Visit Home

G and I visited our house in Mankato for a half a day. We piled up all our appointments in the afternoon and made a list of all the things we wanted to bring back to Rochester with us. 

It was a quick visit. 

Chiropractor, voting, returning library books, and C-section checkup (my scar looks really good according to the doctor).

Even with the quickness, I was able to eat lunch with my sister, and G and I had supper with his parents before heading back to the hospital for night rounds. 

Remember the tomato bet G and I had going? Well, here's how many are still green...

Those two on the left look like they're turning. The ones on the right, eh, we'll see. I'm not ready to give up on them.

Lawns to Legumes- Part 2

The Monday before Jaron was born, G and I shopped for plants for my medicinal herb garden. I had made a shopping list months ago after listening to a podcast about good plants for treating people and animals. I also took notes from the Holistic Goat Facebook group on plants to put in goat pastures to let them self-treat their ailments. 

Outback Nursery was our shopping location. We found quite a bit! Some on my list, and some the workers suggested being good for herbalism. 

I really liked how each plant had a nametag with pertinent information on it. I took pictures of all the signs to make it easier to make my garden layout. 

And tried to get the plants themselves in the background so I'd remember what each plant looks like. I need to make sure they're labeled accurately so I'm able to use the herbs the most beneficial way.

Jaron's birth threw off our plan for planting them. We have neighbors making sure they are watered and stay alive. I need to come up with a layout map ASAP so the plants can get in the ground. G wanted to plop them in wherever there was space, but I think we should take the time to do it right the first time, even with our current situation and the Lawns to Legumes looming deadline... the end of November. 

Animals in Strange Poses

I caught one of the kittens doing yoga. Notice her feet propped up on the fire pit? Two seconds before I took the picture, her head was bent down to slurp up some fresh water.

 My father-in-law came over to do some yardwork for us and he moved Misty to the front yard to be part of the action. She enjoyed being the foreman. Maybe a little too much... 😅

Windbreak

I'm a bit behind on happenings on the homestead because of little Jaron's appearance in our lives eleven days ago, so these next few posts are catching up on those items. 

The windbreak G and I planted in the spring didn't make it through the summer. The garden center had a sale on shrubs, so G took advantage and brought home replacements for us. Misty decided to 'help' too, although her idea of helping was to chase her tennis ball around and to dig up the freshly planted shrubs, so she quickly got moved away from the newly planted line.

The cats enjoyed frolicking among the shrubs too. This kitty paused, mesmerized by the fluttering plant label.

Our asparagus patch at the end of the windbreak is still looking good! This will make a really good stand in the next few years.

Progress

Misty has made good progress in training lately. 

G has had her off her tether more frequently, letting her interact with the goats naturally, still she's not trustworthy full time.

I had the idea to put a high interest goat food near Misty (when she's on her tether) so the goats have to come close to her. It worked. They do love their cabbage!

They seem more comfortable with her now, and will come closer to Misty without food present. Fritz still likes to butt heads with Misty, or fake her out that way. 

G brought a few bags of grass clippings from work and dumped them in the pasture. The goats and Misty immediately sniffed them out. Misty claimed the pile as a bed. The goats ate around the edge of the pile and then gave up. 😆

I Spy

Minnesota warmed back up. Perfect night for a bonfire. 

You can see one of the kittens found her happy place. She sat their contentedly for at least a half an hour.

Misty (you can barely see her head in the picture) has calmly enjoyed the fire too.

G and I have a new game called "I Spy". We say how many cats we can see at once and the other has to try to find them. 

Lots of cats leaping onto tree trunks, hiding in the grass pouncing on each other... We even saw one playing with a mouse she had caught! 

Raz wanted to join the party too...

A highlight of the night: Misty played hide and seek with a kitten around one of the big trees. She peeked around one side while the cat peeked around the other. Then they switched sides. I will say, Misty enjoyed the game more than the kitten did. It ended with Misty chasing the kitten across the lawn and into the deer fencing around the orchard. 

Whey to Go

The whey from the cottage cheese has been in the fridge long enough. Time to find a use for it. 

Reddit hasn't let me down so far! Here's the recipe I chose from this thread: 

whey Carmel: 2 quarts Whey 2 cups Sugar 4 ounces Butter 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract 1 Hefty pinch of salt Simmer the whey in a heavy bottom pot on medium until it reduces by about half. Skim the foam off the top if needed. You could probably do this part at a higher temperature while keeping a close eye on it and stirring frequently so it doesn’t scorch. I like the hands off factor of this recipe, so once I got it to a slow simmer I walked away from it for an hour. After about 1- 1 1/2 hours your whey should be reduced by half and you can add the cane sugar. Stir it until the sugar is melted and it comes back to a simmer. Leave it again to simmer and caramelize. Check on it periodically to stir and assess the progress. Once you add the sugar, the caramelization process will take just over an hour. As it cooks down and caramelizes it will start to bubble and foam, keep it going on low and keep an eye on the color. Once the color is a medium-dark amber (your preference) and the viscosity looks like syrup add the cold butter and stir as it melts, continue to stir until the butter is completely mixed in. Add salt and vanilla extract

Seems simple enough. I'm making a half recipe. 

Or, I was...

I poured the whey in my pot, keeping an eye on it as it heated. 

Seemed at a good place, so I went downstairs to tidy some things in the laundry room. About 5-10 minutes later, I heard a large thud from upstairs. Did something tip over? Fall off the wall? I couldn't think of anything that would do that. 

Upstairs I went, never suspecting I would find whey ALL OVER MY KITCHEN. 

Somehow, it had exploded. 

Whey now covered the entire surface of my stove, the wooden stove cover, the ceiling, the island countertop. Only 1/4 inch of whey remained in the pot. Where did it all go???

Little drops of what was left spattered out of the pot, so I shut it off and removed it from the heat. 

Not my wisest move. Pretty soon little sizzles on the empty burner drew my attention to the ceiling.

When I looked up, droplets of whey congregated on the ceiling directly above the stove, plopping down into my clean cast iron pan and onto the now empty hot burner. 

I laid a towel over the stove (and the gaps between the stove and countertops) to try to buffer the worst of it while I assessed the rest of the kitchen. 

Whey had sprayed onto the cabinets on the opposite wall, the window above the sink, the stools on the other side of the stove, and even on the floor behind the stools. 

Thankfully only a few drops landed on the couch (which was covered by G's sweatshirt and a quilt). 

Holy buckets. 

Emily, I know what we're going to do today! 

I mopped the floor, wiped down the counters, stood on a sturdy stool to clean the ceiling, washed the stovetop at least three times, using a rag and toothbrush to get in the crevices, wiped down cupboard doors, and cleaned the window. 

So, my kitchen is spectacularly clean right now. 😅 

The remaining whey? Went down the drain. Not enough to save now. ☹️ I'll have to save the recipe for when our goats begin producing milk.