Overheard just before I panicked...

"Hannah, come and watch this. It might be a disaster!"

Cow-napping

You've heard of cow-tipping. Well today I was involved in more nefarious bovine affairs. We went to the dairy farm as usual and, as usual, fell into an adventure. This little calf was born just after lunch and immediately after his arrival, another cow claimed him. This would normally be a bit of a problem, but not today. Since the new calf is a boy, the farm is planning to sell him. And they have some customers who have been wanting to buy a cow and calf pair. But the real mama is a great milker, too good to sell. So when this other cow decided to take over, Chrissie decided to help. And we arrived just in time to aid and abet. Chrissie led the new mama up the hill and we followed, encouraging the baby, so new to this walking-thing, and running interference against the (only mildly offended) real mama. Then the other 2 cows and several goats decided to come over and investigate the disturbance in the farmyard. I'm glad all the animals are VERY tame.

We finally got this oddly blended new family separated from the others to give them a chance to bond (and for baby to figure out that milk doesn't emit from his mama's kneecaps). They'll be going to their new home tomorrow; we are so glad we showed up in time to be a part of this unusual day on the farm.

A Busy Weekend

On Thursday, thanks to a hot tip from my mother-in-law, the girls and I hit the most popular joint in town: the Bob's Red Mill Grand Opening. We made it in time to join a long line of grain fanatics for a tour of their new milling and packaging plant. Then we took advantage of the free pancake breakfast and stopped by the retail store to pick up some flour for today's adventures (cue mysterious foreshadowing music...oh, who am I fooling. How mysterious can flour be?)
Here are my little bakers ready for the tour in the requisite hairnets and safety eyegear.


Last night, the girls sang at Chapters, a local coffee shop/bookstore with their choir, the Young Friends Singers. Its always a bit of a crazy venue, especially on First Friday when friends and strangers are apt to walk by just outside the window. The kids worked hard to sing well and squelch any staring and waving impulses. All the grandparents showed up and my parents took the girls home with them for the night, with serendipitous timing given today's adventures...


Then today (dah, dah, duh), out at the farm where we get milk and eggs, I taught my first bread-baking class.


I say my first because my farmers want me to teach one on a regular basis. Chrissie likes the connection to the customers. Koorosh just wants to eat the leftovers. She said, "How about every couple of months?" He, eying the pile of bread, said, "We'll see how long it takes me to get through this bread and then schedule them accordingly."I don't know about that; I baked 21 loaves of bread yesterday and today. I'm not going to do that too often. But the students seemed to really enjoy it and I was able to answer most of their questions. I hope I demystified the process just a bit. Fresh bread really is just so wonderful. This is what was left after we sent everyone home with a loaf of their own. What abundance!

Oh and the goats? They're just cute and I wanted a record of my James Herriot moment from last month. Did I ever tell you about the time I helped deliver quintuplet baby goats?