A walk in the woods

Jessie holding newborn doe, Blueberry. Her mother Jane is next to them.





Friday is sunny and beautiful. There is a warm breeze that smells like spring. You can feel it in the air.

Little Carrie and I joined Steve in the cheese room to work on yesterday's cheese. We removed the six goudas from their molds and prepared the brine for the young cheese. The brine is just water and salt. All you need to do is add more salt and plop the drums of cheese into the salty solution. They bob like corks in the brine. We then rub salt onto the exposed surface of each cheese and put a lid on them & leave them for a day. We then pull out a bunch young Providence cheeses, their wash-rind cow's milk cheese based on a taleggio recipe. The cheese is 8"x8" square and about four inches thick. Each side gets rubbed down to bring out the b. linens, the bacteria that gives stinky cheese its smell. Looks good. I can't wait to try it.

Lunch time. Ginnie has prepared chicken soup. "The old rooster has a good flavor, but he's a bit tough," she announced. It is a nice chicken soup. She added greens to it, making a nice, healthy lunch. She's right, the meat was a bit tough, but very flavorful. Grandma Norma appeared in time for lunch. She's been feeling a bit under the weather all week. She's depressed because she can't get out and work in the garden, her favorite pastime. She's tired and sore from making 16 pies and huge batches of pita chips for last weekend's Dinner on the Farm. She's a great cook, and I'd love to have her show me some tips in the kitchen.

After lunch, Carrie and I join Jessie, the niece/general intern and take a couple of young bucks for a walk in the woods behind her house. I grabbed the little black buck, and Jessie took Trick, a tiny Alpine and put them on our laps in her Honda Civic. Little Carrie follows behind in her car. When you pick up a kid, they just relax and let you hold them. They snuggle into you and enjoy your company. They can really endear themselves.

We drove about a mile to Jessie and Nate's place, got out and walked behind the house to the woods. The Tates own the place and the 17 acres that surround it. There's a large stand of trees behind the house and a creek runs along the back of the property. We followed a trail with the two little guys in tow. They'd stop, cry, and struggle to figure out how to cross downed trees and twigs. It was fun. We reached the swollen creek and turned down another path. Eventually we made a large circle and wound up back at the house. We all sat on the porch, chatted, and let the kids run around, exploring the garden. Eventually they snoozed while we talked.

Carrie and I went back to the White House later in the afternoon and took a nap. Fed the kids at 6pm and then ourselves. The evening wrapped up quietly. Saturday looks like it will be low-key, too.


Photo: Jessie holding Trick, Little Carrie holding Guy Noir.