10/10/10 - LAURA AND JORDAN

These are the most beautiful people I have had the pleasure of knowing and was privileged enough to be selected as their wedding photographer.  This was the funnest wedding!  (if funnest is a word). Laura and Jordan also had a documentary film crew there to record the whole event.  It was magical!

ITS A HAY DAY!

I always feel a little uneasy when the hay supply goes down.  And there we were, down to the last few flakes from the big square bales.  So i sent my hay guy another check and asked for another delivery.

Oh how i love my  hay guy!  I love him so much that he gets a Christmas present from me every year. Why?  Cuz he delivers anytime i want and whatever amount i want all year round!  I don't have the storage available to keep a whole bunch on hand, and i don't always have a huge chunk of cash to give him either.  So this works for both of us.  He usually receives the full amount and i get it delivered and stored away for me. This is especially nice when its 10 below 0 out.

He came within a few days and delivered another 10 big square bales.

 Although this time was a little bit different. His other little skid loader was out of commission and he had to use the bigger one.  The only problem with such a thing is that because it is a little bit bigger, it could possibly not fit into the goat barn where we store the hay.  So we were a bit concerned, but Bill is a resourceful guy - a farmer - he knows how to problem solve.

So he made sure the garage door went up as far as it could, resettled everything inside the barn and moved some things around.

Then in comes the hay!

Will it make it???

Look at the clearance!  What maybe 3 inches?  Now that's a master at work with his skid loader!

Well the loader kinda made it,  it made it in far enough that he could push each bale back with a new bale.

yay!  A full barn!

So now my hay (or should i say the horses and goats hay - because i don't eat hay) is all filled up in the barn and i can relax and give generously again to everyone.  It will keep them all warm in this tundra.

Then about an hour later, since some hay gets dropped on the ground in the process, Maddie yells to me, "Mom, come here!  There's a deer in the driveway!"  and sure enough, there eating up the loose chaff, stands a pretty little doe!  Right smack dab in the middle of the day!

a image taken through the window, one has to go slowly, not to disturb the animal

oh she noticed me!

the stare down lasts only a brief second!
she thinks carefully wondering if i am a threat or not,
then...

off she goes!  bye bye beautiful lady!

Isn't she just beautiful!

This makes me want to start doing wildlife images.  Perhaps another trip to the boundary waters is in order!  of course that would require me getting a bigger lens, hmmmmm.

 This is what i love about this place! Being surrounded by its beauty and mother nature and her animals every day, who could not love it?

ADVENTURES WITH AFRO - AFRO THINKS HE'S A PHOTOGRAPHER

So yesterday i come home to find Afro playing with my old camera!

He must've found it in the classroom, i don't know but it was really annoying!  I mean who does he think he is!  i am the photographer in this family! And how does he think he's gonna work the shutter button without any appendages?????

If he wants to learn, i can teach him but really let's start out right here:

No you can't take a picture of the cat when the lens is pointed at his bum!  That will never turn out.

And you are never gonna get the shot with the settings you have on the camera - you need a higher ISO to get enough light to make the shot.  I mean really, dude!

Then this morning i get up to find Tiki doing the same thing!

 They are all jealous!  That's all i can think of from this behavior. The least they could've done was ask for help.

NEW DAY - NEW CHEESE, WELL MAYBE

This is what i woke up to today:

That is 30 degrees warmer then yesterday!   what is this all about?  has mother nature gone mad?  That's like going to bed in MN and waking up in Florida - an 18 degree difference in latitude!!!

Well, i worked on the cheese yesterday.  Since i bought the bleu cheese mold to make bleu cheese, and to make bleu cheese  it requires an elf- which i do not readily have available in winter- i decided to try Stilton.  Stilton is an English cheese that was first mentioned in the early part of the 18th century.  It is made from milk enriched with cream and combines the subtle flavor of cheddar with the sharp taste of bleu.

Recipe:

• In a large pot, combine 2 gallons of fresh goats milk and 2 cups of light cream.
• Heat the mixture to 86 degrees.
• Add 1/8 tsp of Penicillium roqueforti (bleu mold)
• Add 1/8 tsp of mesophilic starter and mix well.  Cover and allow to ripen for 30 minutes.

Well this is where i messed up: i didn't let it ripen, i went directly to the next step.  So chances are not good for this cheese already.

• Add 1/4 tsp of rennet to 1/4 cup cold water and add to milk, and stir gently.

• Cover and let set for 90 minutes
• Transfer the curds to a cheesecloth lined colander resting in a bowl. 

• Let the curds set for 90 minutes.
• Tie the corners of the cheesecloth up and hang the bag to drain for 30 minutes.

(This is where it really starts looking bad - too much curds for so little cheesecloth!)

• Place the bag into a mold and place a follower on top with 8 lbs of weight.

(looks like those people that have the muffin top in their jeans)

 

• Press the cheese overnight in a 70 degree room.

Now because the only room in my house that is even remotely close to that temp is the office/classroom,

there is a risk involved: i.e. dogs!
So i placed it on the top of the book cabinet.

• Remove the curds from the bag.
• Break up into 1 inch size pieces.
• Add 2 tbs of salt. Mix well.

• Place curds back into mold and use a cheese mat for the top.

• Every 15 minutes for 2 hours flip the cheese with the mat/mold sandwich, letting in drain over a container to catch the whey.

• Keep at 70 degrees overnight.
• Flip the cheese several times a day for the first 4 days
• using an ice pick, poke 25 holes (as opposed to 40 that are required for bleu cheese)
• let the cheese set on a cheese mat at 50 to 55 degrees and a relative humidity of 90 percent
• turn the cheese several times a week. 
• Scrape off mold and slime once a week.
• Age the cheese for 4 months

Well, i really have a feeling i botched this one! Not the first time! Lol!

We will see - it doesn't look like it is forming well.   Check in tomorrow.

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE ......OF ME! (AND ITS NOT EVEN NOON YET)

Yes, this is what i awoke to this morning!

Yes folks, that says negative 20!

So i bundle up and head outside to let the horses back out to pasture.

I found the goats all piled up in the barn, in a corner of their stall.  It was so cute: seeing the little kids heads peeking up between all that fur!  They know that cuddling together keeps one warm in this crap.

Next i head out to let the horses out. I let them out one by one since i have to open the gate to the pasture to put them in.  Well, i made the mistake of letting Maui out last.  Last time i did that she busted through the stall door.  This time - was unique.  As i am opening the gate, letting Max into the pasture, I hear this, "Bam, crash, bam!"  and i think to myself, "Oh great, now what did she do?"

I walk back into the stable to find her completely out of the stall, looking a little flustered, the stall door is not busted, but is shut.  However, the beam above the stall is knocked off and laying on the ground, with the nails exposed upright of course.  And i have this disorientated horse walking around!

Once i got a hold of her and walked her to the pasture, i went back in to investigate further. My only conclusion was that because the upper beam of the stall had been removed, she couldn't have gone under the stall's half door, that she must've went over the stall door!  Which is approximately 4 feet tall.  She's a big girl in the barrel, so that's probably why she didn't totally fit and pushed the beam off.  Now i always predicted she would be a jumper!  I guess that's what we will be working with her on this summer, yay!

So I went back inside the house and prepared breakfast.

We are now inundated with eggs again, so its omelet time!

SPINACH AND ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER OMELET

Gather ingredients of roasted red bell pepper, spinach, eggs, milk, cheese, avocado and bacon for the side.

pretty eggs from our beautiful chickens

Take some spinach, roasted red bell pepper and chop.

Crack open the eggs

add a little milk

look at those orange yolks!  That's home grown right there!

Then whisk.

Put chopped spinach and bell pepper in a frying pan and cook a little.

Meanwhile fry up some cottage bacon!

Next: pour egg mixture into the pan.

Now - the real test:  this is cheese i made back in early December:

I have no idea if it turned out - so i remove the wax, cut and wa-lah!

I finally have some good cheese! Yay!  Farmhouse Cheddar.

Next cut up the avocado for a side as well, and grate the cheese.

Pulling up the sides of the egg mixture to allow the uncooked portion to spill under, you are creating an omelet!

Now add the cheese on top and fold over.

Next:  take a pretty picture of this fabulous healthy breakfast and enjoy!

Next, i get bundled up again

 to go repair the horse stall since they have to go back in there again tonight: another round of 30 below wind chills!

The beam taken right off the top of the stall!

Evidence that she went over the stall door!

Hair! from the underbelly.

even the snot freezes!

Our neighbor dog is always here to help.  We just announce, "Hey!  Enzo's here!" or "Guess what? Enzo's here!"  He is a big, dumb, Burmese Mountain dog. Really annoying sometimes, but cute!

Poor Enzo, He has to be outside all the time!

Next, i send Bob out to get the tail light assembly for the PT Cruiser, since i have been without a brake light for like, what?  Six months????

So i get bundled up....again

And head outside to fix the taillight.

Yes that is duct tape, because the last time I went and ordered the taillight lamp, they gave me the wrong part!  I think that's why i took so long to go back.  I procrastinate when i know something will be this long ordeal in which to complete.

So once i removed the assembly, i realized that i cannot find the screw that holds it on!  What the heck did i do?  I don't remember putting it in my pocket, i look and it's not there. 

No where to be found in the snow!

So Bob goes out to the garage and looks around for a replacement. He comes back with none that will work so i throw those screws in my pocket, traipsed on up the driveway to the garage and as i enter i pull the screws out from my pocket and what do i find?  The screw i thought i had lost! "Really?  That's kinda funny. " I say to myself. ( I find i say a lot of things to myself lately)

So i go back down the driveway, and screw in the screw.  Wa-lah!  Done!

When i got back in the house i found Charlie in the box.  Cats always like boxes.

So i remove my bundle of winter clothes and start thinking about this old, drafty house and why does it always seem like it is colder then bat shit in here?

Well this is why.....

This is the thermostat, we keep it set at about 66 during the day.

Now, i grab the electronic thermometer, and head out on a mission to determine the temperature throughout this 120 year old farm house.

First, i start in the kitchen:

Next, I head into our office/classroom:

Next, the living room:

Next, the basement (which also doubles as our bedroom):

Then to the laundry room (also in the basement):

Then, its upstairs and into the spare bedroom:

And the hallway leading to the spare bedroom:

It is no wonder that Louie finds a sun beam whenever she can!

Next i decide i am gonna make cheese.

Photos tomorrow.

And all this before noon!