Welcome to our 1864 farmhouse…life is good!


Monday, July 22

summer in the country...snapshots from the last week.

Even though we have our own garden, it's fun to see what goodies arrive in our weekly CSA box. It comes from the nicest family farm not far from home. (Oh...and they have goats, too!) Everything comes freshly-washed, neatly trimmed, and packed in a sturdy poplar box...
this family works hard, and it shows.










We were blessed last weekend to "goat-sit" this adorable 2 week-old sweetie!
His name is GB (short for Goat Boy) and it was a weekend to remember as we all took
turns bottle feeding him. 

(Why yes...we are hoping he's for sale in the near future. Cindy, are you reading this?!)








Capturing a summertime rainbow over the chicken coop.




Happy Monday, friends!

Wednesday, July 10

baby goat cuteness!


This adorable face greeted us on a recent visit to our 4-H adviser's farm!


Look no more for your daily dose of cuteness than this week-old Boer-Nubian cross...



MUST.
HAVE.
GOATS.




And for those of you who know me, yes, I've shared this with my hubby...
for some reason, he isn't nearly as excited about the idea as the kids and I are.

That's odd. He usually loves it when I add to his list of things to do around the house...
i.e. goat fencing.







Tuesday, July 2

liquid gold ~ no, no, no...not the furniture polish!



 nature's sweetener...

liquid gold...

the Greeks even called it the nectar of the gods...

Whatever you like to call it, we now have some of our very own...

HONEY, that is!


A trip to the hive (all suited-up of course), and the help of a good neighbor, found us with frames of capped honey ready to be extracted!  Yay!  After our recent swarm, we just weren't quite sure what we'd find on our next hive inspection.

But before we knew it, our handy-dandy honey extractor was whirling around spinning out glorious honey...


When all the frames had been extracted, we opened the gate and watched the honey pour into the sieve, which would filter and catch any wax.


After all the honey was in the pail, we tightened the lid and let it sit for two days to allow the bubbles to rise to the top.
 
And here's a sampling of what we now have in Mason jars just waiting...



to be drizzled over buttery biscuits and thick slices of warm homemade bread. 

It's been an interesting year filled with beekeeping lessons and new experiences, but one taste of this, and it's all worth it!



(Thanks, girls...)  
 
 
 
 
 
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