Possum up a 'simmon tree Raccoon on the ground Possum says you son of a gun Lay my 'simmons down.

--Old Song

 

The favored fruit of my, and many, Kentuckiana childhoods, the native persimmon or possumwood (D.virginiana) is so personal and magical I hesitate to share it’s mysteries. It belongs to the genus Diospyros, or "fruit of the gods”, but I confess I still believe it belongs largely to me, my sister, and our grandmother, and to those frosty, October mornings of memory. As sweet, luscious, and spicy as it is when fallen ripe from the tree, it is as equally odious, astringent, and mouth puckering if picked or eaten green, or at any point before it’s totally ripe. Captain John Smith wrote, "Plumbs there be of three sorts. The red and white like our hedge plumbs. But the other which the Indians call Putchamins, grow high as a palmetto. The fruit is like a medlar, it is first green, then yellow and red when ripe. If it not be ripe it will draw a man's mouth awire with much torment. But when it is ripe, it is as delicious as an apricot." 

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The Morning Round-Up

As we move on the farm into fall and the end of spring lactations, I'm especially aware of how dependant we are on all of nature's cycles and the rhythms of our animals.  This past spring we sold most of our doe kids and many of our less productive milkers, sensing that the herd was growing too large to fit our 80 acres and our ability to manage well.  In the midst of the summer bounty, our sales have increased (and so have feed prices!) leaving us wondering if this coming season won't find us short on milk and struggling to meet costs.   Wouldn't it be easier--certainly cheaper--to just buy the milk we need?  The animals are definitely another piece requiring another hat, a different focus. 

I think about these things when I'm away from the barn too long, only to be called back when I must spend more time with those beautiful, hardworking girls, and then I know--not...

Everybody Loves This Cheese....And Why Not?

Mold adds a lot to the cheeses we love.  But sometimes it adds just a little bit extra.