Happy New Year!

Are you kidding?

With +/- 50 days to go before our first goat is due to kid we are getting ready. First the goats we were still milking had to be 'dried off' (stop them from making milk). This is necessary for the goat and her future kid(s). The easiest way is to apply medication (mainly antibiotics) but we preferred not to do so. We started feeding hay (instead of free range browsing) and milking them only once every other day for about 2 weeks. Then, we milked them once every three days for about a week - and one of the goats was still producing too much to stop milking her without risking mastitis. Today she was finally ready! Last milking of the year (the picture shows her production the previous milking). At the same moment I did trim her hooves and those of the other goats. Tomorrow the whole gang will be dewormed.

The kidding stables are ready, we got disinfectant, heath lamps and elastrator close at hand.
And now we will just have to be patient.....

A rich source of information on most aspects of goat keeping is this website: Fiasco farm

Slovak cooking

Snow and cold keeps us but also all those living on the small farms around us inside. When you do not have a good reason to leave your home you better do not - so lots of time for cooking and eating (and drinking!
The majority of the population which lives on farms usually produces and processes lots of food by themselves. When the cold starts and the flies disappear it is slaughter-season. Serious numbers of pigs are killed and processed into wonderful sausages, hams, goulash, soups and other traditional dishes. We are very lucky with lovely neighbours and friends who let us share in their seasonal abundance.

To look up how they made those great dishes I recommend this great Slovak cooking website: Slovakcooking.com
It is also time to start preparing Christmas dinner (!!!!!), you will find all sorts of Christmas cookies recipes on this site like the ones I made.

Beware of the dog?

House and barn

Sunny day