Weekend Progress

We started out the weekend by gathering a few supplies for the construction project. When we got back home it was such a nice morning with NO wind, which has been the kind of morning that is hard to come by lately. With such a nice morning we decided to get the plastic on the greenhouse, which we should have already had done. We have been so caught up in working on the dairy stuff that garden stuff just kind of fell behind. Anyway, the greenhouse is now ready to go and we are holding a planting party in the greenhouse tomorrow evening complete with pizza and soda pop. :) Should be fun!

The creamery came a long way this weekend as well. All of the FRP is up in the creamery. Now we need to put the trim up on the ceiling and in the corners and put the base down. Creamery....90% complete!!!!!!!!!

The creamery walls before putting up the FRP panels.

The creamery walls after putting up the FRP panels.

Dairy Update

Well.....

The housing barn is complete!

The milk barn is probably 80% complete. We still have to install 3 doors, some curbs and paint again. Then it will be ready to hook up the milk line. Oh.......we need to install the septic system to.

The creamery is probably about 80% complete as well, but it should be about 90% complete by the end of the weekend. This weekend we will install the FRP (fiberglass panels) that will line the walls. After that it will just be running the wiring and plumbing and those are both going to be surface mount so although it is a job, it won't be that bad.

We hope to be finished with the above list of things by the end of the month, but in reality it will probably be closer to the middle of February. At that point it will just be a matter of waiting for our pasteurizer to be ready and after that we will need to get our final inspections and receive our permits to begin operation.

COLD COLD COLD

WOW! What miserable, cold weather we have been having. Saturday was fairly nice. Sunday started out nice but by about 3 or 4 o'clock that changed. Temps have been in the single digits and low teens since then. Now on Thursday, at 10:39 am, it is finally above 20 degrees. I sure hope this signals a warming trend.

All of the critters have faired well. All of the goaties have been holed up in their new housing barn. I sure am thankful for that this year. The other thing that I am thankful for is that for the first year EVER we did not breed to kid out in December and January. It feels so weird to not be milking and caring for babies in this arctic weather. We will start kidding out around the middle of February though, however, it is usually starting to warm fairly nicely by that time.

On Saturday we went to Missouri and picked up the FRP panels for the inside of the new creamery. After we left there we came back into Oklahoma and headed to Tulsa to Sam's to pick up the new prep tables and shelving units for the creamery.

On Monday since my work was closed, I got the first coat of paint on the ceiling of the new creamery. Dad helped me out and put another coat of paint on Tuesday. Last night Chrys caulked all of the nail holes on the ceiling and tonight we will put on the final coat of paint on the ceiling.

New Year!

It has been several days since I have posted and a LOT of things have been accomplished since my last blog.

* We have put up new metal siding on the wings of the milk barn. These wings will be the holding area/feed room and the exit area/mechanical room.

* The interior of the milk barn has been cleaned, all seems and joints have been caulked and the first coat of new paint has been applied.

* The interior stud walls of the new creamery are up, the insulation is in and the wafer board is up!

* We divided up the younger does who have not been bred yet and gave each of the young bucks their own harem. The first babies for the younger group should begin arriving around the 25th of May.

In other news - The mature girls are all starting to get big bellies. These girls should start kidding about February 22nd. I always love kidding season. It is so exciting to see what each doe has and there is absolutely nothing cuter than a baby goat.........except our grandbabies. :)

SOOO.....with kidding season fast approaching, it now becoming imperative that we get the dairy barn completed in a timely fashion. It'll happen. :)

Kitty Prints

Yesterday we poured the floors for the holding area and the exit area/mechanical room in the dairy barn. Finished the holding area and moved to the exit area. Went back to the holding area and there were the prettiest little kitty foot prints in the cement. My husband asked if I wanted him to fix it. I said, "NOPE! These are special." So now we have nice little kitty prints in our milk barn courtesy of Rylie the barn cat. :)

My Favorite Time of Year....one of them anyway :)

It's the middle of December and this is truly one of my favorite times of year. Yes, it's the holiday season, but who cares?! I have seed catalogs!!!!!!

That's right! It's cold outside, the fire is warm and the seed catalogs are calling my name!

As I pour over all of the beautiful plants in my catalogs my mind starts to wonder and I imagine my gardens as they will be come spring and summer. As the signs of spring emerge, so do all of my beautiful garden plants. I have lettuce, onions, spinach, radishes and carrots. I have broccoli and potatoes and the most gorgeous sugar snap peas you have ever seen! As spring time warms we are planting tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, squash, melons and on and on. The gardens are by far the most gorgeous gardens you have ever seen! All of the plants are big and tall and strong! The soil is dark, rich and fertile and there is not a weed in sight!

Still in my mind I am looking at the wonderful bounty that we are harvesting from our gardens and taking to the area farmer's markets. All of the local market clientele are just as thrilled as we are with the bounty of the harvest and as much as we enjoy sharing our harvest with our clients we are relishing in the annual renewal of those friendships!

After several hours of sitting with my catalogs open while staring blankly into space I slowly come back into reality and as I close my catalogs for the evening I know that only one portion of the above dream will be easy. That portion is the annual friendship renewal, but the other parts of the dream are what makes farmers farmers. Without the dream, it is all for naught.
As long we have anticipation and expectations the American (or is it HUMAN) dream lives on.

So I do my chores and hurry through dinner so that I can once again get back to my seed catalogs and stare off into space until I am called back to reality and head off to bed with the eagerness of child knowing that I will get to "re-live" the experience again tomorrow evening.

Have a GREAT night and we'll see you at the market!

News or Lack Thereof

I haven't posted in a while. :(

I was sick for a full week then spent a week preparing for my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary, which turned out GREAT by the way. Then spent a week preparing for Thanksgiving, which was also Wonderful!

Today our dairy inspector came out for a "progress" visit. He was just looking to see what all we have gotten done on the new dairy and creamery and to answer some of our questions. The visit went really well and he answered a lot of questions favorably. Chrys and I both felt very good after he left. I think we are on the right track. :)

.......on the other hand I am so ready to be done with the construction part of this and get on to kidding season then milking and making cheese. This should prove to be a very interesting venture. :)