Friday, July 26, 2013

Flumgummerie's New Herdsire...Joyful Journey Pilgrim!


A special thank you to Janette and David Deas of Joyful Journey Farm for this handsome big fella!
Joyful Journey Pilgrim is out of Foxwood McCaylan's Majik Man & Foxwood Amazin' Miss Dharma.

Pilgrim was born on 3/22/2013 and as of July 26, 2013 he weighs in at over 70 pounds! 

Click on his pedigree below:
Pilgrim's ADGA Genetics Pedigree
Pilgrim's grandsire is *B Ch Foxwood McCaylan and SGCH Foxwood Fay Lee Meadow on his sire's side.
His dam's sire and dam: +*B SG Kastdemur's Ain't He Amazin' & Lazy-L McGoo Dream of Foxwood.

Pilgrim loves a head scratch!
With his wonderful pedigree chock full of Superior Genetics and Champions galore we are really looking forward to breeding him to our Ruth x Malachi does, Trinity and Jordan!

Hello Pilgrim!
Pilgrim enjoying his acre's of pasture and browse!
 We will be breeding him to Ruth, Jordan and Trinity. Check out our Reservation Policy page if you are interested in a doe or buck out of one of these breedings!

Blessings,
Michelle

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Bucks out of Shiloh and *B Sunrising HIA Malachi Sold!

Our Flumgummerie Farm bucklings born April 9, 2013 have been SOLD!
These beautiful young herdsires are out of Shiloh and *B Sunrising HIA Malachi.

This handsome little fellow will be the new herdsire for The Hatton Family Farm of South Carolina!
 I'm sure he will love being in the 4H program and all the loving
he will receive from their 9 children!
Flumgummerie Farm Willoughby  is going to the Fowler Family Farm of Fayetteville, NC
This gorgeous buck will bring in some excellent milking genetics to add to the
strong mammary lines of their beautiful young does!
We are extremely pleased that these young herdsires will be going to wonderful farms with loving families.  I am looking forward to seeing next years kids out of these beautiful bucks!

Here's a shot of Willoughby on Shiloh's udder...she's got a wonderful udder
and is very large and this is only her second freshening!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Clipping Goats

In preparation for kidding time I gave our dairy goats a "kidding clip".  This is rather an easy cut and can be done quite quickly on the milk stand.  I use an Andis UltraEdge clipper with a standard size 10 blade.  I shaved her tail, her udder, the back of her legs and around her "backside". This helps keep her more sanitary during delivery and makes the job of cleaning up the "birthing mess" so much easier.  Anyone who has not shaved their goats can testify to how glue-like this "birthing mess" can be. It will stick to her tail and her udder and anything it happens to touch will be permanently glued too your goats hair, like pine shavings, hay, goat berries, etc. (ask me how I know).  I love my clippers because they are powerful enough to do the job quickly without getting hot while also being very quiet compared to some other clippers on the market.  I just go against the hair and trim away...really it is easy and anyone can do it.

Shiloh sporting a kidding clip. She is due to kid in 5 days.
I left a tuft of hair at the end of her tail.
 I gave Ruth a summer or show clip...well, I started to give her one before she decided I was not fast enough and she was done with this whole clipping business...did I mention this is my first time clipping them?  Like I said clipping is rather easy and anyone can do it. Now if I were shaving for a show I would probably use a size 30 or size 40 on her udder for a very close shave but since I'm only clipping for sanitary milking reasons I did not, but I may try it when I finish her front end tomorrow.

Ruth's summer clip...if you look closely you can see I lack a certain finesse.
I got a little too close in some places, but not too bad for a first timer.

The girls out in the pasture enjoying North Carolina's wonderful spring day!

Another view of the pasture and the barn.
I hope to post a video if I can figure out how to do so!

Blessings,
Michelle

Friday, March 29, 2013

Shiloh & Eve Are Expecting!

Upon request I am posting a few shots of Shiloh and Eve during their pregnancies.  Shiloh is due April 9th and Eve is due about a month later, which is code for "I don't know her "conception date" so I am just guessing".
Eve looks a little thicker but she's not showing a lot yet
Shiloh is showing and starting to bag up

Shiloh's udder starting to fill up

Who doesn't like a pregnant belly shot?

Eve is a first freshener and is almost as big as her mom

here is a better shot of  her "fatness" and her udder 

A shot of Eve's dragon tattoo, I guess she does look a bit chunky here

A sweet head shot of Eve
 Eve has been bred to Wandering Lane Farms Charlie. Charlie's sire is Deep Creek NT Pistol Pete
(Reg # N1583242) and his dam is Deep Creek MT Cara (Reg # N1474909). Both of these lines carry Kismet and Kastdemur bloodlines.

A not so flattering shot of Shiloh but it shows off her udder  nicely

Blessings,
Michelle

Thursday, March 28, 2013

New Doe Kids out of Ruth X Malachi


Meet the newest additions to Flumgummerie Farm! Ruth gave us two beautiful doe kids yesterday. Of course it was 4 am and 28 degrees but these sweeties make it all worthwhile...that and all the delicious sweet goat milk we'll be getting!

Look at those legs!

It's at times like this that I really love my job! My daughter loves it too!
Goat love! How sweet that she has a little heart marking! My son giving her a little sugar!
I love this flashy black tri-color doe! 
Now we need to come up with some names. Does anyone have any suggestions!

Blessings,
Michelle

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

BLT Farm: Homemade Goat Milk & Honey Soap with Kaolin Clay!

BLT Farm: Homemade Goat Milk & Honey Soap with Kaolin Clay!: Homemade Goat Milk & Honey Soap with Kaolin Clay! I saw a soap similar to this one on Manor Hall Soap Blog , and thought it was so pre...

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Winter Storms and Lambing Time

Ginger with her lambs, safe and sound
Why is it that lambing season always seems to coincide with the worst winter weather? It's January in North Carolina and yesterday we were hit with the strongest winds of the season and torrential freezing rains, therefore, Ginger goes immediately into labor and has twins, a ewe and a ram lamb, during the worst of it.

Does she do it in the warmth and comfort of the sheltered barn? No, of course she doesn't. Ginger decides that there is no better place to give birth than out in the pasture, in the open, in the freezing rains and the very strong winds, right by the electric fence. Welcome to the world little lambs!

So, what does any good shepherdess do? Why I don my trench coat, my wide brim hat and pull on my barn boots and hoof it out to the pasture to round up the crazy ewe and her little lambs and lead them to safety.

At least that was the plan anyways.  Ginger, it seems, was perfectly comfortable out in the storm and wanted nothing to do with my proffered gift of grain. Her little lambs, however, were soaked through and freezing and way too close to the electric fence, so I tried pushing Ginger towards the shelter of the barn as the rains came down sideways, as hard and cold as I've ever felt it, all to no avail. Ginger wasn't budging.


Well, by then I was soaked through, the rain was running off the brim of my hat down my back and my boots were filling with water...stupid waterproof boots. I now have a 5 gallon bucket filled with rain and some grain , a momma sheep who happens to be more stubborn than she is smart, and two freezing newborn lambs. I'm not known to be especially patient with stupid animals and decided to end this impasse, scooping up the nearest lamb in one hand, I held out the bucket in the other and waved it at Ginger until the bleating of her baby stirred her into movement. Slowly but surely, I guided her along watching to be sure her other lamb followed, all whilst keeping her from bolting back out into the pasture.  Finally, I was able to lure her into her lambing stall and rewarded her efforts with some grain and hay, thus ending the fiasco.


Little ram lamb nursing. He's so cute all white with dark spots around his eyes and one ear tipped with brown.
We have named him Spot.

Ginger seemed nonplussed after shaking the water out of her thick winter wool (all over me I might add) and her babies, although just born, seemed very grateful to have a warm dry spot to nurse and sleep.  I was cold and soaking wet, covered in hay and mud, but I was happy to have my sheep warm and safe.


Sweet baby ewe lamb, sleeping off the storm. The girls have named her Ramona.

All's well that ends well I suppose.

Blessings,
Michelle

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Batter Fried Bacon. Yes, Please!

Batter Fried Bacon? Yes, Please!
Batter fried bacon, or as some in Texas call it, chicken fried bacon. I certainly won't win any health awards for this recipe but sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and live it up. I mean, who hasn't dreamt of taking grease, I mean bacon, double coating it in fat, frying it in grease and serving it with a side of grease? Sounds great, right? Well let me tell you, it is.

Truly, this batter fried bacon recipe wasn't exactly high on my list of things I just had to make but my dear husband wanted some and pestered me everyday for a week before I finally caved, and I must admit, I'm really glad I did.

Bacon is good. Really, really good and in fact it has become somewhat of an iconic food. People eat bacon with almost everything these days, not to mention bacon flavored everything from gum to coffee. Heck, they even have bacon scented deodorant and no, I have not tried it.

Now, I certainly can't say I am a true bacon aficionado and I wouldn't recommend that you add this to your normal breakfast routine, but you really should try it for yourself at least once.

You will need:


FRIED BACON

1 pound of thick sliced bacon, cut in half (I only used half a pound for my family of 5)
1 egg
1/2 cup of milk (or if you're really a risk taker, half and half or cream)
1/2 cup of flour
spices (optional) like salt and pepper, garlic, or whatever floats your boat
oil (for frying)

CREAM GRAVY

3 TBSP drippings or butter
3 TBSP flour
2 cups of milk
2 TBSP heavy whipping cream
Salt and pepper, heavy on the pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in a heavy frying pan on medium high heat. *HINT: If you use stainless steel (which I recommend) you should heat the pan before you add the oil, this way it becomes nonstick.

TIP OF THE DAY: A nonstick pan shouldn't be used over too high a heat because it ruins the nonstick coating, as does spraying it with PAM, use olive oil instead and "stick" to medium or lower heat settings.

2. Whisk the egg and milk together in a bowl. Really beat that egg...have any stress you need to release? Now's the time! :)

3. Place four in another bowl - season if you'd like (salt and pepper, garlic, paprika, cajun, etc.).



Dredge bacon in egg then flour. Repeat.
4. Double dip the bacon - first in the egg mixture and then in the flour mixture. Repeat.

Bacon can be beautiful!
5. Fry in the oil, turning when the bacon is a nice golden brown color.


6. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Easy peasie.

7. Serve the bacon with cream gravy. Directions below. Also goes well with ice cream... :)

TO MAKE GRAVY

Put drippings or butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour until well blended. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from heat and gradually add in milk, whisking constantly. Return to heat and whisk until the gravy thickens. Whisk in the cream (I actually used half and half), salt and pepper. Serve & Enjoy!

I served my Batter Fried Bacon with pancakes and strawberries, eggs and a warm cuppa joe. Delish!

Blessings,
Michelle

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Oh My Great Dane!

Welcome to the family Diesel!
Look at that sweet face!

I've been told that I sometimes tend to try to start new things "too big" and I often find myself overwhelmed with the work after I've started, hence my propensity to start many projects and not always finish them.  Well, in keeping with tradition I decided I wanted/needed a new puppy and what better puppy to bring into our home than a Great Dane puppy!  Meet our "cute little puppy", Diesel. He's 4 1/2 months old and he is such a sweetheart!

Perfect picture of a Mantle Great Dane
Just look at those feet! He's confiscated the cat's toy,
 of all his "chewies" that stupid cat toy is his favorite. Go figure.