Herbie roto-tilled the weeds in the vegetable garden, so it's looking more like a vegetable garden and less like a week patch Picked our first produce today, Swiss Chard, which I cooked for lunch with red onion and garlic in olive oil, finished off with a little lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper. Yummy. Lunch was the potato salad I made yesterday, pickled beetroot I canned 2 years ago, a scary salad, (more than 6 ingredients), lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, avo, fennel, celery, fresh basil and tarragon from the garden, salmon and tilapia done on the stone braai we built outside that Herbie fixed after I hit it with the zero-turn - thank you Herbie. We chatted over lunch how different our food had been growing up, him meat, fried or a roast, bread and butter, boiled potatoes, sometimes corn on the cob, sometimes a salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber, occasionally with radishes, his mum loved squash, his dad hated it. Us, vegetarian, but always a protein (vege meat), a starch, usually potato as my dad wasn't fond of rice, a green and a yellow vegetable, beans, peas, broccolli, brussel sprouts, spinach, carrots, pumpkin, squash, and salad every day, no salad dressing, no gravies.
Called the vet in today to look at Dollys' foot. I kept her in the lower barn enclosure after milking this morning so we wouldn't have to fight with her too much. He wanted her tied her up in the alpaca chute, but she was really unhappy there, backed out as far as she could and then nearly tipped it over in it's side, so we moved her back into her milking stall, and she stood quietly while Jesse lifted her foot and worked on it. He scraped away some of the hoof, but couldn't find any foot-rot or an abscess. I didn't want to just give her anti-biotics not finding a clear cause for her tenderness, so he recommended that I continue to do the epsom salt soaks while milking her which should bring any abscess to a head, and then it will drain. Will call him back if it doesn't finished draining in 2 days after popping. He pregnancy checked her while he was there, yep, she's due end October. If he has to come back for Dollys' foot, I'll bring Star up to the milk parlour so she can be pregnancy checked. I'm panic-ing a little for our herd-share programme, have to dry Dolly end August, and don't know for sure if Star is pregnant, or when she is due. Pearl is in milk but the 1/2 hour fight to get her into the milking parlour is not good for any of us and the possibility of getting the 2 lactating Scottish Highlands' into the milk parlour are slim to none. Damn, we miss Buttercup. And Sargeant. Herbie said when he drove the buggy today he looked over to where Sarge always stood, right over the fuel gauge, but he wasn't there. Miss you little buddy.
Want to ask Betsi next time she cans meat if I can learn. I'm so primed to get a whole lot processed this year, especially as we ran out of bread and butter pickles about 2 weeks ago so I bought some - just not the same, are they ? Belong to a canning group on FB, they can everything, potatoes, milk, butter, cheese, meat. Don't think I have enough jars to do everything, and not sure my pressure cooker with lock after the lid broke, so looking for a cheap pressure canner as well.
Put the other girl lamb in the lower barn enclosure with Wanda as she constantly got out the sheep paddock as well. She cried and cried yesterday for her mum, now she sticks close to Wanda although she is still very wary of me. Fun with them down there when I milk, Dolly not pleased to have lambs in her feeder.
Anni is soo funny. She's discovered that the coolest place in the house is under the laundry table in the basement, so down she goes. Pops upstairs everytime I move around, but is feeling more confident to be down there on her own. Keep the house at 75%, which is 20% cooler than outside and feels like heaven, plus we have 3 ceiling fans churning away. Hopefully our electric / gas bill won't be horrible, had the unexpected vet fee today as well.
This heat is affecting the chickens egg-laying. Only about 20 eggs today and the guineas have found a new spot which I haven't traced yet. Probably in the middle of the grain garden ! Doesn't look as if the geese are laying anymore, and found 1 duck egg each day up until yesterday, now she's moved as well.
Was supposed to go pick black raspberries today but it was just too hot