Happy Birthday Madison Riley!

Happy Birthday Madi!  We love you!

YES!  Best of Division~
Amador County Fair






What a fun time we had at the fair!  I was so excited to see the art show, I had entered five paintings and they all earned a ribbon. I won a first place for "Fiddletown~Chinese General Store"(also Best of Div), a second for "Morning Meadow" a third and two honorable mentions. I don't know who was more excited~ me or Rick!

All the Sutter Creek Gallery artists who entered the show did extremely well :) It was a good feeling to be able to recognize the artists by their style, and see that there were several local artists hanging there that I still haven't met.

Of course we walked around and looked at all the exhibits, ate a $6.50 corndog, visited the livestock, saw happy piggies, and generally enjoyed the evening.

I took lots of photos with my new Nikon Coolpix camera (which performed admirably). 

I even visited the ponies at the pony ride, which has always been my all-time favorite attraction.

...Amador County has the best fair ever....

Say CHEESE!!!

FiddleSong Kate

I am delighted to say that I have found a DELICIOUS simple recipe to make goat's milk cheese!  It is fresh and creamy, has just the right texture and a wonderful flavor! I am so excited, I just have to share :) Taste test in HR on Monday! I'm calling it "Whimsy Cheese".

....YUM, yum YUM YUM!! Fresh cheese at FiddleSong Farm....

Goodbye kiddos, have a good life...

"FiddleSong Farm Stuck in Reverse"

This weekend one of my friends from work bought all three kids. MAN is it quiet around here. I miss them, but it was easier than I thought it would be. I realized that the hardest thing for me about selling kids is breaking up the families. I'm not worried that they won't be cared for, goats are tough! I worry about their poor little broken hearts.

We may have an unauthorized pregnancy in the barn. Rick was working on the barn one day and Fiddler (our buck) opened a gate and got in with two yearling does. Last week I noticed that one of those does, FiddleSong Kate, looks a little more......substantial. No udder yet, but this is Zip's daughter. She could be sneaky like her mother.  Wouldn't it be nice if  Kate gave us a doeling that looks like Zip?

GOAT milk?  Oh, YES please!! I believe I have solved our milking problem.  Both my does hate being milked by hand, but they LOVE my super duper hand-powered goat milking machine! I can milk Whimsy in three minutes flat. Both her and Honey are giving a generous pint per milking. That is a half gallon per day!! What do I do with all that fresh creamy milk? I make cheese :)

If you haven't had icy cold fresh goat's milk, I encourage you to try some.  There is a creamy delicious difference!

Fresh Honey milk at FiddleSong Farm....

We love summer....

We spent a wonderful summer weekend with our oldest granddaughter Madison. Mom Rachel drove her up on Saturday morning. We spent long hours surrounded by nibbling goats, cheeping chicks and ecstatic dogs. The garden was extremely well watered, and there were earthworms harvested for the chicks. We gathered ripe strawberries and raspberries for our dessert. Grandpa Rick crafted a cedar bird house from scrap wood, and Madi painted it with bright acrylic colors, a rainbow and sparkling stars on its roof. Sunday morning we made Hawaiian toast for breakfast, there was more watering, Grandma pulled Madi in the wagon and we went for a long nature walk. Then it was time for the drive home. Madison is a serious foodie already at age ten. She helped me choose fruit at the fruit stand, and we chatted about how to make veggies tastier so Grandpa will like them more.
It was so much exhausting fun! We already have a list of want to do’s for our next sleep-over.


Summer is fun at FiddleSong Farm....

A new painting....

It is always exciting to have something new to frame. This watercolor is about 18"x 22" with sepia ink and lots of Prismacolor pencil work. These dramatically back~lit walnuts are just showing their new spring buds.  There is something magical about this Volcano meadow.  I drive by it twice a day, and I am fascinated by the shapes of the trees and the lush grasses.  I find myself returning to it again and again for subject matter for my paintings.

This one will be one of my entries in the Amador County Fair in July this year. You may view it in person at the Sutter Creek Gallery, until then...

...giclee prints are available :)

Small successes...

I just read Jenna's blog.  She has been milking her doe, Bonita for one month.  I am proud of her, and remember commenting on one of her blog posts last year that she should add goat's milk to her farm :)  GOOD for her!!

Tonight, I was out in the garden after settling my goat friends for the night.  I was looking at all the healthy weeds that have exploded in growth and thinking "OMG.  HOW am I going to get all these under control?" I have SO much to do and I am anxious to plant my green beans, and I have to clear another area for two more potato boxes. I have been weeding a little every evening after work while it is cool, and I am making slow progress. My onions are doing very well.  I have seedlings started in the greenhouse, and they all look healthy. My herbs are starting to grow, and my celery is growing taller. I have peas to eat, and spinach ready and I harvested a romaine lettuce yesterday. All is well.

My friend Alison told me that she is going to grow some veggies in her yard in Sutter Creek.  Deja said that Andy is clearing their space, getting ready to plant. Rachel is talking about planting some things in pots at her new place. Dawnia is getting ready for her tomatoes. My Mom and Dad still grow pots of tomatoes in their tiny manicured yard.

I remember planting a tiny veggie garden in a corner of our Oakley home in the '80's, and how satisfying that small effort was. My advice is GO FOR IT!  Even if you plant one wine barrel with a tomato and some basil, or a shady pot of lettuce seeds~small successes are still successes!

....Hmmmm, I wonder where the tomatoes should go this year?