The Merry Month of May!

May is coming to a close. So much has happened this month. Strawberries have come and gone...we have had a decent crop this year! The fresh-picked berries from our farm definitely had better flavor than the strawberries we bought from a CSA. We ate them fresh, made strawberry cakes, jams and preserves! Sadly, I over-estimated my available time for processing the berries...so, I lost a bunch to spoilage. Thank goodness for chickens and pigs...they are the "redeemers" of food mis-management!



Farmer's Market started May 1st and we have been busy baking on Fridays and marketing on Saturdays! Lots of bread...this year we are making fresh ground wheat, spelt, rye and the favorite baguette. We make wheat cinnamon buns and sell eggs/chickens when we have extra. By Saturday afternoon, we have all had our fill of bread!



The best part of May 2010 has been the birth of our new heifer calf Gingersnap!
It has been delightful to milk her mother Holly. She is a dear sweet animal. Her udder congestion is subsiding. Her milk is very creamy! She is a wonderful mother to Gingersnap, as well as to her other baby...ME!

She really likes her routine of going up to the milking stand for her human-baby to get her milk! Tonight we tried to milk her down in the field, just outside of the cow-pen. We were trying to save time... She let us milk her briefly, and then suddenly took off in the direction of the milking stand...no lead rope or halter...she walked directly to the head-stock, entered and let us "lock" her in...as if she were telling us..."this is the way we do it...you get your milk up here!"

I ladled her cream into our coffe this morning and made creamed spinach with spinach from our garden and Holly's cream. Delicious! We have not seperated the calf from her mom yet...so we are only getting about 1 1/2 gallons of milk per day. We are feeling milk-rich these days...even though we expect Holly to make 4-5 gallons per day at her peak. Cheese, butter, yogurt making will begin soon!

Like mother like daughter! Gingersnap is learning so much from Holly. It is fascinating to watch her learn how to interact with the other cows and goats, nibble on grass, drink water from the trough...Thank you Lord, giver of life, for these "gifts" and for this awesome life!