My Mother

Gosh, I've been so bad about posting daily, but I've had a good excuse this week!

My mother has been in town all week and we have had a great time together. We hauled compost, met dairy goats, ran errands, filled raised beds, made granola, smushed a tree and an entire car-load of irrigation hoses into her small car, ate good food, laughed a lot... It was so much fun, and I was really sad to see her leave early this morning. She is spending the entirety of today driving herself and her dog, Abbie, back to New Hampshire where she lives with my Father.

My mom has become one of my best friends over the years, and it was really relaxing to spend a whole week with her. She may not believe it (nor will she like that I'm posting it here but too bad!) but she is a beautiful, strong woman that I have looked up to, on so many levels, my whole life. The ultimate rolemodel.

I know she'll be pissed that I posted these photos of her here, but I blog to share my life with others, and to tell you all about the things I love. She can just deal with it. 

 

 

She left early this morning, before the sun came up, amidst this ridiculous Michigan snow we're having. After she left I tried to stay up for a while but after getting a better look at what was going on outside I flopped back into bed. Gardening in Michigan can be frustrating and, seeing as the whole yard is blanketed by rapidly falling inches, yes inches of snow, I went back to sleep this morning. I kept thinking the snow was all a bad dream, but now. It's still there, falling, and worse than before... inches. I'm just glad the only thing I've planted so far this year has been potatoes. Everything else will just have to wait. 

Tragedy at Tanglewood

I admit I haven't blogged much lately here mostly because my mother is in town and she and I have been busy from sun up to sun down, and when the sun goes down I crash like a plane without wings - nose first into the couch. In addition to my busy schedule, I've been avoiding blogging because I inevitably have to blog about the happenings of Tuesday night.

Gertrude, our beloved one winter ewe (meaning she was born last spring) gave birth to a stillborn lamb after going into early labor. She went into labor on Tuesday afternoon, though now that I think about it, something was definitely up when I went to put them in their stall Monday night because I always "Baa" at the ladies in greeting and Gerty always "Baas" back, but not Monday. She was very stoic.

Tuesday I noticed she was particularly quiet, and when I realized I'd been out tilling for a while and she hadn't pestered me for treats by calling across the fields in a loud demanding voice, I thought I'd check up on her. I found her lying beside the door to the barn, breathing a bit heavy, and very quiet. When I got her to stand up I noticed she had wet all around her bottom which I originally mistook for loose stools (or scours) but upon further investigation I discovered it was mucous and that she had begun labor.

I went through stages of panic, and then joy when I learned a ram had escaped and visited a number of ewes at the breeding farm exactly 147 days before, and then panic again as I realized something just didn't feel right. She continued in early labor all evening, with a few pushes now and then, but more than anything she just seemed confused and uncomfortable. At two AM all was well, though I noticed she had more mucous than before, so I thought I'd do another quick check at three just so I could get a few hours of sleep and get up at a reasonable six AM.

Three o'clock came around and as I approached the barn I heard a grunt. I don't know why I was so skeptical. There weren't really any outward signs that there was trouble, but I was definitely not assuming I was coming to the barn to find a healthy lamb. When I reached the barn, I found her with her water broken and something protruding that didn't quite look right. I called my mom (who was sleeping in the house) and she came out. As we watched, Gertrude delivered a too-small, dark colored lamb, nose first and then proceeded to walk to her hay feeder and munch. I went into the stall and checked things out. The lamb was probably only a week or two premature. It appeared to have all of the necessaries, including a little fuzzy coat, but it was obviously dead and very much so. I tore it out of it's sac and investigated a bit, but I knew as soon as I saw it's delivery that there was no hope.

We don't know why poor Gertrude went into early labor. It could have been as complicated as nutrition or even an abortive disease, or it could've been as simple as Ingrid accidentally bumping her the wrong way in the stall the night before. There is really no way to tell, apart from sending the stillborn lamb to MSU for a necropsy, and as this is my first lamb ever I just felt like I'm not really ready to drop a ton of money on something like that. I can tell outwardly from the placental buttons that it wasn't toxoplasmosis, and many of the other diseases are accompanied by pain or other outward signs, so it's entirely possible it was something that isn't a danger to other sheep.
 
Just to be totally sure, however, I kept Gertrude apart for a few days and I completely disinfected the whole stall. This entailed mucking the bedding, scraping the dirt, pouring strong disinfectant over the whole stall floor, sponging disinfectant up the walls and along the planks of the lambing jug, disinfecting food bowls, water buckets, hay feeders, mineral pans... The whole shebang. My sincerest hope is that we get at least one healthy lamb from Ingrid, but with the possibility of this being an abortive disease I have to think realistically, and realistically there is a possibility that she too will give birth to stillborns. Still, Gertrude had almost no udder, and Ingrid is bagging up heavily. Gertrude was also a young ewe to give birth, and Ingrid is an old pro. I have to think positively, and keep my expectations low. Even if it is disease, there is a great possibility that next year's lambing season will go without a hitch.

That's just how farming works. You can't linger on the negatives because in farming there certainly are negatives. You're always looking forward, moving up and getting over things. Such is life, and all things move on with or without you.

As a quick aside, Gertrude is completely healthy and seems to have forgotten the whole thing. She never even sniffed the stillborn lamb so it's likely she just didn't understand what was going on in the first place. She never mourned, and that has made the whole thing easier for me. She just seems happy to be more comfortable, and more than anything I'm just happy to have her alive and Baaing at me from across the farm again. Also, I'd like to point out what impeccable fashion sense my husband has in the photo just above this paragraph. Yeesh...

My current view...

 

 

Improv Recipe: Queso Dip with baked Tortilla Chips

It always surprises me when I get the urge to cook. Until the month of March and the Real Food challenge over at Not Dabbling, I only cooked sporadically. I referred to myself as a "preparer of foods" rather than "one who cooks".

Two nights ago, in a fit of craving, I decided to make some spicy Queso dip. We had cheese and buttermilk in the fridge and I knew it could be done, so I set to work in the kitchen like a mad scientist.

 

Spicy Queso Dip

1-2 cups cheese (we used raw milk white cheddar) shredded or cut in to small blocks
1/2 cup buttermilk (you could probably use cream or even sour cream too)
2-3 spears of asparagus, sliced into small pieces
Jalepeños to taste
Salsa to taste (optional)
Spices to taste (salt, garlic powder, chipotle pepper, red pepper flakes, black pepper)

This is one of those recipes that you can alter to make something truly for yourself. If you like garlic, add more garlic. If you don't have asparagus, use green pepper, or tomato, or anything else you have around the house. I used a lot of chipotle pepper in ours since I like things to be particularly spicy. If I'd really been thinking, I would've added chorizo sausage to it as well, though chorizo can add a certain amount of thick red grease to anything, despite it's amazingly wonderful taste.

Toss all ingredients into a medium sauce pan over low-to-medium heat. As the mixture begins to melt you can raise the heat to medium, just don't bring it up to temp too quickly or you'll end up with a real mess. I added my spices after the mixture melted, so that I could sample things as I went along. It took me about 20 minutes to mostly melt the mixture through, but I'm betting if I had let it sit and cook another 15-20 minutes it would have been even better. I was being impatient.

It wasn't until after I started making the queso that I realized that our tortilla chips had gone stale! No problemo, hermanos y hermanas, we had fresh tortillas in the refrigerator. I lightly brushed each side of the tortillas with olive oil, stacked them and cut them into 1/4s (they were little tortillas.. tortillitas?). I sprinkled them with sea salt and popped them into the preheated oven (350º) for 15 minutes while the queso cooked. I think I flipped them once or twice too to make sure they weren't burning. Tada! Amazing tortilla chips in just minutes, and healthier than the fried ones!

I encourage you all to try to mix it up in the kitchen now and then. It's incredibly satisfying to eat something of your own design, especially when it turns out to be delicious!

Local Spotlight: Queso Cabeza Farm

If you've been following our sheepy endeavors, you've heard me talk about Queso Cabeza Farm, in Olivet, MI. When I first started researching sheep, I was really struck by the Icelandic breed. They're an ancient breed - hardy with independent and strong personalities. When I learned there were both horned and polled Icelandics, I was drawn to the polled. I'm honestly not sure why - maybe because I secretly also really like the traditional polled English sheep breeds. Anyway, it wasn't long before I was directed to the web site (and patient correspondence) of Laura Volkmann and Rick Boesan at Queso Cabeza. They were so amazingly helpful in assisting me with all of my tedious questions and newbie confusion.

They eventually sold me two beautiful ewes, Ingrid and Gertrude, and leased me a Ram, Herb. We ended up keeping Herb way past the point when the lady-sheep were bred simply because he got along with everybody so well. There was only a week or two of Herb butting into the ewes, probably working out his frustration with the fact that they were no longer cycling. After that he was a perfect gentleman, and actually became quite fond of Jeremy (and vice versa, as well).

This past Thursday, Jeremy and I returned Herb to his home at Queso Cabeza. It was a sad goodbye, but he will definitely enjoy his life over there with more sheep. We actually managed to load the crate, and then Herb, into our Subaru station wagon! I'm ceaselessly impressed by that vehicle. If it could pull a horse trailer, we'd never need a truck!

 When we arrived at Queso Cabeza, we loaded Herb into a trailer for safe keeping while Laura and Rick were at work. He was so polite about loading and unloading that we found ourselves waiting for something to go wrong. He didn't struggle at all when Jeremy lifted him in, and he marched right out of the station wagon and into the trailer like a pro. It was a big relief.

 

Of course after dealing with Herb we had to watch the QC lambs and their mothers in the barnyard. I cannot believe how adorable the lamb were! The best part was when we rounded the corner and realized we were watching the first steps of a just-born lamb, the mother nearby watching carefully over both the newborn, and it's slightly older sibling. I sent Laura a picture while she was at work and she later informed me the ewe's name is Kelly, and her lambs are a ram and ewe.

The whole experience of seeing the lambs has made me out-of-my-mind-crazy-excited for Ingrid's lambs to arrive. I am thinking they may come later rather than sooner based on the size of her udder, but I'll keep my eye out just in case! She is starting to get the relaxed-ligaments with the kind of sunken late pregnancy look.

I don't think the lamb on the right has the hang of where to suckle yet...

The barnyard was so peaceful and quiet; no lamb races today!

This little lamb was by far the most curious and outgoing in the yard. It even came right up and poked my hand with it's little nose, but only after mom said it was okay.

This is the sibling lamb of the one in the picture above. I got to watch this one jump off a 3' door stoop, try to fly, and do a near face plant on top of mom. Good luck with these lambs, Laura. They're sure to be escape artists!

 

Me and my shadow!

Mom has an itch. :)

There was one lamb and one ewe that I wish I had photos of. The lamb was playing hide-and-seek with the mother (both mouflan) and the mother was in a right panic. I felt so bad for her. The lamb would run and hide behind something, and the ewe would stress out and call and run around searching for her baby. When she got close to the lamb's hiding place, the lamb would jump out like "Gotcha!" and then tear across the barnyard to another hiding place. It was hilarious to watch, but you know the mother was freaking out. 

Anyway, if any of you are considering Icelandic sheep, I urge you to contact Queso Cabeza. They are a fantastically friendly couple of shepherds with some truly beautiful stock.

Prepping the Raspberry Bed

My new raspberry bareroot stock ships out in a couple of weeks, so it was nice to finish their bed ahead of time this year.

A Misty Morn

I snapped a few photographs of the horses out in the fog when I went out to peel off their blankets this morning. The weather has been so dreary lately that they've been spending most of their time in blankets, much to their dismay. I'm sure they'll be rolling in the mud once it warms up today!

 

 Lyra and Aoife

 

Lyra, Aoife and Ffiona, with Esme in the back. 

Our driveway on the way back was so golden and misty, I couldn't resist a photo.

March's Mother Daughter Craft Swap - The Orange Cookies

Just at the end of March mysterious packages simultaneously arrived on both my doorstep and that of my brother, Benjamin. Ah, March's craft swap. Inside was simply a container of little biscuity-shaped cookies wrapped in bubblewrap. Of course, cookies are a staple here at Tanglewood Farm, and these were particularly amazing: Orange Sour Cream Cookies.... My God.

From what I learned in a short conversation with  my mom about the cookies, these are made from as many local and organic ingredients as she could find. We are neither very big bakers, and so an intricate cookie with such amazing subtle taste as these is a true treasure in my family. The danger with these cookies is that they are orange and light, so they are refreshing to eat. Of course, that means you can't eat just one... or two... maybe three, but not likely.

I'll have to post the recipe as soon as I get it from her. For now, you'll have to make due with a photograph and a reassurance: These are perhaps the best cookies I have ever eaten.

Mother Daughter Craft Swap Catch Up

I've been kind of bad about posting the regular craft swap posts, but my February craft was a total disaster. It wasn't plagued by big messes and loud fits of destruction, but by quiet, almost silent frustrations and the curse of having to redo steps over and over and over. I will be giving my mother her February craft when she comes to visit next week... half way through April. Ah well. It's still relevant and it's finally finished in a way I am happy with.

In the mean time, in March I made my mother several batches of granola for our craft swap. She'll be coming to visit next week and when she does, I'm hoping we'll be able to make more granola and experiment with new recipes. I keep hearing about pumpkin granola... it sounds so good!

It was a great experience for me, and for my first time making granola it was pretty danged good. I have to wonder though if it's possible to make granola less sweet with the same clumping characteristics that I like. My recipes took a lot of maple syrup and/or honey to keep the bits stuck together and so they were pretty sweet.

 If you would like more information on the recipe I used and modified, visit my post over a Not Dabbling in Normal from March's Real Food Challenge.

Spontaneous Granola

NDiN: The Strawberry Dance

You can find me dabbling about strawberries over at NDiN today.