Say it isnt so...

September 1!  How did it happen.  Summer has slipped away.  It is not that I feel shortchanged, I have been to the beach, been in the garden for hundreds of hours, had a trip away, and spent many hours of unplanned time with Mr. G.

It is just that I want more!!! I love summer and the heat, and the fruit, and just the more up beat attitude of people in this northern climate.  I feel the pressure of getting ready for activities for me, for my little man, for finishing up the canning, jamming and harvesting in the garden, and making gobs of pots for the shows I have committed myself too.

Here are a few shots from our busy July and August

Now to get ready for the Manitoba Fibre Festival, WEST Sale, and Scattered Seeds, all within the next 7 weeks

I am alive and kicking!

Dont get me wrong. i am not actually kicking anyone, but I have found myself going at high gear for far too long, and thus the blog has been sadly neglected.

On the kicking theme, we made a brief attempt at fostering a goat....love him...but the realities of taking on a fragile baby goat with separation anxiety and feeding issues is more than even I should take on .. Thanks to Louise of Aurora FArm for her patience and letting us try this. still a dream but it will have to wait...

I am madly gardening and harvesting...rewarding but my back and kneee dont always agree with me... trying to work on pacing myself  and am grateful for all and any help with weeding. Looking for a hot yoga experience, I can provide it here!

Tomorrow we are making a special delivery of pots to Pembina Hills Art Gallery with a request for yarn bowls.  That is a good thing, will take some of the new buttons Cathy has put on cards for me.

Goat Milk Cheese Making workshop at Aurora Farms

In my never ending drive to make our life more self sufficient and less reliant on a "paycheque" I have been thinking about goat's and how to have goats for the last couple of years.  Yesterday, I took the opportunity to go to a nearby farm to learn about goat milk cheese making.  Yes, that's me at  the top milking my first goat.  It was great, I need a lot of practice, and I hope to get it.  We made chevre, mozzarella, ricotta, feta cheese and yogurt.  It was great, thanks to Louise May and the goats of course, who I find endlessly interesting.

Yet another recipe to enjoy those vegetables that are in such abundance!

Beets to Zucchini Cake
Metric Ingredient Imperial
250 ml vegetable oil 1 cup
375 ml sugar 1 1/2 cup
3 egg yolks 3
40 ml hot water 3 tbsp
5 ml vanilla 1 tsp
500 ml shredded raw beets, carrots, zucchini, combined 2 cup
500 ml flour (1/2 whole 1/2 all purpose) 2 cup
10 ml baking powder 2 tsp
2 ml salt 1/2 tsp
5 ml cinnamon 1 tsp
125 ml chopped walnuts 1/2 cup
3 egg whites, stiffly beaten 3

In a large bowl; beat together oil, sugar, egg yolks, hot water and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Mix in beets, carrots and zucchini. Add dry ingredients and walnuts.

Lastly, fold in egg whites. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) oblong pan and bake in preheated 350 F (180 C) oven for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serves 15