Golden Acres Ranch

We made a quick trip to Marysville, Ohio visiting friends, then to Lewiston, New York  visiting aunts.  We stopped at a Fainting Goat Ranch in Canada, Kentucky.  What fun that is to see these charming goats climbing up and down a mountain.  They are very friendly and came right down to check us out.  So now back and trying to get into the swing of things again.  The last of the mayhaws are floating in the pond.  We harvested over 600 pounds this year.  Now jelly making time and preparing for farmers markets again.

Wow!  What a great festival we had.  More than 300 people came throughout the day.  The vendors did well and folk music was provided by The Mayhaws.   People really enjoyed walking through the pasture to the Mayhaw Pond and watch them being gathered.  WCTV-6 came and put a blurb on the air after the 11:00 PM news.  The Tallahassee Democrat spent a lot of time here also.  We're watching for their write-up.  There will be photos on line as well.

Chuck is taking care of the ranch while we take a short trip.  

Wow, the crew is terrific!  We've put 20 bags of mayhaws in the freezer and it is not 6:00 PM yet.  They're still out there shaking trees.  Our new supper secret gathering method is working especially well. You have to come out Saturday, May 15, to see how it's done.

We used our new gathering method on Sunday afternoon and added 8 bags of berries to our freezer.  They need to be washed one last time then will be ready for the pot to make the juice that is used to make the jelly.  I'm finding that the 4 pound package of berries net 12 jars of the jelly.  I don't water it down or add store bought apple juice. 

Thankfully every tree is not ripening at the same time.  We are able to pick those with ripe berries, shake them into our containment booms, gather into buckets and then take them to the drying area.  There are a couple of high powered fans that dry the newly harvested berry and blow away most of the light debris.  We pick through for sticks and such then bag them.  I prefer to freeze them immediately to keep them fresh for cooking.  The berries can  breakdown quickly in the frig since they came out of water.

We'll have additional folks here to gather starting Tuesday.  I hope to have a full freezer by Saturday.

Fred and I spent most of Saturday gathering mayhaws.  A friend arrived about 3:00 PM and with his help we really increased our capture rate.  We circle a tree, David (big strong guy) shakes the limbs and  the berries come falling on our heads.  It sounds like rain on a tin roof when they hit the water.   I don't care how well we position buckets the berries never fall in them.  David said he remembers back in 2007 when one red berry actually fell in his bucket.  Anyway, after that tall tale, we skimmed the water and harvested the newly fallen crop.  They float beautifully fresh off the tree.

We now have 10 - 4 pound bags ready for sale only 90 more to go to reach my goal for this year.   I have been making test recipes of jelly with the berries collected just for me.    Monday, I'll head to the commisary kitchen to make batches for sale.  Christine, our oldest daughter, has designed a beautiful label for our jars.  She can do stuff like that in minutes while it takes me hours or even days.  Of course, she does this professionally and has the talent and right tools

Spring in North Florida Big Bend When I moved from Ohio to Florida years ago, many folks would comment about not being able to distinguish the seasons.  Well, I've learned there is a big difference in the four seasons just minus the snow, ice and long periods of freezing weather. 

This is spring and mayhaw harvest time.  As the name indicates the berry is ripening in May on the trees as we speak.  What a delight this is.  We put on old clothes and boots to protect our feet from the stumps, scratchy limbs and such at the bottom of the pond.  The boots also provide comfort that maybe the snake can't bit through.   Spring - snakes - oh dear!  Yes they are moving around now that the ground is above 70 degrees.  I think they are looking for a girlfriend/boyfriend also.  Of course, the pond has the usual number of spiders, miscellaneous unidentified bugs and at dusk the the mosquito.  But, the pond water is warm, the sun is shinning through the trees, the water is brackish and the frogs are croaking.  The baaing of the goats and lambs carries sweetly across the water.  The distant barking of a dog is somehow not annoying.  All city sounds are far away. This is just one gentle sign of spring in Florida.  

Other signs are the leaves that have just recently fallen to the ground.  You know, what is called fall up north happens in April and May in this part of the country.  Then there is the proverbial 'Fox in the Hen House'.   All stores for another time.  It time to head to the Mayhaw Pond.  

We're spending the day out there.  They are ripening quickly now.  We have extra help scheduled starting tomorrow.   If you have waders, enjoy the outdoors and aren't afraid of snakes, come join us. 

Pablo and I went into the pond and gathered two gallons of mayhaws yesterday afternoon.  Our highlight of the day was seeing the two water snakes basking in the sun on one of the trees laying ingthe water.  No they were not Moccasin!  I did get bitten by ticks last week.  They are scarier than snakes.  

The trees are heavy with the berries but need a couple more warm days and some Florida sunshine. 

I have tested a couple of batches of Mayhaw Jelly with my secret recipe.  Golden Acres Ranch jelly will have all natural or organic products and made right here in Jefferson County at a local commisary kitchen.  How can something so sweet still be tart to the taste?  It is that wonderful berry. 

 A while back we processed some sheep that were from 14 to 18 months old.  Once the animal is over 12 months it requires the "sheep" label.  A friend from New Zealand has been buying our lamb chops regularly.  He bought the last package of the loin chops marked Sheep Loin Chops.  They were tough and not tasty. 

Golden Acres Ranch set up shop at the 42nd Annual Springtime Tallahassee last Saturday. It was a fun day and Ken is super talking to the folks.  Hanna cooks the samples and does a great job.  Val helped too.  Colter helped load up at the end of the day.

We have started offering our products at the weekly Tallahasse Downtown Marketplace on Saturdays which Ken will be handling. We are still going to Lake Ella pretty regularly, too.

Johnston's Meat Locker is manufacturing goat and lamb sausage using our product.  It is marketed under their label and we sell them the USDA inspected goat and lamb.   I have a special lamb recipe with middle eastern spices.  Small amounts have been made so far to test its acceptance.  It is a big hit and selling out quickly. You can buy the live goat or lamb and Johnston's will custom process it for you. They do an outstanding job. They also have a great source of Grass Fed Beef now. 

Johnston's is a great support for us and our "Commissary Kitchen" (required by Food Safety).   I will use them to make the Mayhaw Jelly this year.

Last Monday I went to the USDA producers to have lamb roast processed for the Easter Holiday. I actually did the meat cutting and wrapping and has a much better understanding of the different cuts and the value of various pieces.

Lots happening now that the rain has stopped and Spring has arrived.

From frig packing boxes to fine art by Melinda Copper. And I helped!