Adstock Addition

Our new herd sire, Adstock, is settling in to life here on Gael Glen Farm.  He was a trooper during transit home, only pooping once in his large dog crate in the back of the van.

Adstock, thusly named because he hails originally from Cottage Craft farm in Adstock, Quebec, is a very calm ram.  I am looking to breed for disposition this time around so he is a perfect choice.

We gave Adstock some alone time in the barn, well stocked with fresh hay and water, before allowing him to make the acquaintance of his new, albeit temporary, flock.  Our sheep were very excited to meet the new guy. 

Charlie was not so sure.  She gave Adstock a couple good donkey kicks and a solid chase around the paddock.  Poor guy - what a welcome.

Everything seems to have settled down in the barnyard now that everyone is more used to each other.

Adstock has staked claim to the barn during the day, while the others are happy to chill outside.  Luckily there are hay feeders in both places!  They have also all been amenable to going into the barn together at night time.  I have been careful to let them out early in the morning so Charlie and Adstock do not cause a ruckus being cooped up in close quarters during daylight hours.  So far, so good. 

Now we wait for the "ram effect" to take effect and cause Violet and Molly to go into heat.  Then the fun really begins!

Gael Glen Farm's Goat Milk Soap Shop is Open for Business

There is no better day than Black Friday to announce that Gael Glen Farm's Goat Milk Soap Shop is now open for business!

We are offering hand crafted goat milk soap that is made with fresh, raw goat milk; hand milked daily from our pair of Nigerian Dwarf goats, Martha and Mellie.

Our soap is 100% natural and we offer lightly scented and non scented options. The bars are produced in small batches to ensure quality. As with everything we produce, quantities are limited and items do sell out.

Sweet orange bar soap.

Green tea bar soap.

Gentle exfoliating, non scented soap with chia seeds

Sweet orange and non scented soap squares

Contact us at soap@gaelglenfarm.ca to place your order.  

Free shipping over $80.  Local delivery possible.

Cobalt Curry

We whipped up a delicious supper featuring Gael Glen Farm lamb and seasoned with authentic Indian spices that Ian brought home from his business trip there this past spring.  A warm feast for a freezing cold day.

Lamb vindaloo with curried vegetables and rice and a side of naan.

Front Tooth IOU

It's raining, it's pouring.  It's chicken soup and a muffin. 

This was our post-illness celebration dinner in honour of one very lost front tooth. 

Not only did it fall out of his mouth but Liam actually managed to lose the tooth somewhere between removing it from the front pocket of his backpack and bringing it to the kitchen table to show Mama.  We have searched for it everywhere.  Luckily, the Tooth Fairy was understanding....this time.

Ram Rental Postponed

Monday was supposed to be pick up day for our ram rental from Karberry Farm.  Unfortunately, our entire family got infected with some sort of horrendous illness during our trip to Toronto.  It began Sunday evening around 8 pm with Liam and then progressed to each of us in turn, with the exception of Alistair who so far seems to have escaped unscathed. 

We feel like this:

This is the sickest I have been in over two decades.  It is the sickest Liam has been since he stealthily scarfed an ice cube out of the pot in which Ian was brining the holiday turkey.  Seamus has never been this sick before.  Ian managed to get a delayed and more mild version of whatever ails us.  He is in the throes of it now and has been bedridden all day.

Even with an alimentary catastrophe currently plaguing our family, I am grateful for two things:

#1 The baby did not get sick.  As much as being sick oneself is horrible, there is nothing worse than a violently ill baby.

#2 Grandma risked catching this mysterious illness herself to come and care for my family while I was curled up on the bathroom floor for close to 12 hours.  She laundered our soiled pyjamas, bed sheets, towels and blankets.  She cared for Liam and Seamus who were kept home from school.  She watched Alistair who remains full of energy and joy even though the rest of us are out of commission. 

We are so, so incredibly grateful to her.  Thank you Grandma.

Here is to hoping that tomorrow brings a return to good health here on Gael Glen Farm. 
Ram rental pick up day has been postponed until Friday.

Tales from a Novice Milk Maid

Tales from a Novice Milk Maid

By: Kerry
Guest Blogger and Farm Sitter Extraordinaire



Rise and shine on a cool, foggy Sunday.

The sun was working hard at 8 am to break through the grey mist that hovered over Gael Glen Farm but it hadn’t quite touched the tips of the barns when I arrived.

The "water parks" had thin sheets of ice covering them, which did not impress the ducks upon their explosion from the hen house...I quickly rectified that with fresh water, non frozen.



Charlie & the sheep were a bit blazé...a “thanks for showing up” kinda deal.

I knew my welcoming morning greeting would come from the goats and Ava. I could hardly control my enthusiasm to see them as I could hear them from across the yard and started calling to them that I was on my way.

A cacophony of bleats erupted when I swung open the door. “It’s beautiful morning!” I proclaimed.

Five little faces stared at me as if to say, “Get on with it.” They know they are the last to get released so it wasn’t quite a beautiful day for them yet.

Martha and Mellie clearly knew the routine...”Milk me, woman!!”

I could barely get the stand out of the barn and Mellie was already in position.



But I decided to start with Martha.

Why?

Why?

I am still reliving the moment now...questioning my decision-making skills.

I recalled Krystal’s posts about Mellie perching herself up on the crate and not being available for her babies when they were nursing. I thought that “attitude” also transferred into milking, so I though I was being strategic in choosing Martha first. You know, easing into the task.



Au contraire.

There was kicking and pushing and shoving and glaring. I restrained her legs to limit the kicking but she managed to escape from the hobble twice. She ate through the whole bowl of food before I had even started.



And then it began...while the milk was easy to express, it was not easy to collect. With every three squeezes. Martha rebelled and proficiently stomped into the pail.

Goat shifted, milk to the face.
Goat shifted again, milk to the ground.

Accuracy under pressure is not my forté.

The mocking continued, for Martha knew I only had two hands. Trying to steady the goat, squeeze the teat and secure the pail was near impossible.

Three more squeezes, pail tipped over completely.

“Liquid gold!” I cried to the heavens.
“Why the liquid gold?”

Reposition and go at it again.
Martha got rambunctious.
I filled up her bowl for the second time.

I resumed my duties only to have a repeat, a three-peat, and yes, a four-peat.
Milk everywhere...but not in the pail.



The sun had begun to pierce through the fog but I was already sweating. The babies began to bleat solemnly - “Won’t you let us out?”
“Sorry kids,” I replied. “This milk maid needs more time.”

I had collected about an ounce in total by this point.

I had dreamed of making cheese, even a bar of soap...heck, I would have settled for enough to soften my cereal.  But more importantly was to get Martha milked so she didn’t become engorged and adversely affect her milk production (not on my watch!!).

Discouragement was creeping in when efficiency presented itself. Was there a better technique?

Yes.
Yes there was.

I needed three hands.
Which I didn’t have.
But I had me...as in my body.
I filled up Martha’s bowl a third time and let ingenuity take over.  (Humour me)

I leaned over our beloved Martha from behind and reached around her, like a great big hug. I did still love the moody momma.  Now I could milk her from both sides at the same time. Ha!  It might not have looked pretty but it worked. It worked well.

Within a minute, Martha was done and using the same technique I had Mellie done in a quarter of the time and no loss of liquid gold with the new technique.

Once the chore was done, the aftermath resembled a milk massacre.  I cried just a little at the waste, but Ava was happy to help clean it up.  And I got more than enough for my cereal. Behold my bounty!



At 9:15am, the skies were blue and the animals were all happy. I stood back and reflected on what had transpired while most were still in bed. It made me smile.

Would I do it again?
You bet.

Best “Baby”-sitter ever...

Please give a warm welcome to Ms. Kerry, Gael Glen Farm's newest guest blogger and farm sitter extraordinaire.

Best “Baby”-sitter ever......for farm animals, that is.

My stint as animal caregiver for evening chores was exceptionally fulfilling. Moderately challenging to get five baby goats into their raised pen but most challenging was the chicken chase.

Two held out....hiding amongst the shrubs, hoping I wouldn’t notice. Ha!





All my sweet singing and gesturing could not convince these two to call it a day so I used the stick that keeps the door open to more emphatically direct them, by pointing, to the coop. Success!

And there was Josephine.
The contrary hen.



No way was she moving out of her nest to give up her eggs. And when you go near her, she pecks. I attempted to get her to move by nudging her with a brush...PECK!
Sun was setting...coyotes would soon be on the prowl and I had no time to negotiate with this bird.
So much like in the game show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, I called (texted) a friend.
I reached out to both Ian & Krystal.

Here’s how that went:
Krystal



Ian



Perseverance paid off (no eye-poking involved) and the overall yield was impressive.



I “might” have accidentally given Charlie & the sheep more than two flakes of hay. It was very tightly packed together and when I got to their barn, my inexperienced eye became obvious.
Ah, but when the “baby”-sitter comes over, the children usually get extra treats, right?



I hugged Charlie and the sheep before closing the door. There were no lullabies, but don’t think it didn’t cross my mind.



By 4:20pm, the hatches were battened and 3 sheep, 1 donkey, 2 goat mommas, 5 goat babies, 1 giant dog and 20 +/-chicken & ducks tucked in, but I wasn’t tuckered out. Look at me







Evening chores completed: ☑️

Our Bags are Packed

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go.  The barns are clean and the animals are fed.  No, we are not going on vacation (I wish) but we are heading out for an overnight trip to Toronto.  Yes, I am aware that I said that I never wanted to leave the farm again because the drive to Toronto with three small children is soul crushing.  But, believe it or not, I do not get to make all the decisions around here.

We have company staying in our farm house to keep an eye on our inside pets and plants and we are leaving our farm critters in Ms. Kerry's very capable, though somewhat novice, hands.  I have warned everyone to be on their best behaviour for her but the beautiful thing about farming is that you never know what is going to happen.

I can, however, offer four tips:

1) Baby goats are very hungry animals.  They have zero boundaries when it comes to grain.  Anyone and anything between their snout and the grain bucket is at risk for being trampled.

2) Charlie is the boss.  If she is doing what you want, consider yourself very lucky because this is only because it is also what she wants...for now.  If she changes her mind - watch out!

3) Beware of the broody hen sitting in the nest boxes.  She bites.  Her current exchange rate is two pecks per egg.

4) It does not matter how many precautions you take, you will smell like goat after doing the farm chores.  No, Purell will not help.  It will just make you smell like an alcoholic goat.

And with these sage words, I leave you to it Ms. Kerry.  Remember, we are only a phone call away (though admittedly, I have never tried to convince Charlie to do something over speaker phone).  If all else fails, duct tape really does fix anything!

P.S. I have left you some homemade soap as a "thank you".  It should help with the goat stench.

The Big Reveal

Upon reflection, it is not surprising that I am drawn to both bread baking and soap making as homestead related hobbies.  Both provide an avenue for me to make necessities that we would otherwise have to buy.  They both require equal parts precision and creativity.  And both offer the lure of finally making that perfect loaf/bar.

What I enjoy most about both of these hobbies, though, is that each and every batch of homemade bread and soap offers a "big reveal" moment.   

During bread baking, the big reveal comes after the loaf has cooked in a 450 degrees F oven for 30 minutes inside a cast iron dutch oven covered with a lid.  When it is time to remove the lid, you finally get a chance to peek at your loaf to see if it "bloomed" in the oven (called "oven spring"), whether your scoring was a success, and if you were finally able to achieve the much coveted "ear" (an overhang of crust, formed by properly fermenting, mixing, kneading, shaping, scoring, steaming, and baking the dough).

I love this moment!

Voila!  She's a beauty.

Likewise, making a homemade bar of soap offers a big reveal moment in each batch.  This moment comes when slicing a loaf of soap into bars.  You finally get to see how the pattern turned out and if it looks anything like what you were going for.

I love this moment!

Voila!  She's a beauty.

 It is the anticipation of possible perfection that gets me every time!  I certainly have not had my fill of bread baking or soap making yet.  In fact, I started a new batch of both today.  My bread dough is on its first fermentation and is waiting to be stretched, folded, shaped and placed in the fridge.  My soap making went absolutely nothing like I expected and I ended up with a loaf of soap that looks like peanut butter but smells like green tea!  Weird, I know. 

 I cannot wait for the big reveal for both my new bread and new soap in the days to come.  Who needs the lottery when you can get the same rush of anticipation from simply making bread and soap?!