Cream Separator

Well, I got scared of being out of butter some time in the future.  And, even though it is possible (maybe even preferable) to make butter without a cream separator, I decided to get one anyway.  I've read that it's not really worth the effort to separate goat milk with a cream separator, but I pretty much never listen to that kind of advice and I had to try it myself.

Not only did I buy a cream separator, but I bought a vintage cream separator.  And, not only did I buy a vintage cream separator, I bought a hand crank vintage cream separator.  Am I a glutton for punishment or what?

There were several to choose from, as the shop owner had bought someone's collection.  I had chosen a particular one because the crank worked smoothly as opposed to another one whose crank wouldn't turn.  But, Tom went with me to pick it up and asked to look at the "cones", which were rusted.  I thought, "big deal, who cares if the cones are rusted?" because I didn't know what the cones were for.  Quite frankly, I hadn't a clue how a cream separator worked.

Nobody told me that the innards of a cream separator look like this!  And, nobody told me that those cones are actually what separates the cream.  I thought they were just for weight to make the thingy spin. *color me pink*

Tom talked me into getting this Viking model, whose crank wouldn't turn, but the cones weren't rusted.  He assured me that he could fix the crank.  So we came home with the Viking, and indeed, he fixed the crank right up.  And I proceeded to clean all the little parts, all 21 of them.

So, for those as unfamiliar with a cream separator as I am, this is the part that all those cones fit onto and this is what spins when the crank is turned.

These are the cones.  They are keyed so that they fit on correctly.  We still don't know if they go on in a certain order, so I was very careful to put them back on in the order that they came off.  I guess I'll find out if this is right when I try to use it.

After I scrubbed all the years of crud off of the pieces, I fitted the cones back on the cone holder (I'm sure these have more technical names, but I don't have a clue).

All of them on.

Then the cover fits down over the cones.

This ring screws down over the top to hold it all together.

No, it does not emit bubbles.  My camera flash caused a reflection off the glass tiles.

Then the cone spinner thing fits down in the separator base.

All nestled in and ready to spin.

Then two trays with spouts fit on.  This is a magical machine and apparently, while cranking and spinning, cream comes out of one spout and the skimmed milk out the other.

The bowl sits on top of the spout things.

This gadget...

fits down in this hole in the center of the bowl/milk receptacle.

See how it has holes in it?  Those holes line up with the holes in the gadget.  To control the flow of milk going into the spinner, the gadget is turned so that milk flows through the holes.

This is Tinkerbell's bell (see, I told you it was magic).  It rings if you aren't cranking fast enough.  "Ring, ring, ring, crank faster, crank faster!"

Gadget in hole.

Assembled and awaiting milk and cranker.

I can't wait to try it.  But, I am not looking forward to cleaning it again and again.

Hose Hangers

Hoses are a big part of farm life.  Huge.  We have lots of them and use them everywhere.  There's no easy way to store them or tote them, at least, for me there's not.  They're heavy and unwieldy.  We have all kinds of hoses and all kinds of holders and hangers.

We have a couple of these freestanding ones that stake into the ground.  They're OK, but tend to lean forward after a while because of the weight of the hose.

We have this horrible, horrible contraption.  It seems like it would be a good idea...

but, the hose doesn't unwind easily and you never know what kind of wasp nest is going to be up under the lid when you lift it.

We have a few of these.  They pretty much ensure a tangled mess.

Here's one free of it's hose, which is stretched out across the field on stand-by for watering the orchard at the moment.

This one is moderately useful.  It takes a lot of strength to roll it up and drag it around, but at least it has wheels which make transporting it from one spot to another a little easier than carrying the hose.  

This is Tom's compressor hose in the garage.  This hanger is a pretty good design.  

It has a little door in the front that opens up a compartment where he keeps extra nozzles.  Kudos to this hose hanger designer.  Tom has it installed too high for it to be of any use to me.

So, here's the latest and greatest.  I bought them at the flea market, but you can find them on-line.  They're called GeckoToes.  They make them for water hoses, compressor hoses and extension cords.

This is my compressor hose.  I used to keep it in a big plastic bag that zips closed because I want to keep it clean since I drag it through the house for my upholstery projects.  But it's very long and hard to wind up.  It's nice because it hangs pretty flat against the wall and the hanger keeps the hose from getting tangled.  Theoretically, you're supposed to be able to just pop as much length out of the "toes" as you need.  If I find that it gets too dirty hanging there exposed, I'll have to make some sort of cover for it.

I also got one to try out for one of the water hoses.  You can mount them on brick, but it makes me a little squeamish to drill into brick or mortar, especially since our brick is the Antique Chicago brick and has a tendency to crumble.  I just mounted this one on the fence near a spigot.

So far, so good.

The Spillway

Tom finally got the time to repair the spillway on our pond dam.  Our ever helpful neighbor came over with his big equipment and they buried two big pipes (or culverts) and rebuilt the area that was washed out in the big flood this past spring.

Since it had been washed out, Tom hasn't been able to get the tractor over to the other side of the pond to mow, so it is completely taken over with weeds.  As you can see, the water has receded significantly.  It will probably be quite a while before the water is high enough to go through those pipes.

Tom needed to put concrete around the ends of the pipes to keep the the soil from being washed away the next time we have a gully washer.  He was faced with mixing 24 80 lb. bags of concrete by hand in a wheel barrow.  Thankfully, a friend loaned Tom his tractor with a cement mixer on the back.  So, he was able to mix the concrete right on the site using the water from the pond.  It was still backbreaking work to lift all of those bags of concrete and pour them into the mixer.

This doesn't look like 1,920 pounds worth of concrete!

Hopefully, some grass will grow over that bare spot to hold the soil in place.

Estate Sale Chairs Reupholstery

I was determined not to drag this project out for years like the last dining chairs, so I managed to get them all done in about two weeks.

Chairs from the estate sale...12 bucks.

I decided to do them right and make them very cushy, so I ordered some proper three inch foam from an upholstery shop.  While I was waiting for the foam to arrive, I cut out all the pieces, using the wooden seat bottom as a pattern.  Then I made some contrasting welting and I was all ready to get started when the foam arrived.

Finished all four in record time!

Welting on the top and bottom of the cushion.

I had so much fabric left over from my dining chair redo that I decided to use it for these new chairs.  Even though the fabric is the same, it looks so different with the green welting and the light wood.  I'm toying with the idea of painting them because I'm not crazy about the wood finish.  But, I'm going to wait until I find a table that I like and depending on what kind of shape it's in, I'll either paint the table or the chairs.

Canteloupe Popsicles

It's cantaloupe season and, although I didn't get many of my own (due to all but one vine dying), my sister-in-law got loads of them and is sharing them with me.  To use up them up, she has been making cantaloupe popsicles, so I thought I'd give it try myself.

I searched the net for some guidelines on making them, then devised my own recipe.  I guess you really can't go wrong even if you just blend up the cantaloupe without adding anything to it and freeze the juice.  But I wanted a little pizzaz, and of course, I have to add something fattening to them, else what's the use?  I experimented with two recipes and found that this first one is my favorite.

Crummy (Creamy + Rummy) Canteloupe Popsicles

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup mint leaves, crushed

1 tsp. lime juice (or zest of one lime

1 large canteloupe

2 Tbs. white rum

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Make a simple syrup by combining water and sugar and boiling until sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in mint leaves and lime (or lime zest); let steep for about 30 minutes, then strain into a bowl and discard solids.

While syrup is steeping, peel cantaloupe, discard seeds, cut the fruit into chunks, then puree in food processor or blender.  Add rum and cream, then add the syrup and process a few seconds.

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Second recipe is from Martha Stewarts website and is actually a honeydew recipe.  I just substituted cantaloupe for honeydew...

Canteloupe Pistachio Popsicles

1 Canteloupe, seeded, peeled, cut into chunks

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup roasted, salted pistachios, coarsely chopped.

Put all ingredients into food processor or blender and puree.  Pour into molds and freeze.

I only had one set of Tupperware popsicle molds, so I had to branch out and find other things that would be appropriate for popsicle molds - a good size and easy to get the popsicle out once it's frozen.

I had several ice trays that make shaped cubes that I used first.  Then I used my tiny tupperware food storage containers (I have four vintage ones and four modern ones).  After I ran out of those and still have loads of popsicle "batter" to use, I decided to use these little paper Dixie cups that I keep for  use during milking season.  I let them freeze to a slush, then stuck the sticks in them.

Really, the Dixie cups worked better than anything.  I only had to run warm water over the outside for literally three seconds and they slid right out.

After they were all frozen good and solid, I put the ones that were frozen in the ice cube trays in a baggie and the other ones that were frozen in the cups, I took out of their molds and wrapped in plastic wrap.

What Is This Squash?

Someone gave me these seeds and I seem to remember them saying they were some kind of squash.  The leaves are big and look like something between a butternut squash and pumpkin vine.  They were sort of the shape of butternut when they started growing, but then morphed into this.  Does anyone know what it is?

This one is very curved at the top.  It's the biggest one and is starting to get soft enough so that I can feel it give a little when I squeeze it, sort of the texture of a zucchini.

Most of them are shaped more like this.  This one is still hard.

They look small in the picture, but they're probably about 10 inches long.  I thought it might even be a gourd, but they're pretty heavy and fleshy.  Aren't gourds hollow?

Who knows what it is?

Update:  I've been searching on the internet and think I might have found it - Green Striped Cushaw Squash.  If so, it's really considered a pumpkin and can weigh 10-20 lbs.  Oops, I probably shouldn't have put it on a trellis.

Guinea Nest

One of the things I have learned is that messing with Mother Nature is usually not rewarding.

Our chicken egg production has been dwindling in the last couple of weeks.  I suspected that the chickens had found another hiding place and I stumbled upon it last week.  They have been taking turns laying eggs in the guinea hen's hiding place.  So, there is this huge stash of eggs - guinea and chicken - out behind the pig pen.

So far this year, the guineas have started three egg stashes that I know of.  One was in the tall grass early in the spring that I ended up mowing over because I couldn't see it until after I mowed over it.  Eggs broke and scattered everywhere, but at least none of the hens had started sitting on them yet, so there were no babies forming.  (Guineas wait until there are about 30 eggs in the nest before one will decide to start brooding.)  Another was started in the tall grass of the pig pen.  That one surprised me because I thought Piglette would have trampled or eaten the eggs.  Apparently, she left the nest alone because Tom ended up mowing over that one.  The third nest, the guineas had made across the road from our entryway.  That one was raided and the guinea hen lost her life trying to protect it.

So, all summer the guineas have been unsuccessful.  Even out of all the eggs they brooded last year, only one hen survived into adulthood.  I guess this is why there is not an overpopulation of guineas.  And, it's no wonder.  They just pick a spot, totally unprotected, but fairly well hidden, out in the open.  Any predator could either sniff them out or happen upon them at any time.  It seems to be pure luck that any are hatched at all.

Since I found the nest, and while waiting for a hen to decide it's time to brood (and one of them has started brooding as of two days ago), I've been pondering this dilemma and trying to decide what I should do.  I mean, could I make the situation any worse for them, or could I help them get some eggs hatched?  If I disturb the nest, will she abandon it?

I thought about building a temporary pen around the nest so the dogs can't get to it.  They won't bother the guineas, but if they find eggs just laying about, they will eat them.  Ginger has the decency to look guilty, but her guilt doesn't stop her.  And, I guess Harry pretty much thinks he's entitled to eat anything he finds, so his conscious is clear.  Anyway, Tom and I figured that even if we keep the dogs away with a pen, a raccoon could get in there and raid the nest and the dogs couldn't get to the raccoon to chase it off.  So I discarded that idea.

I'm left with the option of just leaving the nest there, unprotected, or moving eggs and hen into the guinea coop, risking her abandoning it.  I've pretty much decided on the move.  Today I got the coop ready.

At first, I thought I'd just tuck it back in the corner of the coop where it's all cozy and covered.  There are nesting boxes in there, but guineas nest on the ground, out in the open.  They don't care if the sun is beaming down or if it rains on them.  I also thought that maybe they nest out in the open so that they can catch any breeze that blows.  It's in the high 90's and low 100's during August/September, so the guinea is going to be pretty hot.

So, I decided to move the spot up to the open area in the coop.  I piled hay on the ground, even though they pretty much just scoop a hole in the dirt for their eggs.  Then I took a bunch of wisteria vine I had just cut last week and piled it up around the hay nest.

I piled more on the outside of the coop, propping it up against the chicken wire.

I tried to make it so that she'd feel hidden in brambles or tall grass, which is what she chooses on her own.

So, I'm going to move her and all the eggs tonight after dark when she's in her semi-trancelike state so she, hopefully, won't freak out and tear up my hands or break eggs.

So, y'all can be in suspense with me while we wait to see if she'll sit on the nest after I move her.  I figure it can't be any worse of a track record than they already have this year.  Plus, I can start gathering the chicken eggs if they continue to lay them in the same place.

A Pretty Bad Year All 'Round

This has been a bad year for us on the farm.  Well, we're still blessed with our health, but if we had many years like this in a row and actually had to live off our land, we'd be in big trouble.  I can't even remember everything that has gone wrong, but here's a list of things I can think of.

(1)  We only had eight baby goats this year.  Last year we had about 17.  Two of the goats needed assistance at birth and they both lost a kid during labor.  One goat that had triplets last year only had one this year.  One goat that always had triplets previously only had two this year.  One baby was born with what I think was a birth defect.  She lived several weeks - got stronger at first, but then quickly got weaker and finally died.

(2)  We've had lot of illness in our goat herd.  Two of our Nubian does came down with a very bad case of worms and coccidiosis.  We treated the whole herd before they all came down with it.  One of the adults died despite the week long treatment.  That left her twins abandoned too early.  At that stage, after having nursed for so long, they won't take a bottle, so I just had to let them survive on solid food.  I realized later that the doe that lost her baby had started nursing at least one of those twins, maybe both.  But that doe had a relapse of coccidiosis and one of the twins she had adopted got it, too.  I isolated them and did another round of meds.  When they recovered, I put them back with the herd.  The next week the other twin got it.  So I isolated the twins together and treated them both.  They both recovered, but they both were so pitifully thin and bony.  I think there was another round of illness in there somewhere, but I've lost track.  They're all healthy right now and the orphaned twins are putting on weight and looking better.

(3)  Some of our chickens got something funky - two of them got big growths on their wattles, extending up to their beaks.  I isolated them.  Their growths got bigger, but otherwise they seemed fine, but they eventually stopped laying eggs.  I had Tom kill them because they obviously weren't going to get any better, they weren't laying eggs, and I didn't want it to spread to the other chickens.  Then we had another chicken get sick.  I had noticed her sitting in a nesting box for days, but she wasn't sitting on any eggs.  I finally took her out and discovered that she couldn't walk.  I isolated her and she continued to live, but would only just king of lounge.  She would eat and drink if I put the food close enough for her to reach.  After several days of that, I had Tom put her down.

(4)  In the middle of our monsoon spring, our generator broke...kind of.  The generator is set up so that it automatically comes on when the city power goes off.  When I was home alone (of course) one night during a rainstorm, the power went off, the generator did not come on.  When Tom got home, he tried to get it to come on, but couldn't.  Long story short, he worked on it for weeks, went to the Cummings place to talk to their engineers, nobody could figure it out, he finally diagnosed it and one of their techs came over to help him fix it.  That was over a period of at least six weeks.

(5)  This sounds minor, but when you're living on a farm and need a gate opened and closed several times a day, it doesn't feel minor...our front gate opener stopped working properly.  It took months to diagnose and fix that problem.

(6)  The garden.  Oh, the garden.  The only thing it has produced this season is asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, a couple of quarts of green beans, arugula, a few watermelon and, so far, one cantaloupe. My plan was to have most of the garden space used up with pumpkins.  But, every time the pumpkin plant would just start to vine out, it would die...POW, like, within hours.  It would be big and beautiful in the morning...completely dead in the evening.  I replanted three times.  Each time the same thing happened - same with the zucchini, lemon squash (although, I did get two squash off of one of those before it died overnight), butternut squash, watermelon, and cantaloupe.  For some weird reason, one watermelon vine and one cantaloupe vine survived the massacre and are producing.

Since I couldn't get any pumpkin to grow, I went ahead and planted four rows of corn using the seeds I had leftover from last year.  Out of four rows, SIX plants came up and none of them have an ear of corn on them worthy anything...just a couple of skinny ears that I'll probably throw to the chickens.

I looked in my Texas organic gardening book to see if there was anything I could plant in August and it said pumpkins.  So, I stuck two seeds in the ground to see if they will grow.

 I have no expectations.

Oops, Watermelon

I didn't see this watermelon growing until it was too late to move it.

I tried pushing it out of there when it was smaller, but it was stuck tight.

Time to pick it.  I had to cut it open to get it out.

Dining Chairs Finished!

This is embarrassing, but I just finished reupholstering my dining room chairs.  I started that redo back in September of 2012 and knew it would take me a long time because of my epic procrastination skills.  However, I did not foresee it taking me three years.

What prompted me to have a two day marathon of staple/tack pulling after it took me two years to do the first three?  

What else?  A new project.

I bought these four chairs at an estate sale for twelve bucks a piece, to replace these four chairs...

When I find the right table, I'm going to replace the glass table as well.  In the meantime, I plan to recover the ugly green vinyl seats and probably paint the chairs.

And, yes, my old chesterfield sofa is still languishing in the barn, but it's too stinkin' hot to work on it right now, so that's a project for cooler days.

Homemade Goat Milk Peach Ice Cream, People!

I've been wanting an ice cream maker for a long time, so Tom finally found a good deal on one.

He got this one from Fry's Electronic.  It was the last one, the floor model, so he got a discount on it.  I think it was about 37.00 bucks.

I could hardly wait to experiment.  I really, really don't like fruity ice creams, but a few years ago I had some peach ice cream at a friend's house and she had put cinnamon in it.  It was so delicious with that cinnamon, that I've wanted more ever since.

So, the first thing I wanted to try, especially since I had picked my own peaches off of our trees, was homemade peach ice cream.  I searched the internet for a recipe that I had all the ingredients for.  So many of the recipes called for half and half, evaporated milk, or condensed milk.  I don't normally stock any of those.

But, I found one that was just right for me, used my goat milk instead of store bought, added cinnamon, and I was all set to make...

Homemade Cinnamon Peach Ice Cream

5-6 very ripe peaches, peeled and pitted (I didn't peel mine and rather than counting the peaches, I just used the whole quart bag that I had frozen previously, but thawed for use)

2 eggs

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 quarts goat milk

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. cinnamon

Blend all ingredients in a food processor just until the peaches are mashed, but not too long so that the cream will be whipped.

Chill ingredients for a few hours, then pour into ice cream maker canister and follow the maker's instructions.

So yummy!

Notes:

The cinnamon is a guesstimate.  I used two teaspoons and it was a bit too much (still delicious, but the cinnamon overwhelms the peach flavor).  Next time, I'll just use one.

My maker is a one gallon size.  This recipe makes about 1-2 gallons, so I had to split it up and freeze it in two batches.