Know the science behind raw milk Notes taken by Kris Johnson from lecture by Lee Dexter Milk is the only natural food designed by mother nature to nurture babies, designed to protect mammals. Birth is a messy thing, yet animal babies survive Milk is a biochemical soup - Bioactive ingredients/components with a mission! They are the same across all mammal species. They have a dual purpose: To stimulate the immune system To keep harmful bacteria in check Components: * Lactoperoxidase: this is the 2nd most concentrated enzyme in cows milk - it seeks out and destroys bad bacteria. It is in all mammalian secretions, milk, saliva, tears, urine. it is strongest on day 4 after birth. It is being considered in Europe as a healthier substitute for pasteurization. o Example Lactoferrin ñ which steal iron away from harmful bacteria, but it is destroyed by pasteurization o Another lactoperoxidase steals folic acid from harmful bacteria. o Lactoperoxidase uses thiocyante (CN) to seek out and destroy pathogens. o Researchers have challenged raw milk with pathogens ñ raw milk will not support growth of pathogens, such as campylobactor. Campylobactor is destroyed by CN. These challenge studies done in 1980ís are very useful in court. Poor hygiene in production is the cause for pathogens in raw milk. * Fatty acids ñ essential oils. They are highly anti-bacterial, anti-fungal o Caprylic and caproic fatty acids eat the cell walls of bacteria and fungi. (When oxidized they give a goaty smell to raw goat milk ñ reason to chill rapidly) * Enzymes in raw milk are also helpful - continue to work in frozen milk, so frozen milk only lasts so long or the emulsion begins to break * Polysaccharides (long sugary, fiber type molecules) in milk encourage the good bacteria which line the gut with a protective mucus layer, and prevent unhealthy bacteria from attaching to gut. o This helps to prevent leaky gut syndrome (colon literally porous), so common today, leading to foreign molecules in the blood stream which sends a red alert to the immune system, leading to an overworked immune system that causes all kinds of problems. o Raw milk sets up this physical barrier, which allows the body to cure itself, allows the immune system to relax. Baby can put its efforts into growth. Babies on raw milk are healthier, more robust, skin is better, they are not getting colds, ear infections, no eczemas, donít spit up, and "they donít stink!" * Antibodies in milk help the immune system to relax. They bind to foreign microbes in gut and let immune system take care of them in the gut. There are white blood cells in raw milk to seek out and destroy pathogens. They work in conjuction with medium chain fatty acids, lactoferrin, lysozyme (a fat eating enzyme), and growth factors that promote the growth of health colon cells. So we see that there are redundant systems in the gut with raw milk that protect the baby and all of us! Binder proteins ñ Mother Nature is not stupid! * Goat milk is lower in folic acid, but there is a special binder protein that takes folic acid in goat milk and carries it into blood stream, and babies do fine - * But these binder proteins are destroyed during pasteurization. They are three-dimensional proteins, that are distorted by heat. These distorted proteins have lost their bioactivity and are attacked by the immune system, which gets stressed out. Babies getting this processed milk have all kinds of health problems, eczemas, allergies, and other immune related symptoms etc * There are many special binder proteins in milk that transport nutrients into blood stream, so no supplements are needed. Problems with commercial milk and processing: * 30% of regular commercial milk is contaminated with antibiotics or pesticides * Zanthine Oxidase identified at cause of heart disease - is encapsulated by homogenization into tiny balls so it can enter blood stream and goes to heart and chews on heart muscle. Probably cause of runners who drop dead. * What is adulteration (misused word)? Milk must contain poisonous or deleterious substance that may render it injurious to health. A substance not added to food is not an adulterant, if the quantity in food does not normally make it injurious to health ñ Staph aureous is often naturally found in milk, but is not an "adulterant" and unlikely to be injurious. * Pathogen definition - must cross barrier in otherwise healthy person. Need experts qualified by training and experience to sort out these reports of raw milk troubles. If inspectors come to take tests, be sure to send your own samples of the same milk to be tested, to prevent monkey business. * Raw milk is NOT an ideal medium for growing bacteria! But pasteurized milk is. If you are challenged by a regulator, you need to get the facts ñ contact us. * Lactoperoxidase system can be overwhelmed by high numbers of pathogens ñ reason why milk in cities in early 20th century had trouble with contaminated milk. There are small numbers of harmful bacteria even in clean good milk (even human breast milk), but not enough to make a baby sick. (More on why botulism is not in cheese ñ didn't take notes) Results of pasteurization: * Fatty acids, oligosaccharides, and some growth hormones survive pasteurization. Pasteurization sets up children for all kinds of immune system problems ñ asthma, allergies. * Interferon, bifidus factor are destroyed by pasteurization * Decreases the availability of most minerals in milk ñ body canít get at these minerals * Vitamin B6 and folic acid are inactivated * Vitamins C, E, & D and others vitamins are reduced or destroyed. White Egret Farm Website http://www.whiteegretfarm.com/ E-mail us at egretfarm@aol.com Farm> Call us at 512-276-7408 Fax us at 512-276-7489

WL, "Any special tips for catching them?" Just don't handle them. It is my understanding that armadillos can carry Leprosy. For that reason, and safety in general, any live catch traps should have protection for your hand at the carrying handle. I suspect that the NWS5300 Universal Trap with built-in nose cone trap would be suitable for armadillos. However, several other traps, like the Wickencamp Coon Trap (Model 302) or the Safeguard Pro Raccoon Trap, are suitable for armadillos. For traps with a rollover release, you should anchor the trap to prevent the captured animal from rolling the trap over and escaping. I lost several large gray squirrels before learning to attach an anti-rollover bar (a short piece of concrete re-bar) to my Havahart traps. If you are trying to catch an armadillo, you might want to use TreeBerry paste bait. If you prefer not to use a live trap, you could try a repellent like Whole Control. I have never used it, so I can't attest to its effectiveness. If all else fails, you could always try "the old reliable" Juicy Fruit gum. (grin) MM

We've used whey-based and fat-free powdered milk products of one kind or another as our primary source for milk and other dairy products since 1981, using both instant and non-instant varieties. I purchase it in #10 cans (for long-term storage) or bulk amounts in buckets to save on the price of milk. I always purchase enough for a year at a time. These are the substitutions I've used over the decades of powdered milk use. --Evaporated milk: double strength powdered milk (twice as much milk powder) --Sweetened condensed milk: 3/4 c. non-instant (OR 1-1/3 c. instant) powdered milk 3/4 c. sugar 1/2 c. hot tap water 2 T. butter Melt margarine in hot water, placing hot water in blender. With blender going add sugar and powdered milk, blend until smooth. (Makes about 14-oz.) Can be stored up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. --Buttermilk: Method #1- which is actually sour milk 1 c. water 1/4 c. powdered milk 1 T. vinegar or lemon juice Method #2- Mix 4 T. buttermilk powder to 1 cup liquid (reconstituted) powdered milk Method #3- (source: Natural Meals in Minutes - by Rita Bingham) This is a recipe that is like commercial buttermilk - rich, thick and tangy, and is an actual cultured product. 1 quart lukewarm water 1 c. dry milk powder 1/2 c. commercial buttermilk OR reconstituted buttermilk powder (Note: you can also use 1 quart of commercial milk - any fat level you normally use - whole milk, 2%, etc.) Stir well and cover. Let stand in a warm place (at least 80-degrees F - I use my oven with the light on, and place the quart jar as far from the light as possible) until clabbered, about 12-18 hours. Stir until smooth. Refrigerate. NOTE: You can now use 1/2 c. of your homemade buttermilk to culture the next batch using powdered or regular milk. Use the homemade buttermilk for the next batch within 2-weeks. Method #4- I make homemade kefir using reconstituted powdered milk and real kefir grains and use kefir in recipes calling for buttermilk. I also drain the curd (a curd similar to yogurt) to use for plain yogurt, cream cheese and sour cream. --Half and half: For 1-cup - 7/8 c. double-strength reconstituted powdered milk (or regular milk) plus 1/2 T. butter or ghee --Cream: For 1-cup - 3/4 c. double- or triple-strength reconstituted powdered milk (or commercial milk) plus 1/3 c. butter or ghee (used for cooking or baking only, not for whipping) --Whipped "Cream" Topping: Method #1 Whip powdered milk. Mix 1 c. instant powdered milk with 1 c. ice water in a cold stainless steel bowl. Beat with chilled beaters until stiff. You can add sweetener of choice. Method #2 Chill a 13-oz. can of evaporated milk for 12 hours. Add 1 t. lemon juice. Whip until stiff. --Almond milk: Soak 1 c. almonds in water 8-10 hours (overnight), drain, rinse, drain. Blend with water in a high-speed blender. Drain the almond pulp through a nut milk bag (jelly bag or fine-screen strainer). You can dry the pulp to use in recipes calling for almond flour. I make concentrated almond milk by blending 1 c. of almonds in 2 c. of water, but you may like 3 to 3-1/2 c. of water. I can always thin it with more water if I need to. You can also sweeten your almond milk (dates, sweeteners), but I always use it straight. --Coconut milk: I buy powdered coconut milk (Wilderness Family Naturals) in 5-pound bags and use it for making coconut milk. You can also take unsweetened shredded coconut and water and make coconut milk in a blender. (http://wellnessmama.com/2447/homemade-coconut-milk/) --Whole milk: Method #1 - 1 c. reconstituted non-fat dry milk PLUS 2 t. butter or ghee Method #2 - 1/2 c. evaporated milk and 1/2 c. water --Instant and NON-instant powdered milk measures differently. Instant has a larger particle than NON-instant. If you have instant powdered milk and need NON-instant, blend the dry instant powdered milk in a blender or food processor to make fine particles. Now you can use instant dry milk powder measure-for-measure for NON-instant powdered milk. -Grainlady

Hmmm... looks like a pine maybe? Definitely want to double prime that stuff. If it pine or fir that is annoying stuff to work because it can bleed into your paint (priming fixes that!) and if staining.....awmigawd give me drink ....bloody stuff blotches into light dark when you stain...... all I can do to fight it to a standstill with my top-of-the-line Bartley Furniture gel stains LOL! Your primer will streak and have brush marks and look like doggy doo doo. Doesn't matter. It is just to seal the wood and will be covered up by the good stuff. If it gets a glop from where it ran and you didn't see it pool up, you can pick it off with a finger nail or stick a metal putty knife in and get it off.. Just smack a brush stroke of more primer on the spot and roll on. OVP is so thick that it kinda self levels if you just put it on and keep your hand going along nice & smooth. I'm not a fuss on brushes. Any medium quality brush will work for overall. Something like this would be fine. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Wooster-2-in-Golden-Glo-Nylon-Polyester-Flat-Brush-0Q31180020/204312575 The artist's brush I mentioned would be great for making sure you get all those grooves. It is so tight the edge is almost knife solid for sliding into grooves (well until you wreck it by using it for yonks on infinite house projects when it was intended for oil painting and have to put a bobby around it after washing to get its shape back) http://www.michaels.com/winsor-and-newton-winton-bright-brush/MD002649S.html#start=5 This listing only shows it up to an 8, a 10 would be better. They should have it in the store even if not on the website. You can go down with the larger brush then take the small one to smooth the paint in the crevices so it (a) goes in or (b) too much isn't there What are you gonna do with the inside of the drawers? Leave them as is? If raw wood put some wipe on stain on them? Paint them? The reason OVP does not make a gray is because they do the original 100% accurate colors of the late 18th century and early 19th century (Georgian-Federal-Regency) and some colonial. (They should know the colors -they were making then 200 years ago!) Gray was not used in much back then. It was considered a color of mourning and too depressing for words. When a close relative (parent, spouse, child) died one wore unrelieved black for a year (full mourning) and then went into 1/2 mourning for another year and wore only grey and then lavender near the end of the 2nd year. So no, people then did not use gray paint in their homes. They used a lot of bright strong reds, yellows, pumpkins, blues of all hues, greens (including a great smoky green) and the earth tones of the ground - creams, browns, tans, beiges and of course 'buff' which is a color that was the color of leather that was processed for breeches and clothing. Black was only occasionally used on shutters of a red house or on iron work. GIve Laney a call - she is a sweetie and will help you. You will do just fine. In fact you are gonna do so good that I'll co-opt you to coming up here (40 miles sugar sand beach and dunes....hmmmm?) and make you help me do the Chinoiserie wall paintings down the long hall.