Cassia Fresh Farm

06/16/2026

These are the kind of pictures I get when propping my phone on feeders, ladders, fence posts and the like and using the 10 second timer. Sometimes they turn out, sometimes not. But when they’re half way decent I use them because the chore list is too long to mess around with getting a perfect picture.

Sun Dew’s two babies both took the bottle well this morning, although her little girl decided to jump when I wasn’t expecting it. As I was milking the normal milkers (the does that kidded in January and know the routine) Sun Dew was screaming her head off for her babies, or for feed. She got quiet when I got her on the milk stand.

Her mouth might tempt me to sell her, but her milkability and volume talk me into keeping her. Oh boy, the milk just flows from this girl. I’m so excited to finally get to milk this group of first time freshening does I kept from two years ago. Dixie and Delaney are also nice, but their teats are smaller. But I’m proud of them all!

All of their babies will be ready for new homes in a few weeks. There are two doelings that should turn out to be wonderful milkers like their mommas. Let me know if you are looking for a nice doe or just want to come hold a baby goat. I love sharing the baby goat snuggles!

06/15/2026

06/10/2026

I turned myself loose with the little chainsaw today and got the mulberry tree thinned out underneath. For those of you that came out last year and again this year, you’ll know how much that was needed. It had gotten to be a jungle under there. Now it’s open again and quite cozy. Thankfully the chain never came off, it’s terribly loose, but I didn’t feel like finding a chainsaw wrench to tighten it.

I took half of the limbs to the barn for the goats, but I put them out in the woods instead of their pasture. I cut in a little goat gate earlier this morning that the dogs thought was really neat to go through. Plus I added some hot wire to keep the goats completely off the pasture for a while. Those things together made it where the goats were on edge. They really like a routine and get all weird when anything out of the norm happens.

A few finally came out to browse, but most stayed in the safety of the stall. Do y’all remember Drava, the doe I threatened to make into Goat Curry? She was so put off by the different activities that she wouldn’t even come out to be milked tonight. I have three does that recently freshened, so I’m not too worried about the impending drop in production.

I potted up 8 new mulberry clippings. I still believe every homestead needs a few mulberry trees. We sure enjoy ours. And it’s great because they grow so fast. I think this one is only 6 years old.

06/08/2026

Something I have been studying a lot lately is regenerative agriculture and better cattle management.

I grew up with cows, but we just left them on the same pasture year round. In fact, most people I know still do that. But there’s a way that we can help improve our soil AND help our cows.

In his book Dirt to Soil, Gabe Brown does an awesome job of explaining how intensive grazing can help regenerate the soil. It’s such an inspiring story of how God used a handful of disasters to show Gabe a better way of growing.

Just this past weekend I found The Florida Soil Health Coalition and got so excited that there are others in Florida already doing this. There doesn’t seem to be many in Lake County, but I’m hoping that changes.

Then while checking out their website I saw something about the film Groundswell. It’s the third in a series of documentaries on regenerative agriculture and how it can heal our world!

So I ordered the little adaptor thing so I can watch it on the TV and Brian and I will be watching it tonight…maybe, hopefully, possibly…if we get the outside work done in time.

I love the long days, but need to figure out how to make myself go inside and cook at a decent hour. ☀️

This Friday we are hosting a Soil Health Talk & Potluck here at the barn. It will most likely be a handful of friends listening to me excitedly explain what goes on in healthy, living soil. Seriously y’all, it’s pretty amazing! If you’re nearby, bring a dish and swing on by around 6:30.

I get a little hyper-focused and right now it’s on improving my pastures. Over the next few weeks and months I’ll share some of the things we can all do to grow better food through better soil!

Picture 1: a few of my tiny herd, day 2 on the “milker pasture”
Picture 2: cows thinking I’m going to feed them, I only do about every other day, but it keeps them easy to handle. And a volunteer squash of some random variety, maybe a feral garden hybrid.
Picture 3: it’s pretty cool that cows don’t eat squash vines. It’s creeping from the pig pens out onto the pasture.

06/07/2026

Who said it was a good idea to let the cows graze the grass inside the garden fence?

No one.

It’s a terrible idea.

But they were happy while it lasted.

My version of mob grazing. They went to the corn stalks I had just whacked down and cleaned it up and stomped it in. They even left some fertilizer.

Good job girls and boys!

03/26/2026

These pigs love a fresh puddle! It’s been pretty hot and dry lately, so I try to make sure they have a spot to cool off each day. They have plenty of shade, but the mud hole is even better than that.

I’ve got plans today, so they’re getting an early watering. It’s interesting that even though they still like it, they react much more in the heat of the day.

Just a couple more weeks before they head to the processor. I can’t wait! They’re fun to watch play in the water, but that’s about their only redeeming quality.

03/05/2026

Fresh chicks! 🐣 I love these Seramas! This momma just keeps on hatching out chicks. If your farm needs some sweet little, kinda pointless, but extremely cute chickens, let me know! I’ll have a few to share!

03/04/2026

Growin’ pickles, not pigs! Well, that’s what is happening in stall #4 anyway!

I went down to Mrs. Vickie’s at Miller’s Landscaping Nursery today and picked up some more seeds.

Let me tell you….y’all, these are such a good value! If you are still buying seeds at a big box store then you need to take a ride out here and check out what she has.

That little handful of cucumber seeds wasn’t even a tenth of what’s in the packet. And I was able to plant four 20’ rows of purple hull peas and didn’t even make a dent in the bag! And the bag is resealable!!! 🫛

I planted a big patch of black oil sunflower seeds that I add to the goat feed, lots of zinnias and some tromboncino squash I saved from last year!

I’m so tickled to turn this pen into something pretty! 🌺🌸🌻

03/04/2026

What a bad little goat! She was feeling extra sassy this morning! Running around, twisting and bucking, then jumping on the milk stand to dart through the head catch and send feed flying. She did it with perfection a couple times before I decided to video. Now she refuses to be caught and is jumping on anything she can! Bad thing! 😂🥰

03/02/2026

The cottage cheese turned out to be remarkably a lot like how I remember cottage cheese. It’s been many years since I have bought any, but this stuff certainly looks and tastes like it. It’s a little twangier but that’s because I used kefir as the culture.

My peaches lack the firmness and bright color that store-bought canned peaches have, but the flavor is phenomenal. Plus I left the skins on mine which adds a little texture and, hopefully, nutrients.

Thinking about how storebought food looks and tastes nowadays got me to thinking…would my ancestors recognize my food as food? Probably most of it. But a lot of the stuff they pass off as food at the store would be foreign.

Just something to think about the next time you’re shopping. Or when you make something at home and it looks nothing like the store bought version. Homemade is almost always better for you. Keep on making it and your eyes, tastebuds and family will get used to it!