Week #28 - Random blessings...

I was feeling a bit scattered and random this week, so decided to scroll through my camera roll for some inspiration and found it....

Our apple trees are loaded down this year with fruit and I see lots of pies in our future! 

Our plan is to add a couple of new fruit trees to our property every year until we have a larger orchard but for right now we have three older trees near the front road which are doing their best to feed the municipality! 

Avery wrangled with a skunk this week and came out smelling less than pretty... Good thing she is so darn cute! 

This week we had our good friends kids over for a "farmcation". There is nothing like small children to help you see your world with new perspective! 

They teach you pretty quickly that the small things are really the big things... pay attention.

The other night after the rain I found Oliver (the goat) perched atop Graceson (the bull)... it was like he was trying to keep his feet dry! 

I went to put the chickens to bed and came back about 20 minutes later... They were still in the same position. 

This weekend we moved our young turkeys and chickens out of the barn and into corral #1.  

This space has not been grazed this year and is lush with volunteer tomatillos, cucumber and various other veggies and weeds. 

You can hardly see the young turkeys in the tall plants! 

Our lives are full, we are very blessed. We live in a beautiful place, eat food that nourishes are body and spirit and are surrounded by beings (two legged and four) that make us laugh and fill our arms with love. May you see and enjoy your blessings this week!

Week 21 - Dirty hands, happy heart...

The last week has been exhausting yet satisfying. We put a huge dent in #plant16 and if the weather cooperates next week the greenhouse will be empty. 

While there are some plants that we plant every few weeks, to
keep a fresh supply (lettuce, spinach, peas, beans), the first round of seeding is done and plant are popping up after this weeks' rain. Transplanting of broccoli, cauliflower, onions, squash, zucchini, artichoke, and cucumbers is done. 

We tackled the strawberry bed this week and moved over 400 plants.... pretty good as the bed started with 12 free plants we got from a neighbour a couple of years ago! Their original generosity was paid forward this week as we invited anyone who wanted to come and dig the remaining strawberries up to come and get them. Six or seven households will enjoy a taste of strawberries this year.... never under-estimate how much one simple kindness can multiply and touch many others! 

Mid-week we discovered that a skunk had killed almost a dozen of our young hens we hatched in early spring. The skunk dug under and into the chicken tractor that they were in. Put the temporary electric fence and set up the trap and caught him the following night.. but where there is one, there will be others.  

All the rest of the critters are doing well, our broiler chickens are almost ready to go out onto pasture and we are expecting another batch of broiler chicks and our turkeys to arrive this Friday! The geese are huge and act like godzilla among the smaller chicks. Oliver (the baby goat) continues to thrive and is now down to two bottles a day as he is eating more and more vegetation as he grows. Finally the piggies are doing very well. They are a riot to watch especially when they wrestle with each other. 

We end the week with dirty hands and happy hearts... we are truly blessed to live in a place so beautiful and nourishing. 

Week #18 - Farm by numbers

Endless potato planting..

Patty and her brood outside for the first time!

Oliver and Graceson cuddle each night

Caesar, the rooster

Over 900 potatoes planted, 65 tomatoes - all snug in their own kozy koat, 9 pigs moved to their new home, 100s of plants seeded and moved countless times around the greenhouse, three bottles a day for Oliver (the goat kid), 150 new broiler chicks picked up and settled into the brooder, 3 successful hatches of layer chicks, over 2500 feet of irrigation drip tape connected, tested and ready to go! 

It was another busy week but the sore muscles and exhaustion is worth it. We are feeling like we are on track and on schedule. Hope your week was as fruitful and satisfying! 

Luscious Lily

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Lily began sporting a lovely studded pink collar yesterday and has become quite the diva... hogging any attention, oats or photo shoot! 

Happiness is....

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Happiness is a wheelbarrow of turnip greens... at least if you are cow or a goat. 

Brains vs. Brawn!

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Sancho (the goat) has realized that he is never going to be as big as Gaston (the bull), but he's a smart little guy so is using the shelter to his advantage. 

After he came down, Gaston decided to try to get up there too, but quickly realized he was too big so decided to try to flip the shelter over! #goofball

Sweet Lily!

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Lily is fitting in very nicely on the farm, demonstrating her significant skills at manipulation in order to get what she wants.... after all who can resist such a face! 

Lily is lovely!

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Meet Lily (as we've decided to call her), a newcomer to our farm family. 

Lily came to stay with us today and is getting used to her four legged roomies! She is really quite lovely and is making fast friends tonight! 

Those eyes....

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She has wrapped me right around her hoof... 

Chocolate, our dairy goat manages to get exactly what she wants most of the time. In the evening after milking that's a handful of apple nuggets. 

She looks at me with those eyes and invariably I reach in the bag for just a few more.... #goatmagic

Week #1 -2015 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - The First Edition (of the Year)

This week marks the official start of the Fenez Follies Farm CSA 2015 season.  This week each of our shareholders will receive their first box of bounty from our farm. In the beginning of the season, the boxes are light and full of green leafy vegetables. As the season progresses, the boxes get heavier and dense with food as it becomes ready. By the end of the season, you will need a good strong back to haul the squash, pumpkins, potatoes and tomatoes away!

For those of you who are new to this, each week we share a blog about what is in each box and share a bit of information and tips on what you might be able to do with the treats you find in the box. 

This week you will find some rhubarb stalks in the box. For those not familiar with what to do with rhubarb... well the sky is the limit! Rhubarb makes yummy cobbler or jam, is wonderful in muffins, cakes, pies, or cookies... heck I've even seen recipes for rhubarb pickles or wine! It has a tart taste which can be sweetened with sugar or by mixing with other fruit such as berries. If you need a little help with some ideas or details, check out the Rhubarb Compendium for a great collection! 

Given this is the first box of the season, we've slipped in some treats for you and some feathered friends! For you, there is a sample bag of our very own Goat's Milk Caramels! These are a new creation on the farm and I'd love to know what you think! While goat milk is yummy enough, we were looking for a even more delicious way to use all the milk that our lovely nanny goat, Chocolate gives us! Given that these are made with milk, we ask that you keep them refrigerated... if they even make it that far! Interested in having more, check out our Product page for more info! 

For your feathered friends, we've created a bird seed heart to hang in your tree to feed the birds! Why? Well, mostly because I saw it on Pinterest and thought it was a neat idea to try.... :) 

So in summary... What's in the Box this week?

• Swiss Chard
• Kale
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Lettuce (mixed greens in bag)
• Spinach (in bag)
• Zucchini (for full boxes) 
• Beets (remember you can eat the beet greens too!)
• Herbs in the red cup: 
• Oregano
• Chives
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Dill
• and as a special homemade treat for you and the birds!  

Notes to our CSA Share holders: 

We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be important to wash all vegetables before you eat them. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (pails, cups, bags etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 

Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter at @FenezFollies

My two favorite girls!

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Captured two of my favorite gals tonight sharing secrets and a kiss! 

Both are kind, gentle and giving and particularly persistent in getting what they want!  

Who needs a trampoline!

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In one of our corrals we have a old chicken tractor that has seen better days. 

It has been leaning up against the barn for a few years and other goats have climbed in and over it.... however, Sancho took it to a whole new level today!! 

He used it as a trampoline! (Until we ruined his fun and took it apart)

Note: While you can see a photo here... the full video action in on our Facebook page (for some reason I can't seem to upload it here!) Once you are there.... Like our page to keep up with the happenings around the farm! 

Someone is watching you....

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Ever felt like someone is watching you? 

Each night as we milk the goat, the other animals peer through a hole in the wall at us. It is the funniest feeling. 

I think they are making sure that we don't forget to come and visit them later. 

Cow-lick!

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After we milk the goats each night, we have a routine (they would suggest a necessity) to visit with the goats and cattle in the barn. We must come armed with treats or we quickly are told of everyone's displeasure by way of a cacophony of bellowing and bleating from all.

Gaston's favorite treat is a pre-made horse treat made from apples. He sucks them off your hand with a exuberance that leaves you needing a towel and wanting a shower. 

Say cheese!

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Today's morning chore was making goat cheese! 

Gelfies!

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Today Sancho (baby goat) went to Fort Richmond Collegiate (@FRCCenturions) to help students there raise money for women in Africa. The students contacted us to see if we could bring a photogenic goat with which people paid $1 to take a selfie with (or gelfie). 

Sancho appeared comfortable and appreciated the attention and the students made enough money to purchase a goat to donate. Interesting idea and a nice outing for Sancho!  

Peek-a-boo!

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Sancho is a month old La Mancha buckling (male baby goat). 

He is big for his age and loves to play peek-a-boo with the camera. 

What's not to love about Chocolate!

Choco wasn't too sure about what is outside!

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Today was moving day for Chocolate. Choco is a beautiful chocolate brown goat who became the newest member of the farm. 

Up until now, home has been Aagaard Farms and we are so thankful that they have trusted us to take good care of one of their special gals!

Isn't she beautiful!

Everyone loves cheese!

Day 14 - FFF Photo of the Day

Cheese is my chocolate! I am of the opinion that cheese is near enough to being perfect than it gets in the food world! 

We have made a variety of cheeses, from cheddar, to chevre to mozzarella - all with various levels of success. While we are still honing our skills in this area, there is nothing better than the moment when you realize that 'it worked!'. We primarily have worked with our goat milk but hope to move into cow's milk next year as we gain a better supply. 

Here we are making mozzarella which involves working and stretching the hot cheese with your hands - a bit like taffy! Its a bit of a trick to avoid burning your hands but still work the cheese before it cools off! 

Easy-Peasy Yogurt Cheese!

One of the wonderful things about raising goats is having an abundance of goat's milk to create wonderful things with. Besides drinking the milk, we make soap, yogurt or various types of cheese. One of our very favorite is a combination of those - well without the soap! 

Yogurt cheese is super easy and very yummy. I can't see why you all couldn't try this at home with cow's or goat's milk that you purchase at the supermarket - I have never tried that.. but I can't see why pasteurization would hinder this process. So I thought I would walk you through the steps so that you can try at home... or not. I should add a word of caution, as you are toying with milk, a product that can become nasty if not treated with care. Proceed at your own risk.

We use raw goat's milk.. the fresher the better. After milking we filter our milk to take out as much of the impurities as possible and store in quart jars. The way we make our yogurt is .. oddly enough to add yogurt to milk. We found that using an organic probiotic plain yogurt you can pick up at the grocery store works best. You can use other yogurt or even your own cultured yogurt over again but we found that for the thickest creamiest yogurt, a probiotic culture works well. Of course, if you are then going to make cheese with this yummy yogurt as we do then you want it as thick as possible! 

Take about a 1 1/2 - 2  Tablespoons of yogurt and add to each quart (or litre) of milk. Stir and mix well. Now you need to find a warm place to let the milk stand. Certainly you can purchase yogurt makers that create this environment. We  have found a handy way of using our dehydrator with a towel draped over it. Other ways that we have heard or read about involve heating the milk and then keeping it in a warm place like the oven to cool. You want to be sure its in a place where it is not jostled. 

After approximately 15-24 hours in a warm place, you magically have yogurt! This creamy substance can be eaten now or if you wish to take one more step you can turn it into cheese! We use a variety of methods to drain the yogurt, as you can see from the pictures below. Essentially you want to strain the yogurt through cheesecloth so that you remove the whey and make the yogurt into a spreadable cheese. This can take a couple of days and is best done in the fridge for safety reasons. 

In the end you up with a cheese that is like a soft cream cheese. It has a tangy flavour due to the yogurt base which we really like. You could then whip in all kinds of interesting additions, such as herbs, spice or something like minced sundried tomatoes. We have also had much success with freezing this cheese. We simply put into small tupperware containers and put in the bottom of the freezer. This extends your milking/cheese season considerably (as you can't milk all year.. but you can certainly eat cheese all year!)

Hope this may have been helpful or at least interesting, for you foodie's out there who like to experiment with new food processing methods, give this a try this weekend. You could have a batch done in time for Easter!