"Love Is In The Air" Part II

Today was a bright and sunny with highs in the lower 70's. It was a bit windy but very nice. We moved some of our Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats into the buck pen with Zeus for March kids. Bridget's Girl, Tabitha, Christine and Cinnamon's Girl went to visit. Clara went to visit Dude in his pasture. We divided the buck pen into two parts and added another hay feeder and water trough to one of the sides . We have some meat goats in one side with a few hair sheep and the Nigerian Dwarfs that are getting bred on the other side. We also picked up litter at the road and mowed from the Boy Scout hut up to Highway 65 on both sides of the road. This will be the last mowing of the season. Yesterday I sprayed grass and weeds that was coming up in our gravel driveway. With the rainy weather we had last Saturday, lots of grass started sprouting through the gravel. This will also be the last time for that chore. We finally got around to washing all the deck furniture and got the deck arranged for the winter minus the log rack. We'll bring that up sometime during October when we need to start firing up the wood stove. It will not be long with lows already at 50 degrees the past few mornings. Last night I weaned some of my Flemish Giant bunnies. I have many colors from several shades of brown, to gray, and black.

"Love Is In The Air"

Today three of my Nubians, Macey, Macey and Tootsie, went out to stay with my buck, Stormy, in his pasture . (No, that's not a typo, I have two Nubian's named Macey. Macey must be a popular doe's name). We'll be having some March kids. Stormy is an orange spotted boy so I'm hoping to get some flashy colors in his kids. Next Monday, two more girls will be joining Stormy - - Polly and Lily. They are also being bred for March kids. Jackie, a yearling Nubian, came back up to the main barn as she was bred to Stormy in May and is expecting in October. This will be her first kids. She is already round and her udder is filling with milk. Two of my Nubian's, Sparkle and Misty will be waiting until March to go and visit Stormy. They are a little small for my liking and I want them to continue growing before being bred. Macey, Macey and Tootsie were very vocal wanting to come back to the main barn and Jackie was calling her man, Stormy. None of the girls were happy, but the Stormy was!

Cricket's Nest Craft Show Rained Out

The Cricket's Nest Festival has been cancelled today due to rain. We are expecting 1 to 2 inches of rain with clearing on Sunday afternoon. The rain date for this festival will be next Saturday, October 3. Hope to see you then!

Cricket's Nest Craft Show

On Saturday, September 26, we will be selling Buffalo Gal's Soap at the Cricket's Nest Craft Show in South Fork Park in Winston-Salem, NC from 9 until 3PM. I will also have some soap gift baskets for sale at this event. Come out and visit with us! Also at the sale will be my Webnanny from Clinton, NC and her wares from Dinner Time Chimes.

First Day of Autumn

Tuesday is the first day of Autumn. The day was overcast with a few drops of rain here and there. The sun came out for a few minutes around supper time.

Our flowers look the prettiest they have all summer. They only have a few more weeks left as it will soon be October and we will be getting some frost.

This is the best time of the year, crisp nights with warm days and a beautiful Carolina blue sky!

Goat's Milk Soap Gift Sets

Today I was busy putting together some of my goat's milk soap gift basket sets. Several were delivered to the Cricket's Nest Craft Shop this morning and the remaining ones are for the Cricket's Nest Craft Festival on Saturday from 9 until 3PM. I've packaged wooden crates, ceramic bowls, baskets and ceramic saucers with a good selection of my different soaps, handmade washcloths, loofah sponges, handmade scrubbers and Weavil's Bees honey. I'll also have individual bars of soap for purchase. Take a few minutes of your time on Saturday, September 26, to come out to 4401 Country Club Road in Winston-Salem and support your local craftsmen. All items at this festival are handcrafted items only.

Germanton in Yadkin Valley Living Magazine

Germanton was recently in the Yadkin Valley Living magazine under What's In A Name? in the current September/October 2009 issue. Germanton is a picturesque little village resting mainly in Stokes and partially in Forsyth counties! As the oldest Stokes County settlement, (1790), it got its name from the first Germans who settled there and developed it. For Fresco aficionados, in 1990, Gerald Steinmeyer painted "The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes" in the 1856 church for you to see. The town has an 18-hole golf course, the Germanton Winery/art gallery, U.S. Post Office, Germanton Elementary School (218 kidlets!), the Stokes Animal Shelter and a main street lined with heritage hardwoods and some gorgeous storybook Victorian homes, all nestled amongst scenic rolling hills and hollows. It is a good thing that Barbara from Yadkin Valley Living magazine didn't count all my "kids" in with the ones at Germanton Elementary School. Germanton would have had a population explosion!

Loofahs

Our loofahs are growing and growing. We planted our own plants this year to use the loofah sponges in my own soap. Some are beginning to dry on the vine and are being harvested.

We've had good luck with them this year and our rabbits enjoyed the shade that the vines provided.

One of our Korean customers, who buys rabbits for meat from us, saw the loofahs and said that his family stir fries them when they are young and tender. He said when they are prepared that way that they remind him of zucchini. Ours had grown past the tender stage. Maybe next year I can try it.

Samantha

I've been milking Samantha, a Nigerian Dwarf dairy goat, for a few weeks now. She was just recently purchased from Sharon Rupp of Tranquility Acres in Mebane, NC.

I've been "on the waiting list" for Samantha for two years. It was just something about her colors that caught my eye, specifically, the tri colors and the gray roaning that she has.

Samantha had an eventful year at Tranquility Acres about five months ago giving birth to six kids. All six kids were healthy and survived and none of them were bottle fed. Now that's a good dairy doe for you.

Along with Samantha, Meredith, one of her doe kids, was also purchased. Meredith is the spitting image of her dam.

Cricket's Nest Craft Shop

Beginning September 16, Buffalo Gal's Soap, is now available at the Cricket's Nest Craft Shop. This shop caters to crafters of Forsyth County residents only. Check out our soap six days a week from 10AM until 2PM each day except on Thursday from 10AM until 6PM and Saturdays from 10AM until 4PM.

Some of the other items available at the Cricket's Nest Craft Shop are baby items, Moravian crafts, jewelry, quilts, afghans, sweaters, aprons, vests, hats, bags, wooden toys, dolls, pillows, doll clothing (Barbie, American Girl and various other sizes), baskets, birdhouses, furniture reproductions, angels, garden statuary, pottery, doorstops, flower arrangements, ceramics, original paintings and framed prints. The shop has over 2,800 square feet of space displaying more than 4,000 craft items made by 600+ active members. New craft items are brought in weekly. This week we will be taking some of our soap gift baskets to the Cricket Nest to be sold along with our individual bars of soap.

Llamas

We have two nice guardian llamas for sale for those of you who need protection for your goats, sheep, cows or horses from coyotes or domestic dogs. They both are also halter broke and would make good pets. One is unregisterable while the other comes with an Application for Registration with the ILR. Both of these llamas are intact males and they are one year old. You can read more about them on our website and see their pictures.

Kikofest 2009

Kikofest 2009 will be held in the Applachian Fairgrounds in Gray, Tennessee on September 17, 18 and 19. Seminars and hands-on workshops for the beginner and experienced meat goat producer will be held. Some of the featured seminars include: Livestock Guardian Dogs by Dan and Paula Lane of Shady Point, Oklahoma; Fencing and Facilities by Dr. Paul Davis of the Tennessee Coop; Marketing and Profitability by Ellie Winslow, Author; Principles, Production and Potential by Dr. Sandra Solaiman, Professor of Tuskeegee University; and, Artificial Insemination by Dr. Maria L. Browning of Tennessee State University. On Saturday there will be a Kiko auction. Also on-site will be vendors, items for sale with everything "goat." For more information, contact the International Kiko Goat Association or call 888.538.4279.

Stokes County Agricultural Fair

The Stokes County Agricultural Fair will be held September 14 - 19, 2009 at the American Legions Fairgrounds in King, NC. This will be the 59th annual fair.

35th Annual Stokes Stomp - Festival on the Dan

The 35th Annual Stokes Stomp will be held September 12 & 13, 2009 at Moratock Park on Sheppard Mill Road in Danbury, NC. On Saturday, September 12, the festival will run from 10:30 AM until 7 PM. Sunday, the festival will run from 12:30 PM until 5:30 PM. The Danbury parade will be on Saturday from 10:30 AM until 11:30 AM. Entertainment, food, arts and crafts, Dan River duck race, the little folks tent, 21st NC troops, Stokes County Boy Scouts and more! Musical entertainment is by Black Diamond, Blues Creek, Flat Out Bluegrass, Holly Creek Girls, Kopper Kanyon, The Ramshackles, Wood and Steel and Zephyr Lightening Bolts. Admission is free but please bring donations of pre-packaged and canned food for the Stokes County Outreach Ministries. The Stokes Stomp was voted 2009 Readers Choice Best Area Festival.

"To Do" List

Today started out with a list of "to do" jobs that just didn't get done. It was one of those days. Between the telephone ringing, visitors and a misty day, those jobs just got pushed back until tomorrow. We did manage to get some of the mowing done that we had planned but have more to do. The baby zebu calf, still unnamed as of yet, is getting around well. She's been to the top corner of the pasture where the hill is so steep that we have to hold onto the fence to climb up and down when she was less than 10 hours old. I didn't like where she was so I carried her back down the hill to the hay ring with her mooing all the way. It's a good thing that she is so small and easy to carry - - weighing in at 23 pounds. This afternoon she managed to show herself off by being near the road for everyone to see. She definitely slows down traffic because she's so small and cute. We hauled a round bale of hay in between the rain showers for "the boys" in the buck pen. They were glad to get a fresh bale of hay. Tonight I had good intentions of making Rosemary Mist soap but I forgot to thaw out the milk. So, I spent my time shrink wrapping some loofah sponge soap and getting it ready to sell. The loofah soap has been my best seller so far but I had been out of it for a couple of weeks because I couldn't keep up with the demand . I've got a good inventory of it now and was able to reduce the price of that soap from $4.50 to $4.00 by finding a better source for my loofahs.

Walnut Festival

The 6th Annual Walnut Festival is being held in downtown Walnut Cove, NC on Friday, September 11 from 6 PM until 11 PM in Fowler Park which is in front of the library. Music will begin at 6:30 PM including bluegrass, beach music and rock n' roll. Also included will be food and craft vendors.

It's A Zebu Girl!

Early this morning, Minnie our commercial cow and Carl, our registered bull, the Grand Champion Adult Bull 3+ Years in the 2009 IMZA 1st Annual Summer Classic Virtual On-Line Cattle Show delivered a 23 pound heifer calf.

This is the first calf for Minnie.

Gemma

This morning I began milking Gemma, a Nigerian Dwarf, for the first time. Her twins were picked up yesterday by a 4-Her who will be bottle raising them. My Nubian does will be going to visit "Stormy" in a few weeks to be bred for March babies and it will be good to have another Nigerian doe in milk so that I'll have plenty of milk for my soapmaking. Gemma had a traumatic night calling for her kids and then her udder was full and tight this morning. After I began milking her, she was relieved by having some of the pressure taken off of her udder. I think she appreciated it. She is a very small doe but has lots of milk.

Day Off

On Friday, September 4, we took the day off and made the trek to Hillsville, Virginia to the 42nd Annual VFW Labor Day Gun Show and Flea Market. It was a long day of walking. The weather was sunny and dry which is unusual for Hillsville. You can usually count on it raining during this event turning much of it into a mud pit. There seemed to be a dip in the number of vendors present from 2008 as there were a few empty spots inside of the VFW area. Some of the lots outside of the VFW were only half full from previous years. The vacant spots seemed to be only on the hillsides. That was fine with me because we didn't have to climb them to see the vendor's wares. We arrived at 7:45 AM and were lucky to get a parking place at the Masonic Lodge near Main Street. Shoppers were already filling the sidewalks and lots and the vendors were already set up and selling. Friday is the least busy day for the Gun Show and Flea Market; and, it is our favorite time to go. During the 4-Day event, Hillsville will swell from a population of 2,200 to 500,000. We found some bargains in silverplate for our web nanny's business Dinner Time Chimes and we purchased over 700 pieces for her. Finding the silverplate was easy, but it was carrying it to the truck that was hard. Silverplate is very heavy! We had to make several trips. I also purchased a bottle tree that I put out in front of the barn. I already have several green, white, purple and brown bottles on my tree. The colored glass catches the sunlight and makes it sparkle.

Peaches & Creme

Buffalo Gal's 'Peaches and Creme' soap is now available online and at the farm. It is a mild soap, which is good for delicate skin. You can find the complete list of ingredients on the website also.

Dairy Goat Breeds

For those interested in dairy goats, a good information chart outlining dairy goat breeds can be found in a Hobby Farm's weblink. I'm going to try to incorporate this information into my website at a later date.