A week of Dairy life

Hello to all:

Sorry I havent' wrote in a week. But our computer has been acting up.... I personally think its the internet server making my life rough so I'll pay the extra bucks for that quick internet service. But, anyway thats whats been up. So let me recap this last week for you

Thur. I went over and vaccum packaged feta and chevre. We got a new store buying our cheese, IGA in Winlock. And our fresh feta was ready to be packaged. David went to market and did alright.

A photo Danyel took of Mt. St. Helens from our field.

Fri. The girls and I did all kinds of running around. Picked up thier blues uniform for the banquet on Sat. I picked up our new business cards and lables. We went to the library and delivered cheese to IGA, ran by the tractor and farm store and got dog food. David got home and hadn't sold very much cheese. He had a headache. He unloaded his stuff and restocked and loaded stuff for market on Sat.

Sat. I got up at 4:30 to package cheese up for David to go to market. I got everything ready and he wasn't up yet so I told him I'd go. He said alright. I have to brag but I sold really good.... almost ran out of some of my cheese. David had to do the domestic chores... like get the girls ready for the banquet and take the dessert the girls made and some cheese and crackers. I would meet them after market. David also had to make sure all chores were done before they had to leave for the banquet at 6pm. I made it to the banquet but to late for dinner (I grabbed a hamburger on my drive home). They presented a bunch of awards and had a speaker talk about staying motivated and obtaining your goals. I got home unloaded and counted my cash box. They got home about 1/2 later than I did ( girls had to visit).

Sunday David left for market at 6am.. there was snow again on the ground and ice under that. David said he slipped around a bit. The girls and I stayed home from church. Our hill is so steep and I have a two wheel drive truck.... not a good combo for ice and snow. We did our chores and put the puzzel together and just hung out. I did go in the afternoon to get grain. David got home and had sold less than $100 of cheese ----NOT GOOD. He unloaded and repacked and stocked his supplies.

Mon. David left for market at 5am. I have been getting up with him and when he leaves I spend an hour reading my Bible study book and the Bible. Got the girls up at 7am to do chores. We have cut down to 3 goats milking in the morning every third day. I am really hoping by the end of the week we will be totally done with milking. The girls are milking by hand rather than dirty the whole system. I ran and got two rounds of hay at Grace Farms. A friend brought out her boar cross doe and two kids for me to do something with thier horns. We banded the mom's horns and we burned the doe kids horns , but the buck kids horns were to big to burn off and to small to band so we'll do them in a month or so. She left the goats until Wed. as she had to get home. David got home from market at 6:30 instead of 7:30. He sold all day ==== one container of plain chevre==== $6.25. OUCH!!!! We watched a movie with the girls and relaxed.

Tue. David was off and so he helped clean the last two baby stalls up by the hay. We had a 4-H meeting today. There was snow on the ground....ICK! David had a DR. appt. so he left at 9am for Longview. I decided not to try and take Danyel to Biology class due to our hill again. But when David got home he ran her to school at about 12:00 to drop off her make up work and to take a test. They were home before the 4-H meeting started. We got our homeschool work done for the day.

Wed. David was home today too. We got the goats fed and watered this morning, then came in and did homeschool until 2pm. At about 3pm we had a family come out and tour the farm. While they were here my friend came to get her doe and kids. David had taken the girls to a CAP event at 3:30 in Centraila at the Rifle Club - to meet the Army Marksman that won the gold medal at the Olympics. The girls said it was alright but they didn't fire any guns, but they did sign a photo. They got home about 5:35pm and we had to eat dinner and then head for church at 7pm. Got home at 8:40pm and David and the girls went out and fed and watered the goats. And now as I sit here writing they are all watching Phantom of the Opera. David will load up his stuff and be ready for market tomorrow.

Well that was our week at the dairy. We are expecting two does to kid on Sat. this week. I am sure the stories will be good when the kidding starts.

You all have a Great Evening and May God Bless You.

The Sonshine Is Wonderful

Hello to the New Person

Good - by to the old person

Good Morning:

Yesterday David got another order from a store for our cheese - IGA Cedar Village in Winlock, WA - ordered garlic and dill chevre and plain chevre to put on their shelves.

I froze the milk we got yesterday - 1 gallon and 1/2. We will milk on Friday to try and pull more does off. I hate to just stop them from milking due to mastitis and I know from being a breast feeding mom how I felt - so I have sympathy for my does.

David worked on fencing yesterday. He made the fence more sturdy coming up the driveway. It looks really good.

We also had a hose break on Tue evening on the commercial hot water heater - it steamed up the bulk tank room and was squirting hot water everywhere. David turned off the water so we didn't have to clean the parlor that night - but Wed. morning he was at Home Depot getting the part. By the end of milking it was fixed and we were back to cleaning things up. I thought the part would cost about $100 since it had to do with my commercial hot water heater, but God is watching over us - it was only $14 for the part. Amen!!

David also took his car in to get it fixed and they couldn't find anything wrong. So he cleaned the terminals on the batteries and its been fine. God is Good !

We went to the thrift store and found Ali a dress to wear to the Civil Air Patrol Dance at their conference coming up. Its really pretty, black and pink - the color she loves the most, PINK.

David and I got the fresh feta vacuum packed yesterday over at Black Sheep Creamery. Now we are set until we start milking near the end of Feb. . Today I'll go vacuum pack the marinated feta and some chevre.

Danyel got baptized with about 19 other youth kids. We are so proud of her choice. Also two of our first foster daughters also got baptized. Ya! This is how you know something went right with your training of your children.

Today I will deliver some cheese to the Post Office, a mail carrier loves out cheese and I told her I'd be in town today and would bring her some.

The sunshine sure give me a better outlook on life. It lifts my spirits. I have W.O.W. tonight - women's bible study.

I need to make a double batch of rolls for the Banquet on Sat. Evening for Civil Air Patrol. And the girls are going to make a dessert too.

Have a Great Day and enjoy the SON!

Horn Banding Day!

Good Afternoon:

Well, we banded horns this afternoon right after history class. So as I pomised here are our pictures. The first picture is of the horns on the goat. Second picture of me filing a notch as close to the skull as I can. It doesn't have to be big, but big enough to hold two bands in it. I notch out one on the front of the horn and one on the back. The third picture is of the bands on the horns - I use two. This ensures if they rub thier horns they may break one band but the second is usually still on. If you do this right... the goat should be throwing his head and rubbing his horns. It doesn't hurt them - there is just pressure on the horn and its uncomfortable. It takes about 2-3 weeks before they drop off. They stop being crazy by the next day. Its sort of like banding a buck and the laying down and getting up and crying is the same thing.

David left for market this morning and ended up calling me and said the car died. And so he got it jumped and came home. He say's he'll take the truck from now on. He did pretty good yesterday at market.... not good enough for me to have to package more cheese though. thats how we know its a really good market day.... is if I have to work making up more cheese for the next day at market. Anyway he is home today. I have him doing little fix-it up jobs around the dairy.

We are going to milk every other day in hopes of drying these last 7 girls up by this weekend. I am down to a little over a gallon a milking.

All the does are looking pretty big, from being pregnant. It looks like a good crop of does this year and that means a good crop of kids.

For P.E. today we worked for one hour cleaning one of the kid pens. This pen is alot harder than the other one we did. So it will take us a few days on this pen.

Well hope the banding horns helped you be able to do it yourself.

Have a great day. Remember you are what you eat! So eat healthy and stay active. (If you need something to do come work with us on the dairy for a day or two)

Its a Sunny Day!

Its a Great Morning:

Klahowya (Kl a how ya) Cowlitz Indian Jargon - Means: Hello or Good-by

I got up at 5am to make up some packages of garlic and dill chevre and to package some marinated feta for David. I also packaged up some plain yogurt and some fruit yogurt for David to take to market tomorrow. I still need to lable and make an invoice for the yogurt.

This is Elfy our Lamancha doe

Ali went to market with David today. Danyel and I have to go to Sunday school this morning so Danyel can take her class on baptism. She is getting baptized on Wed. evening. We are very excited.

The Indian Language class was great. We learned alot and I am looking forward to being able to talk to others with this old but new language. Grandfather Roy is an awsome teacher and he is a great guy too. We met alot of nice people. One lady who comes from Rainier Oregon was there, she also comes to our farm and buys whole rounds of our cheeses. So she caught me at the end of the lesson and ordered a round out of our first milkings in Feb. Ya!

Danyel and I have about 4 goats to band horn on today. So that will be our afternoon after church. I'll post the pictures tomorrow and directions on how we do it.

We only got a gallon of milk out of the 6 goats this morning and I think I'll have Ali only milk three tomorrow and then a different three the next day and so before the end of the week all milking will be done. I'll have about 7 gallons froze for yogurt. My fresh feta will be ready to package on Wed. of this week. David can't hardly wait - thats one of our popular cheeses at the market.

Well have a Great Day.

There is no more important spiritual and practical lesson we can teachour children than the principle of sowing and reaping. Choices always have consequences.

Do not be deiceved, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sowes, that he will also reap. (Galations 6:7)

And what better way to teach this than owning a farm, working a garden, raising an animal for slaughter, or for showing.

Spring isn't far away

Good Afternoon:
We got up am milked 7 goats got about 1 gallon -which is good cause it means they are going to be dry for about 1 month when everyone starts kidding.
I made yogurt this morning. For an order and the rest will go in the freezer for popcycles. The girls love them.
We went to an Indian Language class today. We are learning the Chinook Jargen > its alot of languages mixed together.
We had fun this morning sitting with the Indians of our area and learned thier language that they used to communicate with other tribes.
These are some of last years babies 2008
We are going to band some goat horns today. But the rest of the day will be kind of layed back.
David is in Seattle selling cheese.
We are taking our meat goats to the butcher today - I think I have 7. That will keep us until next winter. I have to go get about 12 or 15 bags of grain today too.
The girls had thier freinds spend the night so we had extra help on the farm yesterday and this morning.

Cheese Class March 21, 2009 - $35 - 4 hour class- Email me if your interested.

Hope Everyone has a great weekend.

Good-Bye to an Old Friend

This is Kusco in training, carrying one of our boar babies in his pack that Danyel bought him for Civil Air Patrol - search and rescue missions. He hadn't got to go on a mission yet.

Good Morning:

The weather forecast is suppose to be sunny.... I am going to proclaim it in faith the Son will shine!

Well we lost our friend Kusco yesterday. He is Danyel's pack goat - he was 5 years old and he fell last month and put his hip out of socket. We had been trying different things on him to try and help him. The vet had said there is nothing under surgery to fix the hip and then it will most likely pop out again. Besides the cost. I hated to see him go but I am glad cause I know he has been hurting. Danyel is sad to also see her faithful friend leave her.

But that is farm life and we seem to get alot of disappointments and death is one of those things you get use to in a sense on a farm.

So here is my obituary to Kusco:

He was a true trooper. He would follow Danyel where ever she went without a leash on him. He was a big boy - he would carry lunches for her in his pack, dogs,baby goats and hiking gear. He has walked miles and miles for Danyel. His latest training was getting him ready to go on search and rescue missions with the Civil Air Patrol. He never got to go on a mission - but his heart was in it. He will be missed.

Danyel will pick another goat baby this year to start over again.

Yesterday we, Daneyl & Ali and I, spoke at the Winlock Lions meeting. We shared about out farm and making cheese. We passed out samples of Grande' Rosa, Marinated Feta and Garlic and Dill Chevre. The girls and I enjoyed lunch on the Lions. It was a good community service for the girls. And good public relations for the dairy. Thanks Lions for what your organization does for our community.

I had womens bible study last night too. I made chicken and dumplings for dinner. David was at market and did alright for a Thur.

This morning I am up at 4:30am packaging cheese for market. I have more energy in the morning than at night. So I enjoy getting up early - but going to bed early is a must.

David is on the road already 5:30am.

Today the girls and I will work on homeschool. We are starting our drawing class- which will go on for about 10 weeks. And the rest of the day is open for a few extra chores on the dairy. Like trimming some hooves - Danyel has been doing this when she had been graining. But this evening I'll join her and we can get a bunch done. This afternoon we are going to band some does horns. This we do by taking a file and making an indent in thier horn as close to the skull as possible. Then putting two bands (the things we put on male goats to make them it's) on the horn. In about 3 weeks the horn falls off. We cant have any of our milking does with horns - one its dangerous and two thier heads won't fit in the stantion. We are going to move the babies almost yearlings into another pasture so we can work on one pen at a time until we get them all done before our babies start arriving in 4 weeks. This is not a fun job and it takes teamwork. So the girls and I will drop one class each day in order to clean a pen. I bet the girls won't mind.

Well have a great day and notice who is tending the flock - the Good Shepard.

Just a peaceful day at the dairy

These are some mailboxes on Twin Oaks road. The during and after shot. Jan. 8 & 9.

Good Morning.

Its another day on the dairy. We had a tour yesterday. We ran to Olypmia to drop off some cheese at Dockside Bistro. David didn't go to market. We got our homeschool done. And I made a Chicken Broccoli Braid for dinner..... All is good at the Rider House.

This morning David went and got hay. To get Danyel to school we have to drive about 7 miles out of our way due to road consturction in Napavine. After I picked her up we ran to Winlock to checkout a movie that we wanted to watch and to pick up a book Danyel had ordered. Home for lunch and back to school. We will be done about 3pm with school. Then feed the goats, make dinner and then off to church. Then when we get home from church we'll all sit and watch Ann Franks Diary. Then pack David's car so he is ready for market. Oh yes, market he made $60 on Monday. What a waste and he took Ali with him - so it cost him double on food. No more Monday's.

Well this is a short and sweet blog today. But its going to be sunny the rest of this week, almost up to 60 degrees.