Back to Cheese!

After a long forced hiatus from hard-cheese-making, due to store-bought milk not setting curd, I have returned, woo-hoo! I discovered a few weeks ago that calcium chloride added to milk can help it set curd. Google revealed that calcium chloride is carried by brewing supply companies (apparently it affects the pH of water, which makes it desirable to some brewers), so I asked my resident brewer to add some calcium chloride to his next order. He graciously complied, and I set to work yesterday morning. The curd set up incredibly well, in greater quantity than when I made cheese with raw milk. So far the process seems to be going great!


The round weighs 20 ounces! My gallon of raw milk made a pound of cheese, pasteurized milk treated with calcium chloride apparently makes 25% more. The whey is waiting to be transformed into ricotta for Friday's pizza night. As for the "Colby," it will spend a couple of days forming a rind before it is waxed and set to cure for several weeks. Then comes the taste test!


I finished my January/February blanket (since these months require different colours than Christmas.)


We have been making an attempt at cleaning up our food stores, which included finishing last year's homemade sausage. The krautwurst tasted amazing! but didn't look quite so good when it was cooking. :)


Bart and Gerard seem to be adjusting well to each other. They even play together once in awhile! And they no longer play the "smack the other cat off the bed if you got there first" game.


They seem to be sharing their food well.


And they of course have claimed their favorite perching spots. :)

Finger Lakes Trail

This afternoon we hiked a portion [about two hours' worth, however long that is] of the Finger Lakes Trail that runs through Tuller Hill State Forest, about fifteen miles southwest of us.


It was a lovely day, and a lovely place.


We especially enjoyed the mostly evergreen woods with a brook running just below the path.


All three of us had a great time! Roscoe slept pretty well when we got home too. :)


It was a lovely change of pace and a great way to spend an afternoon.

Log Walls - COMPLETED!

The front (south-facing) wall of the house, with the living room to the left, the front door in the middle, and our bedroom to the right. The plywood on the floor marks the staircases.


Continuing clockwise around the house, this is the west-facing wall, including our bedroom to the left and the second bedroom to the right.


This is the back wall of the house (mostly), with the second bedroom to the left, the bathroom in the middle, and the kitchen to the right.


Mick putting the finishing touches of spline and caulk on the east wall, with the kitchen to his left and the living room to his right.


The southwest corner of the house. The lumber is bracing the log which protrudes from the N-row and will provide a roof for the porch.


The northeast corner of the house (taken from the back yard), with the living room on the left and the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom along the right (north) wall.


Completing this stage of the building process represents 176 logs (14 rows) ranging in length from 4'0" to 16'1" + many boxes of log hogs, tubes of caulk, and rolls of gasket + 9 work days (generally as long as there was daylight) between November 20 and January 2 + 6 workers (not counting additional moral support) = log walls completed! Thanks to both our dads, John, and Steve! It has been a long time since we have been able to check off as completed a step in the construction manual. Huzzah! :)