~Week Nine~

2/26- A day of rest 

 2/27- Started work on my next book review

 2/28- Adorable baby asparagus seedlings standing straight and tall like little soldiers. Already just a couple days later, I see the beginnings of wispy foliage coming on. At the end of the month, they should be ready to set out in a cold frame and trick them into thinking they've survived their first winter thereby reducing the time to harvest by an entire year. But with as moderate as the temperatures have been this year, I don't know if the plan will succeed. 

 2/29- Nearly no photo at all today, but thanks to using my camera as a mirror for the girls once again, I have a little something to show for the day- a new hairstyle found on Pinterest. 

3/1- A mouthwatering breakfast- and I'm not talking about the scones, biscuits, whatever you want to call them.


We actually got a good day of milk!


It's been tasting very, very off lately- what I would describe as cheese-like in flavor. You can't even cook with it because the odor and the flavor come through. We did switch all of her feed up in the last couple of months- first when we ran out of hay, then when we switched from expensive alfalfa pellets to bales (feeding just a flake a day, I think, to boost flavor and cream production), and we're getting her grain snack for during milking from a local, less expensive source.  We've tried eliminating each of those for several days to see if we notice an improvement to no avail. She also tested negative for mastitis. I found this link this morning about flavor and odor defects in milk and their causes.


I would say our milk, despite being less than 24 hours old and chilled immediately would fall under the description of "Rancid."

Pungent odor when extreme. Taste soapy, unclean, bitter, blue cheese-like or “baby vomit.” Provolone cheese has a rancid flavor profile. Pronounced lingering aftertaste. Sensitivity varies.
Cause - free fatty acids (e.g., butyric acid) released from milkfat by natural or microbial enzymes (lipase). In raw milk it’s associated with excessive agitation, temperature abuse or cow factors (e.g., poor health and/or nutrition). Pasteurization destroys natural enzyme (lipase), but spoilage microorganism may have similar enzymes that cause rancidity.

It's funny they mention soapy, because just at this mornings sampling of last night's milk, Jared used that exact word to describe it. I'm not sure what we can do from the causes listed is the problem. Her body condition doesn't suggest any health problems so I for one am at a loss for the time being. This much I do know, with 3 months left in her cycle before we need to dry her up prior to calving, I'm not ready to give up without a fight!

3/2-Not liking the old man's new job already. It's been a long, long time since his seat sat vacant at suppertime. I sat up until midnight waiting for him to come home last night watching North & South again on Netflix- which is a couple hours past my bedtime. Of course then I couldn't sleep the rest of the night either for one reason or another. Ah, the importance of routine. 

3/3- Near as I can calculate, today is my due date, so you can expect a birth announcement sometime in the next month.  True to form, I did not go early again this time, but hopefully week ten will be full of shots of little tiny baby sweetness :)


Hoping your week was delightful & that tomorrow brings you much rest & refreshment in the Lord!!