Welp, I had a pretty good weekend this past weekend. Justus is still in Tampa for work, so I got a lot of things done.
Saturday I went to a dog training event with my friend Nicole (we both took our Griffs). That took up the majority of my day besides taking care of another friend, Shari’s, farm.
Sunday was my day. It was lovely outside, upper 70s with a slight breeze. I went to the barn to brush and spend some time with Picasso, then came home and got to work. I butchered six of my 12-week old growouts. I spared the other 6 because the yellow jackets were getting nasty. Then I made some butter and started two batches of dilly beans – one is being lacto-fermented and the other is in the fridge for a ‘refrigerator pickle.’ I also had my first attempt at making cheese. I’ll do a separate post about that. It’s currently curing right now, we shall see how it turns out. Both the butter & the cheese are raw (found a great source even though in GA it’s ‘pet consumption only’). I also tried to make yogurt, but that was an epic FAIL!
Other news? I harvested my first shiitakes off of the mushroom log that mom & Johnny got me. Rabbit prosciutto is still in the works and doing well. The geese are doing well, growing like weeds. The Polish eggs that remain in the incubator (4 or 5) go into lockdown this coming Friday (7/27), I hope at least a couple hatch. I am enjoying this time that I’m having at home. Being very productive.
Yogurt is tricky sometimes. You can make batches and batches that turn out great and still have one now and then that just doesn’t for no particular reason. I have made homemade yogurt for a few years with the crock pot method. I like that one the best, but my crock cracked and I tried in the new higher tech one with a setting for yogurt…didn’t work out so well. It is an art!