Cheesy Wednesday

As we regularly do, Lamar and I met for prayer before chores. He has a lot on his mind with all the uncertainties of flights and of not flights and so on. Reports indicate that the Peruvian and American governments are struggling to get on the same page. This is slowing down an already slow process.

This puts strain on Lamar’s mind. It’s hard for him to know how to plan, and he misses his wife more than ever. There is a possibility of a flight yet this week, according to the Embassy. Keep them all in your prayers.

While I was milking the goats, the neighbor was making an awful lot of noise with a truck, trying to move something. There were a number of neighbors around, which told me there must be a down cow. I took the milk in and went to change before heading over to help. Lamar was just coming down then and also went over to help.

Several of us were up in the truck, pulling with ropes, while several more were lifting with poles from the ground. I could not get a picture of it. With some heaving, we lifted a cow into a box truck. Wow. She had died while trying to give birth; the calf was stuck and died, too.

After washing up, we could have breakfast. I’m not used to working that hard first thing in the morning. I feel sorry for the lecheros, as this is their fourth loss this month. Besides which, they are not able to sell all their normal milkings currently.

Speaking of milk, we have plenty from Estrella. Steph made butter from the two liters of cream that we had collected the past couple milkings. It turned out very well. We all like homemade butter.

I’m using the rest of the milk to make cheese. Lamar had a pitcher of extra milk he wanted used up, so I added that to ours. I’m making a cheddar for the first time. The process is pretty simple. I’m not sure how I’ll press it without a press. The hard part will be waiting for it to age! I’ll be able to open it for my birthday this September.

I have plenty of rennet to make cheese, but I have no mesophilic culture left. I’m going to have to search for alternatives. Any cheese makers out there?

Did the patch to the chicken fence work? It’s hard to tell. Seth escaped the house this morning and walked out to the chicken pen and opened the door. Fly free, chickies! I didn’t realize he knew how to open the door. The children had fun chasing them all down and tossing them back into the pen. Maybe the exercise will prompt the chickens to lay eggs again.

While we waited on the cheese and on lunch, the children helped me measure all the goats. I want to be sure everyone is gaining, so I measure them every couple weeks. Barbara has gained the most–she’s over 120 pounds! It’s hard to capture her width in a picture.

Rafael messaged me that the government is saying they will probably extend the quarantine. That is not surprising to me. Rafael said they’re worried about how to pay their bills with no income. I’m sure many feel the same way. He sent me a picture of him biking into town to the mercado to get some groceries. I had to wonder if texting and driving wasn’t more dangerous than the possible virus.