Self-Intro of Debbie, Keystone Heights, Florida

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Hi Everyone,

My name is Debbie and I live in northeastern Florida (Clay County). My email

address is zzsdeb@.... We have a farm and raise mostly miniature

livestock (mini-horses, -cows, -goats, -donkeys, -pigs.) Raw milk sales are

legal in our state, but only if labeled " For pet use only. " I've recently

gotten interested in raw milk for the second time in my life (in my 50's) as I

had a saanen doe which I milked and drank raw milk from when in my teens. The

most recent interest was brought about for 2 reasons: 1)buying goat- and

cow-milk cheeses from our local farmers' markets (all made with raw milk), and

2)several months ago I purchased a couple of big dairy does to provide extra

milk for some of our miniature calves (most are bottle-fed). After a few days

of milking them, I was tempted to try some of the milk, but admitedly was a bit

hesitant at first. After doing some research, however, we've now added 3 more

adult nubians and 4 nubie doelings, and most recently a little jersey heifer.

I will be milking again soon when the babies are weaned, and am looking forward

to having backup help in learning how to make butter and some simple cheeses. I

have several books on making cheese, but am not known for my kitchen skills!

When not taking care of all the " critters " around here, I tend the numerous

herbs and fruit trees we've planted, and a small vegetable garden (which the

deer keep under close supervision!). I also do lots of reading on homesteading

skills, and am trying to identify all the edible native plants in this area.

And when time permits, I'm also a sculptor.

Debbie in Keystone Heights