We arrived on the farm yesterday at noon. Well – we arrived at the front gate at noon. We didn’t remember the code from our Dec visit, so we walked up to the farm. C said that after driving over 6500 miles to get here, it was nice to do the last mile on foot.

We were greeted by Sherwin, the farm owner, and introduced and shown around. It’s such a gorgeous farm, and we were thrilled to be here and ready to work. We unpacked the car, settled in a bit, and got back downstairs to get started. (Our apartment is in the goat barn, just a flight of stairs up from the pens. We have a view of the buck pen from our bedroom.) Nancy, a lovely woman that started as a volunteer and is now the farm manager/general chore organizer, showed us the afternoon chore process. It gets started around 4:30pm, getting all the does (adult females) grass and alfalfa bundles to eat. Then everyone gets their water buckets refreshed with warm water (goats prefer it warm and it helps with milk production). We warmed bottles of milk (the babies get different blends of goat milk, yogurt, cream etc) and then learned how to bottle feed month old kids. It was funny and spastic! You pick them up with one arm and try to nestle their hind legs between your elbow and side with your hand between their front legs. The sooner you get the bottle in their mouths, the less they’ll thrash and squirm, scraping your side with their adorable, flailing hind hooves. The last was easier than the first, I’ll say that for sure.

After bottle feeding the month olds, we fed the babies that are only a couple weeks old. Nothing is cuter than a baby goat excited for milk and leaping sideways on all fours. Easier to handle, but no less eager for milk, this feeding was my favorite. The final babies to be fed at a month old, but still feeding on their mother. So we tied the doe to a post on the adult side of the barn, and pulled the two babies from their pen. I thought we’d have to lead them, but they went tearing through the barn, knowing exactly where their mom was. Such a powerful bond.

C and I were done with chores around 6:30, so we went grocery shopping and I made a salad and chicken for us and our roommate, Wes. We share our little farm apartment with a dude that has been here since the end of Feb, and has traveled and hiked a lot in the US. He’s super friendly and laid back, and we hope he likes being our roommate, too. After dinner, we went up to the owner’s house, called “Seven Trees” for a couple beers – Manny’s on tap! – and to chat with Brian, Sherwin’s brother and construction expert. He’s built a lot around here (including our digs) and will work a lot with C before he heads back to FL where he builds houses.

Then to bed since we had to be up early…

I went with Shawn (Meghan’s husband – Meghan is Mountain Lodge Farm’s award winning cheese maker) to the West Seattle farmers market to sell our cheeses. We’re there every Sun from 10-2, if you’re in the area! It was great to interact with people over cheese, and learn for myself some more about the final product of so much effort. It made me even more excited to be a part of the process of making a food I love to eat.

C stayed at the farm doing chores – I’ll let him explain, or tell you all about it when I do the same thing tomorrow!

I came back around 4pm and helped out with evening chores. After chores, we took a walk around the development – the farm is on about 20 acres in a gated preserve with over 70 plots. It’s still wonderfully forested with native plants and lots of wildlife. I’ve only seen deer so far, but I hang out with goats, sheep, llamas and dogs all day, so for now I’m satisfied. I am hoping for a cougar sighting someday…

I made dinner (chorizo and potato frittata) and then we watched sunset in the drive in front of the bar. It was lovely.