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**Welcome Wagon:  New From the foothills of the Catskills in NY  |
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stonethistle
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
Denise
East Meredith
NY
USA
11 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 11:01:10 AM
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Hello from the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Our organic grass fed livestock farm and goat dairy is still covered with snow but the sun is bright today on the first day of spring. After milking and feeding the buck kids and putting the horse into the pasture, I took a rest on a hay bale in the kid goat yard. I was overwhelmed by bouncing kid goats, livestock guardian dogs and does searching for their kids in the pile on top of me! A kiss from a goat cures all! 50 degree weather would do the trick too.
Denise
If you can't buy organic AND local, choose local. Support the local farmers who feed you! |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 11:06:33 AM
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Hi Denise. Your farm sounds beautiful! Welcome to the forum - wish I could send you some of my nearly 70 degree weather today.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
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blueroses
True Blue Farmgirl
1323 Posts
Debbie
in the Pandhandle of
Idaho
USA
1323 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 11:11:52 AM
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Hi Denise,
Sounds great on the farm. Welcome! Which side of the Hudson are you on? I had a friend from Cairo many moons ago. Do you make goat cheese at your dairy?
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
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Beemoosie
True Blue Farmgirl
2077 Posts
Bonnie
New York
USA
2077 Posts |
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 1:43:19 PM
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Welcome, Denise! Your story made me laugh- I can just picture you being swarmed by kids!! Glad you were able to dig out and find us. ;)
Karin |
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rosebud74a
True Blue Farmgirl
109 Posts
Stacy
Maryland
NY
USA
109 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 2:00:22 PM
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Welcome Denise!!
Do you own Stonethistle Farms? I have bought organic goat milk at the local organic store, and I don't think there are too many organic goat farms in East Meridith...the milk is great!! Look forward to you contributions. Me are very close too each other..I live in Maryalnd NY. Less than a half hour is close when livinf in a rural areas.
Stacy
http://peapickinheart.blogspot.com/
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt, 'This Is My Story,' 1937
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stonethistle
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
Denise
East Meredith
NY
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 2:16:12 PM
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East Merdith is located west of the Hudson. Stacy - We are about 20 minutes from Maryland New York. My friend who owns goats and sheep - Allison Jones lives in Maryland on Axell Road. My husband and I and three children own and run the farm. Our website is www.stoneandthistlefarm.com
The organic goat dairy is Kortright Creek Creamery. We have a license to sell raw milk and we sell bottled milk. The milk is bottled at Evans Creamery and picked up by our distributor and brought into NYC. Thanks for letting us know that the milk tastes great. The raw milk is even better - it takes on the flavors of the leaves, raspberries, herbs and grasses that the goat forage from the pastures.
Denise
If you can't buy organic AND local, choose local. Support the local farmers who feed you! |
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shelle
True Blue Farmgirl
404 Posts
Shelle
oklahoma
USA
404 Posts |
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Tina Michelle
True Blue Farmgirl
6948 Posts
Tina
sunshine state
FL
USA
6948 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 4:26:59 PM
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welcome Denise!
~Seize the Day! Live, Love, Laugh~ |
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Marybeth
True Blue Farmgirl
6418 Posts
Mary Beth
Stanwood
Wa 98292
USA
6418 Posts |
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beckels
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
becky
warrington
pa
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Mar 21 2007 : 6:42:51 PM
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Welcome Denise to the farmgirl world!! Their is not many things cutier than a baby goat!!
beckesl |
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Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Mar 22 2007 : 8:38:46 PM
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Denise,
So glad to have you! Your place sounds great! What kind of goats do you have? And would love to hear more about your dogs as well! I would love to share some snow with you since I dont get any where I am  but I am sure you all are ready for spring! Hoping for a wonderful spring to come your way! I look forward to hearing more and see you 'round!
Hugz!
Talitha
PS went to your website (and a lovely one it is!) and saw a picture with a saanen goat...are all of them saanens?
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
Edited by - Buttercup on Mar 22 2007 8:57:19 PM |
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lamamama
True Blue Farmgirl
255 Posts
Melanie
CA
USA
255 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2007 : 08:55:15 AM
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Welcome, Denise!!
Your place sounds so wonderful - and thanks to you & your family for contributing to the health of everyone near you.
I'm hoping to hear more from you about your place, & your life there...............especially since I one day want to raise a few goats. :)
Melanie |
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stonethistle
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
Denise
East Meredith
NY
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2007 : 09:55:06 AM
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It was 57 degrees yesterday and is close to 50 degrees today so the snow is melting fast and the streams are running high and hard.
We don't make cheese. Just organic goat milk and yogurt. The goat milk yogurt should be on shelves of health food stores in three weeks. It has taken us two years to develop the product. Goat milk yogurt is very thin and we wanted it to be spoonable so we had to find an organic thickener. We found an organic tapioca BUT our customers wanted a fair trade organic tapioca. This took months, then no one could tell us, including the company that manufactures the tapioca, how to use it in yogurt. It took us a year working in a college incubator plant at SUNY Morrisville to perfect the product. When we decided on adding organic flavors such as maple and raspberry, a whole new set of consistency problems occurred.
It was frustrating because I make great yogurt at home from raw milk and incubate it in a picnic cooler with bottles of hot water and a towel wrapped around the cultured milk. 8 hours later - great yogurt. Switching to a commercial mode with pasteurized milk was a whole new adventure.
I also make great kefir at home - someday we would like to take that commercial too. One step at a time.
Our goats are Saanens - all white - people ask us how we can tell them apart - all 100 have thier own special face and personality.
My husband tells them apart by their udders.
The guard dogs are Italian Maremmas. They are also all white so they blend in with the goats. The are brought up on our farm as pups living with the sheep and goats in the pastures. They are unfailing and wholly committed to their job as nuturer and guardian. We have not had a coyote, wolf or bear attack since they joined us five years ago.
We also use border collies to move the sheep from pasture to pasture. We graze on over 800 acres throughout our valley, most owned by second home owners who welcome us to use graze their land for free so they get the agricultural exemption and get to see sheep and cattle grazing in their fields when they spend the weekends here. A good arrangement for us both as we have enough access to land so that we can keep the animals on fresh pasture. No worries about parasites - a good thing when a farm is organic.
Thank you for all your big welcomes.
Denise
If you can't buy organic AND local, choose local. Support the local farmers who feed you! |
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owwlady
True Blue Farmgirl
899 Posts
Jan
Tomahawk
WI
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2007 : 11:28:46 AM
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| Welcome Denise, so glad to have you with us. Your farm sounds wonderful. I had to laugh at the kiss from a goat. It reminded me of the book title "Never Kiss a Goat On The Lips". |
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Lizabeth
True Blue Farmgirl
560 Posts
Washington
560 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2007 : 12:14:39 PM
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Welcome Denise! I had quite the laugh at your comment "my husband tells them apart by their udders" that is hilarious!
http://www.handcraftsbyheather.com |
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Mikki
True Blue Farmgirl
1510 Posts
Mikki
Austin
Indiana
USA
1510 Posts |
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a rose
True Blue Farmgirl
443 Posts
Linda
Waterford
NY
USA
443 Posts |
Posted - Mar 24 2007 : 2:19:37 PM
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Welcome aboard Denise. You don't live too far away from me. I have a friend who lives in Coxsackie.
Remember me as a rose. |
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Buttercup
True Blue Farmgirl
1433 Posts
Talitha
Vermont
USA
1433 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2007 : 01:50:12 AM
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Thank you for answering my questions! I love learning what others do and have and why and the pros and cons they feel are related to whatever they have...it helps me learn a lot! Thank you so much for sharing!
Hugz!
Talitha
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
Edited by - Buttercup on Mar 25 2007 01:50:45 AM |
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cabingirl
Farmgirl in Training
19 Posts
Rose Mary
Arkansas
USA
19 Posts |
Posted - Mar 25 2007 : 06:21:24 AM
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Hi Denise, it's nice to meet you. I look forward to hearing more about your farm and your goats!
"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
www.lifeinacordwoodcabin.blogspot.com |
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**Welcome Wagon: New From the foothills of the Catskills in NY |
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New From the foothills of the Catskills in NY
