Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Green and Grade A!!!

     The seasons have changed, indeed.  No, don't put your tomato plants out yet--there's another cold night or two still to come.  But it's Spring!  Just a hint last week and for-sure-certain this week.  The grass is already lush in the pastures.  The loafing goats look comfortable and satisfied lying in the sun on a green cushion.  We imagine them telling each other, "Now this is what I remember!"
     And speaking of green, Decimal Place got the green light from the state Department of Agriculture--we're Grade A again, once more legal to sell cheese in Georgia.  The word is spreading fast, and dibs are being called on major quantities of cheese-to-be.  Fortunately, almost all of the does have kidded, so we have a good supply of milk for cheese-making.
     Mary didn't take the big prize at the Flavor of Georgia competition in downtown Atlanta, a couple weeks back, but a bunch of folks were able to sample her cheese, and tasting is believing.  Following up that event with the news that Decimal Place is Grade A again, plus the springtime weather this week . . . the farm is just buzzing.
     I said, hold off on the tomatoes, but Mary and crew have been busy enough in the garden.  Last fall's onions and cabbages arev looking great.  Now the other beds have been turned over, and we have spinach and more planted.  Playing in the dirt makes Mary very happy.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Breath of Spring

Outside my window (where I wish I was) it's 60 degrees Fahrepeepers in teh creek nheit.  The goats, including a swarm of little kids, are basking in the sunshine, after months of huddling against the cold.  Yesterday most of the kids collected on a fallen tree, and it looked like the tree had sprouted a coat of fuzzy white moss.  The peepers in the creekbanks are singing, and they'll keep it up until late into the night.  In recent days, we have watched flocks of sandhill cranes in their long V formations pumping their way northward.  The pasture grass isn't green yet, but our wishes find slight tints here and there.  With all the rain we've had, we know the plant life is just waiting to explode, once Winter finally gives it up.
And the dairy itself has received its share of hopeful signs.  The 2010 Flavor of Georgia food product competition chose Decimal Place Feta as a finalist in the dairy category.  Mary will be at the Freight Depot in downtown Atlanta on Mar. 15-16, competing for the top prize in the category and overall.
Tomorrow, the state inspectors come back to Decimal Place to take samples and hopefully get us back on the way to Grade A certification.  Mary's been working with agricultural researchers at UGa, enriching her understanding of the problems, and broadening her sense of alternatives.
All around the farm, it feels like Spring.  We know that Winter can still return--and there probably will be chilly snaps heer and there--but we're looking forward to a season of renewal.