Thanks and Blessings

Well, we know it's been months since we posted, but it was a incredible summer and oh so busy!

First we have to thank all our wonderful Farmers Market customers; your support has kept our fires stoked all season, and your kind words make the long weeks worth all the work. And also thanks to the staff at EarthFare in SouthPark, Ballantyne, and Rock Hill; you guys are the best, and your orders and encouragement have also kept us going. And kind thanks also to Kathleen Purvis, and Marty Minchin at the Charlotte Observer for their sweet stories on our adventure. And, last but not least, thanks to the chefs here in Charlotte for their support, encouragement, honest opinions, and of course orders! We love you guys (you know who you are).....And thanks to Grateful Growers for showing up an hauling away our whey! What a wonderful circle to be part of, one and all.

Now, on to a few updates; Mike, from Rock Hill asked for a few pics of Jack and Meg, our trusty barn monitors, and all around bundles of energy. They are just 1 year old now, and slightly (OK, a lot) larger. Meg, who just visited the vet, clocked in at 70lbs. These two were the runts of the litter, and I'm glad for that.

Jack is the quiet one (until he barks.)

Still just kids, they love to rough house inthe pasture.

And dear sweet Meg keeps us all on our toes.

Next is TRUFFLES! We are experimenting with bittersweet chocolate, goat cheese and coco powder...ooh la la. Soon we'll have them available at the markets!

That's all for now, but now that the really busy season is behind us, we'll post again soon.

Matt L.

Newsworthy

Well, I'm a little late on this one. Quite behind the breaking story, but if you really haven't seen it yet, Bosky Acres was in the paper this past Sunday. You can find the online article here:
http://www.charlotte.com/268/story/648790.html

We also have made our first cheese delivery to Noble's Restaurant today. It made us all a little giddy to think of our cheese being served in such a fine establishment. It's up there next to Ratcliffe On The Green Restaurant, where our cheese has been served for some months. (Still being served, too!)

If that wasn't enough, it even looks like we may be expanding into local Earthfare locations as well.

We are, of course, at the farmers' market in Matthews, Waxhaw, and Charlotte every Saturday.

We've hit a few bumps here and there in the process of getting this business off the ground, but we know one thing for sure: we've got some good cheese on our hands and lots of it. So, come find us, say hi, and try some cheese!

Sling'in Curd

Ahhhh, Spring. Flowers, sunshine... and lots and lots of cheese.


We've been working out tails off down here at the farm. Friday we spent the whole day with cheese... we bagged cheese, hung cheese, and packaged cheese. Then Saturday we sold cheese. And this truly is a family endeavor:

This is during our marathon of cheese on Friday: a five minute break of course results in face-making and general silly-ness.

Hey, you'd be doing jazz-hands too if you'd just finished hanging all that cheese to drain off the whey - sling'in curd, that is.

Yes, the business grinds onward. We're making progress, one batch of cheese at a time. Slow, difficult progress, but progress all the same.

At least we have each other, and our jazz-hands.

SPRING

It's been a quiet Winter. But quiet time is over now. Spring is upon us, ladies and gentlemen.

Yes, you know it is Spring when the baby animals show up. Baby goats, in our case. The warm winds are blowing, milk is flowing again, and the work is piling up. Today consisted of a kind of Spring cleaning: barn mucking. We are cleaning and tidying inside and out. Today, we even planted clover over the earth that was torn up to make room for our construction. (It seemed especially appropriate to plant clover on St. Patty's Day.)

There really is something in the air here. A new season is just getting underway, and it's very exciting. Happy Spring, everyone.

Puppies!

Meet Meg and Jack, the latest additions to the farm. (Jack is on the left, Meg on the right.) They are Great Pyrenees, and are intended to be our barn dogs: dogs to look after the animals, and keep a general eye on things... right now, they are just bundles of untrained energy. However, we love them already.

All is well at Bosky Acres, albeit very, very busy. We're hoping for a quiet holiday before things get even crazier when kidding season hits in the spring, and we start really ramping up on the cheese production. The feedback we have gotten so far has been extremely positive, and sales so far have also been encouraging... Thanks to everyone who has supported us in this journey, and Happy Holidays to everyone! You'll be hearing more from us after the holidays.

P.S.

I can't believe I forgot.
Have you met our saintly friend?

He keeps a weather eye on things round here. Much thanks to the family for sending him along. =)

Oy Vey!

And we thought things were going to get easier... No, making and selling cheese is full-time job. But at least we're no longer dependent of contractors and other construction types. (Nothing against them, really.) But the space is finally ours, and we've even made it through a few weekends at the Farmers' Market (pictures of that to come).

In the meantime...

The milking parlor:

The Cheese Room:

THE CHEESE:

The Big Day

Ladies and gentleman, we will be selling our first batch of fresh goat cheese at the Matthews Farmer's Market... tomorrow! If you have been following this blog and have been looking forward to the chance to finally get your hands on some fresh goat cheese, please come see us. It's going to be a big day for Bosky Acres.

Today Is A Day That Will Go Down In History

At least for us it will. For today is THE DAY that Bosky Acres Inc. has received it's dairy license. Yes, we are legit. And we passed inspection with a perfect score. You know what that means right? That means CHEESE. Next Saturday, people. Be there.

Getting that piece of paper was such an insane process, up until the last few moments. It took months and months of planning, weeks and weeks of working, nights and nights when we were up past our bedtimes working. But oh, the cheese... it called to us. And now we can start making it and (most significantly) selling it.
We'd party, but everyone is just too tired at the moment. Mostly everyone's been walking around going, "I can't believe we did it..."

Keep checking for more pics of the finished building, and perhaps our first batch of cheese!

The End Is Near (And In This Case, That's a Good Thing)

Well, no, we haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. We weren't struck by lightning, and no one has picked up and flown to the Caribbean (tempting, though). Although, it might have seemed like it here, for which I can only apologize. We have actually been so hard at getting this thing done, no one has had time to stop and think. Add in delays caused by scheduling problems, and some plumbing issues (we won't go there), and school starting, we've been up to our eyeballs in all of it.
Progress has been made, however! In the past month we've gone from this:

To this:
(It's such an improvement, we can't even comprehend it yet.)



From this:

To this:The pasteurizer (a highly significant piece of equipment) is also finally here, and hooked up.

And lo and behold! We have running water, even after all we went through to get it.

Yes, we have persevered. In a pretty big way if you look at how far we've come, building this from the ground up. Now a dairy license could be ours as soon as Thursday. No, you can't stop progress...
Stay tuned, please because I promise to be more conscientious about updating again.

Let There Be A/C... Wait, I Mean Light.

Progress Report:
Floor tile has been laid, the process of finishing off the floors has been initiated. (After an excruciating, but rewarding search for just the right tile.)


Doors have been hung, at last making the place feel like an honest to goodness building. Isn't the red fetching?





We're all wired up, too.


The biggest news has been saved for last. That being that Duke Power came over this morning with some large, invasive truck/machinery (I was trying to sleep, naturally) and hooked us up.That's right, ladies and gentleman. We have power.


Which means not only light, but air conditioning! Which is nice considering it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit outside today, and probably will be again tomorrow. Hopefully no one will end up melting before the week is over.

Monday is check your truss day

Sweeet!

They called at 7:30am.......

And we were ready to check our trusses....

All hands on deck, these guys made it look easy, truss me, not easy....

Look goaty girls, you got to truss' us, this is gonna be Sweeeet!

The best laid plans........................

Progress and Neglect

Well, I arrived home from Chicago to significant changes. Observe perfectly painted, drywalled ceilings. Also note that the electrician has started work.

Windows have also finally been installed. No more gaping holes in the wall.

And perhaps most exciting of all, some of the equipment has started to arrive. Like The Sink.
It's much larger than it looks in the picture. We also have tables, and more sinks, and even a pasteurizer on the way. Last but certainly not least, the large empty pad of dirt will soon be a new BARN. A BIG one... This more than anything is going to make a huge difference in how smoothly things run around here. Needless to say, we can't wait to use it.
All this work has meant that the yard has been sorely neglected. It has been weeks since anyone mowed... Evan fought through some of it the other day, but I am still worried it will soon turn into a vicious jungle of a yard - waiting for us to wander unsuspectingly out into the grass and then quickly trapped in to the long grass and devoured...
But what's the loss of a kid or pet compared to finishing the project, right?

Are we there yet?

No Molly, were not quite there.............

But progress is being made my dear.
The HVAC guys visited, and....

A steel headed octoventilator has taken roost.....

And our neighbor Chris has installed posts for..........
These lovely trusses, which will have a CoverAll Barn stretched over them.....

And it has been so hot, our doors have turned red..........

And this week has been like the back of a shampoo bottle. Up at 6am, at work by 7, home by 5, hang drywall, tape, mud, sand......

Wash, rinse, repeat!

Which is why the posting has been so lame; our primary blogger Miss Ivy has been enjoying a hard earned vacation with the Chicago Ant.

Anyways, progress continues.