cheeky

Owl with her pretty feathery cheeks

those ears, those eyes

Cozy needs a refill

about the size of a food processor

Rudy sitting exactly on a note pad of paper

salty dip

8 wheels of Little Piros bathing in brine

rabbit with cole slaw

I love the shape of bunnies

frosty farm

The farm did OK in the sub-zero temperatures this week

Look closely at the bird bath - there's a morning dove hanging out in the water

the Brunost was toast!

Norway goat cheese fire closes tunnel

 

Brunost has a high concentration of fat and sugar

A road tunnel in Norway has been closed - by a lorry-load of burning cheese.

About 27 tonnes of caramelised brown goat cheese - a delicacy known as Brunost - caught light as it was being driven through the Brattli Tunnel at Tysfjord, northern Norway, last week.
The fire raged for five days and smouldering toxic gases were slowing the recovery operation, officials said.
The tunnel - which is said to be badly damaged - is likely to remain closed for several weeks, they added.
"We can't go in until it's safe," geologist Viggo Aronsen told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
Police officer Viggo Berg said the high concentration of fat and sugar in the cheese made it burn "almost like petrol if it gets hot enough".

 

The lorry driver had noticed the fire in his trailer and abandoned it about 300m (1,000ft) from the southern entrance. No-one was hurt.
Kjell Bjoern Vinje, of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, said it was the first time he could remember cheese catching fire on Norwegian roads.
"I didn't know that brown cheese burns so well," he said.

the fine brine

Northern Natural hard cider company asked me to experiment with making cheese brines from a few of their ciders.  When making brine, you completely defile perfectly good alcohol by pouring a ton of salt in it

This is a bottle of 19% alcohol grape dessert wine

huck jam

Anna, who has a table at the farmer's market next to mine, makes beautiful jams and chutney - this week she made huckleberry jam (from her own bushes) and made a pretty display with a vintage copy of Huckleberry Finn

nice can

My new milk cans!  Food grade plastic, made in Italy and measured in Imperial Gallons

primary dresses

Some of the foxy polyester dresses I have been finding at the thrift shop - one of them has a tag that says 'The Lady Manhattan Dress Company", and the yellow one says "Z.A. Fashion". 

stuck

Mike Kurta's latest invention for the Boss Mouse lab: a label dispenser that holds all of the stickers.  They pass under the head of a push broom fixed to the wall.  This keeps them from unravelling when you pull them down, and the holder is easy to load and unload.  When I asked him how he thought of the broom head he said the idea came to him in a dream - for real

Mt. Holiday cheese

I am making a new cheese that I named Mt. Holiday after the local ski hill in Traverse City.  It's a strong brie with a layer of vegetable ash on top of the little mounds of curd - the white mould rind will grow right through the ash, leaving a yummy pale gray layer

If you ain't fallin', you ain't haulin'

January Holman Farm visit

Dog d'amour Akita has a spot that looks like a heart, or an 8, or two cells dividing

Laurie and Tim grow, can, freeze, cure, dry, and ferment most of the food they eat - here is their freezer

Hard Cider from their own apples - it's so dry and effervescent they bottled it in champagne bottles

little brie & chutney tarts

Laurie's canning perfection - chutneys, salsas, relish, and pickled mushrooms - I am always in awe of her skills!

cheese pilgrims

My friend Pete from Pete's Chocolate Co. in Detroit brought a bunch of friends for a Boss Mouse tour

oldies

They're doing a book on Vinsetta Garage, so our family have been organizing all of the antique photographs - here is the garage in the 1940s

My Aunt Julia, who is on the Boss Mouse logo, with my Grandpa

my Dad

cat door

Rudy & Mabel's new kitty door, custom cut into the door to the basement where Max & Cozy can't eat their food, or cat box contents.

fresh

I loved this girl's outfit at the farmer's market last weekend.  Her had said 'Magick Outlaw'.

meet Mabel

When I adopted Rudy a few weeks ago, she had a companion who had an infection in her eye, so was not being adopted out at the same time.  I told the shelter I would take her when she was feeling better.  Her name is Mabel and she and Rudy are the same age (13), raised together since they were kittens.  She is very beautiful and looks part Siamese.  I am still applying drops and salve to her eye, but it is much better.  She seemed so glad to be in a home again.  

raw steady

raw marinated mushroom wraps with pomegranate-walnut sauce

puss 'n sink

Rudy likes to sit in the kitchen sink

400 pounds of love

cheese cave full of goodies

sky study #82

Sunset Saturday, January 5, 2013

B girls

Bunny Lee & Blackie snack

Buffy tries to get in on the apple action

squashy

Hubbard squash from this past Summer's garden

squash pie!

goodbye poor tree

New Year's day removal of the dying tree - the woodpeckers had been eating it for a few years, and it had lost a few limbs last year from rot.  Time for it to come down, though that is never a happy thing to watch.  I will plant new trees in the Spring beside the stump.

yes whey

The garage as refrigerator - a good thing about Winter

I produce far more whey than cheese - about 15 gallon per wheel.  I sell it to a couple of pig farmers.  It's sweet and smells great, and I still make dog food with it

separated at birth

Miss Rudy

Mr. Marx

my New Year's soundtrack

Just get this record. 

all New Year's joys be yours