Pet Parade Rainout

Despite having grown children & plenty of chores to do at home, we walked today's 69th Pet Parade route in the rain. Rather than hurrying home, we stopped in the town's resale shop to browse and leisurely visit with the friendly volunteers. 

These plates from Czechoslovakia made my heart sing! It's hard to believe they were only $1.50 each. Aren't they wonderful! I am delighted to have them now to use with our family. I wonder which family used them previously at their celebrations and what kinds of conversations they had over them. I love that about older items, that they played a part in other people's lives. I know we will use these for a long time to come.

 

I was excited to find these big baskets for this year's garden harvest.  I am optimistic our garden will thrive despite it's slow start. I replanted many of the seeds from the first batch of planting, and last week there was a good showing of tiny seedlings from our 2nd planting on Mother's Day.

Because I won't be at the farm this summer as much as I was last summer, I have planted a few pots with vegetables and herbs here at home. For next summer I hope to remove our swing set and build raised garden beds in the space. That way we'd could have a lot more herb plants for meals on a daily basis and weed in small doses rather than full days in the big farm garden. One thing I love about gardening is that the plants are still there the next day. So much of what I do becomes undone by the next day (dishes, laundry, food preparation, tidying). It's so satisfying to walk by my seedlings and see that they are still there just doing their thing!

We stopped at the Kelly's on our way home at 11:30 and just walked into our house  5 hours later! It was a tiny crowd due to the constant rain & cold temperatures, but the company was warm and welcoming. Thank goodness for the Kellys!

 

8th Grade Dance

Little Man's 8th Grade Dance Night

He had a great time!  He came home with seriously aching feet and a big smile after a night of dancing and fun with friends. The gyms looked pretty amazing for their "Night Under the Stars".  

Memorial Day Weekend 

Highlights from our weekend:

• Dinner with a lively conversation Saturday night
• Skeet shooting Sunday
• Buying flowers from a grower who grows in Michigan and sells in North Judson, IN (for a reason I can't figure out)
• Making ribs with fresh, healthy sides

Vegetables, herbs and flowers

Last year we stumbled on a plant stand by Baileys discount store as the grower was close to sold out so we marked our calendars to visit him this weekend. He wasn't across the street from Baileys as he was last year, so we stopped at the tacky stand that's there as they had a few plants. We bought $20 worth of herbs and vegetable seedlings and ventured down the road where we thankfully found the grower we had sought out to find. His selection was fantastic! He had herb and flower varieties I hadn't heard of before, and I easily filled the few boxes I had brought along. I bought the flowers for our home patio and the herbs and vegetables for the farm garden which hasn't taken off yet. Because I hope the grower will return to this spot next year, I went in to the (junky) antique store letting him use the parking lot. I bought a vintage china dish with flowers that we used to serve our scrambled eggs this morning, and I bought a new tea cup to keep at the farm. 

Michael, do you recognize the white Old Spice bottle you found last week hunting for morels? It looks great with a few delicate flowers. 

The battle is on with Dad and the groundhog. Last week Dad filled the big hole in the driveway with pounds of concrete only to discover that rascal dug a new hole right next to the one Dad filled (like a sensible groundhog!)  It is crazy deep! In fact it runs a long way down and across the yard.

When Dad wasn't fighting the groundhog, he was fighting the moles who had plenty more zig zag pop ups across the yard. The battle is on!

Of course, it wouldn't be a Sunday farm day without power tools. Dad worked on taking out 2 dead trees by the entrance to my outdoor chapel. Unfortunately, the chainsaw couldn't keep up, so the job isn't yet finished. We need to buy a new blade for the saw.

John and Andrew had an airsoft battle which ended with Andrew victorious. Grace tanned up on the roof while I cooked up some new recipes (that I won't need to make again!)

Moose spent his birthday playing with toads, digging holes, walking with John, and snoozing on his bed in the cool house.  We only lost him once!

Being the weekend before finals, we don't have plans for Memorial Day. Unfortunately, that probably means Mom and Dad will do all kinds of house projects, but getting them done will reduce the clutter and stress of undone jobs. It will be worth it for an organized, tidy space. I'll also plant my new flowers getting my hands muddy which I love. 

Happy 8th Birthday, Moose!

Born May 24th, 2007, Moose joined our family 6 years ago. Nothing has been the same since! From disappearing into deep holes he digs at the farm to leisurely laying next to us as we read & cook, Moose has been a large presence and even bigger companion. Running beside the ATVs, bowing when we enter the room, and nudging his head into our laps are just a few of the antics we love about Moose. Happy Birthday, Sweet Moose!

Happiness is Juicing Our Own Kale

While seedlings are not yet growing from this year's garden, we are still enjoying the kale from last year's garden which survived strongly through the winter.  How amazing is that!  I love seeing such resilience in the garden. It's so encouraging!  If kale can keep on in dark cold times, so can I!

2008 was great!

This made my day.

Such happy memories.

I loved these days.

2015 New Garden

Michael and Jay started our garden several years ago when Michael wanted to grow popcorn. Last year, in 2015, we expanded the garden by several feet in both directions. It took off amazingly well and produced like crazy despite our novice planning and efforts.

2015 Garden

We've already planted 3 weekends in a row for 2016. We've had a lot of rain and a quite cold week. So far we're seeing far fewer seedlings than we counted on. We're learning as we go! Last year we had a garden full of manure that also brought in a garden full of weeds, so this year we skipped the manure. We also added drip hoses for irrigation this year instead of the above ground rotating sprinkler Jay built last year. Now to figure out how to fertilize organically and keep the weeds and pests out.

2016 Morels

2016 gave us 2 weekends of morel hunting and two great collections!