And I introduce to you: The moo cow farm and its inhabitants

It occurred to me the other day (after I realized I get questions about the cheesy newsie once a week) that half of you probably have no idea what I am talking about most of the time. I do get lots of remarks about how lovely it is to stay in touch- I have heard that my newsie is read aloud at dinner parties and in the office, on the toilet and generally well enjoyed by most! Most being almost a hundred people! Oh my!! Have a clue! here is a little farm 101 for you.

I’ll start with the youngest inhabitant on the farm, little Andrew. Little Andrew is 4 and is Garry’s nephew. Little Andrew has pegged me as his ‘favorite girl’ and so I am privileged to hear what has gone on in my absence. He loves to chase the cows and until recently drove around in circles in his tricycle (it broke). One of Andrews favorite things to do is color and he especially loves to color on Garry’s wide screen telly and he also loves to pee on Garry’s tires.
Andrew’s dad Bob, Garry’s brother helps me move really heavy things when hes not chasing girls skirts to Chicago.
And then there is the other brother Larry- Larry transports bull semen for a living. Which is how my culture came to reside next to his European specimens last week. I like to talk to Larry as he generally has a super sense of humor and I always like to ask him “Have you transported any semen lately?”
And then there is Garry’s other brother who has the farm next door but is always bring Garry’s cows back and always kinda around. I have a hard time talking with him because he only eats orange cheddar cheese and its really kinda a grump.

Most recently Garry’s friend Tim has been hanging around the farm- I would say working but I don’t actually see him do much but he does certainly like to talk a LOT and take breaks . One of Tim’s special skills is milking. There are about 45 girls to be milked and Tim has a real way with them- his special skill is to turn an 1.5-2 hour milking into a two person five hour ordeal. He does have a good attitude though, which goes a long way. Larry likes to call Bob and Tim the Bobsie twins!
And then there is me. The only gal on the farm! I have managed to pull all the farm inhabitants into the cheese room to help me move Eduardo or to taste something or move something at some point.

I have grown a fondness for naming my specialty equipment. So far in the CR we have Eduardo my 100lb cheese press and his wagon (a stainless steel utility cart) which he fell off of once and left a large dent in the floor! So I now get help to ensure that Eduardo doesn’t fall off the wagon again.There is of course Henry with whom I have my weekly hot dates with (Cheese vat) and my favorite cleaning utensil my baton!

Come Monday- yes I did work all day and night and part of the morning! labor day shmaybor day!- my mum and dad had the day off and thought they would come for a visit. My mum showed up in a lovely cardigan and sandals and my dad came sporting his favorite gray shirt and his Clarks which I had him dunk in my chlorinated solution before he stepped into the cheese room. My mum wasn’t as exuberant as my dad was, who took a liking to the baby moo cows. He soon discovered their ability to suck on his finger! I was able to show them around a bit and explain how the cows are milked. “That things gets attached to the what not and then the doohicky pushes it into the tank and the milk ends up in my vat when I need it” Which is pretty much how the cows are milked. My Mum was especially upset at the fact that I spent so much time there and didn’t have a kettle “Lisa you have plenty of milk!” whereas my dad was more concerned about the fact that I didn’t eat supper while there. “Don’t you get hungry with all those cows walking around?” Yup that’s my parents. Recently they decided that they would like to live in the country and have their own small farm. Its not that I know so much about farms that I can really poke fun at them, but I have visited most of the farms where I get the food I eat, and have been around enough to know a little bit about them. One of my favorite things to do is go on farm visits and I certainly have some scheduled for the off season this year!

Usually come Thursday you can find me in Hood River selling my wares all alone, buts its such a lovely market I have come to look forward to it. This week I had some exceptional help, just when my search for twins was dying from lack of hope too!
I had the lovely Josephine and Francis help me and what help they were too! They adore my pudding so they sold all of it first and then, in true dairy babe fashion, pounced on my beloved Sassy Saffron butter and sold all the butter too! At the young age of 7 I have to say they were quite fantastic. :)

Its awfully nice to have friends that are also vendors at the market. They can come and help out and they already know about the hand washing station and how to put up the tent! Recently I have heard a lot of “Ohh its my day off” and I am wondering how the hell they get a day off! My first day off is Dec 17th- of which I am very much looking forward to. I came to the realization that running a farm or a creamery is really a two person job, or in the Hertels (Sun Gold Farm) case a family effort, or like Square Peg and my Mum and Dad with The Smokery a partnership. Someone stays home to work while the other goes to the market. It made me ponder a bit about my business which I truly love and I realized that the hours I work are certainly enough for two people. It made me wish that I was Mormon and could marry like ten husbands, one for each market. I am certain I could find them! Then I would most certainly have days off!! Until that day I look forward to Dec 17th with great vigor!

Eat more good handcrafted artisan cheese and pudding!
We will be having a back to school special on our cream cheeses this week so come on by and get some!
Saturday at PSU is the tomato turn on- aka tomato tasting which I have been told is not a salad fest but a sampling of a variety of all the tomatoes at the market! Come with an empty stomach and cast your vote, the winner gets a glorious pound of my signature cheese – my crumbled mozzarella to no doubt eat with some tomatoes!!

Be good
Yours always
Cheese Czarina!! kiss kiss