Annie's Goat Hill

Moving Day

2009-07-16T15:03:00.002-04:00

Don't hide away...come visit me at my new home http:/www.anniesgoathill.wordpress.com .

The new home is undecorated, with many boxes still to sort through...but the doors are open wide.

No moving help needed, just your visits.

FYI - Just In Case

2009-07-16T08:12:00.006-04:00

I am going to try to get through the mess...and praying there isn't any mess (like the one that Tyra helped us make from the comfortable place 5 years ago).

I am exporting blog posts to a new location. Once completed, I will link everything here to the new blog. The temporary link (area under construction, is: http://www.anniesgoathill.wordpress.com/ ) .

So...please excuse our mess...and do not worry...we will stay connected and I am hoping for better than ever!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T14:17:00.005-04:00

Well...almost...but cannot quite go completely wordless, can we?

Today was paperwork day. Said I would have it done by noon. I pushed away from the desk at 11:58 A.M. . Yes! Like a school kid dismissed for the summer. I did my good deed, then I was released with a fresh mind to do the work I really love...make soap. Such a blessing.

Brewed in the shop today, Lily of the Valley goat milk soap. The fragrance this batch smells a lot closer to the real thing. I think we are going to like it, ladies (and gents)! Blended in bentonite clay for a touch of light green color and added silkiness.

Stopped and looked at the flower beds on the way back to the house. I have been weeding this bed like crazy. Something keeps eating the tops off of the zinnias. I do not think they will bloom this year, but the marigolds are pretty. This one is my favorite (sorry for the blur).

Wordless Wednesday...almost...nearly made it. :)

Speaking Of Milk, Do You Ever Wonder?

2009-07-14T14:17:00.011-04:00

Do you ever look at something most every day and are oblivious to what you are seeing?

I love a tid-bit of history now and then...

I have held these milk cans close to my heart since a friend gave them to us 9 years ago. Her husband passed away and she cleaned out a lot of her possessions. Bob and I were setting up house at the time, buying a farm, and the friend said, "You will enjoy these."

A few days ago (not 9 years ago) I noticed the words on the can. The picture below is from the top of the lids, the sides of the cans are stamped Polk Milk Company, Berne Ind. I love anything related to dairy, it does not necessarily have to be related to goat milk.

Then I learned a bit more...

Before the advent of stainless steel tankers, there were milk trains that ran through dairy areas. In many cases the farmers toted their milk to small train stops (some no bigger than a garden or tool shack), and from there the milk train would carry the milk to the larger cities. Some of the private milk trains carried cans, some of the company owned trains had "milk tank" cars.

Come to find out, the milk company listed on my cans was from Indianapolis, Indiana. Berne is located in northern Indiana, known for its cow dairy farms and cheese, inhabited in the early years by Swiss Mennonites. Interesting! I can see the cans being transported back and forth between Berne and Indianapolis, both on a farmer's wagon, and on the old train.

Then I started reading about the milk trains. There are songs, movies, and all sorts of jokes floating around about milk trains. But, truly, there were actual milk trains that transported milk across the countryside. And many times people caught the milk trains if they needed a lift somewhere, some even rode the train to school.

Back on the farm...the farmers would strain and consolidate the milk into the cans, and then cool the milk in a spring house, later in history in a bulk tank. Then, either the farmer or a coop truck would come around and pick up the cans and take them to a creamery, or they went directly to the milk train.

So...perhaps I am the one slow on learning, but the next time I see one of these old milk cans...I will remember that they do hold a lot of history!

The Blue Zones

2009-07-11T19:26:00.011-04:00

As soon as my copy of the Dairy Goat Journal arrives in the mail I scan the pictures, especially those sent in from readers. It is such a treat to me. Then, for fun, I jump to the Judging Quiz section, to see if I can again select the goat that wins the class! The rest of the magazine normally is read within a week. For those of you interested in dairy goats, this is a great magazine to subscribe to. I archive the copies on a book shelf, in date order, and I do refer back to them from time to time. The dairy section always intrigues me, especially the farm journals. People out there work a lot harder than I do. I do not milk goats at 5:00 A.M.!!!!

Somehow the last magazine I received sat after I completed the judging quiz. A few days ago I picked it up and began reading an article titled Goat Milk Proven to Enhance Longevity. The benefits of goat milk are not new to me, but what did catch my eye was the source of some of the article's information, a book titled The Blue Zones, author Dan Buettner.

What are Blue Zones? They are areas and cultures where humans live much longer in comparison to people inhabiting the rest of the globe.

So, to put some salve on the itch in my curious brain, to learn more about Blue Zones, I began a Google search.

Here are bits and pieces of what I found:

Where Are These Blue Zones?The Barbargia region in Sardinia, Italy (where the Blue Zone phenomenon primarily affects men); Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California. http://www.marthastewart.com/article/the-blue-zone

We literally got a taste of secret number one: goat’s milk. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30672884/ns/dateline_nbc-health_stories/

Daily naps - Taking a 30-minute nap at least five times a week can decrease the risk of heart attack by 35 percent. It refreshes your mind and isn't just for kids after all. http://www.ehow.com/how_5036733_lose-longer-lessons-blue-zones.html

If you do a search as well, you will find other healthful longevity tips such as: eat a lean plant based diet, put family first (and elders), exercise (walking), and drink a glass or two of red wine daily (I drink 5 ounces each evening), and laugh with friends.

I need to go back and read all of the articles I linked to again! They are interesting, and there are more to read via the Google search.

Way to go, goat milk! I love it. And you know what? I do feel better when I have my cup a day. I have been known, when I have no girls in milk, to thaw out a bottle that was frozen for the kids just to fulfill my need for goat milk.

I have been thinking a great deal about getting older (I am fifty now), and how I need to be as strong and healthy as I possibly can. I feel 20-something in the head, but my body isn't so young anymore! So...with this Blue Zone idea in my head, no I will not try to live to 130, but it sure does make me think, be as healthy as possible. Be as natural as possible (skin and body). Take better care of the body that God gifted to me!

Family Portraits-Shock Therapy

2009-07-11T18:08:00.009-04:00

I have been thinking about my childhood a lot lately, summer seems to bring back a lot of memories. Looking for photos to share. There are not very many to be dug up, but I'll get the job done little by little.

So, today, to steer away from any prior topics altogether, and to add some humor, I thought I would share this hilarious photo of me and my sister and brothers (L to R, Robert, myself, Georgia, and John).

This photo was taken after my sister's high school graduation. So, it dates right at 21 years old.

Dig my big glasses! I thought those were the coolest! A boss at work, a really funny one, used to say she loved my Vogue glasses, but she pronounced it as Vog (bog) - ue (you). Hysterical! The round face, the perm, and there were more than likely combs in my wild hair. That was quite the style in 1988! We have all put on a few pounds (except me, I have lost a number, thankfully). And we now have either more grey hair, and some (not me) prefer to add blond to cover the grey. Tee hee. My sister will whack me for saying that!

Hope you all are enjoying your Saturday! I am...I am feeling very much better, still have a climb to go, but the sprint in the step is coming back.

Now...how about some of your lovely past photos? Dare to share?

Simple Mozzarella Cheese

2009-07-10T20:58:00.002-04:00

I am a cheese fiend. I absolutely cannot keep much cheese in the house. How about you?

In my spare time (uh huh) I make goat milk cheese. Chevre is my favorite, especially when garlic and fresh chives are included. I love seeing the muslin bag hanging in my kitchen for 8 hours! It feels old world, along with a great a sense of accomplishment.

I also enjoy feta goat milk cheese. Oh man, my diet is on the line when I make a batch of feta. I bottled it up once with dried rosemary infused in olive oil. I dipped in that jar enough to give myself a belly ache!

But, the easiest and quickest way to get fresh cheese in the house is to make some mozzarella.

Here is the (partial microwave)recipe:

1 gallon milk
1.5 to 2 tsp. citric acid
1/4 tsp. liquid rennet
1/2 C cool water (not chlorinated)
Kosher salt to taste (not iodized)

Dissolve the citric acid in 1/4 C water.

Dissolve the rennet in 1/4 C water.

Pour the milk into a stainless steel or enamel pan. Add the citric acid solution. Stir well. Slowly heat the milk to 90 degrees. You will notice the milk begin to curdle.

At 90 degrees, add your rennet solution. Stir gently, in a top to bottom motion for approximately 1 minute.

Remove the pot from the heat source.

Allow the milk to set for 5 minutes. This allows the curd to form.

Using a long knife, cut the curd in a checkered or cubed pattern, in an approximate 1" pattern.

Scoop the curds into a microwave safe bowl.

Press the curd with your hands. The goal is to release and pour off as much liquid (whey) as possible.

Microwave the curd on high for 1 minute.

Note: Use caution, the cheese and bowl will get hot! I wear thick rubber gloves during the process.

Remove the bowl from the microwave and quickly work the cheese with a spoon or your hands. Drain off the whey again.

Microwave 2 more times, 35 seconds each. Repeat the kneading, handling and draining each time.

Knead quickly now, as you would bread dough. You will begin to see the cheese firm up and become shiny. Add salt at this time, to taste.

The cheese should now be pliable, and able to be stretched.

You can form the cheese into a ball and drop it into ice water to cool, or you can roll it out and wrap it in wax paper. I prefer the wax paper.

The cheese is ready to eat once cooled.

It will stay fresh for many days wrapped in plastic wrap (after the original cooling).

Note:
-cow milk can be used (I cannot personally attest to that statement)
-lipase powder can be added (to give a stronger Italian taste, I prefer without)
-do not use aluminum pans when making this cheese
-do not use iodized salt..that is unless you like green cheese.

Have fun!

This recipe is a combination of 3 that I originally worked from.

Vintage Finds and Handcrafted Soap

2009-07-09T13:19:00.011-04:00

As I moved into my adult years I discovered my passion for vintage, primitive and antique furniture and other collectables. Show me something very old and I generally go ga-ga over it. When I bought this house I was looking for an older home with rooms that still held some of their old-time charm. I got it, alright, along with the problems that come with it. This old house = money pit, but I love the house and there could be worse things than a work in progress, correct? I am very happy. And very glad this old house is a part of my life.

Some of you already know my passion for soap began at a young age, around 8 years old, when I bought a "ball" of very primitive soap. I will tell that story again some day. I bought all kinds of soap throughout my childhood. Soap was an inexpensive thing to spend money on, thankfully! In my adult years I still bought different soap here and there, but mainly the Yardley variety that could be purchased at the neighborhood drug store. But then...I found it!

It was about 15 years ago when I was shopping in my favorite small Indiana town. I walked into the herb shop. I was admiring the scent of sage, eucalyptus, and other dried herbs, and I saw it. I saw the vintage butcher block table (very similar to the one pictured above) with handcrafted soap stacked on top. And for all of those years (since my high school days) I had no idea what the fragrance was called, but that bar of soap had it. I read the index card next to the soap, patchouli. Patchouli! The bars were not cut in a straight fashion, definitely hand cut, definitely handmade, yellow to tan in color, and smelled devine. The bars were not wrapped. A stack of brown paper bags was provided. I think you could buy 5 bars, get the 6th free. Oh yes, I bagged up 6 bars! My heart was thumping...this was exactly what I had been looking for, and I had just realized it. This was THE soap!

To this day I do not know who made that soap. I know it was good. It was wonderful on my skin. I did not leave it in the bathroom for my kids to use (bad me)! Besides that, as I said a few days ago, patchouli is a love or hate essential oil. I returned to the shop 3 or 4 times a year to make my soap purchase. There was also a soap shop down the path. They sold every kind of soap imaginable. Boxed soap, soap made somewhere else, many looked mass-made, interesting to me...but it definitely did not resemble the rustic handmade soap that I had learned to love. I never spent a dime on soap in that shop.

That is when I decided to make my own soap. That is when I started reading and learning. To this day, I am still on the natural path. I love boxing my soaps in brown Kraft boxes, stamped with my Annie's Goat Hill logo. I love the simple labels. If I could sell you soap over the internet off of an old worn primitive butcher block table, I would.

We all have our own styles, and I appreciate each and every one...but this was the beginnings to mine. I can see it and smell it. And I am crazy about it!

How about you, special passions or talents that you discovered, sparked through something simple, simple as handcrafted soap sold on a worn vintage table?

Plans and More Plans

2009-07-08T14:26:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my corner of the office.

I am feeling better today. But somehow I woke at 2:30 a.m., and have not been asleep since. My face is beginning to lose the Frankenstein monster look. My vision is slightly out of sorts, ibuprofen does that to me after a few days of regular doses. So, the hubby took me to the grocery this morning. That felt rather silly, but oh well, things will improve, and I was grateful. Again, I am writing from the phone, waiting for the start of today's headache to slip away.

The remainder of today (and during some of my own quiet wee hours) included planning a new business. Bob has been unemployed for well over a year. So, we are putting our creative juices into action to put him back to work. I can dig it. I love business planning. I am of the type that likes to learn as much as possible so I can act as a resource when needed, and when I can be creative it really sparks me.

We will find a way to beat this economy...I am determined! One thing I seldom do is lose confidence in the silver lining, there always is one. Prayer is amazing. And I strongly believe things happen for a reason, ears and eyes open!

Have you had to be creative with work as well?

Under The Weather

2009-07-07T14:13:00.001-04:00

I am writing from my phone again today...fingers crossed that the post works out!

Took some photos earlier this morning of my beautiful rose blooms. I love to grow roses. I am very excited to have found a spot where they are flourishing.

I am under the weather. I look like a bad advertisement for Botox. No wrinkles on the right side of my face, but it looks like it is going to spill out some collagen soon, pop, LOL. To make a long story a bit shorter, what was a terrific headache last week turned into an infected sinus, and now it is working its way down the face. It generally hurts to lay my head down, which makes for poor sleep. But this afternoon I am getting a lovely break. It feels better to rest my head. Ha, ha, ha...I think I will live.

Today I did make a batch of patchouli blend soap. I have always been a patchouli fan. Patchouli is one of those fragrances that people either truly love, or hate with much disgust. Patchouli essential oil was too expensive to buy for a while, and some suppliers quit selling it for a while. I am glad it is back! FYI...we might experience a similar issue with peppermint essential oil soon due to a bad crop overall.

Anyhow...that is the latest. Oh...I wanted to add, I hardly ever get sick. But I am allowing antibiotics this time. A person needs to be well (to breathe, chew, and smile).

Going to hit send now...wish me luck!

Product Monday - New Lotion Size

2009-07-06T13:29:00.007-04:00

As announced in the June newsletter, some of my goat milk lotion fragrances are now available in 16 oz. bottles, with a handy pump top. Lavender and unscented are the first in stock, with more to be added in the upcoming weeks. And, if you want a scent in particular that you do not see on the site, you can always drop me an email, I will be more than happy to try to help ( anniesgoathill@gmail.com).

I have been testing the larger (than normal 8 oz.) bottle out myself. I love it! Having a bottle with a pump leaves me hands free after stepping out of the bath or shower, which is leaving me less likely to skip the moisturizing step this mature skinned woman needs. Oops, yep, I said it, mature skin. :)

I am having a beautiful Monday here. Got up with the chickens, before sunlight hit, made lotion before 7:00 A.M. . Crazy goat lady I am! Accomplished a lot, and now I am being treated with a beautiful day with work behind me. Hope you enjoy the day too!

New Product-Peppermint and Pumice

2009-07-06T13:24:00.000-04:00

I am focusing and catching up with odds and ends on the website, on the blog, and in the shop today! It feels super to make progress!

As announced in the June newsletter, the new product has arrived, Peppermint and Pumice:

Most of us deal with rough spots on our feet. Calluses and rough spots can be less than pretty, but can also make us uncomfortable in our shoes as well.

One of the best pampering remedies I have found for the problem is to soak my feet, or even take a long bath, and then use a pumice stone to gently slough off the rough spots.

Followed up immediately with an application of cooling and soothing peppermint goat milk lotion.

Next, a pair of white cotton socks goes on the feet, and then...relax!

This is one special treatment, especially when shutting down at the end of the day. Your feet will love you for it, and the next day you reap the benefits. Soft feet!

Peppermint and Pumice is available in the goat milk soap store under gift sets and/or lotion. The product is packaged in a cellophane bag, raffia tied.

What is it, blah?!

2009-07-05T11:08:00.005-04:00

What is it?

Isn't that a very general question?

The photo represents a general feeling towards all of the hype. Are you tired of the hype too?

I do not watch a lot of television, but I do watch a bit of the morning news (out of Cincinnati) and a few movies here and there. Yesterday I vegged out, which I do not do often. I watched Uncle Buck, twice. I miss John Candy. I am certainly not ashamed to admit I like some of the old corny things in life.

The news and other newsy channels, and media, seem to be filled with constant trash, constant repeats, and the running down of anyone and everyone it can get its hands on.

I realize the situation regarding Michael Jackson, or the death of any famous person (which I feel should be a very private thing), can be tragic, but what is up with the hype? Here we go again...Palin is going to resign, and possibly move on to other things? Okay, more power to her. I may or may not agree with their lifestyle or pursuits, but aren't we all created equally?

Perhaps I am living in a fairy tale world, but I do not feel like idolizing any single human being. People are talented, and I admire their God given talents. People should expand upon their own talents, the passions are there for a reason. But to idolize a human, or even to chop up, or cut down, why is that necessary?

What do you think, it is all about making money? I love social media, and I love media in general, we can learn a lot in today's society, but do we know too much, too fast, too often?

We can shut off the television, no doubt about it. We can turn off our radios as well. But I do think we need a certain amount of current event knowledge under each of our belts. Learning and soaking in of information goes back to the beginning of time, even then people were not recluses. They visited and travelled about, on foot.

I am not bitter, not at all, I simply get tired of it all from time to time. I am not impressed. Do you feel the same? I would love to see the focus shift to really positive things, and I believe there is a lot still out there!

I am hitting the publish post key NOW. This is one of those posts where I keep thinking, erase Mary, erase, but then, I will probably be proven wrong again. I would love to hear your comments.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-03T20:09:00.003-04:00

Whatever you do, wherever you go, I wish you a happy and safe 4th of July!

Summer Bundles

2009-07-03T15:46:00.003-04:00

The Brown Bag special has been archived.

Today the Summer Bundles sale kicked in. It is a great bargain as well.

The current bundle consists of 5 bars of lavender goat milk soap, average bar size 3.5 ounces.

Silky smooth, all natural goat milk soap!

The total cost is $2o.oo, which includes a $5.oo flat rate shipping and handling fee.

The soaps are packaged in a cellophane bag, raffia or ribbon tied.

The Summer Bundles sale button is located at the bottom of my site's store page.

I am writing this blog post on my phone...hope it works. My PC is doing funky things today.

I Spy The Great Escape

2009-07-02T13:57:00.009-04:00

One of my younger nubian does, Aralynn, has been showing up outside of the lot each day. When I arrive at the barn in the evening she has been waiting for me in the driveway, next to the barn door. One morning I carried the full milk cans to my truck, and there she stood already. She didn't wait long to escape that day. The good thing is, like many goats, she ends up in a place where she waits for me, she does not run off. With much unease, I kept thinking, "How and where is she coming out of the fence?," seemingly right under my nose.

Sunday morning we made a trip around that particular lot with wire cutters, fence posts, fence post driver, the entire works in tow. We thought we had any possible escape route fixed.

Wrong...

I was very concerned about her getting out in the road. Concerned for her own safety, and for my liability. I already pay more than double farm insurance premium because of a similar accident involving one of our horses.

So this morning, as a final attempt, I asked my husband to help me spy.

As soon as I put that particular group of goats out of the barn I gave Bob a call.

He watched as well as he could from afar, and I glanced out of the barn window as often as I could.

Aralynn ate grain, ate some hay, then wandered up the hill.

I thought we had her spot figured out. Wrong. And, of course, she sensed that we were watching.

She came back down the hill. I watched her from inside the barn, through an old window. I could see she was not intent upon staying with the herd.

10 minutes later I saw her interest in some weeds outside of the fence. She was about 30 feet away from the barn, along the fence line.

At that moment I saw it happen. I saw one long dairy leg go outside of the fence. Then the second leg stepped forward. Like a well-oiled cat that could get slink through a mouse hole, the rest of her body slid through, lickity split, just like that.

There she was, in all of her glory, happily munching on goodies on the side of the embankment.

Ta-da!!!

She was slipping through a break in the fence where we had to cut horns loose last year, a gap no larger than 6"x6". The fence would bounce back after her departure, so the gap looked innocent enough to us. No kidding, this small hole did not look big enough for a cat to squeeze through.

They always say, "If you can see through the fence...it might not hold the goats."

I hardly have a bit of trouble with fencing, but this one got me good!

Problem solved...for now...until next time!

The Good,The Bad, And The Ugly

2009-07-01T15:51:00.014-04:00

The good, the pretty...the roses continue to bloom. These looked so delicate to me. White and dainty.

I had a good day. I rode with my husband to Columbus. He passed his test this week, his hard work was rewarded. So, he went to get one of his certifications today. It was good to see him go, and it was good for me as well. I talked with people away from home, away from the grocery store, away from Wal-Mart, you name it. I love living here, and I love working alone, but sometimes I need the pinch of a reminder of the busy society that still exists out there!

I got some grass mowing in when I came home. It was a great day!

Now I have to share with you something that doesn't quite fit into the realm of a woman that is trying to sell crisp, clean products. Soap?

For the weak hearted, or, instead, those that have a weak stomach, you may or may not want to look at what I am going to show you next.

My girl, Tyra, my 6 year old boxer, my constant companion, never does (much) wrong. She has to know everything that is going on around her, therefore she makes her twice a day rounds throughout the house. Generally she never leaves any indication that she has checked the premises out.

I have a small entry way at the front door. I am the only one that uses it. I have a red bench that I sit on to put on shoes, and I also plop down various things that I am taking out the door (milk cans, mail, udder wipes). The bench is my "reminder" spot. Sometimes I leave notes for myself there as well.

Now comes the bad and the ugly (not really)...

Look real hard at the center of the photo, in the middle...yeah, you see it, it is not a scratch in the red paint. No, it isn't.

It is BOXER DROOL!

A little string of it.

Ha ha ha...

Obviously my girl was very interested in what I had sat out for the day.

She left me a surprise, along with a giggle, as I headed out to the mailbox on my way to the barn this morning.

Sorry...had to share.

Just What Is It About Goat Milk Soap?

2009-06-30T07:29:00.005-04:00

I have often wondered, just what is it about the goat milk soap that seems to help my skin, and per many customers, seems to help their skin (and their family members) as well?

I no longer suffer from acne, those types of break outs ended in my late 30's. What I do suffer from, however, is dry skin, and itchy bumpy skin especially in the winter months. I get the sandpaper skin effect behind the arms and the legs during the coldest of months.

I had a wonderful email conversation with an allergist/dermatologist out of Pennsylvania last week. She asked me several really good questions. I answered her as well as I could. I told her that I do not know if the benefits from goat milk products (that she is hearing about and observing from her patients) came from the soap itself (no added chemicals), or if the sensitive skin help came from the milk itself, or if the benefits came from the fact that it is pure soap (look on your store bought soap wrappers, most cannot legally describe themselves as soap)! The physician agreed, she did not know either, but she thought it was a combination of all of the above. She said many of her patients had come to her with improved skin, improved after using goat milk products, and that she was wondering why all of the benefits herself. So, I decided to do a bit of snooping around. I am a teach me type of person.

So, I began my Google search looking for studies on goat milk soap and goat milk products. I looked for results from actual studies. I did not find any. But what I did find satisfied by interest.

Here we go:

From the American Academy of Dermatology I began looking at their various online brochures. One in particular drew my interest. For dry skin it was recommended to use a mild soap, okay, we probably learned that in first grade. But, next (and I copy):

For severely dry skin, a moisturizer that contains urea or lactic acid may be helpful. Both ingredients help the skin hold water. These ingredients are so effective that over-the-counter and prescription moisturizers contain them. The one drawback is that these ingredients can be irritating if you have eczema or cracked skin.

Goat milk...high in lactic acid. There you go, bingo!

I continued to read on, do a bit of self-diagnosis, see the photo above, and I found other photos looking very familiar. My winter skin condition is called keratosis pilaris. It consists of tiny bumps, sometimes itchy, harmless, but bothersome...the treatment (to diminish the appearance and itching of the rash) also included creams and lotions that contain lactic acid. The condition never completely goes away it just looks better after treatment. Yes, I agree, I can attest to it diminishing!

I cannot rightfully say my products can cure your skin problems, I am not licensed to sell my products as a drug or medication. And I try so very hard to not sound like an irritating infomercial for goat milk soap, but my customers with sensitive and allergic skin are very happy campers, and so am I. Why? I believe it is a combination of things (as stated above) mild soap, no added preservatives, stabilizers or chemicals (other than those that contain fragrance and/or non-natural colorants), and the lactic acid (which works with the skin's PH balance).

Interesting...and I loved sharing it with you!

Water, the Sustainer Of Life

2009-06-29T13:40:00.008-04:00

We all know about water. Our bodies, without me looking the exact numbers up, are probably comprised of 95% water (if not more). All living life depends upon water.

Now to my story...

We bought a farm, not known to us, with a low water table. We generally have enough water for livestock, and then we conserve some for our own use.

We burned up a well pump recently because we had done so much laundry (from kidding season, winter, etc...). So, we installed a brand new pump, water a-plenty. But now?

Last night, an hour after I returned from the barn and cooled off (it was nearing 100 degrees), I began to prepare for dinner, no water. I knew, just knew, something was amiss. An hour later, no water. By then the water should have regenerated itself.

This morning, no water.

When I went to the barn to feed this morning I found the hose on the ground and a water spigot turned on. Yes, a goat had worked the handle up and away from the spigot. It had ran all evening and all night.

Bonnie sure was proud of herself, especially the spot on her head worn down to the skin. Guess what Bonnie's famous trick/line/title is, from her prior owner? "Back Rub Bonnie." Yes, she gives some serious back rubs. Plant your feed on the ground, space them apart, because when you get a back rub you need to retain your balance. Apparently she did a major back rub on the spigot, enough to move the handle up and allow the water to flow.

Is the well pump okay? I really do not know yet. It is working, but it will take quite some time to know if we are going to have to spend the bucks again for a replacement. The good news is, we do the job ourselves. It is still very costly.

There is now a lock on the water supply at the barn. No head rubs will ever move that arm again.

Life on the farm...tee hee...

By the way, as I wrote this blog post I looked up the water composition in a human body, 60%.

The Weekend Tractor Project Part III

2009-06-28T17:40:00.008-04:00

The old gal is starting to receive a new coat of paint, one section at a time. This is her instrument panel. The old Massey Ferguson red sure is a nice hue, not too bright, a beautiful deep cherry type of red.

New gauges await the instrument panel. We will need to let the panel sit for several days now, since it was just painted today.

The faded gal is going to love her new red!

It was good visiting with our friends today. We have been busy for a number of weekends. My husband has been studying, I have been working in the soap shop, and it has been too hot to throw open the garage doors (even though our friends have air inside the shop). Today we enjoyed our great friendship once again!

You can follow prior tractor project posts here.

Girls On The Hill...Beautiful June Day

2009-06-28T07:48:00.000-04:00

Sometimes we write about a little bit of nothing...

And Aleecia says, as she stretches her neck way out, "That fencepost sure tastes good!" She is quite the attraction, spots and all. A beautiful, big girl. Always the first to come see what I am up to, and "chat."

Now, take a gander at Anona, her twin sister. Aleecia has the same markings, only with white spots on top. Anona has the long ear-thing a'goin' on! Can you tell, I love my nubians?

I still get called Annie from time to time. I just smile. Annie was our first bottle baby. She is very independant, yet, she does not know that she lumbers in the exact spot she did while young, waiting for her bottle. Goofy gal!!!

They are are all entertaining, a lot of work, but I would not trade it for the world.

Folded On The Boxer Raising

2009-06-27T13:16:00.013-04:00

From an earlier endeavor...this is my boy, Spike.

My 5 year old boy weighs in at 90 pounds. A big one. I know how innocent he is. He would kill you upon contact...kill you by means of licking. I have heard him growl once, perhaps bark twice...at the trash truck. You know, that big machine that puts mankind at risk?

Spike is quite the snorer, Even when awake, you always know when he is around. My sister says, "Get that boy some sinus medicine!" He is loud. When he lays down he sounds like the air brake being released on a semi truck.

We think there is nothing between Spike's ears, empty headed. He just hangs around. His favorite things in life are tomatoes and apples (just like his late father, Samson). Forget the steaks, my boy is happy with the healthy stuff. And guess what he has to have done every single night? Mom is required to rub him right between his eyes. The natural sleeping pill. The big head and neck just sinks down. The eyes go dull. Down he goes. Hilarious.

Years ago I wanted to raise boxers. I still have 3, but I no longer breed. It is a huge responsibility. I had nice puppies, large litters, good sized pups, beautiful boxers but...after carefully raising two sets of litters, 20 puppies total, I decided to stick with goats. Puppies are a lot of work! And I tend to get too attached to them.

Spike is from our first litter.

Here is Spike at 4 weeks old, always weighed in 3 times more than his litter mates.

And again, below with his father at an even younger age.

Just Like The Rose, Blossom!

2009-06-24T18:09:00.013-04:00

Do you remember what happens when I feel compelled, overwhelmed with thoughts that I feel I need to share?

The thoughts go to the blog.

If there is one piece of advice that I cannot give enough of, it is: Take care of yourself. If you do not do it, do not expect anyone else to do it for you.

Does that sound rather harsh?

No.

I am not just referring to physically taking care of yourself, even though mental can greatly affect your physical health, and in turn your physical well-being can put a huge stress on your mental health. What I was specifically referring to was, nurture yourself.

Allow yourself to blossom.

This particular idea (not a new one) has been on my mind a lot recently. And today when I saw the beautiful rose blossom opening with it's own brilliancy I saw the connection before my eyes.

Before the rose bud opened it looked normal. As it began to open I saw a bit of what appeared to be rust around the edges. Just like a person that is rusty at remembering to take care of themselves. The person that forgets, or does not realize, that the world is at their fingertips. And then the blossom opened with wonderful colors, and the more it opened, the more anticipation came with it for the future.

If you have a passion, act on it. If you have a talent, allow it to grow. If you love something, make sure it is in your life. Sometimes the smallest of things are the biggest of things in our own hearts.

I am going to go through a list of people that I have noticed blossoming (leaving names out, sorry peeps):

A lovely lady lost her home, but now has a nice apartment and a new car. She is secure in her job, yet she is not happy. Someone listened to her one day, she talked about "everything that she had lost." So the listener bought her a hummingbird feeder for her patio. Within a few hours she saw her first hummingbird. She cried. She realized that she had not lost everything, she just needed to remember what she loves, and she needed to remember that what she loves does not go away, it stays in her heart (the tiniest of things). And today she continues to grow, realizing the small things in life. And she is pursuing so much. She is no longer shut in to the pain, the world has many possibilities.

A wonderful friend is going through a tough time. She is taking better care of herself because it makes her feel good. She has had her hair re-done, her apartment painted (in the colors that makes her feel happy), and she is pursuing her dreams as a soap artist. Yes, a talented artisan! Through all of her troubles, she can still make her own heart sing.

A great friend has lost a lot of weight. She did not feel all that well before she lost the weight. She could have laid on the couch, moped, cried, allowed depression to take over, but no, she began daily and deliberate exercise. Today she revels in her new size, her new (younger) looks, but best of all, she feels fantastic, and she is vibrant and glowing. Not gloating. She took care of herself. Nobody else could have done it for her. She should be proud!

A dear friend has decided to build on her special talents. She decided to take her beautiful wares and sell them, offer them to others, open a shop where she takes the products that she has lovingly crafted to the public, and somewhere in her heart she has the urge to share that sense of joy with everyone that crosses her path. It took courage, but she has done it...for herself!

Do not forget what you love, despite the busyness and disappointments in life, do not forget who you are. You are special, and you have your own needs. Fulfill those needs.

Blossom!

Ocean Breeze Comedy Scene

2009-06-23T15:23:00.009-04:00

Today I was making great progress in the soap room. I made a batch of lotion for a new product set (to be announced) and I prepared another batch of lilac lotion for a potential customer who owns a lovely shop in Michigan.

I knew I needed to make a batch of Ocean Breeze goat milk soap. It is a must to keep 2 or 3 large batches on the curing racks at all times. And I have to agree with you all, it is good soap. It smells good. It lathers up softly, silky, and it leaves the skin feeling smooth, conditioned. I am not left with a dry skin feeling at all after bathing with Ocean Breeze.

So, today I prepared all of the ingredients, weighed, melted, etc..., and then I headed to the house for lunch.

20 minutes later I arrived back in the shop. I lined the large mold for the soap batch. Mixed the soap ingredients and immediately realized the batch seemed too small. My thought initially was, "Did I make a 1/2 batch?" I make smaller batches when I am testing a new recipe or fragrance. I thought through today's steps, all of them, and determined that I had measured out the full amounts of all ingredients.

As I questioned myself, the batch appeared to be going into trace (thickening) quicker than normal. "Think, Mary, think!" I told myself, as calmly as possible. You can start giggling here, by the way

As some of you are aware, Ocean Breeze also contains chips of white unscented goat milk soap (reminds me of a gently rolling ocean, white sand, sea foam).

I headed to the mold with the batch of very thick soap. Lined the mold with the chips, poured the soap. Well...there was NO pouring to it. I was having to lift it out by the large spoon full. As I pushed the last bits of white goat milk soap into the globs of soap, and saw that the mold was only 1/2 full, I suspected the culprit.

I had only added 1/2 of the oils!

What to do? What to do?

I knew I had a bad batch of soap either way I went, so I emptied the contents of the mold back into the soaping pot. And, yes, most definitely found the missing oils, right where I had left them. Again, could have already ruined the batch, so what the hay...might as well try it.

I began stirring all of that missing oil into the nearly solid mass of what should have been Ocean Breeze soap. To my surprise, it looked like lumpy pea soup with white chunks added. Ha ha ha. Lovely? Oh yeah, you betcha'.

My old arms got the work out. There was no electric gadget to whip through that mess. Stir and stir and stir. I had a vision of my restaurant quality stainless steel slotted spoon bending in half. Tee hee. Okay...stirred, and I finally figured it was time to try it again.

As I lifted the pot to carry it to the make table behind me I caught the corner of a container full of large utensils. Each and every knife, pail opener, you name it, fell handle first into the pot. So, each and every utensil was adorned with a nice thick blob of Ocean Breeze goat milk soap. I put the utensils on ignore status. I laid them on newspaper.

I poured the soap. It looked really peculiar. A little peculiar?

And the rest of the story is...the soap appears to be going through its normal process now. I think I saved it. I try to make Ocean Breeze a wavy type of soap. I want it to be irregular, but hmmm...not quite THAT irregular!

And the utensils...upon my return, I had to use a paring knife to clean the soap off of each and every handle.

I need a nap!

Normal Ocean Breeze...(today's batch above):

Organization is Working

2009-06-21T18:28:00.013-04:00

How is everyone? I am fine, great, happy...even though I still cannot arrange the photos within my blog again today...I am being tested!

I worked today...yes...I know, it is Sunday. The husband went to visit his tutor for assistance with an exam that he is re-taking this week and I decided to catch up a bit more in the soap shop while he was out.

I love the photo of the new Yuzu fragranced goat milk soap. I think my phone took a good shot of it. I took a new mug shot for the lotions. I'll work on it again. Gone are the kraft labels. As much as I would have liked to make them work they simply had no stickability (I made that word up, it might exist though). Uh huh.

Lotions are my focus this week. Even though I leave the lotions on the website, they never show a back order, I can tell you, especially this week. I was sold out! Very few bottles remained. But I like 'em fresh, so that is how they go out whenever I cannot replinish the entire supply. But...my goal is to have the supply completely refreshed by Wednesday, all 10 scents.

I have been doing some cleaning and organizing as well. See the planner on the desk? It is working! The corner in the photos is my shop "office" so to speak. I have a real office in the house, where I am sitting now. I am considering moving my old PC into the shop so I can hook up an unused printer for labels. But...I am sort of (hmmm) out of room. The husband has suggested that I begin using a part of his wood shop for storage. He says he is going to have to build a new building. Nooo...nooo....and noooo.

Since I took you for a visit into the shop today. I thought I would show you what I was listening to as well. The CD is called Church In The Wildwood, Volume II. I think it was put together specifically for the Cracker Barrel stores. There are no vocals, the instruments are: hammered dulcimer, autoharp, guitar, fiddle and mandelin. Beautiful! Peaceful. I listen to many different kinds of music. If you knew what I was playing in my truck this week you would think I was reverting back to the early 70's. So I will leave that up to your imagination.

Is anyone else having problems with posting photos, specifically when you post more than one, does Blogger still allow you to move the photos within the post? Starting yesterday I have not been able to. It looks rather dorky to me to post 3 or 4 photos in a row with no verbiage. But that is what I will do until I get the problem resolved.

The First Day of Summer - Tomorrow

2009-06-20T17:43:00.019-04:00

Having Blogger problems. So, I decided (just for today) to leave the photos where they are and leave the writing where it is at! I am NOT going to fight it today.

I am not one that likes to complain about weather, nor do I like to make it a point of conversation everywhere that I go. I know it is hot for many of us, but somehow I just had to share. Photo taken in my truck on my way back up to the house from the evening feeding (20 minutes ago).

This is Ohio, pretty much north, and tomorrow is the first day of summer, so what gives with 93 degrees?

I love summer, dearly, dearly love it. I love heat. I do not like cold. I appreciate heat. Can I say that again so I will convince myself? I love heat.

We do not have central air. We cool the back of the house (where we lounge and where we sleep) with a large window unit. The front of the house (including the kitchen, this office, and 3 other rooms are not cooled). I have a ceiling fan in here with me. Ha. At night I love to hear the frogs and I love the fresh air. Seldom do I want the windows shut.

But...

Yesterday I changed the ink in one of the printers. The page kept smearing afterwards. I began to think I had a bad ink cartridge. Hmmm...guess what the problem was? Humidity. The paper was bunching up. Uh huh...good clean crisp white paper taken right out of the ream. Crisp? NOT!!

I am summer gal, though. Give me 6 months of summer. I will take it. Just tell me the animals and world will not suffer from such a drastic change first.

Okay...next pic. Remember the tiny little rose plants I bought for 2.99 each? One is going to bloom! I have had beautiful roses in the past, not at this property. By the looks of this bud and the growth that I am seeing in all of the plants, I think I found a good spot for a rose display.

I did not put out a large garden this year. I need to rethink my kidding season timing next year because I need to work freezing and canning into my schedule. I miss those tasks. They give me peace a joy. As I sprinkled plant food amongst the beds today I saw 6 new green tomatoes. I need a big garden again. Did I ever tell you who taught me how to can? My husband. When we first married he converted a small "barn" in our yard, with loft to a summer kitchen for me. It was complete with a propane range, a small wall A/C unit, a table to work with, and storage for the canned goods. Nobody taught him how to can, he taught me out of memory from watching his mother when he was a child. Amazing.

I worked in the soap room for a while today. It is heated, cooled, very well insulated (put together better than this old house). And I am heading back out there for a bit later. Moved soaps down from the curing rack. Adding them to the website at some point this weekend. And Now I need to fill the empty curing rack spots with new soap! I sold all of my lotion this week. Lotion is something that I make without a lot of hassle, but that does not mean a thing. I need to eat, sleep, dream about lotion for one full day. Fill the warehouse as one of my good friends tell me. Then he turns right around and says in the next breath, "You need to rest." When I ask him about his contradiction, he giggles and says, "Well, you know me." Thank you!

Have any of you updated to Windows Explorer 8? And if the answer is yes, are you having any problems? It sure is messing with my use of Blogger! Sometimes I cannot leave comments. Sometimes I cannot see photos. And right now I cannot move photos within a non-published post. Arghhhh...computers, love them, don't love them, cannot live without them! And all the same...I am praying for patience. Loads of patience.

Stay cool...and hope you are enjoying your weekend, filled with many blessings!

Website Payment Problems...Head Still On Straight?

2009-06-18T19:55:00.011-04:00

Just what is the goat lady up to today? The rolling head, still on straight? Has she lost her mind completely? Nah! Just almost.

Actually, I began the day by cutting the large batch of lemongrass poppyseed goat milk soap I made yesterday. It looked so pretty I picked up my phone and clicked a pic before the soap bars headed to the curing rack.

Afterwards, I made two large batches of goat milk soap. The first unscented. Seems rather popular these days. The second batch is lavender rosemary. Purposely, quite a bit lighter on the rosemary end of the soap this batch. Rosemary is a wonderful essential oil. I love the scent, but it also has such good skin care properties, such as antiseptic and assistant to dandruff and scaly skin. But it sure can wake up the old nose!

Then the day broke loose. The head starting spinning, rolling along (as I told Alix of Casa Hice) in an email.

If you experienced payment problems today, if the website did not accept your payment, or if you ever do experience problems, please carefully note what occurred and give me a call, or shoot me an email. As we all know, one tiny problem can mean one big problem is brewing. Luckily all of the customer payment issues were told to be unrelated, but my doubting mind (because I want perfection) still wonders...but life rolls on (and right now it feels like my head is off rolling somewhere).

I had a great conversation with a good customer from California today. Yesterday her husband asked, "Do we have any more of THAT soap?" The phone call was rather on the desperate end. The payment was not being accepted and the husband wanted more of THAT soap. People that call me get what they get, they get me, I am never going to try to be anyone else. If I break out in laughter, please laugh along with me. This is one short life, and I intend upon making it all that it can be. We got the order resolved, and Mr. CA is going to have some of THAT soap to shave with. By the way, THAT soap is Moroccan Dreams, and Sandalwood Blend, as well as Patchouli Blend. Mr. CA shaves with THAT soap. So do I (my legs love it).

Have a beautiful evening, day, morning, whenever you read this...and if you find my head anywhere...treat it nicely. I need it folks!

Cinnamon Rose Goat Milk Soap

2009-06-15T18:32:00.018-04:00

The past several weeks have been busy times in the shop with the filling of orders and keeping the inventory of soap and lotion stocked. You would think I would get sick of soap, but no, I still love to marvel at the soaps before I box them up and send them out. I even love to look at the lotions, and there isn't anything colorful about them. Silly goat woman I am!

I am limping along temporarily with the camera on my phone this week. I wanted to get a good photo of this soap, but it blurred to a point. This is the cinnamon rose soap that I told you about. It also contains rhassoul clay, which is rich in minerals and helps to tone the skin. Rhassoul clay removes surface oil effectively, yet it assists with reducing flakiness and dryness from both the skin and the scalp. Honestly, I thought I would not like the scent when the customer requested it, but I love it! It will most likely be a keeper. It is not overpowering! I have not ran off with an end piece yet to test in the bath, soap is always "people" tested for quality on my farm, but from the looks of it, and based on the oils and clay used, I think I am going to love it. It looks nice, almost creamy-like, smooth, and smells terrific. It will hit the website within a couple of weeks (to be announced here).

And, last but not least, I had to take a photo of my helping friends tonight. A goat is geared towards food. They always think they are hungry, it is what drives them! You can separate a bale of hay, divide it up, and the herd always shifts towards the last morsel you placed in the feeder. Go figure. Hey kids...the hay is the same from beginning to end! Thankfully this bale was still tied. The kids knocked the wheel barrow over as soon as I snapped the photo...the munchkins!!

Sunday's Dairy Goats and Sheep

2009-06-14T17:26:00.038-04:00

Dairy goats and sheep? Wait a minute...that looks like a kitten to me. My apologies, my better camera is out of order. Pictures today are delivered via my phone and my old "bad" digital camera. But not so bad that we turn kittens into dairy goats and sheep.

Do you think these two could pass as future Mr. Yellow Tom's? Mr. Yellow Tom loves to rough house with one of these look-alikes already.

Nothing like a good old kitten fight. This is what I see and hear when the goats are not mulling around.

Moving on to the feeding of the boer goats. Dusty (a lovely boer/alpine) always needs a good head rub.

Moving on to the milk stand. Chandra the saanan says, "Hey, you have my milk...now let me go dive into the hay with my buddy Cammille."

And Cammille the nubian says, "You have my milk too...hold on Chandra, wait for me!"

And after everyone is milked out, and the final (2) bottle kids are fed, and the goats are humming and crunching happily on their hay, bedded down for the night...up the barn driveway the goat lady goes...toting warm goat milk back to the house on the hill...reflecting on her many blessings.

And what does the goat lady find when she enters the house? Visitors? There are two new sheep, Wee Little Sheep, beautiful Nativity Sheep on the kitchen table.

The beautiful sheep pair arrived on Friday in a postal box decorated in sheep photos, marked fragile. These beautiful sheep are indeed fragile, beautifully made from clay and covered with lambs' wool, lovingly handmade by Kathy. Sent to my Ohio home, chosen as winnings from being a commenter on Kathy's blog, Spot On Cedar Pond.

Not only was the shipping box beautifully decorated in photos of Kathy's wonderful Jacob Sheep, Kathy also added some additional personal touches. A stunning handmade card arrived with the package, displaying the yarn that Kathy so lovingly crafts (from shearing her sheep, to spinning and dyeing the yarn). With some beautiful spun strands of lamb's wool threaded through the card. I keep repeating the word beautiful, it really was awesome!

Now I will show you the gorgeous "decorating" of the shipping box!

Kathy is a good friend, an inspiration to me. She is one of the women in my life that have kept me on my toes, in faith. I look for her daily blog inspirations. I hope you visit Kathy's blog as well, and please do not forget to visit her Etsy shop either, where you will find her wonderful lamb's wool creations, Cedar Pond Wool Craft.

Have a relaxing Sunday evening!

Up With The Roosters

2009-06-12T05:51:00.016-04:00

Yes, the title and photo says it all. The day came to life very early this morning! I can just hear him crowing, the bossy fellow.

The husband is heading in one direction this morning for business and I am heading to the shop to work on filling orders and rebuilding the lotion stock.

Yesterday I took large boxes full of Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps gift sets to the retail location that displays my products. Once I returned to my shop I cut the rosemary shampoo bars from the freshly made loaf, the initial shampoo bars (made here). More on that product in the near future. I will discuss shampoo bars and what rinses can/should be used to maintain the proper hair PH.

The Brown Bag Special will continue through 6/30/09. At that time I am going to archive the sale. It was fun while it lasted! Many of the 3.5 ounce (average) bars are dwindling in number, but there is a nice supply still available for the Brown Bag Special. I absolutely love the newer chunkier bars (average 4.5 ounces)! The Brown Bag special, for those of you new here, includes 5 bars of goat milk soap (the same quality soap as the 4.5 ounce bars) for 15.00, plus a 5.00 flat rate shipping fee (special rate only for shipping within continental U.S.). These are assorted soaps, packaged in a brown bag (no individually boxed soap)...just right to get through the remainder of this slow economy! If you wish to place an order, the instructions and buy here button are located at the bottom of the goat milk soap store page on my website.

By the way...you know how honest I am...no rooster here...but I imagined up a strong image of the colorful proud guy crowing away a bit ago!

Have a fun Friday!!!!

Busy In The Goat Milk Soap Shop

2009-06-10T14:41:00.006-04:00

I am a busy lady this week.

A retail location where I sell some of my products needed a replenishment of gift sets. I have been putting various sets together that include lotion, soap and bath salt/fizzies. The store carries handcrafted furniture and primitive candles/tarts, handmade purses, and beautiful homespun items for the kitchen and bath. My gift crates (made from reclaimed wood) and simple packaging fit right in. It puts a smile on my face!

I am working on a wholesale project as well, and keeping up with customer orders.

I have also been successful with keeping the curing racks full. No gaps. Pull one batch down, move those soaps straight to the website, put a brand new batch right in its place (ready in 4 weeks).

It has been busy, but I am enjoying the blessings in my life! I hope you are doing the same!

Mr. Yellow Tom Is A Helper Too

2009-06-07T11:20:00.014-04:00

I am the sole Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps business person. I manage the goats (my husband helps with purchasing the hay and occasional goat treatments) and I operate the business end of everything. My hats include management, shipping, producing of product, accounting, finance, marketing and customer service. I love my hats...love, love, love them!

My closest friends ask me, "What are you going to do when you can no longer handle this on your own?" They see the growth, so do I. I do not know what the answer is. They are aware that I am aware. But, for now, it will be left to prayer. Leaving something to prayer does not mean that I do not think about it. My best thinking times are not done while sitting down and staring at blank space. I could be on the lawn mower, in the shower, or even feeding the goats in the barn. I do not worry about these questions, I just ponder from time to time. Making life's decisions, those that are not needing immediate attention, means (to me) to sit back and allow the random thoughts to roll through. It is like putting everything in a mixing tumbler. Let it roll gently, not violently, let everything big and little sift out. The answers will come.

I am way off track from my original topic here, but that is okay, and it all fits together! I like for people to know me for who I am, that is important.

As I was thinking about things in the barn this morning, preparing the milk machine for the girls, I saw yellow ears pop up out of the bucket that I toss used baling string into. Mr. Tom, the yellow cat from the last litter on the farm, had been napping in the bucket. The crazy fellow!

Mr. Yellow Tom was pretty much abused by his older brother, whom is fondly called My Boy on the farm. My Boy is a gentle cat that drank a lot of goat's milk as he was up and coming. I can rub his belly, play with him like a house cat. And when I find the teeth and nails getting over zealous, he listens to me when I say "that is enough." I find him following me around like a lost puppy. And I tell him, "Stay out of the road, I need you around for a while."

My Boy beat up on Mr. Yellow Tom when he was about 2 weeks ol. Mr. Yellow Tom would screech, the claws would fly, and I always said, "He (yellow) isn't going to make it." Well, those two are buddies, they were playing after all. And Mr. Yellow Tom ended up being pretty mean. You could not pick him up without a lot of human arm and leg damage.

Two weeks ago something changed. I found Mr. Yellow Tom rubbing against my legs in the milk room, "Meow, meow, meow." I decided to pick him up. Hmmm...what was that, purring? He now lives in the milk room 90% of the day. He is a fantastic mouser. He has a purpose, and he works for me, even though he does know it! He can sleep with the baling string any time that he likes. He earns it. And I do not need to pay a penny to the state for worker's comp...hmmm...he is quite the deal!

We have 6 brand new kittens now. Two yellow striped, two black and grey, and two black. The black kittens are mean. I am trying to make a Mr. Yellow Tom out of them, not sure I will be successful. But...each day they get a bowl of warm goat's milk. They could be well on their way towards earning their own Mr. Yellow Tom Awards!

A Beautiful Start To The Week

2009-06-07T08:13:00.005-04:00

I love Sunday's.

As a child I insisted on Sunday School (SS), even if the rest of the family were going for donuts. Our building was seperated by miles from the "adult" church on the Army base. I loved SS, and even Vacation Bible School. Each and every Sunday I am reminded of those days. Carefree and filled with a warm beginning to the week!

I finally changed my calendar to June this morning. What a fantastic photo taken by Lynn M. Stone. I have seen several pieces of her goat photography. This one is simply beautiful. LOVE the colors!

The photo was difficult to take. Why? Notice the dark ring around the edges? Twice this week I dropped my camera on my shop floor, which is concrete. The zoom lense no longer focuses in and out as it should. So, temporarily, I will take close up photos of soap (the photo taken on in Introspection post below was one of them) with the broken camera, and distance photos with my old digital camera.

Anyhow...I did fill every single curing rack in the shop this week. I do not have a lot of racks. I probably need more. At one point during this past week I decided that just setting the goal of making more soap was not going to work, I needed to see measurable results. I did.

This week I am focusing on upping the production of goat milk lotion, creating shampoo bars (especially rosemary for Lynnanne). Non-business related, I need to get caught up on the lawn and weeding before the weather pattern brings the rain and storms in later this week.

But today, God's command for a day of rest, that is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to relax, visit with friends this afternoon, come back home and relax again.

Please, enjoy your Sunday!

Who Remembers Penny Candy?

2009-06-06T08:00:00.003-04:00

Penny candy holds special memories for me.

I rarely eat candy. Now put a plate of cheese in front of me, or fruit, quite the treat. Candy, no.

I grew up with a father in the United States Army. We traveled quite a bit. We even moved three times in a matter of two years within the same large army base.

I really cannot remember where my father was stationed at at the time, he was definitely not home. That summer my mother would give 50 cents a month to my brother and I. She would walk with us to the Ben Franklin store, off base, and we would spend what seemed like a joyous hour finding all the treats that we could spend our wealth on. We would walk out with a little brown paper sack bulging with candy.

But wait...there were other things in that sack. Do you remember the little girl's fake watches? They had a metal face and a piece of elastic for the band? I loved the pink ones! My brother would buy little painted metal cars and still buy candy with his 50 cents.

And I believe the bubble gum was two pieces for a penny.

Fake lipstick candy. Candy necklaces, which I see children still enjoy.

But see, it isn't about the candy. It is about the memory. It is about taking that tiny amount of money and so carefully spending it. Maximizing it. Making sure it was not spent on something that went away in a few hours. And the memory of my mother, surely it was good for her to take that walk, and I would imagine it made her feel good to see her children happy. None of those things I was aware of because I was a child. As a child should be!

So...do you remember penny candy?

A Bit of Introspection, Thoughts to Share

2009-06-05T15:17:00.004-04:00

I love to read. I do not spend a lot of money on books, but the library I do very much love!

I am not much of a television watcher. I can barely tell you one show from another except for those that my husband frequents (and then I probably would not remember the actors names, nor the name of the show). I do not sit long. I am more of a person that likes to stay busy, and I have never really thought about it until now!

Based on one of the books that I am reading, I took the Clifton StrengthsFinder test to identify my signature themes. At first, after a 30 minute test, I looked at my themes and thought, "how lame." No...wrong...none of us are lame. We are all designed to meet a purpose in life. I strongly believe God made us the way that we are for reasons. We are to grow in our natural born abilities!

My strengths are (in this order): Learner, Achiever, Empathy, Responsibility, and Focus.

Hmmm...I thought about the Learner and could not figure out how that could be good. Oh yes it can! How do I know about making soap? I began collecting it and became interested in it when I was 8 years old. I taught myself to make soap. I read a lot of books and did a lot of studying. I never witnessed a video or a single person making soap. Self taught. I also taught myself to raise a herd of goats. Again, tons of reading and studying. Then I thought about the job that I retired from, taught myself the ins and outs of government student loan rules and regulations. I took that 4" thick manual home a lot. And I loved trying to interpret it. I ended up teaching others, leading classes (even though I was a very shy person). It fit like a glove. Is that such a bad thing? Probably not. So...the moral of my story is, do not beat yourself up for what you are good at. Make it better!

We all have natural talents and we tend to not see them. We go from day to day and forget that we are special. No, I do not like to wag my tail. I am a private type of person, but I am passionate about talking with people.

Achiever...not a bad thing either. That explains why I feel I must accomplish something each day. I must do something that is worth my time. I can relax and rest, but I also must do at least one constructive thing. On the days when it feels like everything goes wrong, it is quite the battle for me. Then I stop and remember, I am human, and I laugh. Again, I feel there is a reason for everything. Perhaps a goofed up day is a signal that we need to rest!

Empathy...this does not mean that we know everything about everyone, it is a gift of instinct. I can easily sense what people are feeling, what they might need, or even what kind of day they are having. This is probably why I can easily talk to strangers, or chit chat on the dime. I do not try to be a mother hen, I just seem to easily understand.

Responsibility and Focus...again something that makes me tick. I have to have something to do that has meaning, and I love to focus in on something difficult until the job is done, and the job is done right. I catch myself planning out the steps...just how do I get to the end result?

I am not here today to talk about myself, I am here today to remind my friends that we all have special gifts. Perhaps we are not good at being a sales person (cold calls), or perhaps we are not an extrovert that needs a crowd around us, or perhaps we are not good at speaking in front of a crowd, but we all have special gifts and talents that we can focus on, appreciate, and grow in. We can brush up on our weaknesses a tad. But do not focus on what you cannot do, focus on the natural good in you, and run with it.

I go into my soap shop and I think about everything that I can accomplish. What can I create? Where have I gone in life (and I never focus on the negative past), and where do I want to go? That is what we are designed to do...do what we do best. I love hearing that others are happy with what I sell to them. It isn't all about the money, it is more about them finding a product that they really are satisfied with.

Introspect? Perhaps...but more that I wanted to share with you! I feel inspired.

The Rain Said Goodbye!

2009-06-04T20:30:00.004-04:00

The rain finally stopped!

Not only have we lost power three times this week, we have had enough rain to cause some of top soil on the slope to collect at the bottom, down at the barn. This morning it was like walking on ice, but actually worse.

The girls got to get exercise again today. They are fairly barn spoiled critters. They think they are not supposed to get their hooves wet.

The pond gets somewhat murky in the warm weather every year, but today it looked like the Mississippi River. Even the geese stayed on the banks.

Spring brings all sorts of weather here (as it does all of us). I love it when it is warm, and I love it when everything is green! I like an occasional rainy day, it feels "homey" to me somehow. But I sure feel chipper when the good old sun comes back out!

Spring Cleaning the Goat Milk Room

2009-06-03T19:33:00.005-04:00

It is amazing how much work I can now do while each doe is on the milk stand during the morning feeding.

The evening milkings go very fast. When milking a dairy animal it is imperative that you milk on a regular schedule, or else the good old hormones silently step forward and say, "Hey, time to dry that udder up!" As long as the animal is milked on a regular basis, it does not matter if the spacing is 8 hours, or 12 hours apart. I milk twice a day and generally it falls within a 1/2 hour of 9:30 AM and 4:30 PM. The girls milk out more in the AM, less in the PM. But is a regular, steady pattern.

Back to the topic...my milk/feed room is a mess. It demands a good spring cleaning. A few days ago I gathered the used syringes and began the antibacterial soaking of them, the hot water treatment, the (mild) bleach water treatment, and the final drying and putting the syringes back together. This ends up being a crazy job. 3CC's, 6CC's, different manufacturers. But in the end I have wonderful sterile baggies of like-new syringes, all sorted, and ready to use again.

Today, while the girls were on the milk stand I began reorganizing the shelves of one of my supply cabinets. The top shelf is mainly needles, syringes, banding and ear tagging supplies. No, I do not use this many needles. Years ago I thought I had to have a needle size for everything. I had 1/2", 3/4", 1"...and then diameter sizes 22, 20, 19. Oh boy. I pretty much stick with one size now, except for the tiny 1/2" needles for the kids. It feels good to have 2 shelves back in shape. The 2nd shelf is common meds (non-refrigerated, non-biological type), notes, calendars, wormers. Tommorrow perhaps I will get into shelves 3 and 4. And I barely use any of this stuff anymore. I am more into the natural care of the animals. When they need treatment, they get it, but I think both animals and people are very much over-medicated in this day and age.

The rest of the room. If you could just see it, and you won't, yikes!! I am starting at one end and spring cleaning until acceptable. Kidding season does this to me, I begin the season totally organized. Everything in order, you name it. After kidding season, when the kids are weaned from bottles, etc..., I began to feel the lessening of time constraints and I begin to work towards reorganizing. And believe me, it needs it!

Off topic...today was a zoo. We woke up to no water. The well pump went out during a late night thunderstorm. And boy did we have the storms last night! More than once I put my hands on my phone and looked at the weather warnings in the dark. We lost electricity for a couple of hours again. I am hoping for a calm night tonight. And tomorrow, no water troubles. I fed rather late tonight, and I am praying that the girl's milking schedules do not suffer from the lateness!!

Wish me luck...I am heading back to the soap shop tomorrow. I hope to post pictures in a few days of a LOT more progress! Today was a tiny set back. We were plumbers, not soapers!

Progress In The Goat Milk Soap Shop

2009-06-02T15:47:00.007-04:00

I have been telling everyone about my goals this week.

One of my soap related goals was to remove soaps from the curing rack, transfer them to holding boxes. Accomplished today, except for a few stragglers that ended up in bags in a display cabinet. Hmmm...need to make some room...somewhere...oh, where...but somewhere.... .

The next goal was to fill the curing rack with new soaps by the end of the day, Saturday. I am getting there...but I have a LONG way to go! The bottom shelf is only 1/2 full. The top shelf (you cannot see it) holds boxes of empty lotion bottles, cream jars, and lids. Those boxes will be removed by Saturday. And soap will be in their place.

Progress today...removed 5 batches, replaced with some new soaps to cure.

For those of you that have commented on some of my soaps, Cherries and Berries goat milk soaps are back on the curing rack, as well as full-sized Orange Mint, along with some other "favorites." Just 3 or 4 weeks and the soaps will be back on the website. The signal told me, "We want more."

Ocean Breeze has sold out, except for the bars that are on hold. You can see the new Ocean Breeze bars in the middle of the curing rack. A little more green than blue this time, but still, reminds me of white beaches and a beautiful clear ocean. Refreshing!

Take care...and I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit today in the goat milk soap shop. Perhaps I can create a version of Internet Smell A Vision?

Goat Kid Weaning Day...Not So Easy

2009-06-01T21:37:00.008-04:00

The barn has been busy lately with banding the bucklings that we do not want to sell as breeders and determining which bottle kids should be weaned.

Yesterday I chose the kids that were 2 1/2 to 3 months old and decided to give them one last smidget of milk this morning to start their day off right. Tonight they got fresh hay and no "juice" beyond the water bucket.

Let me tell you, weaning is always hard for me. I simply cannot look at their young eyes and feel like I am doing them any good, even though I am. So, I "feel" their stares and reply without letting my heart sink, "You will be healthier now on good hay, water, and some grain."

Of course, I watch these kids closely even before I wean. They must eat well on their own.

When feeding a bottle kid I follow a schedule that I adopted several years ago. We go from newborn feedings round the clock, to four feedings a day within 24-48 hours, 3 a day thereafter, and at week 3 just 2 feedings a day. They are introduced to hay and grain as early as possible. They never receive more than 20 ounces of milk at a feeding. Because of that limitation I am leery of trying "bucket" feeding, but it sure would be easier on my part for any future bottle kids.

So...today I am down to 3 bottle kids. They are just 6 weeks old so they will be on the bottle for some time longer. And now, lo and behold, I have oodles of fresh goat milk coming out of my ears. Just in time for the promise that I made to myself yesterday. Every curing rack is to be full by Saturday!

By the way...the photo is not a goat kid, of course. It is Sunday, one of my mature boer does. She is one of my favorite gals. She "moowwwws" like a cow, a very nice big girl, and has wonderful big kids (normally bucklings), a watchful dam.

Have a good evening!

The Week's Reflections On A Sunday Morning

2009-05-31T07:13:00.012-04:00

The fog is lifting and the sun is showing a lot of promise...promise for a beautiful Sunday, and a wonderful new week!

This has been a odd week at Annie's Goat Hill. So...I am going to do some ramblings here...a recap of sorts.

I was "off" by one day each day during the week. Somehow the holidays seem to do that to me. On Tuesday, of course I thought it was Monday. I worked on that thought all day on Tuesday. When the day started on Wednesday I thought it was Thursday. Ha ha! Working from home tends to do some of that too. Oh boy...but that is behind me (us) now.

We had problems with sick kids as well. There was a lot of humidity, rain off an on, no real closure to the dampness. It is dissapointing when you have a great kidding season, no loss of kids, and then you lose two just as they are near the weaning age. But, that is part of life on the farm. Had goat buyers on the farm yesterday, a good couple that come every year. They had the exact same scenario at their farm this week. Sort of knocks the air out of a person. It can be expected from time to time but it happens so quickly and helps us to remember how fragile these lives we care for really are.

I did accomplish a lot of soaping this week, but I need to do a LOT more! I am testing new recipes. Always a big job! Too soft, too hard, not conditioning enough, want good lather. Wave the magic wand, or add chemicals, and you might have it. But the magic wand is Mary, and Mary goes as natural as possible. I wouldn't have it any other way! When I placed my hands on my first bar of hand crafted soap many years ago I knew what I had, and I will continue to present it in that same fashion.

We had dinner with friends yesterday evening. Luise has Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately she has really been progressing. She is becoming more quiet and her episodes of confusion seem to be growing worse. She has good weeks, but when the difficult times arrive they come in bunches. It is a very sad disease. I have learned a lot from being with her, and I feel blessed to be one that she trusts completely, but there is nothing very good that comes out of it. The good part is someone that I love that I can be a friend to, help whenever I can.

Last night the storms rolled through. When they announced the tornado warning I listening. Bob and I have been in one tornado, thankfully it was a small tornado that pulled us off of the road. But that was an experience enough! So, now I watch and listen. I do not freak out but I do not ignore. Anyhow, we lost power right at 9:00 PM. We tend to forget just how quiet it really is without the sounds of the refrigerator humming, or how dark it is without the lights on the barn, or in the church parking lot next door. It really is beautiful to only hear the sounds of the bull-frogs on the pond. But, yet, we are spoiled by electricity and want it back quickly. It arrived back after a couple of hours.

Today we are visiting with friends, probably going to work on the tractor project. And after we arrive back home for evening feeding, we are going to start the week off right, with rest.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

Fruit Salad and Goat Milk Soap

2009-05-28T19:32:00.007-04:00

I throw in a strange title now and then...but then, what does fruit salad and goat milk soap have in common?

Perhaps color? Green, orange, yellow, peach, grape (violet), pink? Could be, very well could be.

Perhaps scent? Mango, peach, citrus...and perhaps a few other lovely fruits.

Okay, so far there are similarities...so let me tell you the real story. I headed to the soap shop today, knowing my goal was to make one large batch of soap. I looked through my essential oils, no, nothing appealed to me. Looked through my fragrance oils, no, nothing appealed to me.

Then the creative juices flowed, or were they fruit juices? If it involves me, it might be fruity...but wait...we are talking soap, not a tired old brain function. :)

I have a lot of small amounts of fragrances left in bottles. Enough to scent a couple of batches of lotion, but not enough to scent soap.

Then it hit me, just like a Hawaiin punch, summer fruit salad! The pen and ink came out, plans were made (I always record beforehand so it makes it to my spreadsheets later) and then the mixing began. Let me tell you, if it had been fruit salad, it would have been devoured.

Don't ask, because I am not sure what I am going to call it. I hope it continues to look and smell as it does today. If it does, someone may want to put it out of reach of the youngsters. They will love it...and perhaps the oldsters will too. I don't know any of those, do you?

Have a good evening! I am tired and heading to a hot bath with a bar of soap that I am testing. New recipe. So far soap #1 does not pass the test, a little soft. But it does really condition the skin. Soft with no lotion needed. It may just become a "speciality" soap...just for extra skin care purposes.

Blogging

2009-05-27T18:26:00.006-04:00

The original pledge to myself was to never miss a day of blogging. Hmmm...I have broken my own pledge. 10 lashes with a wet noodle...not!

I remember reading a soaper friend's blog one day. She had not blogged for a week, and then she wrote (to the effect of), "My mother said to get busy making soap. She wants to see soap progress, not blog progress." Sorry for dropping the soaper's name, I have a number of wonderful soaper friends and the quote sticks in my mind, but not the name that goes with it!

Recently I have made great efforts to build the soap and lotion stock up. It is a must! As my best friend said to me, "You need to fill that warehouse!" Yes, sir!

Fill...fill...and fill...but I do miss writing.

All good things in their own time...patience.

A Beautiful "Me" Day

2009-05-24T18:54:00.005-04:00

I love many things in life. I love my husband, my friends, my family, and my animals. If you notice, I did not mention any material things. There are other things that I love too, but they pale in comparison.

But sometimes, despite the need that we have for people, we also have a need to be alone. Today was one of those days.

Upon mutual agreement in our household, today I did what I love most, and the dear husband did what he loves most. I went to the soap shop, and he gave himself a good rest.

The curing racks are not so bare recently. I have been a hard working lady! I made a double batch of lavender peppermint goat milk soap today (not shown). Making the small single batches is no longer adequate. I love making soap in smaller batches. I feel like I have more control over the quality. So, instead of making larger batches, I still make smaller ones, just several at once.

I also received my new bottle and jar labels this week. I will be phasing out the kraft label look on the bottles. I love the kraft brown paper look, it fits into the scheme of everything (basics from the farm), however, they sure do not stick well. And as you know, WE NEED STICK! So, I have moved on to clear labels (below, and I apologize for the blur). Why are cameras stubborn just when you don't need for them to be? :)

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-23T15:08:00.008-04:00

I hope you are having a beautiful Memorial Day weekend.

I had actually forgotten, Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. Memorial Day is the day to remember those that have lost their lives in the line of service for our country. But it has grown into so many things through the years. The picnic or cookout to celebrate the beginning of summer, the opening of the swimming pools (especially in the northern midwest states), the big race of the year (when I lived in Indianapolis), and a day to remember our loved ones that have passed on.

When I was a child we would visit the grandparents on Memorial Day weekend. I remember the poppy sales (artificial poppies to pin on), and I just read that originally they were made by disabled veterans.

It is a quiet weekend here. I have been mowing and digging in dirt. The girls are happy grazing. Amazing how much some of the babies have grown. Just like human children, you do not notice their growth so much when you see them every day. But take a picture, or put them next to a younger kid, and wow, you see it!

I have been a little lost for words lately, writer's cramp? It happens!

Rose Garden Therapy

2009-05-21T20:04:00.006-04:00

I had forgotten how therapeutic digging in dirt can be...

This evening we put 12 small rose bushes in the ground.

When we were first married we had a large rose garden. Our favorites were the Sterling Silver, Tropicana, and any red or yellow variety.

Tonight it felt good to be on my knees, pushing the cool soil back into its place. It felt good to get dirty (not that I don't as a goat farmer). It was like taking all of the cares in the world and hanging them on a hook, good-bye worldly thoughts, hello to God's earth. And it felt good to stand back and have high hopes for a beautiful rose garden.

And if all goes well, I will be sharing beautiful photos of blooming roses in the future with you. And if the spot proves to be successful, more rose bushes will be added. We can call it the Annie's Goat Hill Rose Farm. Soap and goats and roses.

Have a lovely evening!

The "real" baby rose bush...the photo above is a borrowed one:

Goat Milk Soap Making In The Shop Today

2009-05-20T16:28:00.007-04:00

Power outages are definitely challenges to any of us, and it is truly a challenge to me on the farm.

Yesterday evening the power went out right before I brought the girls into the barn. I waited 20 minutes and then...I hand milked the 9 girls. Needless to say, my carpel tunnel syndrome is doing double duty today. But I am surviving. I really do enjoy milking, and wish I could do it by hand each and every day.

I was determined to make oodles of goat milk soap today, and I got the job done (a little later). Right before I started the 3rd batch the power went out again. So, the husband and I headed to town to get a much needed garden rake and a few flowers. I always get the red, purple and white petunias for the front porch.

I was able to resume soap making later in the afternoon.

I made a soap today that smells wonderful, grassy, with a touch of juniper berry. I love it. So far, so good!

I am running behind again...scooting down to the barn. Oh, by the way, we ran into the power truck down the road on our return home, my husband had to tease them, "Are we going to lose power tomorrow too?" Nope...the switch has been repaired.

Have a good evening!

Goats and Hay

2009-05-19T16:15:00.005-04:00

Bonnie, my largest and oldest alpine says, "Mom, put that thing away, it is time to feeeed ussss!"

The alfalfa is receiving its first cutting in our area this week. Boy, does it look nice. I will receive my new bales some time around Thursday or Friday.

The Mennonite man that we purchase our hay from has been very apologetic because the 16 bales that he had remaining this week was not the usual alfalfa rich mix that I normally purchase from him. He did well, though. When I asked him last fall if he could supply me all winter, he answered, "I believe so." He did...wow...right on the nose.

My goats are spoiled. I supplement them with good hay and a once a day grain (the girls on the milk stand are grained twice a day). Throw the "bad" hay to them and they instantly come to the fence hollering for something else.

They have been a pushy and picky crew this week, not real settled. Not at all. Soon girls and boys, soon, remember, patience is a virtue! Actually, most of the bucks do not care. It is the does creating the scene!

I love this photo of Bonnie, taken a few moments ago as well. But darn, we didn't get the chin in the photo. She is a big, big gal!

On to feeding now...busy on the farm today!

Ocean Breeze Goat Milk Soap Passed The Test

2009-05-18T19:34:00.009-04:00

When I create a new soap I always save the small sliver from the end of the batch as a test soap. Yes, I am blessed. I get to try all kinds of soaps. For the tried and true soaps I leave the end pieces for customer samples.

I am happy to announce that the Ocean Breeze goat milk soap passed the test yesterday!

It smells wonderful, best described as fresh!

What inspired me was the dream of a clear ocean, beautiful blue green color, white sand, gently rolling waters, along with a cool breeze. I have not gone on a vacation in years, but I am one to get up before anyone else and take a beach stroll. Absolutely heaven. Back to the soap...does the soap smell like the ocean? No! It can also be described as a scent close to clean cotton. Fresh!

The soap lathers well and has some nice glycerin qualities.

Ocean Breeze will be moved to the website tomorrow.

I do not need to tell you this, but I appreciate and enjoy it, half of the first batch is on reserve for Alix at Casa Hice. She scooped the bars up as soon as she learned that they had been cut. She has an Annie's Goat Hill Goat Milk Soap addiction. There is no cure.

There will be more Ocean Breeze soap in the soap pot in the near future, it is a keeper!

Have a good evening!

Was It The Blue?

2009-05-16T14:14:00.006-04:00

As I was doing dishes early this morning I heard a bird hit the window right in front of me. I am a softie for animals and nature, so I immediately wondered if the bird was okay.

I looked up from a window a moment later and much to my surprise, because I had not seen one for years, was a beautiful indigo bunting perched on the picnic table. He appeared to be admiring the 12 packages of roses that we had purchased (at a deep discount) yesterday!

I am even giggling at myself over this one, but do you think he was looking at the blue? Do you think he first thought he saw a flock of indigo buntings on the table?

I remember the first time I saw an indigo bunting. It was the bird that got me interested in novice bird watching, 10th grade biology. We had walked into the field behind our school, and then into a small wooded area. There he was, a beautiful indigo bunting perched high up in the tree. He was beautiful. The colors were striking.

Here is a little information on the indigo bunting, along with a photo that I borrowed (not a photo taken through a rain streaked window, ha):

A brilliantly blue bird of old fields and roadsides, the Indigo Bunting prefers abandoned land to urban areas, intensely farmed areas, or deep forests. The Indigo Bunting migrates at night, using the stars for guidance. It learns its orientation to the night sky from its experience as a young bird observing the stars.

The sequences of notes in Indigo Bunting songs are unique to local neighborhoods. Males a few hundred meters apart generally have different songs. Males on neighboring territories often have the same or nearly identical songs

Borrowed info from : http://www.allaboutbirds.com/

Rose Goat Milk Soap Wanted Today

2009-05-15T13:01:00.010-04:00

I worked in the soap shop today until a few minutes ago. Working with soap makes for some of my most fulfilling moments in life.

To the left is rose scented goat milk soap, and to the right is the plumeria that I always carry. Both contain a touch of complexion clay. The colors are very nice, they do fade somewhat while curing, which I like. The rose soap will be ready for sale in 4 weeks. Plumeria can be viewed in the soap store on my site.

I have received a lot of requests for floral fragranced soaps recently. I think it is the spring bug!

I had a lovely phone conversation with a potential customer today from New Hampshire. She had been reading the blog and stated that she saw that I studied soap making books (years back) that I had borrowed from the Indianapolis Public Library system. It is a small world, the friendly woman on the phone was also from Indianapolis! And, she asked for rose scented goat milk soap, the second request that I had received today. I told her, "Would you believe I have a fresh batch in the mold right in front of me?" I enjoyed our conversation tremendously!

There is a rose blend soap in the discount section on the website currently. The scent definitely has lingering rose base to it. That particular soap also contains the complexion clay.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Plumeria from the website:

Lost Signal (Found Now)

2009-05-14T15:03:00.004-04:00

We had some nifty storms last night as the sun set. Leaves and tiny branches are scattered about.

I counted the goslings this morning, all 6 are still with mom and pop, including the 7th that we did not count a few days ago. Last night I thought about the goose family, and what did I see when I looked? They seemed to be floating along on the pond. I suppose the wind really wasn't as bad on the water and downhill.

We dealt with losing Internet signal a few times (hence the photo of the mighty blue modem), along with some dust. You can look at it. I have some dust in the general area, tee hee. It was wonderful to see all 4 of the steady green lights back on!

I used my phone for certain services, company email for one. I really need to sit down with it and determine just what I can and cannot do. Plan A in case of a real power outage.

Other than the glitch with the equipment, no power outage (just flickering), I have been working on the newsletter and answering email. We ran some chores this morning...boy does that get expensive these days!

If you wish to receive the email, the newsletter sign up button is located near the bottom of my site's index page. The newsletter is published once a month, and possibly twice a month in the future. I try to keep it short.

Did you know that today's Internet readers are considered scanners? Many readers do not want to read long text. Make it short, concise, and most people are happier. It is a fast paced world!

Take care...have a good Thursday evening!

Rosemary Mint Goat Milk Soap Spotlight

2009-05-12T19:10:00.003-04:00

Today I am spotlighting my rosemary mint goat milk soap.

Rosemary is not for everyone. If you love it, you normally seek it! I am one that likes it, especially in the summer months. If you have never had a chance to experience the scent of rosemary essential oil, I can describe it as fresh, strong, pine like, yet sweet.

Aromatherapists report that rosemary essential oil is helpful for re-energizing (due to mental fatigue or depression). Rosemary essential oil is used in soap products to help remove excess oil secretions in the hair, and assists with skin blemishes and dandruff. It also has some antibacterial properties.

This soap contains a touch of peppermint, along with finely ground rosemary leaves. Peppermint is said to have some energizing benefits as well.

I want to remind everyone, when considering the use of essential oils (especially in their natural oil state) always pay attention to your allergies or special health concerns (such as pregnancy, epilepsy, etc..). Be safe and be aware. There are a lot of good sites on the Internet that explain the precautions, such as Aromatherapy.Suite101.com .

Have a good evening!

Sunday's Tractor Project-Sandblasting Begins

2009-05-11T20:38:00.009-04:00

The tractor project continued yesterday. I always have a good time with our friends, learning about tractor parts, listening to the guys find more problems, and better yet, find solutions. They love what they are doing! I loved hearing the tractor run.

Sunday was the day to begin removing parts from the old gal that need repainted. My husband, pictured above, finally got to use his new sand blaster. He donned a mask, then a hood, long suede gloves (his welder's gloves) and went to town sand blasting.

Pictured below is the "before photo" of the tractor's pull hitch (in an old water trough converted to a sand blaster tub) before it was sand blasted. The next photo is the hitch looking nearly new. Amazing. The guys then put the metal frame of the tractor seat in the trough. It came out beautifully clean, ready for paint too. The cushion part of the seat itself is on order. Expensive!

The '56 Massey Harris model 50 is going to be really spiffied up!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T08:14:00.007-04:00

Mother's Day holds fond memories in my heart.

One of the memories that brings a smile to my face is the visual of my brother sneaking off to a shopping area on his bicycle each Mother's Day. He would arrive back balancing baskets or trays filled with petunias.

I can feel the warm May sunshine as I reflect on my mother happily planting her new petunias in her window boxes. She definitely would not work outside in cool weather. But she also never liked to close the windows to her house, something that I believe I acquired from her. The love for fresh air, the openness. Thank you, mother, for your devotion, for being my best friend.

The other special lady in my life was my grandmother. She was something else. She spoke her mind. There was no shy bone in her body! And she still was not very quiet about her appreciation for getting kisses from the "nice young man (men)," even at 80-something years old. I loved her stories. And I also loved her sayings, such as, "You ornery wart!," with her Southeast Missouri draw. She inspired me with her gardening, canning, cooking and crafts (sewing). Grandma lives in my heart very strongly. Grandma was a good lady who left some wonderful memories. I hope she knows that.

I wish a Happy Mother's Day to you, and to your mothers as well!

Hold Onto Your Hat Saturday

2009-05-09T14:49:00.007-04:00

Ms. Akira has funky ears...and they are really funny in today's wind! It is a definitely a hold onto your hat folks type of day!

Akira is a doeling born to Bonnie, an alpine, and Emery, a nubian buck, last season. She is a large girl, and one that loves to chatter. I truly appreciate her. I am hoping for a nice sturdy girl on the milk stand someday from Ms. Akira.

I did not sleep very well last night, and some time during the night I heard little peeping noises. I would hear one little peeper, then silence, 20-30 minutes later I would hear another. I thought, "The goslings are hatching." Sure enough, there are 6 little fuzzy geese following mom and dad around today. I am always relieved when the eggs hatch, no smashing, no turtles bothering the eggs. The pair of geese come back and visit each spring. We love to see them return, and are sad when the family leaves.

I cannot get very close to the family today, so I tried a photo from across the pond. The babies look like specks, but they are scattered behind and below their proud and watchful parents on the ground.

Goat Milk Soap Beginnings

2009-05-08T19:40:00.004-04:00

Tonight I worked on packaging customer orders. It was hard to leave the shop. Yes, I take my time in the shop. I look at the soap, pick bars up from the curing rack, hold the end pieces from the batches in my hand, smell them, and I will admit, admire them as well. I try my own soaps out at the 2 week mark. I truly feel blessed when I carry that sliver out for trial.

Friends have recently asked me how I decided to make soap, and why goat milk soap?

This beautiful photo of a basket of handcrafted soap was taken in 2003. My soap company was named Grassypond Farms. I lived in a house on 42 acres, with a 2 acre pond, 3 horses, boxer dogs, 52 chickens, no goats, in an area called Grassy, MO. I had a website at that time, no storefront. I sold a lot of soap to locals, antique stores, florists and craft malls. The soap did not contain goat milk.

I am going to push the fast forward button to quickly arrive at today, and I promise to tell more stories later. You might be stiffling a yawn, or even holding your eyes open with tooth picks, if I tell you everything in one blog post!

I have loved soap since my younger days, about 8 years old is when I first crossed paths with a bar of handcrafted soap. In fact, on a school field trip I bought an old fashioned soap ball. It was primitive, and I was in love. Fast forward through the youngster years, I collected soap. Yep, a shoebox of soap in my bedroom! Fast forward through the young adult years, every book I could possibly borrow from the Indianapolis Public Library system on soap making, perfumery, aromatherapy, was read thoroughly by me. Fast forward to 2003. I had a wonderful basement, about 1400 square feet, and suddenly realized that I had the space and the time to begin my soap making endeavor. I taught myself the in's and out's of crafting cold processed soap (the process that I use, more on that later), via. the internet and all of the reading that I had done. The stories I will be telling about the soap molds and batches of soap that hit the trash can, oh boy...it was a trial for a while. Thank goodness I had a husband that wanted to help make it all come together. He was very creative with the building of the molds.

It was not until 2008 (late bloomer in the thinking aisle on this one) when I discovered the wonderful benefits of including fresh, rich goat milk in my soap. Wow...wow..and wow!!!

I am hooked, addicted, and all about fresh goat milk soap from the farm.

That is the end of my story for tonight. I will continue this later.

Ask questions...I love them!

Happy Friday!

Goat Milk Soap Today

2009-05-07T12:17:00.003-04:00

Today I cut several batches of soap that I made yesterday.

This batch of goat milk soap is scented with a combination of pineapple, tangerine and pink grapefruit. I will announce the name of the soap and other information closer to the curing date (approximately 4 weeks from today). In case you cannot see the colors, they are pale pink and yellow. Very pretty, and smells luscious!

I worked in the shop and office afterwards. With pad of paper and pen in hand, updated the list of things to-do. I will be organizing that into a top priority, medium priority, and wish list. It has to be done now and then. We can definitely lose site of the big picture when we do not organize our thoughts!

Have a good afternoon!

The Husband's Rock

2009-05-06T19:18:00.008-04:00

We have a lot of spring clean up to do around our place. Included in those clean up plans are the moving of some of the goats to new locations, such as this one. Goats are great for cleaning up woody and weedy areas. Set a handful free, and they can chomp it down in no time!

Each time my husband mowed the area where he is standing in the photo he would hit a rock. He tried to cover the rocks up with top soil. Nothing seemed to work.

He then told me that he was going to dig the rocks up. He did. There were some large ones! In fact, I think he said seven in total. This particular one is "his boulder."

What you cannot see is the creek that runs along the property line. All of the rocks were moved, placed along the creek bed, using the tractor and bucket. The bucks are going to love their new area, with a creek, and many large rocks to play on.

The dear husband reads the blog from time to time. He asked me last night, "Didn't you post about my big rock?" Here it is...and yes, he worked hard, and he deserves the credit!

The House Is Too Quiet

2009-05-05T18:31:00.007-04:00

The house is too quiet. The last of the kids graduated this afternoon. They may be goat kids, but we do call it graduation day.

We really do try to not have house kids, but somehow a few end up visiting for a short while for various reasons. When we get down to the last couple of kids, they seem to remain up at the house with us for a bit longer than their forerunners did.

And now it is like sending a 5 year old off to kindergarten. The house is quiet. The kids are still on bottles (they get our support, though less than before), yet they are on their own, with freedom that is good for them.

Tonight the house is quiet. And it will be for a very long time. Silly as it may be...graduation day.

Sunday's Tractor Project-She Is Running!

2009-05-05T13:56:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday we visited our good friends. It was a tractor restoration day. This is Bob (our wonderful friend, not my husband Bob) pulling back off of the street, returning to the garage.

This is the newest tractor project. She is a dandy! I love this one!

The guys did not know how soon she would be running, but wouldn't you know she is putting right along already! So far they have adjusted the hydraulics and the carburetor, and Bob has given her new tires. Great progress has been made.

This girl is going to take a lot of work, but I think the more work they need, the more interesting they get!

Ever Have One Of Those Days?

2009-05-04T19:15:00.004-04:00

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you are out of sync?

See the doe in the photo with her tongue sticking out? Yes, she was bellowing at me, "Maaaaa...you are feeding kind of late, and I am growing impa-a-a-a-tient!"

Yes, it was one of those kinds of days.

There are two very significant things about me. I work hard, I am honest, and I have a good sense of humor. Wait, those are three things that I just let out of the bag!

Because I work hard, I get into a lot of funny predicaments, and because I have a sense of humor, I can laugh at it all (eventually), and many times during.

When I start my day with breakfast (peanut butter on 2 pieces of whole wheat bread every morning, with black coffee, followed with a bottle of water) and I drop my butter knife 3 times on the table, bang, pick it up, bang (you get the picture), then proceed to wad up my napkin and place it in my cup of coffee...somehow I begin to wonder if my day is in trouble. Yes ma'am (or sir) IN TROUBLE!

When you try to delete pictures from your camera, but a few moments later realize that you have your phone in your hand, you are IN TROUBLE.

It was one of those days, thank heavens this out of sync feeling is not an every day thing, and now the day is almost over. Life is a grand thing...and I feel there is a reason for everything. Perhaps this sort of disorder is to make us laugh? Perhaps!

Now I need to fumble through the dozen Post-It-Notes that I have scattered across my desktop, all from today, good random thoughts, that somehow I just could not seem to organize into anything that gelled.

I had a father in the military, I hear the evening call, "Day is done...gone the sun...!"

Have a good evening...and stay in sync, believe me, it helps!

Time For Yourself

2009-05-03T08:18:00.006-04:00

As I cut the loaves of soap that I made yesterday into bars this morning my thoughts were on writing, sharing my thoughts with friends.

I am in the middle of making bottles, heating milk, but feeling compelled to "chat" first.

This is a busy time in many of our lives, and the "experts" say we will get even busier unless we deliberately make time for ourselves.

Some of us are older, some younger. But I personally remember a house with one phone. A phone that hung on the kitchen wall. And it had a dial, not buttons to push! That phone did not fit in a pocket, nor did anyone expect that phone to be answered every hour of the day, each day of the week. Nor did that phone have voice mail.

I personally love the connections that we have during this period of time, but sometimes we need to be disconnected. I really am not into catchy phrases, I pretty much march to my own drumbeat. One phrase that I truly did not understand was "me time." What???? It sounded very self-centered to me. Well...now that I understand the phrase more I will attest full-hearted that we all need me time! Me time is time without the pulling of committments, down time without the phone, without the computer, time to just do the things that makes our heart smile.

Yesterday, for me, it was making soap and mowing the grass. I felt like a teenager! Those are wonderful days!

Do not get me wrong, I love my friends, I love the connections, and there are too many people to count that I have to hear from every day (in one shape of connection or another). I do not feel complete without the connection of those people, BUT, and that is a huge but, we all need time without a tug or a pull. That is me time, and we do all need it for our own mental health. And remember yourself as newer technology continues to slide your way. You can say no. You can shut it off from time to time. I believe effectiveness stems from a balance in life. Try to be all, do all, and you lose yourself as the human being with a lot of worth you are!

The soaps that I cut this morning (above) are: spa salt bar (citrus blend), summer melon (muskmelon green and white), and a stress relief type of scent (citrus, light patchouli and others) with a slight violet marble. More on the scents once cured!

Thinking of Summer Goat Milk Soap

2009-05-02T14:13:00.007-04:00

On this bright and sunny spring day I am doing what I rank highly up there as one of the loves in my life, working in the soap shop!

The pictured goat milk soap will be called Summer Melon. Yes, I have summer on the brain. Thoughts of muskmelon and cantaloupe, beautiful sunshine, and relaxing outdoor gatherings!

I also crafted spa salt goat milk soap today. After cutting the loaf into bars I will take some pics and tell you about the fragrance. I recently purchased a sea salt bar that I really liked, except that the lather left a lot of brown in the tub. My thoughts were it might be better than ever with rich goat milk soap added. :)

Well, that is enough of a break for me. Hope your Saturday is turning into something beautiful too! I plan to mow, make soap, and mow again. Another one of my favorite things.

I Thank You

2009-05-01T15:03:00.004-04:00

I have had a few busy days. Not nearly enough time to write, but always enough time to say thank you.

Being a business person is not always about making money, in my opinion, it is about people. I want to make the best soap that I can possibly make, and I want you to enjoy the product. But, somewhere inside of me, I also want to make a difference in your day with a touch of encouragement, or a nice scent, or just by saying hello.

I thank you for being here. People in life is what it is all about!

I received a knock to the shop door a bit ago as I was taking photos, a local woman that was dropping off religious phamplets...the photo blurred as the door knock came. But, it was a nice visit after all, because I asked her in. And she walked away with a smile and a small bar of lavender goat milk soap! See what I mean...it is all about people. Thank you!!!

Plastic Bricks Museum

2009-04-30T15:01:00.004-04:00

I received the monthly Country Living magazine today from my power company.

I like to browse the magazine from time to time, forgetting that most are Ohio-based stories.

I stumbled across an article about a Toy and Plastic Brick Museum, was in awe of the creativity and skill in the museum pieces. Talk about talent.

I remember walking across the dark living room shag carpet when my youngest son was not quite school age yet, stepping on a Lego, ouch(!), and reminding myself, "That boy loves his

Lego's!"

After looking up the Toy and Plastic Brick Museum on the internet I found their blog, and their location, Bellaire, Ohio. Cool! I wanted to leave comments on their blog, but it apparently is a closed type of thing. Shoot!

I am not into toys, but I do think a hobby and creativity helps everyone. It could be soap, it could be weaving or spinning, gardening, you name it, but the old saying, "Everyone needs a hobby," is oh so true!!!

Anyhow...the picture above is my favorite from their blog! Which one do you like?

Colors Of Spring

2009-04-29T14:47:00.008-04:00

Today was a day to work in the office. I worked on placing supply orders, balanced books, and then I stepped outside to enjoy the day for a few minutes.

The colors of spring bring so much hope to the heart. I love the cool days, yet I love the hot sun. There is no better sleeping weather at night than when there is a cool breeze!

And, yes, there are dandelions everywhere. But truly, they are pretty! And they mean spring is back.

And yes, there are weeds that need mowed on the slope, but they also bring the beauty of spring with them.

How about those wonderful colors when the maples are first getting their new spring leaves?

And the different colors of green?

The Goat Dairy Diary Part III

2009-04-28T12:35:00.008-04:00

As promised, I am continuing the posts on the dairy goats, and other breeds as well.

The questions are great!

What is my favorite breed? The nubian dairy goat. There is something special about a nubian kid. It could be the long ears that reach way below the muzzle. It could be the lankiness (dairy characteristics) of the kids. It could also be the sweetness of a nubian bottle kid. But it goes further than that. I love the nubian milk the best, especially for cheese and soap making.

Similar to cows, different goat dairy breeds produce a higher and lower butterfat. In my herd, the saanans produce the most milk, followed up by the alpines, but the nubians have the highest butterfat. Reach for some refrigerated goat milk after a nubian has been in milk for a week or so, and what you find is cream on top. That is some rich milk!

I covered two questions, I prefer the nubian personality and their milk for the soap. But wanted to add, the only downfall to a nubian is that they can be very vocal. I used to say, "But, my nubians are not noisy!" Oh, yes, some of them now are! Carmella, for example, lets out a hoot sort of noise when she is excited. Cammille tends to follow suit, and does not stop until she is satisfied. So does Bosco, the buck. Oh yes, when he sees me coming to feed the HOOT is sounded, loud and clear. The nut!

Do you own any toggs (toggenbergs)? No. They are a nice breed. My girlfriend up the road raises and shows them. She purchases some fine toggs from across the U.S. .

What breeds and genders do you raise? About half of the herd are boers. I keep the boer does right at 30, with 3 breeding age bucks that I switch from time to time. The other half of the herd are nubian, alpine, saanans, and crosses of all three. My favorite cross breed are the snubians (produced from a saanan dam and nubian sire). They have nice udders, volumes of milk, and are fairly easy to handle. They seem to come to the milk stand naturally, in all aspects.

How many does do you milk? I currently have 9 girls in milk. My number is normally at 11. The remainder of the herd is younger. They will be involved in the milking process some day, a rotational type of set up over the years. But not yet. I breed at a later age.

It is said that a dairy doe produces more milk over a lifetime if she is bred at a younger age, but I personally do not want to have to pull another kid. I would rather the doe gain some girth and mature before she is subjected to kidding. My entire focus now is keep the does that are good mothers (boers), keep the does that produce nice kids (without troubled presentations), and keep the does that produce good milk. It makes it difficult to decide who to part with, eventually.

Love the questions, keep 'em flowing...just like that good rich milk!

Lemongrass Poppyseed Goat Milk Soap

2009-04-27T17:46:00.002-04:00

I have some blogging and comments to catch up on!

First, I thought I would showcase my lemongrass poppyseed goat milk soap.

Lemongrass is not extracted from lemons, but it has a very lemony scent, dark yellow to amber in color. Lemongrass is a grass, the essential oil is extracted from the leaves of the grass.

I have a few customers that regularly ask for lemongrass soap. It was also one of my original soaps, before the addition of goat milk. These particular customers are younger, with oily skin. If you have a friend or family member that loves the scent of lemons, or one that fights oily skin, this could be their soap!

The poppyseed provides gentle exfoliation.

Today's soap is in the mold. I make soap in loaves, cutting the loaf into bars approximately 24 hours later. Todays soap (like the lemongrass poppyseed) is also an all natural soap, no colorants, scented with tangerine, sweet orange, grapefruit, and a touch of lavender essential oils. It smells clean to me!

One of my customers ordered up all of the smaller sized bars of unscented goat milk soap today. So, unscented goat milk soap has been removed from the discount section on the website. There are full sized bars remaining, just no discounted smaller bars.

That is it for the shop talk today!

I need to catch up on comments and questions next.

Having a beautiful day too? I hope so!

Ahhh...Spring's Promise

2009-04-26T07:29:00.005-04:00

Tyra and I spent a few moments outdoors a bit ago. The day promises to be another bright and sunny one, filled with warmth, and the promise that we can enjoy the outdoors again for a while, which renews me inside and out!

We have a number of older lilac bushes here, 5 perhaps. They received some freeze damage this spring, but they still smell wonderful, especially in the early morning cool!

Heading outside with a cup of coffee to enjoy the birds and solitude.

Tyra agrees...she says, "Lets stay out here for a while!"

Not Finished Yet, As The Doe Says

2009-04-25T13:30:00.002-04:00

Well, there is one thing for certain when you own goats, you never know everything for certain.

But isn't that true about life, expect the ups, downs, in and outs, and the surprises? If we don't expect them, we will be in a load of trouble.

Today is day 155 for Bonnie, my oldest dairy doe. I assumed she had not settled. No udder, tight ligaments, and no signs of pregnancy, except her voracious appetite and pushiness with other does has been a bit more pronounced the last couple of days. As I let her out of the gate this morning she moved with a noticible amount of slowness. I immediately said out loud, "Oh oh," as I reached between her legs as she passed through. Yep, milk came in. Giggle. We are not finished with the kidding season yet.

The old girl is outside today, walking around like nothing is up, now loosening in the ligaments, and beginning to show signs of impending labor. I keep hoping for it to start, as we are having friends over for cards tonight for the first time in months. But, no, nature isn't quite on that schedule today. And that is okay.

Waiting...waiting...and it will happen, in it's own time. It is the code of the doe, she will kid when she is good and ready. :)

Have a great Saturday! It is beautiful here today!

Goat Milk Soap-Orange Mint & Honey Oatmeal

2009-04-24T14:34:00.008-04:00

Occasionally I like to showcase a soap or two.

The soap pictured every day on the blog is orange mint goat milk soap. It generally is a light orange (or very pale peach) color, all natural. The scent is from sweet orange oil with a touch of peppermint and spearmint. This was one of my original soaps, crafted in my shop before I included goat milk in my soaps. One of my customers calls it, "My chewing gum soap." I am not sure that it smells like chewing gum, but it is fresh and clean, light and airy. I love the soap myself!

Pictured today is honey oatmeal goat milk soap. This soap also goes back a number of years, the second handmade soap that I originally made. Many customers have commented that they use this soap for shaving (and never went back to shaving cream). Oatmeal has some healing properties for scrapes, sunburns and skin irritation. I grind the oatmeal before it goes in the soap, subsequently the soap contains small particles which gives it an exfoliation property as well. The lather is rather rich, creamy, not so much bubbly. Honey is included, which makes for the variances in the soap color. This unscented soap has a nut-like scent, pure. I never knew this fact before I made soap, honey is a natural humectant, which means it attracts and retains moisture.

Both orange mint and honey oatmeal goat milk soaps are included on my website, in the soap category and the (Y) discounted products category as well.

Sunny Day On The Hill

2009-04-24T14:23:00.005-04:00

When you own animals, and especially livestock, they sometimes give you a "heart attack" when you catch them lounging. I took this picture from afar, lost a bit of clarity from the distance, but there sat a group of girls, many of them being my dairy girls in milk, all twisted around, enjoying this gorgeous 80 degree, breezy and sunny day! Look at Carmella (far right), twisted around like a pretzel.

The worst look to a sleeping animal (horse, cow, goat, and even dog) is when they lay completely flat, motionless, on their side. Like looking at a newborn baby, one deep in sleep, are they breathing? Let out a sigh of relief, they are!

As a livestock owner you learn to sharpen your senses when you look at your animals. It becomes internal habit. When you glance at the animals it goes a lot further than enjoyment. You look at actions, body movements, eating patterns, and even how they "speak." A herder catches a goat that is "off," for example, early on just by seeing the slightest change in their behavior.

By the way...I received more questions, and I have more answers, for part III of the dairy goat diary, coming up in a few days!

Anyhow...I am just sharing a sunny day photo taken from the office window a few moments ago.

The Goat Dairy Diary Part II

2009-04-23T18:16:00.006-04:00

I was not sure what to talk about today, but it all gelled!

I had a busy morning with the goats, trying to get out of the barn and clean up before the order of grain was delivered, also knowing that I needed to get to Country Home Crafts where some of my products are displayed to deliver some of the newest goat milk soaps. I got it all accomplished, but it left me feeling slightly depleted.

After lunch I worked on putting an order together and did an inventory of the essential oils and fragrances in the shop.

A few days ago, after receiving some really good questions (in my opinion), I talked about my farm schedule and answered a few questions in the blog post The Goat Dairy Farm Diary (To Answer Questions).

Today, Lynnanne asked a few more great questions...it gave me something to write about!

"I'm curious as to why the dairy goats are bottle fed and most of the meat goats are not??" It is fairly common practice to bottle raise vs. dam raise dairy animals (calves, lambs, and goats). This is done for several reasons, mainly to protect and ensure the health of the udder. In commercial dairy operations the kids are pulled and fed milk replacer, the goat milk is gathered and sold, or the milk is used to make cheese. In my situation, I choose to bottle feed the dairy kids to protect the udder, and to prevent disease in the kids (that can be passed through the dam's milk, such as CAE). My hope is to someday have the commercial dairy (goat or cow) that I dream of. I pasteurize the goat milk that I collect, using some of the milk in the soap and goat milk lotion, and during deficit times I will mix part milk replacer with part goat milk when I bottle feed. As you know, many of us follow different practices with our herds. I am not opposed to leaving dairy kids on the dams. My philosophy with fellow herders or farmers is, what works for you is best!

"What prompted you to go into goats and goat milk soap?" The interest in soap came first. I began making soap in 2003 (with a soap interest that began as a youngster). My initial investment in goats was geared towards meat goats (boers), but as soon as I got my first dairy goat (Carmella, a nubian) I was hooked. After not making soap for a few years, and after realizing that it was very difficult to obtain a dairy license in Ohio, and also realizing that I was itching to make soap again, I decided to get the goat milk soap ball rolling, full speed ahead. And again, I was hooked. I love goat milk soap! And I am very excited to be able to show a product that is crafted as a product from my hard work on the farm. There is nothing like fresh goat milk. I drink it, I make cheese out of it, and of course, soap and lotion too!

I am ready for more questions...I thank you!!

Color In The Goat Milk Soaps

2009-04-22T15:21:00.004-04:00

There is a touch of color on the curing racks at Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps these days. Spring is in the air, and with spring comes color!

I wanted to briefly touch on color in my soaps...

In the past I believed in adding nothing to my soaps that was not natural. For instance, if I had 25 varieties of soaps to sell, one would hold fragrance, the remainder of the soaps would be handcrafted with pure essential oils (and herbal and/or complexion clay for coloring).

I have steered away from that way of thinking, but only to a degree.

I have tested ultramarine colorants (blue, violet, green and some pink). These are skin safe colorants, but are created in a laboratory.

Some of the yellow colorants are supplied by oxides, also skin safe.

As it stands, there are certain scents that simply cannot be obtained via an essential oil (natural), such as lilac or cherry. These types of scents are fragrance oils.

My newest line of soaps will give a variety of choices: colorants, fragrances, all natural (essential oils, herbals and natural colorants), and some with no scent or color at all (unscented goat milk soap, oatmeal and honey goat milk soap).

The soap descriptions in the website's soap store will state fragrance, essential oil, colorant (ultramarine) or pigment. My thinking is, whatever your skin needs, or your preferences are, you should be able to find something in the shop that suits your needs.

Enjoy!

Ocean Goat Milk Soap To The Curing Rack

2009-04-21T19:15:00.009-04:00

Well, not quite in the ocean, but the inspiration was...an Ocean Breeze, crystal clear blue green water, white sand, a warm refreshing breeze, and gentle frothy waves. Bits of unscented white goat milk soap make for the white sand and sea foam. The scent is a combination that mimics a fresh clean breeze (touches of rose, lily, spearmint, citrus, orange, lime).

Then came the relaxing cup of tea with a touch of orange and cinnamon. There is no tea involved in this soap, but it was the "have a cup of tea with me" painting in my mind. Lightly scented with sweet orange oil and "sticks" of cinnamon goat milk soap inbedded throughout.

The Goat Dairy Farm Diary (To Answer Questions)

2009-04-21T15:19:00.010-04:00

A small break from goat milk soap soap talk to answer some farm related questions...this is one of my barn white boards, photo taken a few weeks ago.

On this board I record kidding information (date, dam's name or ear tag number, the number of kids, and the kid's sex).

This board plays an important role on my farm. It determines when the kids are weaned (either bottle or dam raised), and it helps me to determine when a kid can be sold. And, since I am part of the USDA Scrapies program, when the information is copied to paper, it is the record keeping that I am held to.

I'll answer some wonderful questions now:

Do you dam or bottle raise your kids? Both. The boer kids are dam raised (except for those that are special needs cases, such as an abandoned or very sick kid). The dairy kids are always bottle raised on pasteurized milk. When there is a deficit in milk, and there is one right now, the kids nurse on both fresh goat milk and a fraction of milk replacer. I always inch more towards the fresh goat milk (pasteurized) due to the cost, and mostly due to the nutritional value in the "real" goat milk. I have 29 bottle kids today.

How long does it take you to milk? That is difficult to say. It depends upon how many does are in milk and what time of day it is. My day runs like this: 6:30-9:00 (answer email, check in on blog and contacts, prepare milk, eat breakfast, place orders out for shipment), 9:00-10:45 (feed and milk), 10:45-11:00 (break), 11:00-11:30 (prepare for making soap or other bath products, answer email, or prepare for what I plan to do after lunch), 11:30-12:15 (lunch), 12:15-2:30 (make soap or bath products, work on website, pasteurize milk, post on blog, answer email, and other business related duties), 2:30-3:00 (rest), 3:00-4:00 (prepare milk for bottle kids and clean up), 4:00-5:30 (feed and milk), 5:30-6:00 (rest, answer email, read online), 6:00-6:30 (prepare dinner), 6:30-9:00 (prepare customer orders, answer email, relax, and work anything else in that I can, along with another short feeding for the bottle kids). 9:00 (call a friend and then I zombie out). I consider anything after that time "family" time. I love it...shut the door, turn off the phone, enjoy the quiet!

How many does do you keep in milk? Right now I have 8, I generally keep 11 on rotation.

Do you take vacations? No. I do not miss vacations. I do, sometimes, feel as if I am chasing my tail. My schedule is not always as tight as it is right now. After the kids are born the herd more than doubles. But later, after months begin to pass, there are certain times in the year where feeding can take 20 minutes, twice a day. But then there are other duties to catch up on such as hoove trimming (which is needed right now).

How long are the kids on milk? A kid that is a wether (castrated male), one that has grown well, is weaned between 2 1/2 and 3 months old. A doeling is left on the boer dam until the next breeding season. The doeling is then removed to ensure she is not bred at a young age. And kid's are fed different amounts of milk depending upon their age, and at different times (hence the importance of the white board record keeping again). Right now I have 25 goats on 2 bottles a day, some on 1/2 bottles (10 ounces), some on full bottles twice a day, and 4 that are on 3 feedings a day (full bottles).

I hope that helps with some of your questions, and let me tell you this, your questions are more than okay to ask!

I also keep calendar's in the barn of due dates, wormings (only when needed), medications (I try to go as natural as possible on this farm), and other records. Fun times...now I need a nap, but I am late for preparing milk for feeding! :)

Goat Milk Soaps To The Curing Rack 4/17

2009-04-20T14:01:00.007-04:00

Ask me if I like this one...go ahead, ask me. I love it!

Not only are the colors beautiful, it smells wonderful. It reminds me of something fresh, like fresh mowed grass along with something citrusy, yet perhaps something sweet as a bottom note(spring flowers?), not cakey sweet. The scent is a combination of grapefruit, tangerine, citrus and petitgrain. I am very happy with the results.

This second soap, violet and blue, is a lightly stated combination of pineapple, grapefruit and orange. Made me think of a tropical drink, blue in color, enjoyed at an ocean cabana, with the carefree breeze and sunshine surrounding. A soap that both smells and looks fun!

And We Have A Winner

2009-04-19T19:25:00.006-04:00

Drum roll...the winner is...Lynnanne!

This was a random drawing, for any commentor that joined in on the survey. I appreciate the short answers, and I appreciate the long answers. I very well could have added a professional looking poll widget to the blog for this contest but I wanted to hear comments, feedback, and I wanted to see the readers. The response was fantastic! It was a success.

Many answers were (and I agree): "goes hand in hand," equal value. I will report back with what I compile, and of course, this is not an exact science, just a close match.

One of the future posts will be a discussion on packaging. I have some ideas, and some that have swung past me as well. Open feedback is excellent, even when you have to take the hammer in hand to make me understand what you are trying to say! Remember, I have about 130 goats on the farm right now (kids and moms). Zombiefied (but waking back up)!

And I have some brand new soaps to show the world. One that I am totally in love with!

Goat Milk Soap Giveaway

2009-04-17T06:26:00.006-04:00

If you can answer a few quick questions, I want to send a bar of soap to you, your choice! And if I receive enough comments, I will send a bar of soap to two people (randomly chosen).

If you were shopping for handcrafted goat milk soap today, in what order would the following be of importance to you: price, color, size, scent, other (please define)?

Is all natural, or nearly all natural, important to you?

Which type of scents do you prefer (floral, woodsy/earthy, fruity, etc...)? Or, name a few scents/types if you can!

This is a survey, of sorts, but I also want to thank my commenters. I follow every post, and each reciprocated word is appreciated!

No Blues Here

2009-04-16T15:07:00.007-04:00

What a glorius day!

A day to mow the grass, one of my favorite chores. It isn't a chore when you love to do it, right?

A day to enjoy the blue and purple spring flowers.

A day to reflect on the old red white and blue on the front porch.

A day to enjoy the husband in the blue coat loving one of the last bottle babies. What a beautiful nubian cross doeling she is.

And finally, a beautiful day to make soap, blue and purple, and other spring and summer colors (green, gold, pink). The scents, mmmm, I made the soap right before lunch and I can honestly say my stomach was growling by the time I took the photo. The soap smells wonderful! I will cut them tomorrow and tell you more.

Time For A Change

2009-04-15T20:19:00.007-04:00

Just as the tide rolls in and out, so does the need for change.

Regarding everything that I do on a routine basis, a few of my friends have asked, "What is your secret, how do you do it all?," "How do you take a vacation, or do you?," and have said, "You are a worker!"

I do not try to do it all, I try to not do it all. As soon as the kidding season has just about ended on our farm, or even when something has changed that requires new steps in life, for example, I always begin to clear my mind and figure out what to do next.

I recently had a wonderful email conversation with a trusted friend regarding a change in my life that was not easy. The change involved something that I had held onto for a number of years, and it had become clear to me to let it go, however something held me back each time I tossed that thought around. It consumed time and energy that I could no longer afford. Once I made that change I felt complete relief, peace, even a sense of liberation. In the email response from my friend, she quoted my own words back to me, I have lost my go-juice for it all. I need something new in my life, and I need to let some things go. Sometimes we have to put the emotional side of things behind us. And sometimes what drags us down is right in front of our noses. When we wake up, we have to move on!

Bingo!

To keep a balance in my life, I determine what is most important, what must be accomplished from day to day, and I weed out the rest. I hope to never let emotions hold me back so badly in the future. Emotions are not always reality. Yes, they hold a certain degree of wisdom, but facts are facts. And I have said it once, and will say it again, we have to lead ourselves down our own paths in life. Do what is right for ourselves financially, physically, socially, spiritually, and mentally. You will find peace. I did.

New Goat Milk Soaps

2009-04-15T05:27:00.008-04:00

It has been a busy few days here at Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps!

First, I want to apologize to any website viewers that may have seen soaps in the website soap store priced at 350.00, they really should have been priced at 3.50 a bar! The corrections have been made.

Now, for the announcements...new soaps were added to the website yesterday. They are both colorful and fun scents. Some of the new scents are: Cool Citrus, Moroccan Dreams, Earthy Vanilla, and Lilac Wave.

The chunkier soaps were added into the stock as well. These bars currently sell for 4.25 a bar (no price increase yet), weighing in at 4.0+ ounces per bar. Any, and all, bars weighing in at less than 4.0 ounces have been moved to the discount "Y" (Y A Sale?) section of the online soap store.

The Brown Bag special continues, and the special does include any soaps from the discount section. They are all wonderful quality soaps, just not the chunkier bars that I want to consider full sized! Approximate weights 3.5-3.7 ounces each. The Buy Now button is located at the bottom of the Soap Store page on the website. This is a great buy for goat milk soap!

The new order of shea butter has arrived. Lotion will be back in production, and if time allows, whipped shea butter will be a focus later in this week!

Visit To The Milk Room

2009-04-13T15:48:00.013-04:00

I have a few blog posts to publish about the farm duties. This one surrounds the milking process.

In the photo, left to right is udder wash, dish soap, bleach, the milk bucket with inflators, the Fight Bac spray, clean towels and rags, and the milk buckets to carry the milk back up to the house (or place in the barn refrigerator if I have chores to run before returning to the house).

In the photo, above the milk bucket are the PVC pipes, pressure guage, etc.., for the milk machine itself. The milk machine is a very old Surge model, not pictured. It is located on the other side the room. I actually have two machines, one as a back up. My husband ran vacuum lines around the room so that I would not have to deal with the machine running on the milking side of things. I love to hear the old machine run, by the way! I check the oil once a year, always at a good level. The belt has been in good shape for a long time. It just plugs away. I am afraid I might jinx myself if I say more.

I generally have 11 girls in milk. Right now I have 7. I use a machine because it speeds the process up, and because I have carpel tunnel syndrome. Milking out one single doe by hand is a struggle, but a very peaceful task for me.

Milking should be done at a set time each day. I milk twice a day. My milkings are not spaced 12 hours apart, but they are consistently done within the same 30-45 minutes. If a milk schedule is off, even by a few hours, and even on one day, the does can, and probably will, based on my experience, begin to produce less milk. The hormones in the body say, "Hey, we are not so needed any more, lets shut this milk stand down!" Well, something like that. :)

My girls normally line up outside of the milk room door. Each year we fall into a pattern, and the goats pick up on it. They know the order in which they come into the door, and usually I do not have to call a single name to get them to do what they need to do. Goats like patterns and are not very easy to deal with when things are amiss.

Milking involves (the short list):
-Cleaning and drying the udder (clean towels to wash, clean towels to dry each udder with)
-Milking (but not completely stripping out, to prevent mastitis)
-Treating the teats after each milking (mastitis prevention)
-Pouring the milk into the milk cans for transportation
-Scrubbing the empty milk bucket with a brush and running sanitizer and water, several times, through the hoses, inflators and the bucket

Milk handling (the short list):
-Cool the milk as soon as possible (never leave it sit warm, unless pasteurizing immediately)
-Filtering the milk
-Pasteurizing (and I have drank it raw, filtered and chilled immediately, a real treat)
-Cooling the milk again. I cool my milk in the freezer to ensure it cools as soon as possible. Using an ice bath is very helpful as well. Licensed dairy's are required to chill the milk to a certain temperature in a very short period of time. I am not licensed as a dairy (the soap company is), therefore I cannot sell my milk to anyone, but I do my best to keep the milk as fresh as possible for bottling and/or freezing. Milk can be kept frozen for up to one year.

I hope you enjoyed the visit. Next I am going to provide a farm journal of sorts, shortened version.

Oops...Kid Goat In Trouble

2009-04-13T07:18:00.007-04:00

Yesterday evening I was washing dishes and heard the unmistakable sound of a kid goat in trouble. The larger goats, with horns, can really put out a holler when they have their heads stuck. The younger kids tend to not get stuck, but it happens from time to time. They are "Curious George's," as I like to call them!

A moment after I heard the kid goat obviously working hard at releasing herself, I heard hysterical giggles from my husband. He calls to me, "Come here, quickly!" Barely able to talk through his laughter, he says, "Hurry, you have to see this!" I had my camera next to me since I had been taking photos of the new Annie's Goat Hill goat milk soaps a few moments earlier.

The tiny doeling had her head stuck in his coat pocket! Curiousity had gotten the best of her. She was fine. But then we laughed again until tears flowed because the kid then decided to just stand there, head stuck in all of her glory. She didn't seem to mind. Tee hee...there I go again!

It is a busy Monday! I have a newsletter to work on (for this week's release), paperwork at the desk, and some grain for the goats to pick up. I squeeze a lot of activity in between feedings.

Have a wonderful day!

All Things Anew, Happy Easter

2009-04-12T07:59:00.004-04:00

Each spring a pair of canadian geese return to our pond. We would like to believe they are the same pair, and as those with knowledge have written, they likely are the same pair. They do mate for life and they do return to the same "home" spot year after year.

About 4 evenings ago I noticed momma goose making a next. She is now resting on it.

We have heavy frost this morning and something told me to walk down to the pond with camera in hand. Tyra went with me. She does not bother anything that belongs on our farm. As we gazed at the goose, I realized that she indeed has frost on her back. She has been setting for a very long time, obviously, and is not going to give up. Can you imagine?

In about 18 days we should see the fuzzy yellow goslings emerge. And then we will begin to enjoy the rest of the pond activities as we see the young ones grow and learn. It never ceases to amaze me how geese teach with body language.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Heavy frost this morning on the back lots -

Inventory Brings Near Future Announcements

2009-04-11T15:13:00.003-04:00

We had some chores to run. Then we headed to our respective duties (mine in the shop, his working on mowers). Today is the day to spruce the mowers back up so they can start cutting the green stuff. Did I tell you that I love to mow? I can think like a crazy woman while mowing. I should carry a pad of Post It Notes and a pen with me when I mow. Ooops...I am regressing already! Help me!!!

Joking aside, I really do not feel well today. I hardly ever catch a bug of any sort. Oh, I will admit, I get the aches and pains occasionally, or perhaps a stomach ache, but to actually catch something from a germ, seldom. Today is quite different. The head is coming off. If you see a head rolling, can you send it to Ohio for me?

Joking aside again, instead of making soap today I decided to do a much needed inventory. The results are...wow! Announcements to be made here within the next several days and in the April newsletter, which you can sign up for by clicking on the newsletter link (envelope) at the bottom of the Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps home page.

I will drop a few small hints for now: more soaps going into the Brown Bag Special, more soaps added to the "Y" A Sale discount soap group, and a line of (10 I believe) new soaps to be added. More on that...I am excited!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend...I hope yours is as pretty as this one is right now.

Tiny Tot Dairy Kid

2009-04-11T08:55:00.006-04:00

Kids do not want to sit still for photographing. Nope, they do not!

This particular doeling my husband nic-named Tiny Tot. In our household my husband is in charge of feeding the youngest of the dairy kids. He comes up with some great names, and falls in love with them all the same.

Tiny Tot is growing like a weed at 20 ounces of milk at a sitting (our set maximum), but her little hooves are no bigger than the tip of my thumb. Her momma is a pure bred nubian, dad is a full blood boer. Tiny Tot arrived with the dairy body conformations and the boer color markings. She will grow out to a nice doe size, no doubt about it.

She says, "Sorry for the blur...I am ready for the BOTTLE!!!"

Organization and Cleanliness - Goat Milk Lotion

2009-04-10T07:50:00.000-04:00

I have heard some lotion disaster stories lately, not very fun for the crafter, and thought I would help my fellow learning lotion makers just a tad here. And, for my friends and customers, you will get a hint as to how things are handled in my shop when formulating lotion.

For the lotion makers, it is all about organization and cleanliness।

When I make lotion I lay it all out beforehand, each and every ingredient and tool. The containers for the ingredients are scrupulously clean before I begin measuring ingredients. And before I work with the clean containers and tools in the shop, they are wiped down with clean towels soaked in alcohol.

The goat milk in my lotion is fresh and pasteurized.

Another hint, plastic lotion containers should not be reused. You can scrub, boil, soak, bleach, and cleanse with alcohol, and you will more than likely still find lovely unwanted growth in your fresh lotion batch when reusing plastic containers. Best to keep a stock of new containers on hand.

Never cap the lotion while the formula is still warm. This prevents water condensation from formingunder the cap. Before the product cools, shake it at least once (wear sterilized gloves or wipe the hands with alcohol first). Once the product cools, shake it once more before capping.

So to share some of the disaaster stories (I am sooo sorry), "My lotion exploded in the bottle," "There were specks of mold in the bottle after a week," eeewwww, "The product separated and I am not happy with it!" We all have batches that are not just right, I had one today. I will be purchasing new shea butter before any more lotion is made. Sometimes it goes grainy and is not suitable for lotion (but fine for soap), quality means everything. When making lotion, or any bath product, organization and cleanliness is key.

Less Can Be More

2009-04-09T14:11:00.004-04:00

No, I do not keep all of these items on my desk...just some of them like the steno pad (to-do list), the Post-It notes in every room, along with a pen, for ideas (so I do not have to depend upon memory), and of course, there is always paperwork to do. The files in the shop, the files in my desk, the files in the locked fire proof cabinet. The emails to follow on both the PDA and the PC. The land line phone so I can still send faxes. The camera is always charged up. Sound familiar? And look waht I did yesterday, announced my Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter contact names. And thank you, friends, sincerely, I will be showing up again! Your emails and contacts meant so very much to me.

I have been in deep thought this week. The kidding season is coming to an end and the brain is functioning much better. Going from the typical "I am having kids" zombie state to "I am beginning to see the light again, and my brain is growing sharp again," is a great time. It means enjoying the kids even more, and it usually mean re-thinking life itself for me. I have been working on personal goals this week...better to start them later in the year than not at all!!!

I have a very good talent, as most women seem to possess, and many men. A talent that is not so good sometimes. And it seems to be a growing state of being for the population in general at the present. The talent is multi-tasking. I can multi-task like I have earned a crown for it. While multi-tasking is necessary at times, it is not always good. This is where I am saying less is more.

Have you ever caught yourself sitting down at your computer, with four different windows open, attempting to complete many tasks all at once? Uh-huh, that is me. If you shadowed me at work you would notice the following on many occasions; I am paying a bill in one window, sending an email in another, blogging in one more window, and updating the website all at the same time. And guess what is happening while I am doing this? My blood pressure is slightly rising because the satellite cannot keep up with my requests, I am irritated at Blogger because it seems way too slow, and I am thinking about what I need to do and cannot do because the computer is moving so slowly. What is up with that? It is nonsense, and I will be making a huge effort to make a change. Remember the old saying patience is a virtue? It is. Do you see yourself in any of this?

We do a much better job when we handle few tasks at once. First of all, we can think. Second, we are much more happy. Third, the outcome really is that we focus on what is most important and begin to see success.

Today I practiced what I preached. I fed the bottle babies, fed the rest of the herd, washed the dishes and mopped the floor (amazing that I completed something that I had not had time to do recently). I sent the husband to town to run a few chores. When he came back, I was ready for lunch, and ready to head out to the shop to make lotion. And it felt good to have accomplished so very much. I did just what was absolutely necessary. At one point I caught myself trying to send an email while water was heating up in the kitchen, and I caught myself looking up the to-do list while putting goat milk in the freezer, and later I caught myself with phone in hand, ready to send a message to someone! One thing at a time, one thing at a time. And everything in its own time! And less stress...ahhhh.

Again, less is more because there is no irritation, and the job gets done with a lot of quality and progress is able to been seen.

Life was probably not made to be this crazy, was it? When we feel overwhelmed, or feel like we cannot get it all done, our minds and bodies are telling us something. What do we need to get rid of, what do we need to focus on? Because when we are fretting, we are not doing a good job of anything. We are making mistakes and we are not thinking clearly. And what else is happening? Life is zooming by us 100 MPH. That is not good.

Did I lose you in the long post?

Honestly, I had decided to not write any more of these types of blog posts because I am not an expert, just someone that feels compassionate enough to write her thoughts down from time to time. The decision to not write flew away quickly! My philosophy has been, I hope I touch just one life when I do get the urge to share these thoughts!

Goat Kids Mountain Climbing

2009-04-09T07:00:00.005-04:00

I have a few escape artists on the prowl. They love to climb.

I was bottle feeding some of the kids and did not think anything about the door to the feed and milk room being open. Actually, my thought was that they can do no harm because they would not be able to climb 4 bales high. What was I thinking? I knew better. I did not start raising goats yesterday. Tee hee.

I heard a crash and 5 young goats came running out. I still did not get excited.

After finishing the bottles, I gathered up my bottle bucket and my sitting stool and headed to the feed room. Oh oh. What a mess I found! I had left a 1/3 of a bale (untied) on top of the bales of hay. It had been knocked to the floor. Oh yeah, you betcha', it was pretty well scattered. Another bale, still tied, was pushed to the ground. And there were young goats hopping everywhere. Yes, that is hay stacked 4 bales deep.

And, like a comedy act, when they realized they were going to have to leave, they jumped, 4 bales down, straight out the door. How do they do it? :)

Four Kids At Work

2009-04-08T14:39:00.004-04:00

I was bottle feeding in the barn yesterday and saw heads bob up and down, out of the wheel barrow. I quietly removed my phone from my pocket to catch a moment of the scene. One (doe on the right) almost fled the scene (notice the open mouth, the baa warning signal was being announced).

They love the fresh scrap hay in the bottom of the wheel barrow, it is quite the enterprise to them now!

Annie Needs Friends

2009-04-07T15:18:00.017-04:00

Mr. Moo whispered into my ear , "Annie needs friends." I asked the kindly bull calve what that meant. He replied, "Annie joined Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter and she needs friends." I nodded, "Ohhh...now I see," or do I?

If you know me well enough, you know Annie is a goat. But, Mary (me) has been slacking. She joined all three media's quite some time ago and knows, based on her friend's and mentor's urgings, she needs to get the accounts active.

So, if you are a member and wish to contact me, or can throw me some helpful usage hints, or just want to say hello...my identities are:

Twitter: anniesgoathill

Facebook: Mary Humphrey

MySpace: Mary @ Annies Goat Hill

And, I giggled as I looked my identities up...how in the world I used 3 different names I do not know! I may make a change at some point so that they match up...even though, well, they are related. Right? :)

Shea Butter For The Hair

2009-04-07T12:30:00.009-04:00

I recently personally discovered the wonders of shea butter for the hair, quite by accident I will admit.

Shea butter has been used on the skin and hair for centuries, as I wrote in a prior article. Shea butter is definitely not the most current buzz, but will always be a beauty staple because of its qualities.

In my soap shop I whipped up a recipe of shea butter a few weeks ago. After not quite being happy with the results, I found that I need to make another batch, but next time with unrefined shea butter, the best that I can get my hands on. Using refined shea butter is acceptable (for soap and other uses), but does not always give the needed results when working with a specific formula (deliberate skin and hair care).

Now I will tell you how I discovered the benefits of shea butter for my own hair. I have fine hair, but not thin, and I wear my hair in slightly long layers and fairly straight. My hair is not colored. Because of my fine hair, and because I have to wash it often to remove oil from the scalp, I had pretty much made up my mind that shea butter would not be a good product for my hair. Wrong, wrong, and wrong! One evening I applied whipped shea butter to my hands. It is a wonderful treatment for the nails, cuticles, and dry skin of the hands. After applying to the hands, I waited a few moments for absorption before reaching for the hair dryer (I dry with my head held upside down, running my fingers through for volume). As I dried, I thought to myself, "Oh, oh, this will lead to a flat hair day! Oh well, the goats do not care!" The results were surprising...the end result was that I still had volume, and my hair acted and looked healthier than normal, even the next day! What this tells me is, whipped shea butter really is a wonderful versatile product for the skin and the hair, a 2 in 1 product. You can use less, and you can use more, and the results are amazing. And how better can you get than natural?

I cannot wait to receive the unrefined quality shea butter that I have on order, and whip up a few batches (along with other skin and hair helpful ingredients), for placement on the Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps store shelf!

The Tractor Project, and Weekend This and That

2009-04-06T13:45:00.007-04:00

Our weekend consisted of helping our friend move the new tractor project into his garage, using the prior tractor project (still a work in progress, nearly a year now) to do the work. I love these projects. The guys really get sparked, and I have learned a lot too.

Our friend, Bob, lives in-town, and is the talk of his small town whenever a new "old" tractor is brought in on his trailer.

The rest of our weekend was spent resting in between does kidding. We had a nice set of triplets born yesterday. I have a list of only 4 does left to freshen. Things are starting to wind down on the kidding calendar! It will remain busy for the next couple of months, as long as we have bottle kids, and until the barn and lot begin to clear out again (return to our set numbers).

Today I took a photo of the spring flowers that popped up in front of the house a few days ago. They likely will not survive for long in the wind/snow/sleet and dropping temps that we are experiencing. The photo is a bit blurry, but the colors came out gorgeous. I think the camera was cold too! :)

Not A Machine

2009-04-05T14:12:00.007-04:00

On this beautiful Sunday I have several things in the works. Part of which is good old housework (that I never get much done, and I realize it cannot be a priority), catching up with people, and feeding newborn dairy goats. Yes, it is busy, and I am tired. What am I going to do about it? Write some thoughts here, head for a power nap, and then tend to the animals. I do all of this because I want to. It is not a burden. If a part of this were a burden, I would be figuring out how to make it what it should be, a joy.

Something has been on my mind. I am not an expert, but I still feel the need to write when something sways me. I never want to lead anyone down the wrong path. Honestly, I am not trying to lead anyone, period. But when I feel strongly, I write.

A few days ago, after I said to a wonderful lady that I am close to that I was swamped, but happy, doing what I want to do, the person replied to me, "I feel like a machine." It saddened me that someone would feel like a machine.

We are not machines, we were created to be human. We started our lives without a care, but we were made to grow, to think, but not to work so hard that we do not exist inside. When we feel like a machine we are lacking something. And it often means we need some "me time." "Me time" could be an hour, a day, or even a regular time and place to ourselves.

Everyone deserves a hobby, or a task that makes them feel good about themselves. It will not be tasking work as long as you enjoy what you are doing. We all need healthy outlets. The outlet may be your own business (doing something that you are passionate about), exercising (and I need to do a LOT more deliberate exercise myself), time alone, sleep (but not too much)...or just doing something that uses your mind, stirs your inner-soul, and helps you to feel good about life again.

I am not going to preach, because I have no right to do that. I can only speak from my own heart. To wrap this up...if you find yourself feeling like something less than human from day to day, do something about it. Be happy. We can all do it! Serving others is not a bad thing, but make sure you serve yourself too! When I feel that weariness I begin to evaluate several things, such as, what do I need to give up? What do I need to do for myself? And what can I change? If I cannot change something for the better (and I do not try to change others), then I find a way to do what makes me feel happy otherwise. Do what is best for you, nobody else will do it for you, it is not their job!

Take care...and I hope you are having a beautiful Sunday too!

Love Those Ears

2009-04-04T20:07:00.003-04:00

How about the ears on the wether? Thought you would smile at this one!

Today's Goat Milk Soap Unveiling

2009-04-04T08:17:00.010-04:00

The first is the Orange Cream goat milk soap, cut yesterday morning. Orange with a light vanilla scented topping. Good enough to eat? I love the color.

And I am not opposed to publishing the "oopsies." In the Annie's Goat Hill soap shop I do not have many throw aways, seriously, a total of 4 batches since I started making soap in 2003. After contemplation, I ditched the first batch of goat milk soap last year because the lather was too sticky (not even good enough to give to a shelter, always a consideration). I "people" test each and every batch at curing. Another batch was not appealing to the nose at all, and I will guarantee it would not have been pleasant to any human being. :)

Anyhow, I did not cut this next batch until a few minutes ago. I had to do quite the chop job on it. It was not a total throw away. The top has been slivered off, too soft, and experience tells me it would not have hardened. It no longer looked like creamed spinach, thankfully, but unfortunately it looked like dark blue or purple ink. I was able to save a few bars, and I am hoping they will be usable once cured. If anything, a special gift for someone. I call it Unripened Berries.

The Nature Of A Goat

2009-04-03T18:31:00.004-04:00

To say that I am fond of goats is rather an understatement. I find goats to be very interesting.

A goat can be comical, stubborn, affectionate (yes, they can), smart, sneaky and the list goes on.

I can think of no other animal that can provide friendship, milk, and even meat, as well as a goat can.

This particular doe, Cammille, a reverse spotted nubian, is one that acts like she has a mind of her own (she does), but she sneaks in the affectionate act when you are not looking. The bottle fed doeling pen is right in front of Cammille's pen. Each day, as I bottle feed the girls, I feel the tips of a goat's ears lightly brushing across the top of my head. And I often get the chin laid on the top of my head as well. When I look up, I get the nose against nose...but wait...this is Cammille showing affection. She is slipping! :) Cammille, you cannot tell in this photo, is a big strong girl. One that will be with me on the farm as long as I can take care of goats, and as long as the good Lord allows her to remain here. Her daughter, pictured in my blog post on 3/21/09, is a beauty as well, even though she is the product of a nubian/boer breeding, I am strongly considering raising her as a dairy goat. A gift to me!

If you can stand some more goat talk. I have to tell you the youngster story behind Cammille. She is fondly nic-named "Snake Eyes." When she was young she would get this "look" in her eyes, and she would stand very still and quiet as the look crossed her face. The next thing you knew she would head butt every animal around here, hence the nic-name, the sneaky little doeling, Cammille!

Anyhow, that is my goat talk for the day.

Have a good evening!

Plain White Goat Milk Soap Day 2

2009-04-02T13:16:00.006-04:00

As promised, the cutting of the soap today. I love the periwinkle blue/purple lilac soap.

Today's soap is (to the left) orange vanilla cream (the yellow topping will eventually turn a light tan) and the second type I have not named yet. It was supposed to have been a lighter shade of green, not the color of creamed spinach. :) We shall see what happens as it cures!

Plain White Goat Milk Soap

2009-04-01T14:06:00.004-04:00

Do you see the three batches of plain white goat milk soap?

I do not see them either. Today has been a "goofy" day, as I like to call it at times. That means it is a good day, very beautiful outside, and I feel extremely content, but something just happens at each turn of the corner. I do not believe it is because it is April Fool's Day...but then...perhaps it is just the thought of it being that particular day, a day full of surprises.

I had decided that Annie's Goat Hill Handcrafted Soaps was going to step off of the colored soap path, but today as I closed the shop door behind me, and as I sorted through the bottles of essential oils and fragrance, the color wheel started turning in my head again. It looks as if color, occasionally, is to stay. If you want a non-colored soap, I will have them in stock, if you want color, I will have those in stock as well!

Today's soaps, left to right, are lilac, plumeria, and lavender. The color will be mainly on one end of the bar, and I am hoping for a lovely light swirl of color surprise when I cut the bars tomorrow.