Having my second cup of coffee, after a dog walk in the deep snow, and before heading up to milk. The Nemo blizzard dumped a little over a foot and roads are currently impassable so my milk maids can’t make it to the farm. I am looking forward to my time alone with the milking ladies.
The snow is over Ruby’s head and she struggled through it as if swimming. Part of the way, Honey broke the path for her, part of the way I carried her. The bigger dogs bound through the snow with great joy.
So here we are February already and in the full swing of things.
We have 34 does in lactation and between 6 and 10 still to kid, depending upon who took and who didn’t. We have eight “keepers”, seven doelings and Eli. We have the two preemies, Sterling and Bernard, who are thriving and who we have dehorned and will castrate and find them an adoptive pet home. We have four new babies that will head to Aden Brook Farm. Cara has been a fantastic farm intern!
The ladies are producing enough milk so we are already making a full vat of cheese daily as well as selling lots of raw milk. Our faithful milk maids, Rachel and Margaret, have been milking morning and evening and tending to the milk customers. Dan and I have been experimenting with some fun new cheeses, a Newburgh Brewing Company brown ale washed tome and our own version of Drunken Goat that we think we will call Toasted Goat. We have also been making vats of chevre, feta and bloomy rinds. The first batch of bloomy rinds, our Firthcliffe, Aleck Meadow and Idlewild, are almost fully bloomed and will go into the cave to ripen for the next week or so. We find ourselves at the winter farmer’s markets in Cornwall, Beacon and Ringwood, NJ with the help of Daniel and Gabe.
Farm Tours started last weekend and were a great success! The snow cancelled yesterday and today’s tour but Sunday’s tours look good and are fully booked. Cara does the guided tours through the farm and Dan and I do the tastings in the viewing room and answer questions. We’ve enjoyed getting to know many of our farmer’s market customers! Tours continue through the end of April.
Tomorrow Dan is taking Rachel, our milk maid, and little Dor’ss the baby goat to the last Bialas Farms’ Mini-Market and bringing cheese and chocolate chvre truffles. I can’t wait for the Bialas Farms veggies! If you happen to go, make sure to wish Dan a very happy birthday.
Yesterday I made more truffles than I could count for Valentine’s Day treats. I plan to make more this afternoon. We’ll have them for sale at the markets and at the farm.
Did you see yesterday’s Cornwall Local? Fun article about the goats eating Christmas trees. We greatly appreciate DPW delivering to our door all the trees. The goats have been eating about ten a day!
The chickens are not going to be happy with all this snow so we will likely spread some of the leaf bags we saved for them to romp around in. I started thinking about what chicks I am going to order this year. The ducks have started laying again. Spring is just around the corner! Things we are looking forward to: maple syruping, starting indoor seedlings, piglets, bees, spring and summer farmer’s markets!
