Hey Reader,

It's been a whirlwind of a month for us and the animals settling in to Wyoming after the move. We have fantastic timing with moving right before winter...

It's been a month of setting up waterers to prevent freezing and sourcing hay and straw to get us through the potential six months of winter here until we can harvest our own hay.

In Tennessee the goats only needed hay for maybe two to three months of the year and they free-ranged and fed themselves in the woods. Not so much here but we are all still so happy to be back and out of the humidity and away from ticks.

In the Pasture

Juno and Jove are loving being back in this weather but Peanut, Pumpkin, and Pepper (our fainting goats) might have a differing opinion.

For Pender and Peaches, this weather is old news. The younger goats born in Tennessee are still getting used to the wind here but everyone has made it through cold snaps and freezing temps safely and happily so far. They've got some fluffy winter coats already showing up as well.

In the Kitchen

I'm grateful I spent so much time nailing down bread recipes in Tennessee so I could have a solid base to jump from when baking in Wyoming.

I'm working with:

• less humidity
• wildly different flour
• higher elevation
• cooler indoor temps

After a few mishaps...

I seem to have finally nailed down the recipe adjustments needed here in Wyoming. Honestly most of the issue came down to adjusting to the different flour that we've missed and loved from Wyoming Heritage Grains.

The WHG flavor compared to the typical AP bread flour is astounding - so much more rich and deep. We are absolutely loving having access to it again.

The adjustments have come down to adjusting for, you probably guessed it, water. The more arid climate here tends to require more water with bread making compared to the South and stone-milled, heritage grain flour can take longer to soak that water up.

It's been a challenging, sometimes frustrating, adjustment so far but I'm glad *knock on wood* it's all settled with bread making.

Now I want to experiment with mini sourdough loaf flights. Think making mini sourdough boules in cupcake pans...this way you can experiment with many different flavors plus it's easier to share with others. Have you tried this? I'd love to hear tips and tricks.

Considerations for the New Year

There's a few things we need to tackle:

• resetting the garden area (I need luffas!)
• getting the land back up and running for hay production
• turning the front yard into anything but dirt (xeriscaping with Wyoming natives to hopefully decrease the amount of dirt and dust tracked around here)
• and so much more...

I'm also interested in beefing up my Schedule F business revenue and expense tracking workbook for you and others to use. I've shared a simple version in the past, but I've built on to it over the years and it's what I share with our tax accountants.

It's a simple set up especially for someone starting out that doesn't need something like QuickBooks. If you're interested or have suggestions, let me know by replying to this email.

However for now we're enjoying seeing old friends again and making new ones.

Another Puppy Update

Niko is another puppy from Juno and Jove's litter that turned 2 last month. He's been hard at work in West Tennessee.

From his owner: "Niko is doing great! He is covering over 300 acres of cattle, sheep, chickens & hogs. Not to mention our horses. He's a great boy who loves his kids and his animals! Thank you for producing such a phenomenal boy!"

We love getting these updates!

One Small Beautiful Thing

Our first sunrise back in Wyoming was a glorious welcome.

We're all busy around the holidays so who needs more emails? Not us and not you. We like to take a break as the temperatures cool and things slow down so you won't be hearing from us in your inbox until the new year.

If you'd like to stay updated on what we're doing, check us out on Instagram and Facebook.

Ciao for now!

Jamie

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