Our wait is over – Margie finally had her calf and we get our fresh milk supply back! Margie has been showing signs that the time for calving was close for over a week now but not until Friday morning did we know it would happen without any problems.
Warning: This post contains pictures of the actual butchering process – they are real life and may be considered by some to be too gruesome…
Drying off a family milk cow is always a bittersweet deal – you are glad for the break from milking but really miss the fresh milk! No more ice cream. No more fresh cheese. No more drinking milk to your heart’s content – or should I say stomach’s content?
Yes, we had a few hiccups. I prefer to call them character builders. But, after three days work, our ICF walls for the upstairs, the main living area, are finished – stacked and filled with concrete.
Harvest is over and we are gearing up for a new year of vineyard work. But before vineyard work starts, we get to make some progress on the house – YAH! The boys have been working hard and I can’t wait to share the progress with you!
If you have free-range chickens, you can probably sympathize with the embarrassment that having poop on your porch brings – ugh! Now, thanks to my chicken coop, there is no more poop on my porch. Complete with a clay tile roof it has five, easily accessible laying boxes! It is definitely one of the “little things in life” that bring pleasure to look at! No more can the chickens fly out and poop everywhere!
Four Season Gardening – here I come! The greenhouse is finished and I just feel the need to brag a bit. Yes, I may be weird, but I am excited about the work that is ahead of me. Winter veggies are planted inside and beginning to grow plus, I now have room to start my garden seeds without taking up every windowsill in our home!
The anticipation is over – Margie had her calf. That is the good news. The birth went easily and mom and baby were healthy. Unfortunately, there is some bad news. Like a good old fashioned John Wayne movie complete with cattle rustlers there is a happy end to the story.
Oh the excitement of it all. The anticipation of the event. I can’t contain myself. After all, we are talking about a new life – a…
We crushed Montepulciano grapes from the vineyard last year after harvest. Those are still in barrels but now it’s time to bottle the wine from the Montepulciano grapes from 2013. Wine making is a process that requires patience but bottling gives a chance to taste the progression of it!