Falling behind...

This week, i'm feeling a bit behind. Fall sort of snuck up on me, like it always does and caught me totally off guard. i've been feeling the usual melancholy of this season, mourning the end of summer and trying to embrace the beginning of Autumn. Well, maybe not...this year i haven't really been embracing the change of season at all, i have been mentally rebelling. i feel like i'm entering the season kicking and screaming and not quite ready to 'let go' of the summer. It does not seem that long ago that we were in the midst of that never ending winter. i'm not at all ready to go back to that.

So, a quick run down of the past week. i finally gave my approval to start the cutting of pines on our property. We hired some local folks to clear around 1 acre of our land to expand the yard. This was really, really hard for me. Even though i know how much having this cleared land will help with what we want to do here, i don't like to cut down living trees. However, it also seems a bit silly to have all this land and not be able to use it. We didn't have the area clear cut, but instead they took out selective trees. i'm actually somewhat surprised how many trees are still standing. Now that the large pines are gone, there are many small hardwoods that will have a better chance to grow. We split the profits from the timber, and actually made about twice as much as we were expecting. The space is going to be really nice, and we'll use the profits to put up fencing for the goats, plant clover and purchase some fruit trees. We should also have enough to start the framing for a small goat barn. The area needs to be cleaned up, and there is a lot of left over wood that can be cut for firewood this winter. So we should be totally set for heat this winter.

My mom is also here visiting from MI. She came on the 15th, and will be here another week or so. We've been processing apples together, and have canned around 30 pints so far, this doesn't include all the apple sauce i made earlier this month. We still a lot of apples, and can pick more when we get through these. It amazing how much quicker it goes with a bit of help. i've been peeling the apples with my new apple peeler (early b-day present from the hubby!) , and mom cuts out the brown spots, and cuts them up and tosses them in the pot. Then we just let it cook down and season it, then fill and process the jars. Now that the weather has cooled down a bit (for a few days at least) i'm looking forward to baking some apple dumplings and apple crisp. i've also been checking out some new ways to preserve apples over at Homegrown.org. i'm thinking we may have to make the apple cider donuts sometime this week. :)



This past week, i've been milking my friend's goat while she was out of town for a few days. It was a great experience, and really good practice for me. After just a few days of milking regularly, morning and evening, i definitely feel like i have it down. This is the sweet girl who was allowed me to milk her. She is incredibly gentle and docile.

Getting everything prepped to milk. Sanitizing the milking pail, udders, and hands.

i got a little over a quart at each milking, so she produces a full gallon every two days. At the end of the week i had a fridge full of milk and made a second batch of Chevre'.

My mother, who had never had goats cheese asked, " what can you do with goat cheese?"
So this week we enjoyed spinach-mushroom and goat cheese quesadillas, tomato-basil bruschetta with goat cheese, veggie stromboli with goat cheese, and homemade pizza topped with portabellos, caramelized onions and goat cheese. :)

We've have also been enjoying these end of summer, early Autumn days. We've taken a few hikes in the woods, collecting fall leaves and acorns.

The spiders have begun to come out. We've seen large several barn spiders and black and yellow garden spiders around the yard. We found this Nursery web weaver spider down by the creek and i couldn't resist getting a picture. She has a web full of babies, and she guards them until they are big enough to leave the nest.

This weekend we have begun the move into cooler days and nights. Soon i'll be dragging out our wool socks and sweaters, and curling up with my crochet hook reflecting back on the past year, and how quickly it has all gone by. Autumn is the season of change, and we have had our share this year. Although i'm not ready to give up the summer yet; i can feel us moving forward in many ways,and look forward to many of the changes that are yet to come. Each small step brings us closer to the dream, and we are getting there one small step at a time.