A Mad Dash

I am in a mad dash to get as much done as I can before returning to teaching for the fall.  That means garden stuff.

Potatoes right after digging them

So far, mom has helped me make French fries.

dehydrated tomatoes

Dairy stuff.

I’m playing with mozzarella slices!

I might not have planned this quite right, but it worked.

still restocking soaps

Goat stuff.

I just did another round of copper.

Wanda–I made her toe bleed when I was trimming hooves. 😦

And just everything else.  I might be ready to go back so I can sit down.  Not really, but I do start back to work tomorrow.

Milk and Tomatoes

My tomatoes seem to be ready a bit earlier than a lot of other people’s this year.  It’s probably because I got mine in just before  a week of rain and cool temperatures. It didn’t work out well for my seeds–many rotted, but it was just fine for the tomatoes.

I’m canning.  I’ve done cold pack tomatoes.  I’ve done a bit of roasted tomatoes.

I’ve done taco sauce.

While I have tomatoes ripening on my desk, I am doing things with my milk.

 

I haven’t had the energy to add Cutie to the lineup, so it’s still just my four girls.  I can barely keep up with what milk I’m getting. And Pretzel cracks me up.  Sometimes, she comes up from pasture with my milking girls because she knows it’s bottle time.  Of course, by the time I get my milk filtered, in the refrigerator, and her bottle made, she’s also gone back out to pasture with them, so I have to deliver it.  But, hey, it’s a good sign when I want to train her for milking.

Astra, Caroline and Pretzel, and Joy  (Ava was following behind)

I have done a lot of mozzarella cheese.

before it even looks like Mozzarella

I have been making soap.

Top to bottom: tea tree, Tahitian vanilla, lightly lavender, cornmeal scrubbing with tea tree, and black amber and lavender

I’m trying to get as much done as possible before I go back to work. All I’m doing is milk and tomatoes.

With a side of zucchini.

I am freezing it as zucchini patties for the winter.  I also did some homemade frozen pizzas that were broccoli and zucchini.

At least I have help with the zucchini if I need it.

Sky

What a good dog.

The Garden

I’m sort of trying to keep up with the garden, but this has not been a good year to try and garden between the drought and the deer.  This corn is so pathetic. I can’t believe it has little ears on it.

sweet corn

As a bonus, the dragonfly likes the corn.

I’m afraid the tomato plants are dying.  Hopefully all those tomatoes will be able to ripen before they completely dry up.

I left some volunteer squash plants growing, and I had no idea what kind.  This one looks like a spaghetti squash.  That’s good since I didn’t plant any of them.

I did get nice turnips.  I promise I really tried to find recipes to like, but I am not a fan of turnips. I can very definitely say that now.

The reason I planted turnips was to try canning my own vegetable stock.  I got the turnips, but that was about it.  I decided to just buy carrots and celery and try it anyhow.  It seems to have turned out pretty good.  I just need to try it in a recipe (but it’s too hot for soup right now).

I also am optimistic that I’ll have a good potato harvest since this one was just right there on top of the ground.

That would be good since I ordered a potato French Fry Cutter.  It works pretty slick.

Hopefully, I have a lot of potatoes to use it on.