What's Up? No posts in a couple of weeks?

No, I didn't give up the challenge. We've just been very busy. Spring is here and that means lots of new babies to care for, supplies to order, and work to do. Introducing "Eva", our little Suri Alpaca born in early March. We also have baby pot belly pigs (six born, four remain). The pygmy goats are bursting at the seams and there is a lot of movement in the reindeer - sure hope that is a sign of a calf. Hard to tell with them - no one can get close enough to check.

We're still eating almost completely from the Bounty when we are home. (Girl Scout Cookies are an exception. Good me for supporting my granddaughter's troop. Bad me for eating them a whole package at time.) We've eaten out a lot lately, but when we go out, we find that we are looking for farm names we know and words like local or regional or farm-fresh on the menus. You'd be surprised how many CNY restaurants are rallying behind the slow food locavore movement. We ate beef from Meadows Farm at a pub in Syracuse on Friday.

So excited to get carrots. I've been dying for them since January. I didn't understand what "Utility Carrots" were. Thought they might be bruised, but they looked perfect to me. Munched them raw, sliced and cooked them, shaved them into salads, chunked them in soup, stir fried them with brussel sprouts. We've eaten them every way except drank them. That gives me an idea. Maybe I'll go dig out the juicer and make some apple carrot juice. Hmmmm. Now that I'm thinking, maybe one or two will be destined for a ginger carrot cake this weekend. There is already another bag in my Bounty shopping cart for next week.

Got sauerkraut this week. Hope there are still Drover Hill Hot Dogs in the freezer. I didn't plan well. If not, we'll try some of the ring bologna that we got from Quarry Brook Farms in this week's order.

We spent some time with Eve Ann and Harmon of Maple Avenue Farms last weekend. Nice people. They have a double pyramid hop kiln and some hop artifacts that I'd love to own. We got to see their black angus beef cattle. Big animals! Healthy and happy. I had used some of their ground beef in a goulash earlier in the week. It was great. (See next post.) Left them with a jar of mustard and invited them over for a BBQ and a beer. Of course, they are bringing the steaks! Here is a picture. My husband Larry is on the left. Eve Ann and Harmon on the right. Becca Jablonski and me in the middle (I'm the chubby one) with the guys from Gorst Valley Hops at Maple Avenue Farms hop kiln. Becca's husband Kevin was behind the camera. I hate the word, but I can't find a better superlative so I'll just say ... What an 'awesome' weekend.