Wednesday, January 22, 2014

EGGS, GLORIOUS EGGS!!!!

The Booty Hatch is finally starting to open in the Hen House! It has been a long winter without the usual abundance of farm fresh eggs. The girls have had a good rest, their new feathers all fresh and fluffy. It was an absolute travesty that the Farmer and Son had to have omelets with store bought eggs. The freezing weather has had much to do with the delay. There is little doubt that our fine feathered friends have spent their energy on keeping warm, not laying eggs for our breakfast. Just one casualty reported, and that was a hungry chicken hawk. It will take a couple of weeks for any substantial amount for the market, but the pullet eggs are an indication that the chicks from last year are contributing their part. The tell tale sound of cackling throughout the day has returned, an assurance that there will be eggs in the nesting boxes. The Farmer and Son are brainstorming about a chicken trailer. By moving the hens around the pasture, it would serve several functions........ fertilizing, aerating, insect devouring, and weed eating. How genius is that! We would also be able to increase our numbers, to accommodate the demand. As the next wave of winter weather approaches, we are secure in the knowledge that our laying Hens are healthy and fat, with warm feather coats. We will patiently wait for the early Spring laying cycle to hit us head on, anxious to fill all of the empty egg cartons we have been collecting all winter. From our farmstead to your table thank you for all of your support!!!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

ROCK A BYE BABY !!!!

The stork is coming! This year will bring at least 6 baby calves to our dairy herd. Only two cows were in question. This means plenty of cow milk during the peak summer season. The Farmer is breathing a sigh of relief, as it has become apparent that recently acquired Caesar the Bull is very low key in his lovemaking prowess. Not once did we notice any interest or inclination when it was obvious that the girls were in the mood, being flirty and shamelessly flaunting themselves. His gender preference was coming into question, noting his apathy and indifference towards the bold advances of the saucy hussies. Playing hard to get must have been part of his modus operandi. Apparently when the sun went down and under the cover of darkness, the moon and the stars, he really strutted his stuff.......secret, silent, and successful. HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY ! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

TASTE BUDS BUCKET LIST!!!!!

The Huffington Post listed 25 foods to eat before you die. Well it just so happens that if you swing by R and C Dairy and Farmstead this weekend  you will be able to cross one or two off of your list! The list is very specific, fresh picked strawberries from the farmers field. No supermarket berries count. And if the Farmers Wife has been on the ball, home made pimento cheese will be available also.....another choice tidbit on the list. As the weather seems to be calming a bit, and the hint of a new season approaching, the farm is slowly gearing up for the upcoming planting season. The seed lists have been started, it has been decided where each specific crop is going to go. The Does that are going to kid in the Spring are starting to pooch. The Does that have been milked through the winter are slowing down a bit, getting a little antsy, as they each come into season and anticipate their rendevous with Don Juan. The Farmers Son has become an expert on Caprine PMS.  The Farmer and Son brought all of the milk cows up last evening to do do a pregnancy check. Not quite as easy as tinkeling on a stick, but with a blood test, the results are pretty accurate, we will know in a couple of days the outcome. The cow and goat milk supply has held pretty steady, but as our demand has increased, we are going to have to rethink our *no more* mindset and look for some competent help. Another set of hands makes a big difference. Our projections for the new year include the U-pick strawberry season starting the first of April, the CSA season starting around the end of April, and the Farmers Market in Denton the first of May. We will start taking applications for the CSA toward the end of February. More information will be posted as we get closer to time. As for now, the market has milk, honey, ground beef, baked goods, dried goods, essential oil products, goat milk soap, preserves, some fresh picked strawberries,........ a little this and that. MARKET HOURS: Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00. Special appointments can be made throughout the week for dairy pickup. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Friday, January 10, 2014

MYSTERY SOLVED.......WE HOPE!!!!

There is nothing more satisfying than pouring a  glass of ice cold raw cow milk, or drenching your morning cereal with the smooth, rich cream that is found on top of unhomogenized milk. So it would be a complete shock to the system when your taste buds are attacked with a taste of metal chalk, which is how it could be described .....slightly mineraly, with a faint bitter aftertaste.....similar to lettuce after it has bolted in the summer heat. It was brought to our attention that this was the case with some of our ardent milk drinkers. Goat milk is the Farmers milk of choice and the Farmers Son likes his milk in the form of ice cream,  and the tests by the health department have nothing to do with the taste, so the taste testing department in the dairy barn was a little lax. Here we go, the hunt was on. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson did not have a thing on the detectives living under the guise of Farmers here at R & C Dairy. Why would the milk be as sweet as could be for a couple of days and be so off tasting the next? The Farmer and Son started tracing back the everyday goings on of a herd of pampered dairy cows that seemed to do nothing but hover around the hay rings day in and day out. Since it is winter, and there is no grass for grazing their diet depends solely on what is put in front of them each day. Dry hay, harvested during the summer and fall, mineral tubs for added protein, and their custom blended dairy ration, fed in the milking parlor for an extra treat. Falling back on the old adage, You are what you eat, and the fact that the cows were healthy and fat it was decided that something in their everyday consumption was causing the fluctuation in the milk taste. It is a well known fact among raw milk drinkers that milk from pastured cows, will change with the seasons. The taste and color are effected by fresh green grasses and foliage. First thing to go were the mineral tubs, maybe they were the culprits. That and the fact that the cows do not know the term moderation. Tubs that should last several weeks would be consumed in several days. That seemed to solve the situation. Several weeks later another report, back to the sleuthing. The only logical answer would be the only other factor in their diet that was not a constant from the same source. Seems that the adage there is nothing free in this life is true. When last summer the Farmer agreed to do several of our farm neighbors a favor by cutting their hay on the halves, he did not do a thorough enough inspection of just what he was cutting and baling and bringing home to the girls. Apparently bitterweed is such a nondescript little weed that grows here and there in our area in the latter part of the summer. It is not toxic, just a little bitter, thus the name bitterweed. Some of the hay that we acquired had these little weeds rolled in with the grasses as it was baled. When the cows are tearing into a newly placed roll of hay in the hay ring, they dive in head first chomping a mouthful, regardless of what is in it. They eat several bales a week relying on us to make sure what is in them is healthy, nutritious, and will not adversely affect their milk. LIVE AND LEARN!!!!  We think that we have removed all of the "contaminated" hay. Lulu   will be glad to get her mineral tubs back, as she has a penchant for molasses. If you happen to have acquired some of the blinky milk, and you will certainly know, we will gladly replace it for you, just let us know. It is not harmful, just tastes yuk! We apologize that you have to get the brunt of our learning process. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

QUICK SHARE FOR THE CRUD SEASON!!!!

With a new found obsession of essential oil uses and natural remedies, and the Farmer complaining of a scratchy throat, the search was on. This old Korean tea recipe was found. Convincing him that there are alternatives to the old timey cure of a touch of moonshine mixed with horehound candy ( famous moonshiner Popcorn Sutton's cure for everything) was a bit of a task, but to avoid the constant pestering, he relented. Not to mention the fact that moonshine is a little scarce around here. Thus the alternative!  A  1/2 pt. jar  filled about 1/2 full with sliced lemons. A little grated ginger added for some zing. The jar filled with organic, local honey, from yours truly, or another good source, covered with a lid, then refrigerated. After about a week, the lemons go all marmalady and the honey thickens. At the first sign of the crud, take a good spoonful, put in a cup, add boiling water to make a tea tonic. Drink it down!  Much better than narcotics that infiltrate your system and leave you groggy. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!! Oh, if you don't get around to making some, I will have a batch or two in the market!

STARTING THE NEW YEAR RIGHT!!!

Picked a few berries for New Years breakfast this morning. It does not get any better than this. If the rest of the year is a bust, the overloaded strawberry plants in early January will come to mind, and all will be well! A heads up for Valentines Day, as we will have luscious chocolate dipped strawberries for your Honey Bunch in the market. If they continue to produce like they are, there will be strawberry pie, strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, strawberry fruit leather, and whatever else comes to mind involving strawberries. The market will resume regular hours this weekend, and will be fully stocked with milk, yogurt, kefir, cheese, honey, and ground beef......as well as huge, ripe, strawberries. The dehydrator is running again, so there will be some new selections of dried foods. An assortment of fruit leathers are in the works as the freezers are relieved of the tail end of the summer fruits. Christmas pretty well wiped out all of the goodies, but the breads, cookies, and candies will gradually fill the shelves again. After the Christmas flurry, the Farmers Wife is pooped, so it may take a week or two before everything is available. The seed catalogs are trickling in, so evenings are spent browsing through page after page of what will be available for the new planting season. As the New Year begins, the token New Years Resolutions are made. Bets are on, on how many days each will last before becoming one more unattainable goal, put on the shelf along side of  overly zealous expectations. Excitement is brewing for the new year and all that it will bring. Hard to believe that planting will start in another month. Keep your ears to the wind, not to miss the buzz about the U-pick season, the CSA, the instructional classes, as well as what's new on the farm and in the market. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!