Our Girls, Genka and Geneva are blessing us with about one gallon of milk every day. That will make over 2 pounds of cheese every day! Our Nubians are young, healthy, and yield just the right stuff for cheese. So far, we’re just making Chevre, eating it and freezing it. Later this week, we’ll be trying some Feta or Cheddar. It’s fantastic stuff.
Chevre takes about 24 hours to make: 12 hours to sit at room temperature and 12 hours to drain(seen below). 
It did,initially, make me nervous to grow bacteria in the kitchen , but that’s how cheese is made! With high quality milk coming in, and attention to cleanliness when milking and making the cheese, we’re comfortable using the raw milk. It was interesting to hear NPR did a short clip about the benefits of raw milk a short while ago. State regulations prohibit us from selling the milk or cheese though, which is kind of disappointing. Although, I’ve seen some dairies first hand and can appreciate why there are such regulations. For us, it’s too expensive to comply with them. Oh well, we’ll just have to enjoy it ourselves!
The lavender is coming in, bundles and bundles. The English Lavender, pictured below, is almost through, and the French is coming on strong behind it. This went for bundles sold at the market. 
Remember, the English is better for drying and the French is typically larger, and more fragrant. We’ll be running the still this week, making oil and more importantly “Eau de Lavande “. Our floral water. We’ll try both types of lavender in the still. The distillate is all natural, and I think a “signature” product for us. The still should be up and running on the 4th of July for the first time this year! No open house, at least for now, but drop us an EMAIL if you like. We’ll be back at the Fairport Market, Saturday mornings, starting on July 14th, with plenty of lavender too!
lavenderview 