Attack of the Killer Moths

Such a ridiculous fear, isn't it? I can't help it, I have always been afraid of Moths. Something about those furry bodies and the frantic flight toward light just freaks me out! Luckily, I don't wish them any ill will, and am interested in the vast array of species when they are OUTSIDE.We had an amazing migration of Luna moths where for 2 weeks the outside of our log cabin was just covered with them, it was amazing! Then some cotton candy pink and cream colored little ones were around in numbers for a week. Some large woodsland variety actually scared my son so bad he hollered his first bad word EVER! Very unlike him. Now we have these giant brown black moths that get in the house and don't just flitter around a light, they fly around and land on us. Last night we ran in the door after milking screaming as one hitched a ride on my shoulder. Anyone have some wonderful interesting moth facts about how special and beneficial they are? Usually Dante just catches and releases them so don't worry we aren't slaughtering innocent insects up here. My Mom cannot believe that this farmer is afraid of moths, with all the livestock I work around its the moths that give me the shivers.

Ricotta

Yummy, look at that Ricotta and herbs on french bread. So simple and in season. This week I'm making a lot of ricotta, it's not just for stuffing shells. Ricotta is also delicious with berries and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. I like to take my huge 3 gallon jars, skim a good portion of the cream off, and then stir the remaining cream back into the milk and heat it up to 180 degrees then dash it with apple cider vinegar and voila! Delicious Ricotta.

Since I haven't updated in a while, yesterday made 5 weeks on my new " diet" and I have lost 21 pounds and started running. I feel renewed!

Hope for Ayla

Dante and I are writing this on behalf of Ayla,
Ayla was diagnosed with type 1 ( juvenile ) diabetes on January 30th,2008 at the tender age of 19 months. She will be insulin dependent for the rest of her life. So far, in her 3 short years of life she has been subjected to 4,360 finger and toe pricks and been on the receiving end of 3,150 injections of insulin. We are looking into an insulin pump for her, which would mean less injections and better control, but I guess the “selfish” part of me just wanted to see my baby girl enjoy one more summer at the beach , without visible tubing. It’s easier to pretend everything is okay when she looks just like any other kid, isn’t it? We plan to start pump classes this Fall. Ayla is so full of Life, and such a character! I can’t tell you how many times I have cried alone at night, wondering why this would ever happen to such a great little soul.
We have spent the last year and a half just trying to cope and survive this. Ayla had 2 very serious hypoglycemic seizures that shook me to my very core. Both happened while everyone was asleep, and the last was almost a year ago, but only 6 days after the birth of our youngest daughter. That is when I stopped sleeping for more than 2 hours at a time. I remember holding her as she seized, Dante on the phone with a 911 operator, begging for her life and the seizure to stop. Thank God, it did. It has taken a toll. I feel ALL the kids have been robbed of a part of their childhoods. Seeing my other children crying hysterically as their little sister is rushed away, dying in an ambulance. A part of their innocence and belief that Mom and Dad can make everything better is gone. I started eating to try to dull the pain and fill my aching heart up somehow, and gained a lot of weight. Dante started smoking again. Ayla can’t have a simple overnight at Grandma’s house, because Grandma and Grandpa are afraid to take care of her without us.
We chose to lay it all out for you, and not sugar coat anything. We need you to understand why we need a cure for diabetes NOW. We can’t wait. Ayla can’t wait.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the number 1 funder of juvenile diabetes research. One of their largest fund raising events is the “ Walk to cure Diabetes”. This year we have formed a team called Hope for Ayla. This years walk will be held on Saturday September 13th, 2009 in Portland ME.

If you are interested there are 3 ways you can help us to provide Hope for Ayla.
• You can join our team, Hope for Ayla, which consists of family and friends and collect pledges and walk with us.
• Send a donation and contact your friends and family to send a donation as well. Contact us and we will send you a pledge form. You can also forward this letter to as many people as you like.
• You can send a tax deductible donation in ANY amount made payable to JDRF. We will deliver any donations, in Ayla’s name, the morning of the walk. You can also donate online by going to www.walk.jdrf.org We are team Hope for Ayla.
Thank You for helping us meet and hopefully exceed our family goal of raising $1000 for diabetes research. Hope to see you at the Walk!

Here's a link to Ayla's Diabetes Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kI1JFUV1OY

Hard Cheeses Coming Soon

Here's a little sneek peak into our cheese fridge. The top shelf has some Jack type cheeses I call " Milkmaid" and the bottom shelf has some Edam I named " Farmer's Wife". The first of these cheeses will be ready August 1st. As you can see, they all vary a little in size and shape, just like my life as a milkmaid and farmer's wife ( or THE Farmer depending on who you ask )varies from day to day. I need to have cheese fit in my life, and what I've discovered is that it can be more flexible than you think but I imagine these cheeses will vary in taste as well, depending on which cows milk I used, the season, and what little unexpected surprises popped up while the milk was ripening. It is all I can do to leave them alone, but law mandates all raw milk cheeses age at least 60 days. Stay tuned......

Our Jersey/Angus Milk Cow

Everyone knows I am a big fan of Jersey cows, wouldn't have any other kind, but with that said I felt I needed to acknowledge our good girl Ellie May. A lot of homesteaders and people looking for family cows are usually interested in this cross. She is 3 years old, and out of my very first cow Gale. She is naturally polled, and produced about 3-4 gallons a day on her first lactation. She has a nice dairy udder from her mom, but holds condition extremely well. A nice producer on a grass based farm like ours where the cows forage actively. Ellie is bred and due to have a calf, the first out of our New Zealand bred bull in November. Now that would be a cow that could milk on grass. Lets hope for a heifer!

Kids at the Summit of Cadillac Mountain

1st pic: Veda watching a kite flying

2nd pic: L to R Ayla, Zoie, Jude holding Ida May, and Veda

3rd pic: Veda and Jude

4th pic: Zoie and Ayla

Last Pic: Zoie and Jude

Screaming Mimi

This has been a busy and hectic week that has just flown by. I am normally a night owl, between keeping tabs on Ayla, having an avid 11 month old nursling, and just my natural personality--- I am usually on some kind of second wind when the rest of the house sleeps. Every night this week I have laid down to nurse Ida, and just passed out.

Tonight I am finally, once again, the only one awake.

We've done a lot of traveling, especially Dante this week so sorely neglected many farm duties that were already behind due to rain. Dante has not had a chance to get back to the high tensile fence project. We have 20 acres to do, it is extremely slow going with no help. My dad really helped out driving those posts last weekend, I think he and Dante may have had some bonding time. Dad is also doing his own fence. We should have teamed up somehow to help each other out, but conflicting schedules never would have allowed it anyway. It is the busy season. I saw the blueberry harvesters at the garage getting prepped for blueberry season. I can't believe its almost that time. I mulched half of my new perennial flower bed today. I've been faithfully weeding it, but I know I'm gonna get behind so better mulch. The tomato plants growing next to our house look great, so does the kale.

We went to Acadia national park on Wednesday while Dante was at the Bar Harbor Farmer's Market. I took some pics of the kids at the summit of Cadillac Mountain. I'll post them tommorrow. That's the day Ida May got her new nickname " The Screaming Mimi". We say it affectionately, but she has decided in our family with 5 kids, numerous cats and livestock and lots of stuff always going on, the best way to get attention is to scream really loud. Especially in the car, and pretty much whenever I can't hold her. We were driving on the one way scenic loop and I had been really enjoying my coffee, and now needed to find a restroom. Veda and Ayla were yelling that they both had to pee and couldn't hold it, so I was thrilled when I saw a sign for the visitor center because I didn't think I could hold it much longer either. So I pull in with baby crying, girls screaming they can't hold it, and see a sign that says, " Visitor center up 52 steps"

The visitor center with the restrooms was 52 steps up a hillside. There was no way we were gonna make it. I yanked a pull up on the 3 year old, and peeled out. Luckily we found a bathroom right at the market. Whew!

Today Veda had a speech therapy appointment with a new therapist and they did a receptive language evaluation. Poor thing, she does not like direct questioning like that and it broke my heart. You could tell she is thinking hmmmmmmmmmmm, my words don't sound quite right I really don't want to answer this to someone I don't know and trust. I know she knew most of those answers and could understand what she was being asked but that test didn't reflect that at all. Zoie tried to help her by rephrasing the question to how we know she would be comfortable answering, but got scolded for it by the therapist. These are the hard parts of parenting. Teething, tantrums, baby's waking in the night. That's the easy part. I wish that was all I had to worry about.