a sudden abundance of green-ness
Farm News
August is the time of year when I can catch my breath just a little bit. Typically, the goats’ milk production begins its slow decline in anticipation of breeding and pregnancy. This year, the heat waves have taken small bites out of their production, but not to the degree of declines in years past. We attribute this resiliency to our silvopasture; they stay cool under the shade of the cottonwood trees, eating away. We have been making cheese every day, sometimes multiple batches of cheese in a single day. When the milk volume drops, even a little bit, we are able to skip a chevre make once a week. The cascading effects of not making chevre one day afford me little windows of time to check out what is going on in other parts of the farm.
We finally got a generous douse of rain last night. Thankfully, we were spared the deluges of 6-9 inches that fell on many communities all around us. The deep cracks of the parched soil have closed up, and puddles dot the lawn and the driveway. The grapes on the arbor are ripening, albeit not evenly, but enough to snag a few grapes to enjoy under the dappled light of the arbor’s canopy. The herbs in the garden are flowering, attracting pollinators like the monarchs. No doubt, the monarchs have laid their eggs on the numerous volunteer milkweed plants in the garden, ensuring the perpetuation of the next generation. The heat and humidity have been kind to the sorghum-Sudan grass cover crop; it is now nearly as tall as our teenage goat girls. Thirsts quenched and temperatures conducive to maximum plant growth, the explosion of green-ness overnight is astounding.
Happenings this Weekend at the Farm and Beyond
Summer Weekend Wine & Cheese Flights
We have some great old favorites and some new wines in our store, and we’re excited to share them with you alongside our cheeses. So, from now through August (and maybe longer), our staff will pick a white, a rose and a red to pair with three of our cheeses each weekend. We’ll serve the wine & cheese flight with a rustic baguette bread from Publican Quality Breads in Chicago. $25/person (must be 21 or older) gets you this amazing flight with some surprises every weekend. All of our wines come from wineries and vineyards using sustainable agriculture practices; most are organic and/or biodynamic and/or regenerative. Just ask our staff for the details if you’re curious.
No need to reserve; just ask for the flight when you come to the farm store.
Book your reservations now for a very special cheese tasting event on Labor Day Weekend. We are super excited to welcome author and cheese lover Erika Kubick to the farm on Sunday, Sept. 4th from 5:30-7 pm. Join us for a transcendent “Cheese Church” service with author and cheese preacher Erika Kubick, in celebration of her book Cheese Sex Death: A Bible for the Cheese Obsessed! She’ll start off the class with a “sermon” on the basics of cheese worship before leading us through a tasting featuring 5 of our cheeses, each paired with an artisan accompaniment. After the class, you'll have the chance to shop at our farm store or pick up a copy of Erika’s book.
Tickets are $40, plus $5 for charcuterie. Beverages and gelato are available for purchase on site. Feel free to arrive early and play with the goats before class!
Farm Open Hours
This weekend (and all weekends through the end of the year) we’re open 11-5 both Saturday and Sunday. Shop our farm store and sample some of our award-winning cheeses. The weather is looking fantastic for an outing to the farm-a little warm and sunny—not too shabby for August.
Enjoy a cheese and charcuterie board under our pavilion with a bottle of organic and/or biodynamic wine or local microbrew. Want something cool? Try our delicious goat milk gelato! Of course, there is lots of opportunity to engage with the goats—the mommas and the babies LOVE visitors. We recently moved the pen of the teenage goat girls, so come check them out and feed them some tree leaves!!
The secret ingredient to our amazing cheeses and gelato is our MILK! You too can experience our milk in its purest form! Our milk super fresh (usually less than one day old) and clean. We are permitted to sell raw milk from the farm (Illinois Dept. of Public Health). Curious what it tastes like? We will have samples for you to try-just ask.
If you don’t have time to peruse our farm store, but you need some milk or cheese or accompaniments, you can always order from our online store for pick up at the farm during weekend open hours. Just let us know if you’re picking up on Saturday or Sunday in the “NOTES” section (before checking out).
NEWS FLASH: WE HAVE A LIMITED OFFERING OF GELATO PINTS FOR ORDERING ONLINE-CHOCOLATE, MINT AND VANILLA. BETTER ORDER SOON AS THESE WILL GO FAST!
We’ve also got some great local products, including artisan jams, local honey, preserves and salamis. Check out the gorgeous eggs from fellow AWA (Animal Welfare Approved) certified eggs from Joyful Wren Farm. They are equally beautiful on the inside (bright orange means they are definitely eating grass) as well as the outside. I eat them every day!!
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