hey, what are the names of these two? R? LL? these two and the goats below too...
thanks : Gibbet + Cupcake
It sure was good to see everybody, and eat with everybody - even the goats got wheelbarrows full of freshly pruned grape vine clippings. Yum! and a quick way to compost all those clippings... not to mention, I imagine, an excellent diet for making cheese that pairs well with wine.
Not that it's all about cycles of consumption, there's much more to goats than that. Sunk like the Titanic beneath their initial shyness lies an ocean of inquisitive mischief that any time spent with them will reveal - if not prove contagious. I do believe it's carried its way into the music, a snippet of dylan, the goats head edit.
Vida + Kelpie
Here's some pictures of the goat milking station, an integral part of the farm. That's Rick and Lora Lea, experts in residence - - and the connoisseur kittys, holding out for foam.
When I tried to get CP, who usually likes to go swimming, to come swimming with us in the afternoon right around goat milking time, she resolutely refused, not wanting to miss a milking of the goats.
Without other kids along I was a little worried at first about bringing her, but she loved the farm and took to it with an inquisitive and independent spirit. Thanks go to R + LL and of course, the kittens, for making it possible.
It turns out there were other kids... just not human.
Without much fanfare, 2008 kicked off the the premier year of the Columbia Log Jam Invitational. The crowds were sparse, but a good time was had by all. Here's Karl, trading in his knife for a stick.
On the way back from swimming we picked these wild black cherries. Once correctly
positioned in The Tree, a whole gallon can be picked without further climbing. Hands down, hands up, best cherries ever!
Not Ephrata Bud. Chef Karl with family recipe potatoe sausages basking in the evening sun.
Did I mention we ate really well? For breakfast, from scratch, croissants and pain au chocolat baked to perfection. And that was just the start of the day...
Still, there was work to be done between meals.
A more traditional feeding of the goats.
And work to be done making meals. R + K conducting smoke.
Smoked to perfection, here it is served up.
Later I found out this was Lightening - firing a few extra synapses - a born circus goat... and I'm wondering, maybe next time, if not already too big, what would it take to balance Lightening on my head?
I think it could be done... maybe wear a turban.
After glowing testimonials from Rick we were sold - we stopped for a Soap Lake soak on the way back. It was hot, 101 degrees, but as soon as we were in the water, even ankle deep, the heat just disappeared. The lake totally lives up to its name, very slick water, feels just like soap, and even suds up when you rub it against your skin. It didn't take long for me to go native and slather my body with mud like all those other people strolling and lolling about. Mostly russian and ukrainian, as were the bunch below that I hit up for a mud shot. So I asked them why the mud? They shrugged and said we heard it was good for you. Which was about my level of knowledge...
I also noticed all these bright red flecks in the water, that when cupped in the hand and examined more closely, squiggled about like little shrimp. It reminded me of the great Salt Lake, with its oolite producing shrimp. The photo above is of a concentration of these shrimp along the shoreline - they really are that red.
When we got back, I did a little research about Soap Lake. It turns out the shrimp are integral to the healing properties of the lake... "Soap Lake water also contains ichthyols, an oil like substance sold over the counter in Europe to treat infections and abrasions. The icthyol in Soap Lake water most likely come from decomposition of tiny brine like red shrimp that flourish in the water from late spring to mid-summer."
It also turns out that Soap Lake is a highly unique meromictic lake, having layers of water which do not intermix. It is also in danger of losing that unique property. Since the advent of the grand Coulee dam, Soap Lake has lost half of its mineral concentration due to irrigation and changes in the water table resulting from the building of the dam. The Soap Lake Conservancy, a group organized to preserve the lake, has good information.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Quillisascut revisited
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Iowa
It's been a couple of decades since I've been here, but the Maquoketa Caves were beautiful as ever. And really fun for the kids, by which I mean all of us.
At home we had a marsupial interlude, an opossum, caught, released and bewondered.
The day after the 4th I went on the Tour de Brew with Steve and Bill. You start out the ride with a beer and a card and proceed to peddle 35 miles with enough stops in between to complete a poker hand and keep you beer fueled... none of that hipper than thou PBR crap, just a choice of one of three excellent (and strong!) hand crafted beers. Prizes go to the winning hands at the end, and of course, there's more beer. Naturally, amongst the beauty of the rolling farm hills and the wind in your hair, this leads to theorizing, if not strategizing, about card distribution methodologies and the finer points of poker. Well, maybe not so natural... in a lot of ways it was a family event, I loved that about it too, though it did occur to me that truly the only way to drink beer correctly is to pair it with bicycling. A brilliant idea. Kudos to the organizers of this event.
We saw Ferdinand along the way. I guess he lives in Iowa now. I think he ate all the big flowers, but you can see there's a little one, right beneath his nose.
last beer stop
Back in the Amana Colonies I ate the best hotdog this year. Maybe the only one... whatever, it could have been a hamburger, it would have been the best one too. It was sooo good. The Beatles cover band, less so. But who cares? We had the winning poker hand...
Back at the K-ranch fam pho—
