Hinds Feet on High Places

I guess it's about time for me to post again...

                ~Greetings from our PA mountain homestead~

Things have been super busy here with several August birthdays, a new herd of dairy goats, and school just around the corner. Yesterday we froze 95 quarts of sweet corn; today we are going to pick elderberries to make jelly, and my sister and her family are coming for a visit!

I think we will try to have a campfire this evening and enjoy our dessert outdoors at dusk. I have been working at some major cleaning and decluttering projects (ongoing on a daily basis here , but need to get the serious stuff done before next week. I need to try to streamline our daily routine and tweak the chore assignments a bit also as I know things are going to start out busy (they are busy now and school hasn't even started yet!  You can probably detect that I am not quite ready, at least not as ready as usual. Most years I am thinking the kids are bored and I am ready to start by early August....not so this year. I won't set my goals too high for the first month as harvesting and food preservation will be in full swing. We will just have a plan and try to stick to it when possible so I don't lose my sanity.

Milking three goats twice a day has given us more than enough milk. I made 9 pints of yogurt the other day-think I left it in too long, though, as it is a bit sour. I am planning to can a batch or two here in the next couple of days for winter baking, or when needed.  (can milk, that is!)

We are all enjoying learning about and caring for the new girls. Next month we are getting  three doelings and a wether, which two of my daughters want to buy as their own to train to pull a cart. They are not yet 3 months old. Here is a picture of the kids with their mamas, currently owned by a neighbor girl: