and to conclude kidding

Little Ginger kidded this afternoon, a little buck. Since its mom and dad-in-laws anniversary today, they got the privilege of naming him, and so here we have "Doc." He looks really similar to Piper, we think.

I've been learning about cheesemaking, and have made some chevre and also some different flavor combinations to add to the chevre. My favorites have been garlic and chive, and pineapple and walnut. The garden, children, kids, grass and weeds have all been growing. Not much else to add at this point . . .

and just where have you been?

Spring is in full swing at Amon Eruanna. Hubby and I have been busy, he tilling and I planting. We have planted zucchini, tomatoes, peas, radishes, onions, spinach, beets, chinese cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes, green beans, lettuce and carrots. Quite a bit of the cool weather stuff went into earth boxes on the back deck, along with a couple of cherry tomato plants and two jalapeño plants and one habanero plant. Hubby tilled up a patch in the barnyard and put a cattle panel fence around it. E1 planted gourds, watermelon, pumpkins, cantaloupe and let me stick in a few winter squash plants in her patch by Shep's pen.



Also, we removed the landscaping gravel from the little bed south of our front porch and put actual dirt in there, nice barnyard mulch and black dirt . . . the good part being that we were able to preserve and keep that nice climbing rose bush in the process. I want to plant a climbing honeysuckle vine on the opposite side to compliment it, and the children have all picked out a plant from Reha's greenhouse to plant in that bed as well.



Of course, before the past week's flurry of tilling and sowing, there was the call of the timber and the precious morsels to be found there, more valuable than truffles around these here parts. We found some little grays, which we incorporated into a sauce for a tender venison loin that we roasted. The big yellows were dipped in home-cultured buttermilk, flour, and fried in canola oil and butter. Oh, yummy!



All of this pictures in this post are of the wildflowers and choice fungus that can be found in our prairie and woodland here at Amon Eruanna. I took a couple of blissful afternoons to take it all in while 'shrooming.