Grapes and Goats

It's day 2 at Kara Kahl farm and the grapes need some attention. Doug (the farmer), Julien (the French WWOOFer), and I worked on the vineyard today. Doug put up bird netting around the mature grape plants, I did some staking of the younger plants, and Julien burnt weeds away from a few rows of grape vines. Doug and I also worked on weeding around the base of the younger plants, hoping to help remove the grass and the competition for resources so the plants can get a good base before winter.

While Doug and I were weeding, he explained to me that there are Rattle Snake and poisonous spiders in this part of the Minnesota. Had they told me that before I came I might not have elected to come here. I have learned that I should be able to survive a Rattle Snake bite, if I am bit, but that people are rarely bit by the snakes. Since I had already been tromping around in high grass before he told me this there isn't anything I can do now. Just hope I don't scare one before I leave.

After lunch we visited the neighbors, the Kitchen's, who also take WWOOFers but don't have anyone now. The wife, Marge, loves to cook and can and dry foods and they have 4 freezers full of food in their house. When we were there she served us zucchini cake. Right now she has more zucchini than she knows what to do with. As I'm writing this I've decided I should keep a vegetable diary since I'm eating more vegetables than I ever remember eating in one day.

Veggies on Day 1:
Kale
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Broccoli

Veggies on Day 2:
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Beets
Swiss Chard
Carrots (cooked - I hate raw carrots)
Onions
Potatoes
Peas and Pea Pods

All of these veggies are fresh out of the garden every day. I can see why people do this whole farming thing.

Today I also tried a few varieties of grapes right off the vine and had some more fresh berries.

Mary (the other farmer) started making a batch of cheese this morning. Tomorrow they will put it in a cheese cloth and let it drain and by tomorrow night I think it will be done. I can't believe how easy she made it look (I'm guessing it helps when you have an unlimited supply of "free" milk).

I also got some more face time in with the goats today. I milked 5 goats and then sat with the littlest kid today for a bit.

Tomorrow is hay day. I need some rest and it's getting late. Since I'm now caught up on past neglected blogs I can put more effort into the day's blog moving forward.

Night!