December 31, 2009

I had a request for photos recently and the view out my kitchen window this morning prompted me to go outside with the camera.

Before I went out, though, I had to get this Traditional Swiss in the press. The new press is very nice. It was pricey but being awakened by 40-50 pounds of cast iron barbell weights hitting the floor in the middle of the night because the cheese is pressing on an angle is a bit disconcerting.


When I went outside, I fired up my new Johs handmade danish pipe. My beloved bought me this for Christmas. The picture doesn't really do it justice.

Here is a "before" shot of our garage.

After:

The back part is a woodshed.


Here is the bull calf, Porter House, in his new stall.

Here are some of the ewes. Annie the bottle lamb is nearest the camera.

Bunny the favorite. She likes to be scratched behind the ears. The others don't like human touch.

Da Boyz.

Sugar, laying down chewing her cud. I had a snowflake on the camera lens in this one. We got 2+ inches last night and it's still spitting.

Here's another shot of Sugar when she followed me outside. The OAD milking is going great.

Here is the homemade stanchion where we milk. I may have posted this before. I built it on the Sunday morning after Sugar freshened when I stayed home from church because I was afraid of milk fever.

This is what I did when I came back inside - waxed a gouda. That sounds kind of funny doesn't it?

December 24, 2009

It's been about a month since I've posted and don't remember all that I've shared here. If I repeat myself, bear with me.

About two weeks ago, we decided to try milking Sugar only once a day. She was/is giving about 4 gallons (maybe a bit more) each day and this is kind of a borderline amount for once-a-day milking (OAD). Most of the recommendations I've seen suggest 3 gallons as a good quantity for dropping back to OAD. She's done fine with it, though, and we are vigilant about watching for mastitis. At the first sign (flakes on the milk filter) we will go back to TAD. We've cut back on her grain ration and will probably cut it back some more if she maintains condition.

Porter is still being kept in the stall that he shared with Taffy and to be honest, I'm a little embarrassed by that. I've never believed in keeping animals confined indoors except during the most extreme weather but we just can't let him in with Sugar and risk him trying to nurse and injuring her teats again. Not to mention, he is now 6 months old and likely capable of breeding. We should have him moved to the other barn by the end of the year. His stall will be a bit smaller but we can begin to let him outside. My plan is to keep Sugar in the pasture in front of her barn and let Porter have an area behind the other barn so they will be out of sight of one another.

We've all had the creepin' crud here this week - coughing, sore throat, fever, etc. - but everyone is well on their way back to health. This morning, I finished a mozzarella that had ripened overnight and am now working on a gouda-style. We plan on making a lot of cheese this winter.

Merry Christmas to all!