Around the farm

It has been busy here. Here is a little snapshot of what we have been doing and what is growing on the farm.
Blooming: Roses, hollyhocks, zinnas, Gerber daisies, echinacea, sweet william, geraniums, butterfly bushes, gladiolas, four o'clocks, petunias, cosmos, calendula, foxglove, rose of sharon, probably more.
Harvesting: corn, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, blueberries apples, herbs, pears.
Sewing: I am working on skirts for me, an apron for Laura, a baby gift for a friend, and a quilt.
Animals: Our ducks have started to lay, so we now have duck eggs! The goats have lost some production due to heat, but are still doing well.
Family: Laura turned two June 30th, and Elizabeth just turned 9 months. Elizabeth now says several words and waves bye-bye.

Here is Laura eating her birthday cake. She had angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries. She loves the colorful wooden sorting beads she got!

Projects: Lots of projects planned for this week, and hopefully most will get done! We need to start harvesting apples, and canning them. A big bowl of our pears is waiting to be baked into pear tart. We are currently digging our potatoes, and as soon as we empty the beds we will plant fall crops. We have a couple goats to tattoo for Linear Appraisal next month. We are hoping to go buy peaches to can, and maybe pick more blueberries.

Soap: This should be a good production week for soap, scheduled batches are Cool Cucumber, Lavender, Raspberry Vanilla, and Tea Tree.

Menu: I don't plan a formal menu, as I cook from the garden and what is in season so much. Tonight we are having chive pasta topped with goat cheese, fresh chives, and shrimp, a big salad, and whole wheat potato bread. This week I also plan to do a Mediterranean meal with falafel, tzatziki, and Greek salad, and we'll work on eating potatoes, squash, and tomatoes from the garden.

So that is a look at our plans for this week, Lord willing.
And here is a photo of some garden bounty.

Becky

Sewing Projects

I have done a lot of sewing recently. I just finished making both girls dresses to wear to my sisters wedding. This week I have made two small simple projects.
I made Laura a patchwork animal fabric pillowcase as one of her upcoming birthdays gifts.
Then today I used fabric scraps to make this small quilted case for my ipad. This is to use when I bring my ipad along in the car, to keep it safe. I lined it with a soft toile fabric and although it is not perfect I like it.

I have a number of sewing projects lined up, I am hoping to make a new skirt for myself next!

Zucchini!!

Our garden is producing well, and we are thankful. Our zucchini has been doing very well, and we were gifted a bagful of yellow summer squash today too. What to do with all that squash?

 This photo is blanched squash slices that I froze this afternoon.

 Here I am grating zucchini to make zucchini pizza for our dinner.

 I just grate up a big pile of zucchini, squeeze out excess moisture, add a handful of bread crumbs, a handful of grated parmesan, 2 eggs, a tablespoon of olive oil, and salt, pepper, oregano, basil etc. Mix well, spread on bottom of 13x9 pan and slightly up sides, bake at 375 about 25-30 minutes until the top is dry and set. Remove from oven, top with tomato sauce, lots of grated mozzerella, and any pizza toppings you desire. Bake about 10 more minutes till melted and bubbly. This is really really good.

We also like this recipe for Zucchini Bread.
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
2 t vanilla
1/2 cup oil
1 cup honey
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
3 c whole wheat flour (or white, or combo)
1c rolled oats, OR chopped nuts, or half and half
1 c raisins

Combine 1st 5 ingredients, add dry ingredients till just moistened, fold in oatmeal, nuts, and raisins. Pour into two greased loaf pans and bake at 375 for about 50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

 Here are the girls playing while I worked on our garden harvest.

We also picked strawberries and some beans.

I often dice zucchini, toss with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast it at 400 for about 20 minutes. You can add parmesan too.

And a less healthy dish, but so yummy! Make a thick cheese sauce, add lots of diced squash, and some french fried onions. Bake till bubbly, top with more onions, and serve.

Our Animals

I thought I'd introduce some of our animals too.
I'm hoping to use this blog to share family, farm, and business news, photos, recipes, and anything else I think of adding!

Right now our farm is home to 8 types of animals.
We have 16 dairy goats, 15 of those are Alpine, and we have one LaMancha also.
This is our oldest doe, Aphrodite.

Here is Maggie, our only LaMancha.

 

We have 3 Jersey bull calves.

 18 laying ducks.

99 chickens of assorted breeds, including Marans, Wesummers, Barred Rocks, Ameraucanas, Pearl Leghorns, Cinnamon Queen, Red Star, Black Star, Buff Orpington, Light Brahma, Polish, and maybe more.

they give us lots of:

We also have 6 dogs, including 2 Great Pyrenees, a Corgi/? cross, and 3 registered Corgis.

What farm would be complete without barn cats? We have 4 adult cats, and 4 kittens.

Laura has her very first pet, a guinea pig!

And last but not least, we have several hundred of these:

working hard to make honey.

We milk, water, feed, and collect eggs twice a day. 

Welcome!

Make yourself at home and let's get to know each other.

Becky loves goats, and established Dixie Does Alpines. Started in 1994, she and her siblings bought their first goats. The farm grew over the years, and their goats won top prizes and provided lots of milk.
Bill married Becky in 2009, and now the farm is a family project.

Bill and Becky met on eHarmony, and after discovering many common interests, began a serious relationship on April 20 when, unbeknownst to Bill, was the 15th anniversary of the beginning of Dixie Does Alpines, Bill said, "I love you" to Becky!

Laura came along in June 2010, and as soon as she could, began to reach out from her stroller to pet the goats. Now walking, she walks right up to a sitting goat and gives it a hug around the neck. She can even get a few squirts of milk out...and she's not even two yet!

Elizabeth was born in October 2011, and is quickly following in Laura's footsteps loving the goats!