ants, rain, chevre and more chickies...

Of all the 5yrs I've been in this house I've never had a problem with ants. I mean sure you get the occasional ant wandering around the kitchen counter but they never stick around. Well I think they must see my house as a safe haven in all this rain because they're everywhere. The bathrooms, bedrooms, living room, kitchen. It's annoying. Last night I did a late night vacuuming because I couldn't bring myself to go to bed with the thought of walking on ants when I head to the bathroom in the middle of the night. They're not after anything in particular just escaping the rain. I'm sure all their homes are waterlogged by now. The news this morning said this afternoon is suppose to dry up and it'll be sunny for awhile. It's about time but I'm not holding my breath. It's June and it feels like the beginning of spring.

I made a big batch of chevre last night. You really don't get much cheese for the amount of milk it takes. I only used half a gallon of milk and got about 2 cups of cheese out of it. I sprinkled it with sea salt and herbs and it's very good. It's very dry but I imagine it'll make some really good lasagna or pizza. It'll be good on salad with some balsamic vinegar too. I brought a whole gallon of milk up last night just to make the cheese and restock my buttermilk. I have come to really love buttermilk, it makes everything taste so... um.. yummy! Now to learn to make sour dough and I'll be set. That and find myself a fridge to start aging cheese. I don't dare age cheese in my fridge, I'm sure it'd suck in some funky flavors and wouldn't be very good. My fridge isn't nearly big enough anyways. I do have more space now that I'm picking salad just for each meal instead of having to buy a weeks worth.

This morning I there were 14 chicks hatched out. I have 24 eggs due to hatch so I'll give them a couple of days and see how they did. All the other chicks hatching in previous batches made a bit of a mess of these eggs so I don't expect a high number and the humidity and temperature has changed dramatically with the past chicks. 14 isn't too bad though. So far I've only lost one of the previous hatched chicks so that'll give us 22 chicks to grow. Hopefully most of them are hens.

Elizabeth is napping next to me, which is ok, it gives me an excuse to sit still. There's not alot to do besides domestic chores with all this rain. A little more gardening inside. With all this indoor gardening I should be getting better at it.

I think I'll shampoo my carpets. Maybe that'll discourage the ants. Wet outside and wet inside. Sounds almost cruel huh?

Hope you're day is dryer than mine!

Bring on the rain....

Yea, you guess it. It's raining. Still. Geez. I mean really. This morning my alarm clock went off at 4AM and I got up and did the usual. Opened up the door, it was so wet and chilly I went back to bed. I keep meaning to start milking the goats twice a day again to up the supply for the incoming demand. They're doing great with just once a day, a whole 1 1/2 gallons every day. I mean that's pretty dang good. I've taught my oldest the fine art of being a smartass. The other day I had the bucket and jars ready to go and she says "Time to go to the grocery store?" That's what we've deemed the barn, The Grocery Store. Just 9 short weeks ago you'd hear me say about 3 times a week "We need to go to the grocery store for milk." I think I just missed saying it or my oldest missed hearing me say it. Anyways.

So I went back to bed. The twice a day milking will happen when it's not so soggy and wet in the morning. I hate being sick and I'm not going to tempt fate again. The 2yr old and I have been taking advantage of the fact we're stuck inside. Well more me than her, I think she caught my bug. Poor baby. I fixed my old Kirby and got the floors vacuumed. It stopped working a couple years ago and I wasn't feeling ambitious enough to figure out why and so the journey of vacuum cleaners begun. The quest of finding a cheap vacuum that lasted more than 6 months. For some reason, may it be my long hair, or the straw or all the clumps of dirt or even all the little toys that end up being sucked up, vacuums just don't have a very long life in my house. I've successfully killed a few. They end up sitting in the corner of the kitchen because I keep hoping that I might be able to plug one in and it'll magically work again. Hasn't happened yet. Or atleast not long enough to call that chore done. So I dragged the Kirby out and figured out what was ailing it. This vacuum was bought by my mom about 14yrs ago and has worked lovely ever since. Only I could kill a vacuum as nice as a Kirby.

That wasn't my only feat today. I gardened. Indoors. A thought crossed my mind today watching all the rain come down and wondering if it was ever going to be dry enough to plant seeds outside before July. I've been a little worried about the gap in my gardening. It's amazing how wet it's been. Yea, I know. I said that already like a million times. So I started two flats of corn. I think tomorrow I will do melons and some winter squash, because otherwise I don't think anything is going to be put into the ground. I know maybe I'm being impatient or a little worried about July this growing gap in gardening. Next year I think I'll try one of those hoop houses, get the ground working in my favor even if the weather isn't going to. But then the way it was last year and the way it is this I can only imagine what next will look like. Probably be in the 70's by March. Just wait.

The normal chores got done too. Dough is rising and will be ready to be put in the oven when we're done milking. I turned the rest of the chicken from last week into a nice sandwich stuffing. I wish the cucumbers were ready, I've been craving fresh pickles. You know the kind you soak for half the day in the fridge and then devour at will. For some reason the idea of chicken sandwiches with crunchy pickles on it makes my mouth water. I'll have to compromise with lots of lettuce instead. I think I might have some store bought bread n butter pickles in the fridge that just might have to do.

Sometimes I have a pause, when I think about how different life (my life, not the general form of a normal life) is now compared to just a few years ago. Today I wondered if the mayonnaise would still be good and decided to make a new batch (yea make it), when I think of pickles it's the kind I cut from my garden and decide if I want to add a pepper to the mixture to make them zesty or just extra dill, the only thing I've been to the grocery store in the past 3 weeks for is cereal for the kids. That use to be a weekly venture. Grocery shopping. Funny how the little tid bits of independence add up. I even fixed my vacuum cleaner. :)

I've been sprucing up my blog site too. I have too much time on my hands with all this rain. I should take up a new hobby. Quilting or something. Hmmm....

Oh our last batch of chicks are hatching in the incubator. 8 out of 24 so far today.

I got the bad news today that I'm losing my renter at the end of July. That's kind of a scary thought. No one likes a pay cut. I'm not exactly excited about having to find a new one. I might see how the summer holds up before deciding. Hopefully the geese, turkeys, goats, chickens and garden will be profitable. You might keep us in your prayers though. Should be an interesting chapter to write about.