Romeo: Switch and spurs, switch and spurs; or I'll cry a match.
Mercutio: Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five.

I mentioned in a previous entry that I'd maybe do a photoblog of cheesemaking. Well this is it.

Today I decided to have a try at a hard pressed cheese. I chose a Goat's Milk Cheddar recipe from Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll [1-58017-464-751695]. I'll do an update on how this turns out after the cheese has had chance to mature, somewhere between four and twelve weeks.

 This is the story so far... 

I can’t quite believe how quickly things have changed around here. Only last week we were under six to eight inches of snow. This week we’ve had temperatures in the high teens and I’ve been out working in a t-shirt. After the wintry remission it seems spring has made a comeback.

According to the Life of Brian – blessed are the cheese makers and this week I joined Steph as one of this hallowed band. We’re getting around three litres of milk a day right now and we’re working hard to make sure it doesn’t go to waste. Cheese making is easier than I thought and much more fun. I made cottage cheese this morning and shall be having some for my lunch a little later; you can’t get much fresher than that. The milking machine is more than earning its keep, it has simplified the whole process and milking the goats is no longer a trial, but a pleasant job. Foxglove particularly has taken to the new regime very well, and over all I am very pleased with the way things are going. As another potential use for goat’s milk I’m researching soap making. It seems goat’s milk makes very a very milk moisturising soap. If the process is one we can manage here at Alledal then it could be another step towards being self-sufficientish.

The falling of snow is not just an event, it’s a magical event. You know you are truly old when waking up to find a landscape covered in a layer of snow you don’t have the urge to run out and throw a snow ball or build a snowman. When it snows like it has again today you have to choices – complain or make snow angels.