The Blog @ Beech Tree Ranch

Garden

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:00:30 +0000

The garden is taking shape

Feeding Time

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 01:57:25 +0000

Some of the babies at feeding time

Cabrita

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:52:41 +0000

Beech Tree Ranch Kennels is proud to introduce CABRITA DA QUINTA DO SALOIO. She traveled all the way from Portugal to join our family in December.

Cabrita is a purebred smooth coat Portuguese Podengo Pequeno. Cabrita is affectionate, feisty, energetic, and eager to please. One of Cabrita’s favorite activities is keeping the baby goats, as well as the big dogs, in line. She also enjoys chasing birds, playing (nicely) with the cats, and snuggling.

From the AKC site “The Portuguese Podengo Pequeno, a primitive breed, is known for its small size, erect ears, wedge shaped head, and two coat types, smooth and wire. It hunts by sight, scent and hearing, and is related to the Pharaoh Hound, Ibizan Hound, Cirneco dell’Etna and Basenji. The smooth coat is short and very dense, while the wire coat (rough) is long and harsh, with a bearded muzzle. Preferred coat color is yellow or fawn, with or without white markings.”

Jack

admin — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:49:12 +0000

The animals are happy the grass is green and getting longer

Dixie

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:37:31 +0000

Meet Clifford

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:35:01 +0000

Oh Mama Update

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:59:49 +0000

Remember her ?

She had two big boys this week. Both weighed 10 pounds.

Must not of been all “baby weight” she was carrying around. ssh! We won’t tell her.

Farvel ! Tot ziens ! Auf Wiedersehen ! Adiós !

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:56:52 +0000

Goodbye Mr. Winter !

Hello Spring !

Perfect Spot

admin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:21:41 +0000

The cats always know where to nap

admin — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:09:35 +0000

The early bird may get the worm, but it’s the second mouse that gets . . . → Read More:

Oh Mama

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:18:08 +0000

How many babies do you think this poor goat is carrying??? Looks like she is having quadruplets or octuplets! Hopefully, not!

Landscaping

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:36:52 +0000

“Education”

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:31:10 +0000

One of the things we regularly do at home is order Cheeses from Murrays’. We consider this education and research. We try to stay with goat cheeses but on occasion order a nice cow or sheep cheese.

Friday night we sampled four delicious cheeses from around the world.

Cheese School Update

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:46:05 +0000

I spent the beginning of this week at cheese school learning how to make Reblochon and Saint Nectaire cheeses. We were treated to the best Cheese Masters as our teachers.

Sister Noella Marcellino (Also known as The Cheese Nun) was one of our fantastic teachers this week. The other one was Ivan Larcher and one of my favorites Marie Chantel. I love going to UVM and the VIAC Program because they always have the best teachers and I feel I learn a tremendous amount.

Here we are in one of the labs looking at molds under the microscopes.

Cheese School

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 01:42:14 +0000

Last week I finished the Cheesemaking Certificate Program at VIAC (Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese). I’m excited to go back in March to start the advanced classes.

This is the course description

The course is a three day program focused on the technical aspects and savoir faire aspects of two of the finest and traditional French cheeses:Reblochon and Saint Nectaire. During this intensive program students will learn the nuances of making and aging these two very different and delicious cheese styles, by the hand of French Master Cheesemaker Ivan Larcher. During the first two days, Ivan will explain the science and art of making Reblochon and Saint Nectaire- style cheeses combining lectures and hands on exercises. The third day he will focus on the affinagepart and troubleshooting techniques, to avoid possible defects in the cheese. In addition to Ivans outstanding practical information, students also will have the unique opportunity to learn extraordinary information from Sister Noella Marcellino Ph.D. (The Cheese Nun). During this course Sister Noella will share with VIAC students her exceptional knowledge on the history and microbiology of cheese, with special focus on Reblochon and Saint Nectarie cheeses and the characteristics of its surface flora. The last day of the course, Sister Noella will also evaluate under the microscope fungi from different samples of cheeses, including the students` samples. In addition to the expertise from our two special guests, students will learn from the VIAC staff about safety and sensory aspects of the cheeses and will have the opportunity to work with Master Cheesemaker Marie-Chantal Houde from Canada, who will be working closely with Ivan Larcher in VIAC cheese room. The result is an outstanding, comprehensive practical course on two of the most unique and appreciated French cheeses, by the hands of two of the most knowledgeable experts in cheese.

The VIAC has a wonderful instructors and facility. I can not praise University of Vermont enough for having this department.

Meet the girls – part 1

admin — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:28:47 +0000

This is one of our yearlings. I believe she is a Saanen and alpine cross. Her ears make me think she is going to just take off and fly away. She is a friendly goat and loves attention, like all our girls.

Sophia

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:21:42 +0000

Our Beautiful Sophia !

Radiant Floor

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 19:37:28 +0000

The concrete floor in the creamery will be poured on Monday. The heating coils have been laid and the pipes have been plumbed.

Creamery – The Tower

admin — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:54:13 +0000

The Tower has siding and shingles. Next up floors.

The Tower holds the milking parlor. Everyone is working hard to finish this part of the building first so we can start milking 8 goats at a time using state-of-the-art equipment.

Back to School

admin — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:30:08 +0000

I kissed ALL the kids goodbye yesterday and headed back up to cheese school. The first few days I’ll be taking a Cheese Chemistry Course. After that a course in Food Safety and Cheesemaking (Essential Hygiene Practices and Programs) and the last day a course in Basic Sensory Evaluation. I’m excited to be back up here.

I’ll keep you posted with as many pictures as I can.

The Kids Are Growing Up

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:41:48 +0000

Update

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:07:10 +0000

Freshness of Eggs

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:55:54 +0000

We’ve posted recently about the color of an egg having no difference on the taste or nutritional value. That the main key in finding a good egg is to buy fresh local eggs. There are tests you can easily do at home to see how fresh your eggs really are.

Here’s how to test your egg freshness:

Fill a deep bowl or pan with enough cold tap water to cover an egg.
Place the egg in the water.
If the egg lies on its side on the bottom, the air cell within is small and it’s very fresh.
If the egg stands up and bobs on the bottom, the air cell is larger and it isn’t quite as fresh but still acceptable.
If the egg floats on the surface, it it should be discarded.
A very fresh egg out of the shell will have an overall thick white which doesn’t spread much and the yolk will stand up.

Eggs that are not as fresh are easier to peel. I find peeling our eggs a chore because they are so fresh. (Wired Science explains why). I usually try use my oldest eggs when making them hard boiled. This is an even harder task since we only have the freshest of eggs on hand. We can’t seem to keep our eggs on the shelves for more than a day or two. Serious Eats has a tip “Just put the hot eggs into a bowl of ice water for a few minutes first before peeling to help loosen up the shell a bit.”

I always store the pointed end down in the carton to keep the air pocket in the egg in place and smaller.

Baby feeding

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:50:54 +0000

They’ve graduated to bucket feeding! From 0 to full in sixty seconds !

More on Egg Color

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:47:51 +0000

You can even have green or blue eggs. These eggs are not moldy or bad but laid by an Araucana Chicken.

Araucana chickens lay green or blue eggs. Also, know as the Easter Egg chicken the Araucana is originally from South America. People are at times put off by the color of the shell. Consumers think that the egg is bad or moldy and are afraid to try them. As with brown vs. white eggs there is no difference in the egg other than the color of it’s shell.

Brown vs White

admin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:37:38 +0000

Is there a difference between White eggs and Brown eggs? Recently, we had a customer ask this question while buying eggs. The only difference in the egg is the color of the shell. Our eggs are brown because we have reddish brown chickens, Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshire Reds and Red Stars. White eggs would be laid by hens with white feathers. Be assured that the shell color of an egg is nothing more than that. The quality, flavor, health values and freshness of an egg have nothing to do with the color of the shell.

I remember a commercial from childhood “Brown eggs are local eggs..and local eggs are fresh!”

As a local farmer with brown eggs I like this jingle. However, you can have fresh white eggs or fresh brown eggs.

Because of our New England winters we needed a hearty flock. Our flock of brown feathered birds are larger in size and consume more feed than other chickens, which helps them stay warm in our harsh climate and lay large eggs.

Freshness is the key ! If you come to Beech Tree Ranch and pick up a dozen of our fresh brown eggs (or any local farmer) and compare those eggs to those from the grocery store (white or brown) you will notice a big difference in taste.

Creamery

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:02:03 +0000

How lucky are we to have a winter like this. I know we blessed to be in the middle of a major construction project and have such a mild winter.

Soak Up The Sun

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:40:04 +0000

I’m gonna soak up the sun
While it’s still free
I’m gonna soak up the sun
Before it goes out on me

The goats huddling in to catch a ray

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:47:17 +0000

“I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches . . . → Read More:

Panoramic view of the barn

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:20:22 +0000

This morning, after feeding the babies and while milking the goats, I shot a quick 360. Click the link to view

http://360.io/n22xWv