Gilmore Girls For A Good Cause

Sunday, The Bibbed Wonder and I spent the afternoon in beautiful Blue Spruce Park raising money for a worthy local cause: Alice Paul House. Alice Paul House has been serving families of Indiana County since 1981 and is an invaluable resource for victims and survivors of domestic violence. The extraordinary ladies of Bella Spa sponsored, organized, and hosted a Gilmore Girls-themed fundraiser, and they did an incredible job. There were photo ops, trivia, raffles, a costume contest, food trucks, and local small businesses selling wares. We were thrilled to be included in the fun.

My bib overall-wearing wonder buns forewent shaving for a few days to create the iconic Luke scruff. He donned a flannel shirt and wore his baseball cap backward for the day. The Bean dressed me in what she considered a very Lorilei outfit. Disappointingly, I could not convince her to dress up as Rory and attend. I feel that two years ago, she would have been excited about the opportunity to dress as one of her favorite TV characters. Alas, she is almost sixteen and too cool for nearly anything her mom wants her to do. I no longer have my Rory. Sigh.

Despite being abandoned by The Bean, I had fun and enjoyed watching the crowd. There were many fun costumes, T-shirts, and themed outfits. Most everyone was friendly and had a good time. Unfortunately, there is always one in every crowd who tries to suck the fun from a jolly good time. One individual took the trivia competition way too seriously and interrupted the fun to complain. Otherwise, it was a perfect day in a beautiful setting, supporting a good cause. We were thrilled to be included in such a worthwhile event. We made a few new friends, saw some favorites, and even met a pit bull named Bodie, who was very sweet and well-behaved. We always gift soap to well-behaved dogs, husbands, and children.

A great big thank you to the ladies of Bella Spa for all your time, hard work, and commitment to supporting a truly worthy cause that has helped many families in our community. If you need a bit of self-care, pampering, a refresh, or a lovely gift idea, I gently encourage you to allow Bella Spa to help you with all your needs. My bean is a regular at Bella Spa, and they have helped her with her skin issues more than traditional medicine. I can't say enough good things about Bella Spa.

On this chilly fall morning, stay safe, be smart, support good causes, support local, and keep washing your hands.

Foodie Friday: Fall At The Farm Vendor Recipes

Crab legs and baked fish provided by AK Fish, Ranch Seasoning on potato provided by Broken Locust

In keeping with the theme of food available at our Fall At The Farm Event on Saturday, October 19, from 9 to 1, I am sharing our experience with AK Fish and herb blends from Broken Locust. The Bibbed Wonder purchased crab legs and individually packaged baked fish fillets from AK Fish. Our friends, Pat and Sherry of Broken Locust, provided an incredible Ranch Seasoning Blend on baked potatoes and a Greek Goddess Blend that was wonderful in the melted butter for the crab legs. It was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.

I must be upfront: I am not a fan of seafood. I enjoy shrimp and baked cod Romano on occasion from our favorite restaurant, Luigi's, and lobster and crab once in a while, but I am not skilled at cooking fish or seafood. Frankly, cooking fish or seafood makes me nervous. I am unsure of how long to cook it, how to tell when it is done, and if I have cooked it properly. My greatest hang-up with cooking fish is giving friends and family a solid case of botulism.

Cooking the fish and crab legs from AK Fish was very easy. The baked fish is air fryer friendly. I Googled how long it takes to cook frozen fish in the air fryer, and the recommendation was 20-30 minutes at 375-400 degrees. Of course, I went for the maximum cooking time and temperature. I cooked the fish for thirty minutes at four hundred degrees and turned it after fifteen minutes. The baked fish was crispy, flakey, and delicious. My Bean, who is not a fan of fish, ate it with gusto and declared it was "really good." I served it with tartar sauce on the side.

The crab legs were impressive, not only in size but also in appearance. I boiled them for five minutes, ran them under cold water to stop the cooking process, and served them with melted butter seasoned with Broken Locust's Greek Goddess blend. The crab legs were A-MAZING! The crab meat was sweet and flakey, coming out of the shell in huge chunks. When I was a kid, my dad and I would compete to see who could get the biggest chunk of meat from crab and lobster. When I cracked my first leg, I pulled out a piece of meat the length of the leg. I laughed and announced, "I won, Dad!" I then explained my outburst to The Bibbed Wonder and The Bean. The addition of the Greek Goddess seasoning to the melted butter was perfection. I was impressed with everything we ate.

I told The Bibbed Wonder we needed to stock up on crab legs for our Christmas Eve dinner. I usually cook prime rib roast or New York Strip steaks and shrimp on Christmas Eve, but I believe I will make steak and crab legs instead of shrimp this year. I was impressed with the quality of the crab legs and the ease of preparing them. If you plan to attend our Fall At The Farm Event, you, too, can stock up on high-quality fish and seafood. If you cannot attend, AK Fish has a website from which to order: https://www.akfish.shop/. The Hiltys have an exciting story. I gently encourage you to come out, talk with them, bring a cooler with ice, and stock up on their fantastic seafood.

I also encourage you to talk spices and teas with our dear friends Pat and Sherry from Broken Locust. If you are a tea drinker, you must try Sherry's original hand-blended herbal teas. My sweet friend grows her own herbs, dries them, and then creates the most remarkable herbal tea blends. I enjoy tea, especially in the fall and winter months. Nothing is more comforting than sitting under a cozy quilt with a good book and a soothing cup of herbal tea. However, Sherry's original, hand-blended spice blends are a culinary delight. If you are interested in adding flavor to your food without the use of salt (those with high blood pressure know what I am talking about), Sherry's blends make it incredibly easy to add delicious flavor to your food. Not only are their herbal blends wonderful, but they are the most incredibly kind people you will ever meet. I love it when wonderful people create extraordinary products I can get behind and support. Pat and Sherry also have a website if you cannot attend our event. Check them out at

https://brokenlocust.com/

I hope you can join us on Saturday, October 19th, from 9 to 1 to support these two fantastic local small businesses. There will also be twenty or so other high-quality vendors here to shop, support, and learn about. We are blessed to be surrounded by such talented, hard-working, and innovative local businesses. There just isn't anything better than supporting our neighbors. By supporting small and local businesses, you are helping your neighbors and the local economy, helping someone live their dream, and making dreams a reality. We look forward to seeing you at the farm.

On this foggy Friday, stay safe, be smart, support local and small, eat amazing food, and keep washing your hands.

Fall Maintenance

It's the time of year, once again, when we have to think about the care and comfort of our beloved barnyard family. My bib overall wearing wonder buns is looking at the calendar and planning the fall maintenance schedule. The barn must be cleaned and disinfected before the temperatures drop, the pastures must be brush-hogged, the fence line must be weed whacked, the girls and boys must be wormed, and hooves must be trimmed. Caring for our herd is a pretty big job. Fortunately, we work together to ease some of the burden.

Monday, we trimmed the hooves of our boys. Trimming the hooves of a buck in rut is quite possibly one of the most unpleasant experiences a goat farmer can have. Currently, we have two bucks. Ace or "Acers" or this time of year, "you stinky bas@#$%!" and Oliver, our Boer buck. Ollie is not the friendliest boy one will ever meet, but he does a nice job standing still to get his hooves trimmed. On the other hand, Ace is a bottle baby and loves to have pats, scratches, and rubs upon you. What makes a billy goat so stinky during rut or breeding season, one may ask? Pee. Billy goats pee all over themselves during rut to release pheromones and attract the ladies.

Our billy goats' beards, chests, and bellies are stained a dirty yellow color from repeated urination. The smell—don't get me started on the scent that, on a still day, smacks you in the face like a stinky, urine-soaked towel as soon as you walk outside. One buck on the property is bad; two bucks are disgusting. Oliver is going to live at our friend's farm in Ligonier. He will have a small herd of Boer ladies to keep happy. However, he can't leave for a month because our friend travels for work. So until Ollie leaves for his new home, we must care for him and make sure he is in good health. Touching the boys anywhere on their bodies is gross. The boys are sticky with urine, and the sticky, stinky substance clings to everything it touches. Once we had finished trimming their hooves, we raced to be the first in the shower. I put our clothes in the washer immediately, not allowing the scent of our dirty farm clothes to touch anything in the house. I love my goats but don't want my home to smell like them.

The little boys, born this year and weaned for several months, have yet to adjust to their hoof-trimming experience. Most of the little guys are small enough to put on our laps. We sit on a bucket turned upside down for the little guys, place them in a corner so they feel safe, and work on their feet from front to back. Everyone did well, but a few were high drama. One little guy was so distraught that he lay in the corner to get his bearings about him for a while when he finished his trim. Once he finally realized he was free to move, he jumped up and screamed as though we were murdering him. It was a bit of a delayed reaction. I was the one who trimmed his hooves. When I trim, I talk quietly to them the entire time, encouraging their good behavior and explaining what is happening. Eric merely rolls his eyes and asks me what the goat says in response. My response is usually a one-finger salute.

A few of our boys are showing signs of the start of hoof rot. Eric has placed the trailer, bedded with a dry layer of hay, at the gate so the boys have somewhere to get off the wet ground. When they are in the pasture below the house, they prefer to hang out at the gate, although they have a nice dry hut bedded down with dry hay to go into in inclimate weather. When the girls are in heat, they don't venture far from the fence line near the driveway. We treated our boys with a thick paste of copper sulfate and gave them a shot of antibiotics the vet gave us specifically for hoof rot. I am happy to report that most of the boys have almost wholly cleared any signs of hoof rot. This year, it feels as though we are always trying to stay one step ahead of some pesky problem. Overall, everyone is healthy and happy.

Caring for the goats is a big job. However, we have such lovely goats that it is a pleasure to work with them. Working slowly, methodically, quietly, and gently is the best approach to making the process as nonthreatening as possible. The Bibbed Wonder finds working with the little ones early on helps them overcome their fears of regular herd maintenance. He has started to put the little girls on the milk stand in the evenings, giving them grain, lots of pats, and murmuring to them. He also picks them up, carries them about, and lifts their feet individually to familiarize them with our touch. Most of the babies respond well to individual attention. Our babies are very friendly, for the most part, so working with them is enjoyable.

As the daylight shortens, the temperatures drop, the leaves change, and the winds turn chilly, it's best to prepare for the upcoming winter before it arrives. Keeping our herd safe, healthy, and happy is worth every ounce of effort. We could not do what we do without our goats. Ensuring their health and happiness is the least we can do to make the lives of such wonderful, selfless creatures the best they can be. On this lovely fall day, stay safe, be smart, care for those who give freely of themselves, and keep washing your hands...especially if working with a billy goat in rut.