Cheese: From Start to Finish

Morning milking of Cindy and Heidi.

Keeping Frosty calm by leaning against her.

Bandaged machine awaiting replacement parts.

Rona Sullivan setting up milk machine.

Rona pouring four buckets of fresh milk into the vat pasteurizer to be pasteurized and cultured.

The vat pasteurizer can fit about 16 gallons.

After milk has been pasteurized and cultured, it is ready to hang.

About 16 gallons of milk.

Draining off the whey.

Unsalted and ready for refrigeration.

Seasoned and weighed and ready for shaping.

Super clean hands shaping before wrapping.

Specialty hearts for Valentine's Day.

Seasoning.

Highland Spring.

Finished product.

Our cheese in a pastry at a local Richmond bakery called Sub Rosa.

So, what's the story of the cheese in your fridge? What animals and people helped get it to you?

Girls Liftin' Shit

While working on Sullivan's Pond Farm, all of the laborors were women. This included one of the farm owners, Rona, four WWOOFers and one part time employee. As women we were proud to be capable of lifting everything that was necessary and thus dubbed ourselves, "The Girls Who Lift Shit" (please pardon my language).

Every couple weeks we move 300lb barrels of grain from the truck and on to the deck. 

Bringing llama and goat poop in from the fields for the gardens. Both are pH neutral and great for plants!

Stacking firewood for three weeks of warmth in our freezing temperatures. This day was our one day above 30.

Three weeks of firewood stacked!

Katrina and Shannah carrying single pieces of siding down to enjoy an afternoon off at the sled hill.

The best things to lift, kids. Part of our responsibilities are to accustom kids to humans by holding them. This kid is on her way to be sold to another farm.