pasteurized milk. Investigation into this case revealed that the same strain of salmonella had repeatedly been contaminating milk after it was pasteurized for at least ten months prior to the outbreak. Up until that time, it was the largest outbreak of salmonella ever identified in the United States.

1994 – 224,000 people contracted salmonella infection from Schwan’s ice cream according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The pasteurized ice cream premix had been contaminated during transport, leading to an even larger outbreak of salmonella than the one in 1985.

2006 – More than 1,600 prisoners in eleven California prison facilities contracted campylobacter (C. jejuni) from tainted pasteurized milk.

2007 – Three elderly individuals and an unborn child died in Massachusetts from pasteurized milk that was contaminated with listeriosis. Investigators eventually traced the pathogen to some artificial flavorings that had been added to the milk following its pasteurization.

In addition to cases such as these, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has recorded 155 outbreaks from pasteurized dairy products between 1990 and 2006, all of which are published in the group’s 2008 annual report.

Raw milk, on the other hand, is continually targeted and implicated in all sorts of outbreaks despite evidence proving that raw milk was the culprit. Oftentimes when there is a food outbreak, regulators will ask those who became ill if they consumed any raw dairy products prior to the incident. Say 11 percent said they did, that data automatically goes into reports that are used to implicate raw dairy as being “associated” with outbreaks, even if the true source of contamination was from meat or some other food. The 89 percent who had not consumed raw dairy are ignored and the data is manipulated and used in an attack against raw dairy products.

The truth is, raw milk and dairy products are among the healthiest, safest, and most complete whole foods available. Even Forbes.com mentioned raw milk in a story about the healthiest foods on earth, noting that raw, organic milk from grass-fed cows contains very high levels of conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) and beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus acidophilus. Grass-fed meat was also mentioned in the series due to its high omega-3 and CLA content.

Whether or not regulators, scientists, and endocrinologists want to admit it, pasteurized milk product is drastically different from raw, grass-fed milk. It is also dangerous and harmful to health. Pasteurized milk is robbed of most of its nutritional content and is, according to much research, responsible at least in part for the countless degenerative diseases that many people suffer. It contains none of the enzymes present in raw milk such as lactase, the enzyme responsible for properly digesting lactose. For this reason, many people who are “lactose intolerant” assume that they cannot consume dairy products. The truth is, most of these people would be fine consuming raw dairy products and would probably experience improved health.

Homogenization, the process by which the fat globules in milk are forced through a straining system that breaks them down into smaller particles so they do not float to the top of the milk, is another process by which store-bought milk product is rendered toxic and harmful to human health. By altering the fat globules, milk fat is essentially turned into a trans-isomer fatty acid, or “trans fat”.

As the fight continues to prevent access to raw milk, it is important to be armed with the truth that is often skewed or left out of official statistics and reports that are designed to scare people from consuming raw, unpasteurized dairy products. Regulators continue to intimidate and threaten farmers even in states where raw milk can legally be sold and they get away with it because most people are uninformed about the truth. Fortunately, the raw milk movement is rapidly growing, the truth is getting out, and the tides are slowly turning in favor of this excellent superfood.

Sources:

RawMilk.org

A Campaign for Real Milk

In Depth: The Healthiest Foods On Earth – Forbes.com

Raw Milk – Hpathy

Raw Milk – History, Health Benefits and Distortions – Dr. Ron
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