Flora is here!

And Flora has arrived.....born over night, probably in the early hours because she was still damp and a little shivery as I took these photos.

We knew a calf was on the way, but we didn't know exactly when, although we should have because she was conceived by artificial insemination, but, well, we have not been very organised this year so time slipped by and Lissie got bigger, and the time was getting close, but we did not know how close, and then Flora was here.

....and a chicken on the prowl for food, and Lissie having an itch.....

..... and one eye of Lissie catches one eye of the hen.......

 

...... and Lissie, full of maternal protectiveness, charges the little white hen, "**** off", she says, not in real words of course, but in the language an upset mum cow would use.

 

 

..... and back to making a fuss of Flora....

 

 



....so we have been caught out again. The milk from Lissie after the last calf she had, well most of it fed the seven piglets so it wasn't wasted. Some of it I made into butter, some of it we drank, some it was used for cooking with, but no cheese was made because I refuse to make any more cheese until we have a special place to keep it. Cheese does not do well at all if kept in the bottom of the fridge to mature, this I have learnt. So, as I say, I went on strike with making cheese last time Lissie gave us milk.

The Cheese Cave Project:
We don't have a cellar, which is where a cheese cave is traditionally kept, but we have this.....

.... which is the understairs cupboard in the small middle kitchen, which also is the home of the electricity box, but it will have to do....

The white and brown blob is the rear end of Boolie, who is having an investigation into something or other, and on the wall to the right is the electricity cupboard.

We are going to line the space with insulation, put some shelves along the left wall, make a small hole in the wall for ventilation, and find some way of keeping an even temperature with the right level  of humidity.

Wow,.....the making of the cheese......here we come!!!!

...... and soon Bonny, our other cow, will have a calf. Not sure how I am going to manage such a lot of milk coming in to the kitchen, but I shall have a go. Gosh, exciting times..... the back kitchen is now finished, and I have just about managed to get everything organised in it, and will post photos soon. The middle kitchen is going to be finished soon, which is the cheese cave and work surface for baking and cheese making area. The front kitchen, which gets tidier by the day because the back kitchen is the food production and storage area, is now finished apart from some shelves being put up.

Why do I need three kitchens?....because it separates out all the jobs that the wife of a smallholder needs to do. In other words, it gives organisation to a very busy life. I was doing all these jobs in one kitchen, which was temporary anyway, and to be quite honest with you, I just went round and round in ever tightening circles, getting very stressed along the way. But now I feel nicely stretched out as I move between those kitchens. I must say that I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to live this life, and have the space in which to do so.......

So Flora is here, but cannot stay because we are too small a farm to keep three cows, so she will have to be sold on. This we are not happy about, but it is as it is, there are no other options. Meanwhile we shall enjoy having her around and put away our sadness about it being for only a short time.

Chilly here this morning, the first tinge of the colder months ahead on their way.

Bye for now,

Vera