Day in town, goat milking, kefir, and milestones

Dennis and I took the day off yesterday and went into town together. We went to Fort Collins to an indoor Farmers Market. I got all kinds of new ideas, as there were alpaca farmers with their wares, other knitters and felters there also. Buffalo/Bison, grass fed beef vendors,pedaling their wares. One Indian fellow gets his grass fed Buffalo up in South Dakota, which are raised by the Lakota Indians up there.(LBCC) Lakota Buffalo Caretakers Cooperative. They are field harvested which means the animal's life is taken in the field they live on and are not brought to a processing center alive. They feel it is the respectful way of ending the animal's life. The buffalo do not handle the stress of transport going to market. (Something I did not realize. But makes perfect sense. If you have to eat something with a face, that would be my way to go.)
We also spoke with a couple who farms about 20 miles south east of us, and they do flowers,(sold as dried in the winter) raise chickens, pigs,and heritage turkeys. They said that hail is a problem with gardening, but you just keep on going. So we are very optimistic with the upcoming spring and growing season. Dennis was able to have a beautiful garden in the desert of Arizona, so should do fine here. We do have a lot of fertilizer, that's for sure!
He is almost done with our chicken coop, It is all together, just has to add the trim, shingle the roof, and do the inside. Painting will come later when it warms up. In this picture of the chicken coop, you can see Lulu lying under Bear, she always takes that position in case of a good tummy rub.

We got home a tad late and the goats were waiting for us to come and do chores, all standing at the gait bellering "Maaaaaaaa". Now I don't know if any of you grew up milking cows, but goats are the same way, they have internal clocks, and they know when feeding and milking times are. They get down right mad if you are late.
But Coco finally got milked so she was happy. My goats all know their names and come when they are called. I do not even have to lead them to the milking stand, just open the gait and they run up to the stand and hop on up. Makes milking so much fun.


KEFIR

Dennis has started making Kefir again out of fresh goats milk. Kefir is a pro biotic health drink, somewhat like drinking liquid yogurt. It is thicker than whole milk. Kefir is the substance that makes grains which look like pieces of cauliflower which are actually colonies of bacteria and yeasts. These are called the grains.
Supposedly enormous health benefits when drank and have been around for years. Way back, when there were no refrigeration, these grains were added to the milk supply as a preservative,preventing the milk from going bad.
Cheers to our digestive health!!!!

MILESTONES

Now picture this, close your eyes. The young woman in her 20's has just finished her shift at work, and has been extremely tired out these past couple of weeks. Her back aches from the increase in her weight, with the spasms coming closer and closer, her feet and ankles swollen from too much time on them, walking back and forth down the long corridors, which seem to get longer as the shift progresses. As she leaves the building to go home, her gravid belly is the first of her profile that you see coming out the door.
Her sandy brown hair tousled, is combed neatly back into place with her fingers. A huge smile creeps onto her face as she realizes all the dreams and anticipation that have been building up to this climax. She gently shakes her husbands shoulder waking him from a deep slumber to inform him "it is time".. The couple make it to the hospital, and their first son is born.
He has slept under her heart for the past 9 months and will forever be emblazoned there, til the end of HER time, the lifetime bond that can't be broken, between mother and child.
Fast forward----She fondly recalls his first smile, the first time he says "mama" and "dada". The first crawl, and the first few toddling steps he took---All the other milestones they have experienced in his growing up years----All the years of sacrifices, the investing of so much of herself to insure him a better life, that he grows up to be such a fine young man. Then, at the end of high school---he announces he signed up with the recruiter, for the Marine Corps. As she listens to his words, her heart catches in her throat pounding with fright. Her beautiful young man--but wait--still a boy, going off to war! Tears well up in her hazel eyes, threatening to spill over to display her true emotion to the news, as his life passes before her eyes.
But they support him, as this is his wanting.. She thinks of all the past milestones, and all the future milestones that she wants to see him achieve, his career dreams, marriage, first child, first grey hair, reaching the Big 5-0......

Whether you are for this war or not, this boy/man could be your son, your brother, grandson, nephew or father. Please take a minute or two of each day to pray for our military. Please pray for my nephew Seth who is over in Afghanistan right now.

More later..........