Lexington Chocolate Lovers Festival

My Chocolate Lemon Bars

Lexington has an annual Chocolate Lover's Festival. Lauren and I submitted entries to the chocolate desserts contest. I altered a recipe for lemon bars by adding chocolate powder to the crust and drizzling chocolate on top. Lauren made Clementine Chocolates (a friend's recipe, with permission). Both were really yummy! I really thought that Lauren would win. Her presentation far exceeded the other entries, but the judge only took a teeny tiny little piece of the candied skin and chocolate top and didn't even taste the filling. Although neither of us won we enjoyed the process.

Lauren's Chocolate Clementines

Thomas and Pierce participated in a Fear Factor competition. Fortunately, they did the physical challenges because the eating competition got messy--chocolate doesn't make everything good.

We also enjoyed looking around at the homemade soaps and eating chocolate. It was an all-around good time.

Goats

It's been a long time since I've posted, so I'll try to catch you up on the goings on here in Texas.

I'll start with goats.

Thomas decided to follow Lauren's lead and try raising Angoras. He purchased a buck (Nico) and two does (Lorraine and Sally). Lorraine is black/silver. The other two are white. However, the male is a red-carrier, so the babies are usually red. Sally was already pregnant and her baby arrived last Saturday while we were in town. It was a girl, red with a silver face. Thomas named her Betty Silver Goat. She's so much fun to watch! She bounces around the field so playfully and is so friendly! She only nurses her mama on one side so far, so we have to milk Sally on the other side once a day. It's good practice for when we get dairy goats; it's not as easy as it looks! 

We suspect that Lorraine is pregnant too. She usually has red twins, so we're eager with anticipation.

Pierce purchased a Nubian/Boer buck named Brandon. He's a cutie! His markings make him look like he's wearing rollerblades and pads. He's also very noisy and stubborn--much stronger and more active than the Angoras. Hopefully we'll be getting a couple of Nubian does this weekend so we can milk in the Spring. Brandon is eager to do his part in this and is driving us all crazy. We have to build another pen this weekend to separate the bucks and does so we don't get a Nubian/Angora mix!

We finally built a shelter. The wooden version turned out to be way too expensive, so we came up with a design made like a greenhouse out of cattle panels and covered with a tarp. It doesn't look that beautiful, but it works well. (Somehow the girls always end up taking care of babies and cooking while the men get to build stuff!) We plan to use the same design for a chicken coop and a small greenhouse.

Goat Shearing

Shearing the goats ended up being quite hilarious! I wish we'd videotaped it. The very short story is that human clippers and even high quality dog clippers do not work on angora goats! Scissors will do the job, but with the side effect of very blistered hands and a very long day! Turns out sheep shearers are very ferocious-looking and very necessary tools. Still, we managed to yield 14 lbs of mohair that day.

Besides our pitifully inadequate skills, Jack was as obstinate as a two-year old. He protested the whole time. Shorn stood by and watched, then when it was his turn he was very patient and even seemed to enjoy the attention. Jack watched Shorn from a distance, then once they were both in their pen Jack began butting Shorn anytime he came near. Jack was clearly jealous for attention!

Although Jack hasn't butted Shorn since then, they both follow Lauren around like puppy dogs. They go through the fence and watch us through the windows when the lights are on at night. They never stray very far from the house and like to hang out in the shade on the back patio (snacking on the shrubbery meantime)! When we take them back to their pen, Shorn follows reluctantly, but obediently. Jack tries to wriggle away, then lies down on his side limply to be dragged the rest of the way. So stubborn! He's been doing better, but this week we hope to erect a training fence to teach them their boundaries nonetheless.

Shorn after his haircut.

I'm shocked at how much personality these goats have. I thought we were getting goats; I think we have rather large and naughty puppies!

Shorn and Jack's mohair.

Surprise!

Lauren and Lucas with Jack

Meet Jack and Shorn. Lauren's two year old Angora goats.

College is expensive. We can't pay for college for all seven kids, but we don't want them saddled with debt either. We've told the kids that we will make sure they are well prepared for college and given the skills they need to run a successful business, but they will have to either earn the scholarships or the money to pay for their own college tuition. It is our belief that given a solid education and proper motivation, they will rise to the challenge. Now only will they gain valuable experience in the process, they will also be more appreciative for the opportunity to attend college and make the most of it.

Lauren was looking for opportunities when she saw these guys and was immediately interested. She spoke to their owner and learned that there is a local mill that processes their wool. She and her Papa went to tour it and to learn how everything worked, did a lot of research on the costs and market prices for the yarn, then worked up a business plan. She thought she could make a go of it, so with her own money she purchased them. Thom and the boys generously contributed by putting up an electric fence around approximately an half acre. We're praying that her new enterprise is successful! For more insight into her new venture, check out Lauren's blog.

Tomorrow... she learns to shear!

*BTW,  in the process we made a friend as well. The owner saw a link to our blog, read it, and sent us a really nice e-mail. We have a lot in common. She is a homeschool mom as well with five children, the two youngest, about Lauren's age, still at home. We look forward to getting to know them better.

Shorn

Animals in Abundance

We have a lot of gophers here that will make a garden impossible if not managed, so Thom and Lauren brought home two kittens today. Lauren introduced them to the guineas and they were both afraid of the other!

We also started the process of adopting a Great Pyranees. I'm not sure how long that will take, but I'll keep you posted.

Lucas loves playing with the toads that are here in abundance and the lizards that we identified as Mediterranean Geckos. It's great fun to watch them catching insects-- especially on the dining room window during supper! Not so fun when they jump out at us in the house!

So in the last 3 weeks we've gone from no animals to 2 cats, 12 guineas, a potential dog, and numerous toads and geckos, if you count them. That doesn't include the hummingbirds, gophers, snakes, squirrels, deer, hawk, buzzard, and cranes or herons (they're too fast to identify well) that we see daily.

We'll have another animal surprise for you this weekend-- you'll never guess... keep watching!

A Clean Pool, A Clothes Line, And a Poultry Pen

We've been busy in our new home. We started school last week and it is going well. The biggest challenge is with discipline of the younger boys to be quiet when the older ones are studying. We have realized that we've been really lax in disciplining and need to do better.

This year we're studying ancient/Bible history and earth science/astronomy/physical science (except Lauren who is doing chemistry). We're also learning about raising goats and poultry, wood working, and electric fences in working on the farm.

I finally got the pool clean. Yahoo! I didn't think it would ever be clean! There is a great website called troublefreepool.com that was really helpful. We celebrated with a barbecue/pool party on Saturday night. It was really fun and a great relief to just play after all of the work moving, traveling, etc.





Thom and the boys built a clothesline for me so that I can get back to cloth diapers again (they just don't get white without the sun). It was their first woodworking project and I have to say that I think it is the most beautiful clothesline I've ever seen!




Their next project was a poultry pen. Our guineas were getting too crowded in their tank, but we couldn't set them free yet because of predators, so they built a movable pen that protects them, yet allows them to eat seeds and bugs and fertilize the land. The front comes off so that the kids can get in the pen to hold and feed them. It's worked great! (I'm sorry you can't see the guineas in the photo.)

It's hard to believe we only moved in two weeks ago. We've been so busy with minor repairs that we've felt like we'd never get to the fun stuff. Besides the pool, the mailbox was missing a flag. Do you know that we couldn't find a flag anywhere? So we had to install a new mailbox. Then the heat got up to 106 degrees and shorted out one of the AC units. Two of the thermostats quit working also. Fortunately we have a home warranty to cover the AC. On top of that one of the toilet handles broke. Thomas did a good job fixing that one. (I love having young men!) Did I mention that I learned how to repair a garage door?

Finally we were able to get started and it's just motivated us to do more. We just can't wait to start making this place productive! The next project is installing an electric fence for the goats and adopting a Great Pyranees to guard them. I can't believe I'm saying this. I have never ever wanted a dog, but when I was warned about the coyotes around here, then met a GP and saw what good dogs they are, I started looking into it and was convinced. Thom and the kids are really excited. They have wanted a dog for a while.

More later...

A Science Lesson

We were doing some research today on solutions for algae control in the pond and learned some interesting things.

The first thing we learned was that there are two plants often mistaken for pond algae. The first is water meal and the second is duckweed. The former looks like tiny green seeds; the later has tiny leaves with little root hairs. So we found a jar, took a sample and... Yes, it was duckweed after all!

The bad news about duckweed is that it is very hard to control. Koi will eat it if they are placed before it takes over, but once it takes over it is too late. Ducks love it (hence the name) but also can cause an algae problem. It can also inhibit photosynthesis.

But here's the good news! Duckweed is sometimes used in sewage treatment plants to clean the water. The plants are high in nitrogen and phosphorus. They can be skimmed off and used for fertilizer. Good news for our garden! And I'm glad I placed the compost heap near the pond!