This morning I found the first frost on the farm. We had had frost warnings and scattered frost in the neighborhood but none on the farm. It was 26 degrees when I walked the dogs and they were confused by the crispy crackling grass underfoot.
The first frost was late this year, usually we get hit around October 10th. But I don’t mind it. I am ready for the season to change and the pace and direction to change inward and towards evaluation of the past year and planning for next year.
Two days ago, I finally made cheddar from my goat’s milk. It was easier than I thought, mostly just tied to the kitchen most of the day to make the right steps at the right time. Here is a picture of the first batch drying. I will wax it in a few days and then age it for two to six months. That is a long wait to see if it came out. I have my second batch of cheddar almost ready for the pressing stage. I used the cheddar recipe from Goats Produce Too!
Bombs are dropping outside my window. Three inch green spheres…supposedly edible. They wack the ground, they hit the rhouse and porch roof, they dent the vehicles. It sounds like I am in a war zone. Thump, thump, thump…
I have two beautiful black walnut trees immeditately outside my door. They must be two hundred or more years old. They are majestic. They have many babies growing in the pheriphery.
I hate them! They poison the ground. They poison my flowers gardens. They poison my vegetable garden. I trip and fall over these spheres. They stain my deck and furniture.
And every year at this time, they drop thousands of bombs. Luckily no one has been injured or killed, only property damage.
This year, to keep the squirrels from propagating, I listed the nut spheres on free cycle. Two people have come so far and picked up eight 5 gallon buckets of nuts. The ground is still covered but maybe I made a dent in next year’s reproduction.
