UPDATE...

Well,
it's about time I updated this blog, I'm only too sorry I haven't been able to in the past few days.

I first want to note how difficult it has been to articulate my thoughts on paper without getting pulled in lots of different directions, and without suddenly getting so far ahead of myself that I feel exasperated and give up.

The past 6 days have been such an intense emotional and physical experience that I have had trouble being objective in regards to regular tasks, and also had trouble trying to ask myself philosophical questions without getting overwhelmed.

First, I want to point out that my daily schedule has changed a lot, and become much less planned or productive than it was in the days right before we started. I often find myself standing stock still on the porch of the tent, or right behind the screen, staring out at the birds in the field, wanting to do everything, doing nothing, feeling almost paralyzed.
And yet, MUCH has happened in the past week!
I feel like I've been living in my tent FOREVER. It is truly strange.

I have conducted this project in much more of an experimental way than I initially thought I would, or ever thought I would feel comfortable doing. I am pleased with my "decision" (if you can call it that, I didn't make it consciously), because "trying things on" is the best way to know what works. And I can always take things off, which is something I need to remind myself of every time I feel I have broken.

!!The goats arrive...
On Monday, Karen and Orlando drove the 7 hours up to and 7 hours back from Rome, NY, to pick up "Flora" and "Little Bit" from their little farm in the middle of nowhere. Believe it or not, even in such a remote location, the goats were in rather close quarters, and were not accustomed to fresh grass when they arrived in their new home at our farm. (About 50 planes headed towards the East Hampton Airport have been flying low over the farm every day recently, making noise totally alien to the goats. They run for cover every time, often on our porch.) Every day since their arrival, Karen's grandmother and Orlando have driven over in their red minivan twice a day to help us milk them. And WHAT an ordeal that has been. The younger but bigger goat, named ironically "Little Bit," was separated from her kid when she left the farm upstate. Karen said she only ever saw her baby was being weaned off its mother, and only ever saw her when it needed milk, but the first time Little Bit was ever milked by hand was the day Karen picked her up. She brayed all night and thrashed around when we tried to coax her into milking the next morning. The other goat, Flora (who is two years old, Little Bit is one), has been a milking goat for a long time, so is much more used to the process. However, since Little Bit is bigger than Flora, she is the dominant "leader" goat, and therefore must do everything first. Including milking. Since Flora has to wait and watch Little Bit bray and kick as we try to milk her, she gets spooked, and then needs a good deal of coaxing herself. At this point, we need at least 3 people working hard to hold down the goats and milk them. Karen's grandmother grew up on a farm in Colombia, and she's an old hand at milking goats. Her technique, though, is a little harsh. It doesn't hurt the goat, but she uses rope to tie their hind legs while someone else sits ahead of it and holds its horns. It's okay, and she gets the milk, but it's not pleasant and NOT easy. Anyway, we did it without her help this morning, and I milked Flora myself! We're trying to make some cream cheese and yogurt today, but it's raining on and off so starting a fire is tricky.

The issue right now is that my solar panel -> 12V battery -> laptop charging situation is not working. I have been tinkering with the wires and clamps for the past few days, and it doesn't seem that the connections are right or something. At the moment, I am using my mom's iBook G4 to give a brief update, until my techy friend comes over to help us figure out what's going wrong.

Until then, know that everything is going pretty well... A few bumps here and there, and lots of animals, but we're learning. And I am taking pictures, which I will post when I'm not plugged into this wall socket, slurping LIPA minutes like a vacuum.