I'm truly at my wits' ends with our goat Cookie. He is a real sweetie, very friendly and incredibly beautiful. But why can't he just not escape from his paddock? Even wearing the Y shaped branch that we have put around his neck to stop him going through the fence, he still manages to get out. He has a nasty habit of eating trees that we care about, either fruit trees or plants with sentimental value. But I also fear for him, as he is likely to follow someone home (he is a people goat), and who knows what could happen to him. I wish there was some simple solution, but then again, that is why everyone has goats that they give away, they are a real pain in the butt sometimes....
But on to more happy things. We have been getting a bit of rain now, and it really feels like autumn is on its way. Although we are still getting warm/hot days, the nights are cool, and I can feel the plants (those that survived anyway) breathing a sigh or relief. At the farm, my only vegies that survived were my potatoes (although there is nothing on the surface now as the grasshoppers ate the plants), I harvested some today, and we had roast potatoes for dinner.
I love the taste of real fresh home grown potatoes, they actually taste of the earth. 'Our' roast potatoe recipe is just to cut them up and toss in a baking dish with olive oil, and add a mix of garlic, peppercorns and rock salt that has been 'ground' in the mortar and pestle. Lovely with a big dollop of sour cream.... yum!
I've managed to finish the chocolate brown alpaca fleece. It ended up being 720g once it was washed and spun, so that is ok although, I would have expected a little more. Unfortunately the shearer made a little bit of a mess of it, and made lots of second cuts. Stupidly, I spun this fairly thick, so that I could cheat when it came to knitting my raglan, so that I could use bigger needles and get it done faster, so now I'm not sure if there will be enough, and none of my other handspun is spun so thick, so I can't even do stripes..... damn stupid me! I am thinking I will probably make Brad a vest out of this, and keep the white fleece ( the last one of my own fleeces! YAY!) for myself.
I've also been knitting away on my jaywalker sock, which is going ok, and a version of the baby yoda jacket (I'm making a 'vest') for the bub to be. I figured I should make it something....
Apart from that its all pretty much as usual around here, nothing much happening and yet constantly busy!
Cookie looks to have a bit of the mischief in his eyes...we had a bad roo once...he was a real pain in the butt too...and eventually had to be given to a big farm where he couldn't terrorize or hurt an unsuspecting child.
ReplyDeleteYour potatoes look fabulous! There is nothing like a freshly dug tater...before the sugar can turn to starch...YUM!
and the Alpaca looks so soft and cushy! That is yummy too!
Your goat looks like he's scheming. Mischievous is right!
ReplyDeleteHi! Love your blog and your lifestyle! I'm a suburb dweller in Woodstock, Georgia, USA (near Atlanta) but I fantasize about living the "simple life" of living off- the-grid, using alternative energy, gardening, sewing, knitting, etc. I made all my clothes in high school and loved every minute of it. Call me crazy (my hubbie does) but for some reason the simple life really appeals to me. I love the thought of being as self-sufficient as possible. Especially in these uncertain times of global warming and economic tension. Over the past few years, I've come to realize I can live on a lot less than most people. As a matter of fact, my mantra around the house is "less is more!" Have you heard of Amy Dacyczyn's book "The Tightwad Gazette"? The subtitle is "promoting thrift as a viable alternative lifestyle." I LOVE that book. I've also got a copy of "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" by Carla Emery. It's EVERYTHING you could ever need to know about living self-sufficiently! My hubbie and I have talked about buying some mountain land and building a log cabin in the woods near a stream when we retire. Wouldn't that be awesome??
ReplyDeleteWell keep up the good work. I will look forward to your future postings! M.C.