Been enjoying the last of the Indian summer here on the farm, cats lazing around in the sun, goats in the far field stuffing themselves so full of grass that they hardly touch their cake when they come in for supper and the evening milking!

Coconut kefir labels just arrived from the printer and they look terrific, can't wait to start making it. I've got to take the water kefir grains out of the fridge, wake them up with a good soak in some dechlorinated water with molasses sugar and bicarb of soda, then put them to work kefir-ing the coconut water! It's our first non-goatsmilk product that we're making on the farm, so fingers crossed, I'm a bit nervous about it...fingers crossed it goes well.

Rich and our lovely helper Emma are in the kitchen at the moment, gutting chickens for roast dinner Sunday night. I'm not a big fan of the process, but when it comes to eating the chicken, I'm as keen as anyone! Rich is good about keeping his chickens, but I prefer my beautiful goats. I can let myself love them, as you don't have to kill them to get the goodness, as you do a chicken or a pig. Just a softie at heart, I guess...don't mind helping with butchering the lambs, but for the chickens without feathers look just a little too much like my dear departed African Grey parrot for my taste...; (

Did a big run of hoof trimming this morning, and dosed all the stock in the top barn with selenium, which is a fantastic mineral. You can see the difference almost immediately, makes the goats incredibly glossy and sleek. It somehow unlocks their ability to get the goodness out of the food. I bet it's just as important for humans...note to self, research selenium...

Got a big crate of plums from the farmers market on Friday, picked some apples from the orchard and made some gorgeous plum and apple jam. Easy to do and fun! Here's the recipe I used: 

Before you begin: carefully wash 4 jam jars and lids, put in the oven at 75 degrees to warm and sterilize. 

Wash and stone 1 lb plums. (skins on) Peel, core and slice 1 lb apples. Chuck all the fruit in a large pan with 1/4 pint water. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add sugar to taste. (We like our jam tart; less sugar means it won't keep as long, but we eat it up pretty quickly anyhow!) Simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it sets. Set= the point at which it develops a skin, if you drop a dollop on a chilled saucer and run your finger through it. 

Spread over fresh-baked bread and watch the kids come running! ; )