A New Post!!

Since I've had people (mainly my sisters) e-mail me, face book me, leave comments, & call me to tell me that I need to blog more I am doing that.

The only problem is I've been a wee bit busy, had a touch of writers block, & lack thing to really write about (meaning the funny things that toddlers say.)

As of Wednesday I will have been in New York for four weeks. In that time I've shown in two shows, I've been to New York City, I've been to Pennsylvania, made TONS of cheese, helped with the chores, enjoyed the quite, missed my family, started skype, bought Christmas presents, met new people, & enjoyed my time. :D

Now to expound on all that! lol

I've gone to two county fairs and helped to show some goats, they have lots of dairy goats up here, as well of lots of shows. Many more then we do down in Texas.

In New York City I walked around eight miles. From Union Square to Central park and back again. I saw more stuff then I can remember, hence why I took well over 150 pictures. In Pennsylvania Lynn had a show that she was judging so I want with her, & while she was judging I checked out the local town of Lewisburg, and then when she was done we went & saw four covered bridges. Both days were long but enjoyable day.

I've been doing chores in the morning & then helping in the cheese room, I've learned how to make Feta & Ricotta and done TONS of chevre. They make a lot more cheese then we do, but then when your milking 120 goats you are going to be making a lot more cheese then a farm milking 36 goats. :D

I've enjoyed the quite, but then quite is also those times when I miss my family the most. I miss Seth running up to give me a hug, Noah & Judah asking a question about the farm or what I am doing. Or Liberty wanting to snuggle with me or Timothy asking a baseball question. Then I miss the older girls and any & all conversations that we have.

And I can't forget mom & dad and the conversations we have about baseball, cheese, dairy, farm life, soap, and life in general. At last but no least I miss Dixie's cooing. face book chatting, phones, & skype have made it all a little easier but not 100% completely easier. (Yes, I have been counting the days until I go back for a few days...16!)

Of course being up here I've seen & bought things that I know my family will love & can't WAIT until Christmas to see their faces when they see what I got them. It's one of the best things about being up here, getting great presents for my family.

The people who I have meet have all been great, now all of them have been related to goats in one way or another. Be it at the farm working on cheese or at shows showing goats. :D

And yes, I am enjoying myself. I am making a point of doing that. It's a little odd to bee sight seeing without family or friends here to do with me, so I've kind of compromised--I'm taking over 200 pictures every time I go out sight seeing. :D

Answers to Common Goat Questions

Someone asked that I give the answers to these common goat questions for those that do not have goats. And I am happily giving the answer as it will give me something to blog about & my siblings can stop face booking, e-mailing, calling, and leaving comments on my lack of blogging. (I'm having a hard time thinking of things to post about.)

Q: "Why do the goats not have ears?"
A: It's a breed of goat called LaMancha they are born without their ears.

Q: "Why do you milk the goat?"
A: So that we can have their milk to enjoy and to turn into many different products such as milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, butter, & soap.

Q:"Why do you cut off their ears?"
A: Because they are a breed of goats that are born without their ears and if I tried to tell a judge that they were Lamanchas with ears I would get disqualified. just like dogs have different type of ears so do goats. (While I point to
Nubian and Alpines.)

Q:"Can you drink goat's milk just like you drink cow's milk?"
A: Yes you can. Handled properly goats milk should taste VERY close to cow's milk. More often then not people tell us it taste like sweetened half & half. And it can be used just like cow's milk.

Q:"Where are their horns?"
A: We remove their horns at a young age for a number of reasons.
1) I have to handle these goats at least twice a day if not more and it's not the best feeling in the world to have a goat horn you. (Yes, I do know how it feels.)
2) They can cause harm to my other goats with their horns.
3) It's a disqualification in the show ring to have a dairy goat have horns.

And the answer that I have given on occasion but love to give more often...

Q:"Why do you cut off their ears?"
A: Because they are SOOOO good! They make the best appetizers ever!
What amazes me are the number of people who believe me & start to walk off with out a comment or even a look over that answer!

Ten Days Here...

Ten things I've learned in the past ten days...

1. There are goats in the world larger then my Dawn was.
2. Not having any children in the house can lead to a very quite house.
3. Eating with chopsticks isn't as easy as some people make it look.
4. Octopus is worse then canned mushrooms!!
5. I can not cook for less then ten people.
6. It can be cooler then 90 degrees in August.
7. 50 gallons of milk makes a TON of cheese
8. Reading the small print on a travel brochure is always a wise idea.
9. With only one person eating it, 1 gallon of ice cream can sure last awhile.
10. New York is a lot larger then I realized
    

Ten Days Away...

Ten things I miss about Texas...

1. My family!
2. Hugs from mom & dad
3. Toddlers in my bed
4. Talks with my older sisters.
5. Hugs & kisses from my brothers
6. The Heat
7. My church
8. Markets
9. Coffee from HEB & Katz
10. My Family!!

I Ain't in Texas anymore!!

Things that prove I am not in Texas (or even the south) anymore...

• You get funny looks when you ma'am or sir someone.
• Tea is NOT sweetened.
• An ice chest is a cooler and a freezer an ice chest.
• When you ask for Coke you get Coca-Cola.
  
• When it's 85 degrees, with 50% humidity everyone thinks it's WAY to hot (while I'm LOVING it lol).

Common Goat Questions

Repeated questions that are asked of goat exhibitors at a livestock show or fair (and even sometimes at markets)...

• "Why do the goats not have ears?"
• "Why do you milk the goat?"
• "Why do you cut off their ears?"
• "Can you drink goat's milk just like you drink cow's milk?"
• "Where are their horns?"

And the one thing I heard a teenage girl say that had my laughing all day...

"Ewww!! I am NEVER going to drink milk now that I know how they get it!!