Marshall says "HI!"

"Anyone have an extra bottle of milk in their pocket? The service around here is terrible!"

More goats return home

Rachel helped me with the goat retrieval trip to Greeley today. Was hoping to bring the remaining 5 goats home, but decided they would not all fit in the back of the Subaru. Particularly since Arlo is the size of two goats. That would have been about 600# of goats in the car and really crowded. So Tulip and Helen had to stay for the next trip. They are in with Todd's goats so they won't feel too lonely.

 Sunflower and her kid

 Arlo's glad to be home! Although he says he will miss Noah and Andrew, the human kids at Todd's house.

Westfarm Goats Farm Tour

Westfarm Goats Farm Tour

Saturday Sept 29 from 3-5 pm

Come see how the kids have grown over the summer

Wear long pants and close-toed shoes.

Come visit the kids one more time before winter.

Goat’s milk soap available for purchase at ½ price during the tour.

www.westfarmgoats.com         westfarmgoats@msn.com

Email if you need directions

 Meet Nickolaus, our new buck.

Slow Money and Sustainable Settings

On Labor Day weekend my friend Rachel and I went to this Slow Money gathering at the Sustainable Settings farm in Carbondale. Slow Money is the idea of investing money locally in small sustainable food business instead of sending your investments off to companies that don't have the same principles as you do.I'll write more about the gather later.

But the Sustainable Settings farm was fabulous!. They are a nonprofit that is an educational center for sustainable living practices. They offer workshops, school tours and internships. It is a 240 acre farm in a river valley surrounded by tall mountains (the farm is flat!). They grow grain and hay for their animals, sell eggs, and cow shares. There are about 200 chickens and a few turkeys running around together with some pigs, goats and lambs. Thye have a few beef calves and 8 milking Guernsey cows. I was able to look into their milking shed. Not a big setup - just a cement floor with hot water from a solar heater. They do use a portable milking machine. The second room had a stainless steel sink, jar sterilizer and storage.
They had a harvest dinner with the most amazing food I've ever had buffet style. It was all cooked right there on a huge fire pit.

Here is the menu.


9th Annual Harvest Benefit
Saturday, September 1,2012 /4 - 9 PM at
Browse our Silent Auction Featuring Gifts from:
Individuals and Businesses in the
Roaring Fork Valley and Beyond
Entertainment:
Slide Whistle and The Sticky Mulligan Band
Mud Puppet Theater &
THE HANDS-ON RESISTANCE THEATER
Draft Horse Hayrides with Molly & Zap her
Dinner:
Our Own Heritage Duroc Pork 5 ways
.:. porchetta wi gremolata
.:. nose to tail terrine in squash blossoms
.:. pig butter
.:. roast pork shoulder
.:. pork liver pate with radishes
.:. sausage
.:. roasted beets, cavatelli, beet greens, ricotta
.:. grilled bones (ribs braised and tossed in a
spicy cilantro sauce)
.:. okedJamb tacos, asst sauce~gnr1.. __=_ _
.:. pit roasted goat
.:. porcini & heart jus (my own dried porcinis)
.:. wood fire grilled Flatbread with leek and
avalanche goat cheese fonduta wi drizzle of
honey
.:. wood fired polenta
.:. swiss chard in garlic, onion
.:. roasted potatoes in chimuchurri?
.:. kale salad
.:. grilled beans:
.:. greens slow cooked with tomatoes
.:. fennel & austin family farms apple salad,
celeriac dressing
Dessert:
Our own Beyond Organic Heirloom Local Organic
Apple Crisp & Ela Family Farms Peaches and
Pairing:
Jack Rabbit Hill's Organic Estate Wines,
Local Beer from Aspen Brewing Co, Carbondale Beer
Works, and Big B's Organic Apple Ciders
Guest Chefs:
Mark Fischer, Jim Butchart, Chris Lanter, Bryce Orblom,
Lee Liebmann, John Little and more ...
Thank You for Supporting Sustainable Settings
www.sustainablesettings.org

Retrieving Goats

Now that the worst of the wildfire season is over (we hope), I've been bring the goats back from Greeley a car load at a time.

Chickens View

A chicken's view of the sky when not out in the pasture.

Yep, It's a Full Moon

Yep, It’s a Full Moon

“Catalon, I can’t believe you got sprayed by that skunk”!  Catalon is my friend’s blue heeler who is spending a few days with me. The first evening here she asks to go out in the backyard and runs right into a skunk. I should have looked first before letting her out. Now she is slathered in peroxide and baking soda.  This neutralizes the smell at least. Catalon just gives me this look of disgust and disbelief.

Yep, it’s a full moon.

“Red! What are you doing up on the highway?!” I’m also goat, chicken and horse sitting for the same friend. It’s 6:30 in the morning and as I round the corner of her driveway, I see Red, the pinto horse, running down the highway across a 35 acre pasture from where I am. Red must be on the road, cars are slowing down. The highway is just a two lane mountain road with a 40 mph speed limit and most folks who drive this road are used to watching for elk, still…..

 Izzy, the other horse, is dashing around the pasture as if to say “Red! You big idiot, you did it again! Every time you mess with the fence we both get confined to the corral.”

After parking the car, I’m able to call Red down off the highway into the neighbors pasture. How am I going to catch this guy? I’m a goat person, not a horse person. I grew up around horses, but have never been totally comfortable around them. Oh, wonderful, there’s a gate on this side of the pasture too, but it’s locked!  If I could have opened this gate now, Red would have rushed right in. Now he’s off and running again. Back to the corrals I trot to grab some alfalfa. If I put some alfalfa down, he should stay down here until I can get some help. Willard’s phone number is on the board in the barn. He is the older gentleman who has the team of Belgian horses a couple places over. After a quick call, Willard shows up with a bucket of grain and easily slips the halter over Red’s head. Now to open the gate… I have no idea where the key might be.

Back up to the barn again, find some pliers. Unscrew the bolt from the post and the chain comes free. Willard hands me the halter rope and I get to walk Red back to the corral. The sun is coming up over the mountain, hitting me in the face. We are walking in the shade/light area that is so blinding. I have trouble seeing exactly where the corral gate is located.  Just hope this big dingbat doesn’t decide to take off on me in the process. He behaves relatively well, except for trying to walk faster than I am. We arrive back at the corral, I swing the gate shut and remove the halter. Izzy is waiting in the stall like the responsible horse he is. Red heads for a drink of water and I take a deep breath.

Now the goats need attention. They are not happy to have waited an hour for breakfast and milking. It’s already 8:00 and they are all yelling to be let out and feed. I still need to get home and tend to my goats.  By 8:30 when I return home, the sun is fully up and blazing heat into the barns. The goats are yelling, the cats are yowling and the chickens are squacking as if to say “It’s way past chore time, where have you been?”

Yep, it’s a full moon.

My next chore for the day is to cover the hay stack with tarps. It was just delivered and I need to cover it before it is rained on. Unfortunately I don’t have a barn large enough to hold the year’s supply of alfalfa, so it must be stacked on pallets and carefully layered with tarps. The tarps must be layered so the rain runs down off of it and not into the stack and they must be securely tied to keep the goats from snacking on the buffet. A double high fence must surround the stack to keep the elk from feasting all winter as well. The 20 x 30 foot tarps act like a parachute with even the slightest breeze, so it is much easier if a second person can help from the ground. However, none of my help is available today, so it’s me, the orange baling string and the tarps. Oh, and the thunderstorm coming in with lots of lightning. This should be lots of fun walking around on top of the stack.

Yep, it’s a full moon.

But I timed it right to plant the fall crop of peas and spinach. Plants that grow up need to be planted with the waxing moon just before it is full. Root crops should be planted with the waning moon.

Yep. It’s a full moon.