Cold Snap!

Monday, April 19, 2021
Hello friends,
This is actually a late start on the newsletter tonight. After chores I normally sit down and write until it’s dark enough to go shut in the hens. They can’t be rushed after all. But this evening we ran around with row covers, rocks, bricks, tablecloths, old sheets, and grass clippings, trying to cover fruiting plants in the garden. We focused on the asparagus, strawberries, and blueberries that were blooming. The wind has picked up so I hope the rocks and bricks will hold the covers down. Always an adventure!
Bill and I have been working very hard to process (make cheese etc. with) all the abundance of milk. Wow! Hard cheeses are the one thing we make that use up the most milk at 75 gallons a batch. That will usually make 8 rounds of approximately 8 - 9# cheeses. Yogurt is next at 16 gallons to fill the vat pasteurizer. We are making a lot of yogurt lately, most of which goes into the Jersey Silk strained yogurt. So good, and people are discovering it. Then I made a 16 gallon batch of Feta which is 4 gallon jars filled with cubes. Tomorrow I will work on a 16 gallon batch of mozzarella and sneak in a 2 gallon batch of buttermilk in the house. That may be a bit ambitious. Meanwhile, Bill will be smoking 4 rounds of Gouda next to the garage. Yes, we are working very hard to utilize this beautiful golden spring milk. If you want to help us out, drink more milk!…..