Goats!

There is a fresh produce stand just before you go over the Caloosahatchee River bridge from Ft. Myers to Cape Coral. Behind the stand is an open field (in the middle of town) full of goats! We stopped there to see the goats one day and learned that the locals come out to feed the goats on a regular basis. Now, whenever we cross the bridge, the kids and I stop to feed the goats (after a short stop at Publix to pick up a jumbo bag of carrots!).

This is what we saw as we walked up to the goat pen- the goats gallop to get to the fence!

Noah feeds the goats that peek over the fence...

Annalee was thoughtful enough to bring a bag of baby carrots for the smaller goats...

Thank you, Annalee!

One happy goat!

Projects Around the House

Some of you may have heard the hype about kombucha tea lately. There was a short story about it on yahoo news just a couple months ago, then it was pulled from store shelves over the minute amount of alcohol that could be in it (depending on how long you brew it). Well, I've been making it since about 5 years ago and couldn't enjoy it more! And, if you brew it at home, it is less than $.50/2 quarts as opposed to $5.00/bottle of the commercial brands (if the stores ever restock!). Kombucha is good for digestive problems (LOTS of probiotics) and for a little boost of energy. I really enjoy it :)

I have been researching how to make my own bug repellent and couldn't find a recipe that was really appealing to me! The recipe that I formulated has olive oil, essential oils and neem oil in it. We'll see how it works... I'll keep you posted :)

We have been buying raw milk for some time now, and Elena and I made some cultured butter recently! We let the raw cream sit out for 8 hours, then whipped it until the butter separated from the buttermilk. YUM. Although this butter is not salted (like my kids prefer), it is wonderful when melted over steamed veggies!!