Mutton mowers in Boulder

Saturday Ella had a soccer game in Boulder.  When we pulled into the sports park we noticed a herd of goats just outside the park.  Kate and I just had to go check it out.  I think herds of goats have been used for quite some time to eat away brush and weeds that may become a fire hazard when things get dry.  These guys were contained by a portable electric fence which I think was moved from day to day.  The herd protector was a Llama.  She didn't come into camera range.  Just like my Sunflower and CoCo  these goats prefer to eat leaves from trees over noxious weeds.  There were at least 5 of these goats in the trees straddling the branches reaching as far as their necks would take them in pursuit of a few juicy leaves.  Warning: don't touch the electric fence.  I learned the hard way.  Interesting the fence was powered by a 12" square solar panel.

Goats for hire.  This Mama is earning her keep mowing down noxious weeds.

Kate in the forest watching the goats and skipping over the little creeks.

Sweet little black curly haired goat

Beautiful view of the Flat Irons behind a great soccer game.  Go Ella

Blueberry coffeecake with lemon streusel

Blueberry coffeecake with lemon streusel, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The blueberries are abundant, at a good price and delicious! So yesterday I spent some time in the kitchen making this yummy cake for the second time...only this time I thought that I would "shoot" the process. The recipe comes from the King Arthur flour folks, Blueberry coffeecake with lemon streusel. The blueberries are fabulous but you could probably substitute other summer fruit like peaches. The sour cream makes it really moist....yogurt would also be great....but the candied lemon peel adds a great crunch to the topping and should not be substituted or left out. I baked the cake for 55 minutes; the recipe calls for 30-35...which is not enough.
Kate and Ella were eager to help make the cake sometimes completely elbowing me out of the picture. Sometimes the process and the tasting is better than the final results although I am pretty sure these girls will be back today for the end result with a glass of milk.
Following in the process for making your own candied lemon peel (or any citrus):

Out of the oven, cooling

blueberry coffee cake with lemon streusel, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.