Shady Goat Acres

10/15/2026

Miss Millie is getting big. I wonder how many hostages she’s got in there this time? 😂

10/10/2026

Hurricane Isaias check in: we’ve been without power for around 15 hours. We have a bunch of limbs down but the big trees in our yard are still standing. It got pretty rough last night but we are all ok. Our animals survived and are doing good. Got the generator going for coffee and to charge phones. If you’re from Alabama, Georgia or Florida check in and let us all know how you’re doing! Hope everyone is well.

10/08/2026

With the hurricane closing in I had to pick my peppers before the heavy winds pick up. I’ve gotten everything secured, generator gassed up and extra gas on hand. I think we’re as ready as we’re gonna get. I hope all of our local folks are secured and that everyone stays safe.

10/04/2026

I spent the rainy day rendering fat from one of our pigs into usable lard. It was my first time doing it and we got a pretty good yield, almost 4 quarts. I’ll use some for soap and the rest will be used for cooking. Just one more step towards independence. I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend!

10/02/2026

We got our fall turnip garden area tilled, raked, and planted. Now we just wait for rain. We’re looking forward to some fresh turnips and mustard greens.

09/25/2026

We picked up our pigs from the processor today. I think it was a successful venture. One was ours and one was for our daughter. This meat is from ours. 212.5 pounds of meat and it filled a 9 cu foot freezer 3/4 full. Our daughters was 192.5 pounds of meat. Price of growing and processing was less than $3.50 per pound so it was cheaper than store prices and I know exactly what they ate and how they were handled. Plus we got the fat that I’ll be rendering for lard and soap. We’ll definitely be doing this again.

09/15/2026

Today was drop off day for these two big girls. It’s hard to tell by the pics, but my guess is both are around or over #300 each. It’s been a fun and interesting venture, and very educational raising these two up. It’s bittersweet knowing what’s ahead for them but also exciting for the food they will provide for us. It’s definitely something I plan on doing again.

09/08/2026

I took the opportunity to not labor on Labor Day, but I did manage to dehydrate some peppers for seasoning. I’ve finally learned at my age that I don’t have to work all day every day, and that rest is needed. But resting sure drives up my anxiety 😂😂

09/04/2026

09/04/2026

It was a rainy afternoon so I took the time to process the habaneros and make another batch of hot sauce. I went a different route with this recipe. I made this one with peaches instead of carrots and it turned out great. I’ve got over a half gallon of hot sauce now so I think I’m probably set for the rest of the year 😂😂