We made GOAT cheese Saturday. It was really fun and easy. I drove up from Sutter Creek a few miles, driving toward Volcano, where we lived for 3 years when we first moved to Amador Co. The lady who offered to show us how to make goat cheese is a member of our goat club and she, very generously, showed us the process.
She also fed us lunch with everything made from goat cheese and goat milk. We were served a mixed green salad with circles of breaded and baked goat cheese slices, a goat cheese quiche with mushrooms and onions, a "goat cheese" cheese cake and goat milk ice creme. OMG! It was all delicious. What a treat!! The quiche, with big pieces of goat cheese in it and the ice creme were my favorites. I learned that Nubian dairy goats produce the best milk for making cheese because they have the highest fat content. Not that my goat boys would care..., because they don't do milk, but Brownie needs to know that female goats have great value in the goat world and actually produce something for their owners. He thinks he's a "big cheese" just because he eats grass. I think we need a couple of milk goats around here to show him otherwise.
Last night I took a walk and when I came back I went over to the goat house to say hello and tell the boys about my Saturday cheese making experience. Murphy seems to be the only one who was interested. The others were inside their shelter.
Murphy, as usual, seemed to want to tell me something but the words were strange and I really didn't understand what he was telling me.
"What's the matter Murph'?" I heard him say it again..., one of those Welsh sounds came out of his mouth. The language, in my opinion, that this goat channels is from some other place and time.
I never did understand what it was that he was trying to tell me, but last night we heard an animal somewhere out there screaming as if it was being attacked.., and then silence.
This morning the gate had been broken loose again and 3 of the goat boys were outside in the run. Murphy was still in the goat house doorway looking at us with those strange eyes.
"What's going on Murph'?" I asked.
This time he didn't say a word. He just looked at me and then out at the other goats.
Something is not right. Something is spooking the goats. I sense that it might be the mountain lions that our neighbor filmed a few weeks back. Maybe I'm wrong. It could be a loose dog , a coyote, a lynx or fox too. The grass around the chicken coop had been sat on, but nothing has tried to get into the enclosure. Annibel is locked in the garage at night, so it's not her.
We are on guard around here. The Prospector is fixing the fence, but I think we should close the goats in completely. A Mountain Lion does not respect a fenced area if it's hungry. I don't argue with the instincts of a wild animal if they need food.
Murphy knows and he's trying to tell us. But, with all the stories I tell about these goats, I don't really understand what he's saying so we need to be vigilant. We may have to stand guard for a few nights to see what's going on.
Murphy knows. All the animals do.
