Mona, aka, ‘Shutterbug’  the clown from  aps took this picture of Rhainnon last week during a farm visit.  You have to wonder what the ewe thought of you, Mona:)

Posted: March 9th, 2010 under Chile Acres.
Comments: none

Meet Jim from APS.  He and his buddies which you will meet shortly in this blog came over for a farm visit.  Now if you look closely you will see how we recycle our wine bottles!

Posted: March 9th, 2010 under Chile Acres.
Comments: none

Our friends Karen and Bob of A to Z Tomatoes and yes those wonderful aprons sewn with great artistry and craftsmanship, are running a Goat Retirement Center.

Bob mentioned that he had a pasture that was recently cowless and becoming a bit untidy.  Nothing like “organic lawnmowers”  i.e. goats to the rescue!  We sent over Assaba, Mocha Latte, and Azizzi to take over the task.  These girls are in their teens to mid teens which is rather long in the tooth in the goat world. 

“The Girls” as Bob and Karen call them are getting rather pampered in the retirement center.  They line up for daily grain treats and even have their own dog for entertainment (at least to their point of view–not sure what the dog thinks).  Daily massages–head scratches–are also in order.

Turns out that one of the girls was accidently with child or kid as we say on the farm.  Definitely an accident and unplanned due to her age.  Griffin was born early and very small in the middle of the night last month.  Bob and Karen saved him from certain death by milking mom (after a brief Googling of how to milk a goat) and keeping him warm with hot water bottles in Karen’s sewing room (which is her inner sanctum of creativity).  When we arrived for back up we weren’t sure he would make it since he was so small and early. He is a real survivor though.  After over a week of eyedropper feedings and then graduation to a doll bottle tiny Griffin was adopted by a doe that lost one of her triplets.  He is catching up now.

If you are at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market stop by and see Bob and Karen.  They are rare and wonderful friends with big hearts for the very young and the very old of  the goat world:)

Posted: March 2nd, 2010 under Chile Acres.
Comments: none

Eleanor Dziuk is the owner of “Absolutely Delightful” Honey.  On Saturdays you can find her at the Phoenix Public Market on the 700 block of Central.  Last Saturday her honey was a godsend!

One of our little goats that had come to the market was feeling stressed so I asked Eleanor for a honey stick.  Honey in a stick or straw that you can devour immediately is one of the favorite products of “kids” at her booth.  Even goat “kids”.  Our little doe sucked down the first straw and started hollering for another. Eleanor and her customers got a giggle or two over that.  Can’t beat a honey that is endorsed by a goat!

Did you know that many animal owners have reaped the benefit of administering honey to baby animals that get carsick or stressed?  It can elevate dropping blood sugar levels which lead to stress related hypoglycemia and car sick symptoms.  Check out Eleanor and give her honey a try.  If it gets rave reviews from a tiny doe well then…

Posted: March 2nd, 2010 under Chile Acres.
Comments: none

Our first pure bred Nubian Nanny was named E-bay when we purchased her and so when she had a doe kid that was all brown and had a white area with one large brown spot we named her Dot Com.  Dot Com in turn had a doe kid that had a field of white with a square in it so we named that one Chex. We have a “Foreclosure Goat” (recently homeless) that was all red with a white mustache so we named her “Got Milk”.  “Godiva Chocolate” had a doe kid with a chocolate body and a dollop of white on her head so she  is “Bon Bon.” Born on Christmas 6 years ago was “Holly” and so her daughter is “Ivy” which may please those of you that like green in December.  Of course “Bubbles” is due to her unusual pattern which is a throw back to the Nubians of Africa.  There are three tiny bubble babies this year.

We had so many wonderful names suggested for the babies over the last two weeks we would like to list some of them here.  With 33 kids so far to date (Jimmie is on pasture watch today scouring the landscape for new moms and kidlets) we can use most of these names.  Some are duplicates so that just goes to show that great minds think alike!

Basheba, Ja Ja, Annabelle, Lexi, Laverne and Shirley,Gracie, Bubba, Brickle and Turtle, Mona and Lisa, Star and Ginger, Cinnamon, Tuxedo, Knit and Purl,Billy, Latte, Domino, Jim and Beam, Max, Guiness, Lucy and Ethel, Sunshine and Moonlight, Butterscotch, Tallullah, Carmel, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Matilda and Lucy, Lilly and Snowflae, Flower and Algernon, Princess, Caramel, Peanut, Olive, Oreo, Sofia, Ruby, Pancake, Carson, Bennett, Sharon and Ozzy, Licorice, Cupcake, Aurora, Casey, Ellis, Capuccino, Salt and Pepper, Ricky and Fred.

Thanks to:

Cathy, Kari, John, Belinda, Cellia, Diane,Kristi, Victoria Jan, Kate, Billy, Boby, Charlie, Cheryl, Sophie, Ruby, Ellis, Carson, Bennett,Casey, Ricky and Fred, and all of the other wonderful folks that came up with such great ideas.

Posted: March 2nd, 2010 under Bubbles the Goat and Friends, Chile Acres.
Comments: none

If you were at the market last Saturday you may have entered the contest we held to name the two cute babies we brought with us.  Even with the extremely cold and soggy conditions we had two pages of name suggestions!  A special thanks to Steve for helping to babysit our wards and being such a good neighbor and to a lovely lady that held one under her jacket for warmth at the height of the storm (I held the other):) 

Some of the names were quite funny and even telling of those that suggested of them like “Guiness” and “Tequila”.  Other names were based on color patterns like “Tuxedo” and “Butterscotch”.  One of our favorite customers is quite in to art and suggested “Mona” and “Lisa” for the two girls!

Two adorable young ladies nominated their own names “Sophie” and “Ruby”. Sophie pointed at her favorite little kid goat and told her solemnly that her name would be Sophie.  The kid wagged her tail at that exact moment and it was taken as a favorable sign.

We promised to cut the names apart and throw them in a hat for random drawing.  We did even though the paper and ink were rather squishy!  Since there are over 30 babies now we will save the other names for them so everyone will be a winner:)

So here we are…drum roll…perhaps hoof beats?

Thelma and Louise

Now I hope that doesn’t mean that they will be predisposed to jumping off of tall heights or attempting to scale large crevices…

Posted: February 24th, 2010 under Bubbles the Goat and Friends, Chile Acres, Uncategorized.
Comments: none

How about something easy and exotic for dinner?  This is a real treat and won’t heat up your kitchen much:)

Ingredients:

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Buckwheat Flour

egg

oil

milk, goat, soy, rice, or almond

baking powder

baking soda

4 oz of Barn Goddess Goat Cheese (Spinach or South Western Delight are our favorites with this)

Procedure:

Mix 1 egg, 1 cup of buckwheat flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking flour, and then slowly add milk until you have a runny pancake batter ( slightly thinner then what you usually make).

In a hot griddle add a tbls. of oil then pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the oil.  Roll the pan to spread the batter thin.  When bubbles appear flip the pancake.  Cook until browned.  Set on a plate and continue until all of the batter is used up.

Spread each pancake with goat cheese and roll up like a crepe. Microwave for 45 sec to one minute to heat the cheese.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream.  Enjoy!!!

Posted: February 16th, 2010 under Barn Goddess Goat Cheese Products, Recipes.
Comments: none

This is one of a set of triplets delivered by his mommy “Got Milk”, she has only a white mustache on an entirely red body, baking in the warm afternoon sun with a belly full of milk.

This little cutie is from another set of triplets and is shown here taking her first drink with momma, Pippin, coaching her in the ways of goatie etiquette.  Romeo and Beauregard are proud poppas and only 1 mother has had a single baby, “Thing Two”.  Thing One has not delivered yet.  As of this posting there are 28 new babies bouncing around in the pasture.  It is wonderful to see how they use some sort of inborn echo-location bleeting until the right mom comes around to feed them or reassure them about their new world.  At night the moms form a huge ring with the babies in the middle and everyone gets very quiet.  Our reverence for the natural world is greatest this time of year when we are blessed with the new additions to our farm:)

Stay tuned for a picture of Bubble’s new baby.  (It wouldn’t hold still today for a picture)

Posted: February 16th, 2010 under Bubbles the Goat and Friends, Chile Acres.
Comments: none

How about some fresh cheese mixed with herbs?  Goat Feta? Gluten free and 85% goat cheese crackers?  Yup!  We have them in the store.  Check out these goodies and more at the new store on McKinley and Central.  Stop by the kitchen and ask Chef Elizabeth for a gluten free french toast or a savory delight of her own concotion with goat cheese as an ingredient.  You will be delighted:)

Posted: January 28th, 2010 under Barn Goddess Goat Cheese Products, Cheese for Sale.
Comments: 2

Rainy Days!  My sis wanted to lend me and the sheep dog, Enya, a kayak to go out and feed the critters!  We have had a lot of rain as all the mud in this picture can testify to (No, the floor doesn’t have brown spots in the linoleum pattern). The winds blew so hard that we had an awning come down in the goat pasture!  The little darlings are just fine though huddled in their sheds.  I think everyone had to chase their food in the winds that made it hard to keep the truck door open or closed as we came around for an overall welfare check during the height of the storms.

Dad Cameron, my step dad gave me this wild coat.  He bought it in Northern Scotland.  It has reflector tape and a whistle, and it becomes a floatation device if you should fall into the North Sea.  No danger of the sea but I think we may qualify for lake front property.  Instead of chilies perhaps we should stock a trout pond?  Trade the shepherd’s crook in for a paddle for the kayak?

Can’t cry too much though about the weather since it will make the pastures luxurious for the  spring kids on the way.

Posted: January 28th, 2010 under Chile Acres.
Comments: none