Elephant tales...

Nancy Filippi, Managing Director of the Oakland Zoo identified my elephant. His name is Osh ;) How COOOOOOL is that??

Many thanks Nancy!

August paintings....

This is a portrait of an African elephant who lives at the Oakland Zoo.  I loved the interesting skin textures, and the way the light plays off the trunk and ears. I added the contrasting color of the bright green foliage~ it really help to make the greys of the elephant's skin more interesting.

I recently learned of the PAWS organization, a performing animal sanctuary that is very near us. They rescue neglected or abused animals. I have asked if I could photograph their mountain lion. I would love to paint her! I hope they will consider it, it may turn out to be a mutually beneficial relationship.

My next painting is a beautiful finch on a butterfly bush, so far it is going well!  Tomorrow, I will be at Sutter Creek Gallery for the day.

Here is Whimsy waiting to be milked. (I see that she needs her hooves trimmed again :)  We are doing well with our daily milking ritual. I am getting plenty of delicious creamy milk, and I am making fresh cheese weekly in my kitchen. I am still learning, but I am enjoying the process AND eating the results!

...fresh chevre at FiddleSong Farm....

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....