September already?

Summer has flown by too quickly.  August went especially fast, maybe because there was a lot going on. 

The porch addition to the goat barn that was started in July was finally finished, complete with a matching burgundy tin roof and siding.  I say 'finished' but we still plan to put a gutter and downspout across the front to collect rain water, and move a few fence panels and add a gate before I let them have access to it.  At least the hard part is done.  I also fixed the front replacing the OSB scraps with goat panel to keep the goats from escaping under the building.

The hardest job, but the most exciting was pouring the concrete driveway.  It took 4 separate days of 8 X 26 foot sections to complete the job, all done by John, Connor, Philip, Taylor and me. 

The garden harvest came and went.  I can't say I'm proud of my garden this year, the six weeks of rain followed by drought didn't help matters. I waded between the weeds and managed to make several pints of pickled cucumbers, 12 quarts of green beans, 20 quarts of tomato juice (thanks to help from my mom) and about the same number of canned tomatoes.  We also had enough tomatoes and peppers to make 10 quarts of salsa.  We had a few watermelons and cantaloupe to eat, but the zucchini and squash didn't make it.  At the end, I opened the gate and gave it to the sheep and donkey to clean up the scraps.  They were very happy.

Sissy cat recovered from her neck injury.  After doing some research and watching it progress, I'm pretty convinced that it was a spider bite.  She is doing well, and this week went off to the vet with Bubby cat for their spay and neuter.  The kittens and Mama cat are enjoying their daily treat of fresh goat milk. 

As for the goats, Alita's new babies are one month old and growing well.  They were both dehorned early on. They are starting to nibble on grass and hay, and have joined the other kids in the larger pasture.  Daryl is looking pretty sad because he had to leave the girls and join the rest of the boys on the hill in their bachelor pad.  I can't take a chance of letting poor Alita get pregnant yet again. 

Beginning last week, Ember and I have reduced our milking schedule to once per day in the evenings.  This puts us down to producing 1/2 gallon of milk per day.  I've been making a lot of yogurt, and some cheeses, recently mozzarella has become my new favorite.  It's easy and fun to make.