Spring, which officially started March 19, is described as “a time of rebirth, renewal and awakening. Many trees are blossoming, and early flowers are pushing through the earth. A time when the weather turns warm.” Whoever coined that description of spring did not live in SW Montana. At Fasching Farm we describe spring as “a time of staying up into the wee hours of the sub-zero degree mornings to birth goat kids, worrying about the safe arrival of hatchery chicks…
Tis the season to gather wood, that is. When cold temperatures settle in to the high country of SW Montana (typically mid to late October) we have to think about heating our house. Let me digress a bit. In June we were already thinking about stockpiling the wood supply in preparation for the cold months ahead, which are sometimes hard to discern from the “warm months”. Fact: There is an 80% chance of the first 28 degree day by…
Mushroom Hunting On one of the nicest (aka non-raining) Memorial Day holiday’s I can remember, we decided to go hunting – mushroom hunting that is. Hunting for mushrooms in SW Montana can be challenging due to the high elevation, cooler temperatures, and lack of abundant precipitation. And because of these factors, there are also fewer varieties of mushrooms growing in Montana. So when you do find precious edible mushrooms, you feel like you have hit the “jackpot”! And so it…
Nigerian Dwarf Goat milk in itself is extremely delicious. Yet, sometimes people give goat milk (in general) a bad rap saying it has a stronger flavor, it smells or tastes goaty, etc. I can’t count the number of times I have challenged people to taste our goat milk, after literally refusing due to a previous bad experience, and every time it is the same reaction, “wow, that’s really good! It tastes just like cow milk”. My response is always the…
Homesteading?! The first things that might pop into your head are the Oregon Trail, the Wild West, and settlers flocking across the western US Territory to start a new life away from Eastern civilization where getting ahead was near impossible. In the 1860’s the first homestead act was passed by congress to encourage migration west in hopes of improving trade and the US economy. Families were required to work the land for a number of years before it was granted…