Pumpkins

 

 So, I brought in the rest of the pumpkins yesterday.  Somehow, I managed to grow over 60 of them this year.  Thinking I'll be needing to hang out a Pumpkins for Sale sign!
They've survived crazy weather, deer, cows and bears to make for a bumper crop.
My.  Think of all the Pumpkin Spice Lattes this could mean......

Sunflower Seeds, Anyone?

 I thought I'd sell packets of seeds at the fairs and tuck them into the gift baskets.
 I thought I'd print out these pictures and have them on my sign for the seeds.
Wouldn't you buy something from these guys?  They pretty irresistible.

We've got lots of pumpkins, too! 

Autumn Glimpses

 

We've been doing all our Autumn activities here.  Last Friday, the kids and I enjoyed a picnic up under an apple tree in the pasture.  I packed up our lunch, and a thermos of coffee for me, some blankets and wandered up the hill to enjoy a sunshine filled day.
After an extremely hot, dry summer the Autumn rains were most welcome.  We had planned on a picnic several times, but were rained out.  We enjoyed our lunch and laughed and played all together.  We relaxed together and listened to crickets serenade us.  Talked about the leaves just starting to change and all sorts of delightful little things.
We've been doing school steady this month.  Between that and the three birthdays, there hasn't been much time to write.  At the moment, all three kids are playing happily and noisily upstairs.  I'm making Pumpkin Bread galore from the pumpkins in our garden.  I just pulled three pans of muffins out and put three loaves of bread in.  All I need now is a cuppa tea.
I worked hard in the garden the other day in preparation of a freeze that didn't happen.  That's the way it goes.  My counters are still loaded down with herbs and pumpkins, zucchinis and more.  Sweetheart mentioned the last of the pears need to be picked and that the apples are pretty much ready.
I'm working on my teas and salts in hopes of getting all those ready as soon as possible. 
I experimented with solid lotions and bath bombs the other day to sell as well.  I absolutely LOVE the lotion bars, but am rather ambivalent as to the bath bombs.  I've passed some samples out and am awaiting feedback.  And more time.  They can't wait, fresh produce can't.
I haven't really wanted to can this year, but I did three batches of peach jam the other day.  Most everything else is being dried or frozen. 
My Mom watched the kids last Friday night and they had a slumber party at her house.  It was the first time Sweetheart and I have ever been home alone here.  It was so quiet!  We read and marveled at the silence.  We enjoyed visiting and just hanging out together without interruption. 
I even got to sleep in as late as I wanted and had my breakfast in bed.  Pure luxury.  Here's to more slumber parties soon!  Thank you, Mom!
Well, I need to get back up and get moving.  There's lots more to be done.  I'm even helping with a wedding cake for next weekend and painting a big sign for the wedding arch.  The bride wants the Scripture verse from their invitations on a wooden sign( like these) to hang on the arch they're making out of bales of hay.  I'll be breaking out the brushes as soon as Sweetheart cuts the board.  Another neighbor baked the cakes, so I'll be fondanting them and decorating them with flowers.  Fondant is new to me, so pray.  Since the bride will be my nearest neighbor as of next weekend, I want to get it right!

~Poppies~Have a Little Sunshine

I took these pictures last night.
This one is the same shot I did two years ago sitting on top of the septic tank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planting Continues

I planted 15 types of squash, 4 types of potatoes, 3 kinds of beets, and a ton of herbs so far today.
Arugula and broomcorn are in there somewhere, too.
I have a pocket full of seeds to stuff back in the little packet.
This joins a variety of greens, flowers, herbs and the four sets of corn I already planted.
And I am only halfway done.
And I have the easy job!
Yeah!
Ahem.
Now it's time for a cold ale, baths for all our dusty farmkids and movie night with popcorn!
I *should* go back out after the kids are in bed as it is cooler, but...we'll see.
Thank goodness dinner is all ready to go.  I made tons of bbq chicken in the crockpot yesterday and coleslaw and rolls yesterday.  I heated up some corn (!) and we have plenty for tonight.
The meats heating up in the crockpot and I'll just toss the corn on the stove and dish everyone up.
It'll be crockpot dinners until the planting is done.
And we're on a break for school until then as well.
Happy June!!!

In Awe

This was the view from the front yard the other evening. 
Amazing. 
It was beautiful.

We have a break in the rains this week and have been out planting. 
It feels like we are behind, but I know we are not. 
We still had frost on the ground the other day!

All other projects have been placed on hold until all the seeds are in. 
I am in awe of the process.
There is dirt.  Lots of dirt.
Into this dirt I press the smallest of things. 
Just a little seed.
Some so small they are hard to place.
But inside each one of those tiny dots contains an entire plant just waiting to grow.
Water and sunshine are added and food and beauty will (hopefully!) appear.
And I press on.
And on.

And I wonder about how many more rows
I
can
bend
over
before
I
fall
over.

And I laugh at myself, stretch, and press on.

An Evening Walk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a few pictures from the other evening before the sun slipped behind the mountains across our valley.

Blooms & Blossoms

The plum trees are all ablossom this week.  White and pink petals fill the land and float on the pond filling our world with color and sweet fragrance and the wild promise of fruit to come.
Plumfield Farm?
Maybe.  We're still trying to decide.  I am an Alcott fan, after all.  Yes, Orchard House Homestead is a possibility, too....

Just a Few Pictures from This Week

Yes, I use this a lot to call everyone in for meals.

Wendy~It's bloomed!  I miss you!

We're back up to 15.  No idea where one was hiding out for two days.

Early morning along my walking route.

Normally, I would crop out a road, but this isn't a road.  It's our airport runway. The regular road runs around it and curves back the other direction.  It's "protected" by that barb wire fence you see.  Just a bit different than when we lived near Denver International Airport.

It's been a rainy, foggyish week.

My new view from the porch!!!!!  Sweetheart has been busy chopping down the Great Wall of Trees.  I did crop out the two dozen port-a-johns from the bottom of the picture and the reason for the GWoT.

Today is sunny and warm!  Here's Sweetheart trying to fly the kite for the boys.

 We enjoyed an al fresco lunch and hung up two more hammocks in the orchard after lunch.  Cupcake is snoozing, the boys and Daddy are out at the irrigation ditch and I am writing and baking chocolate chip cookies.  With the cookies are baking I have been knitting another dishcloth in the hammock on the fromt porch.  We've been in the hammock reading stories for school this week and loving the warmer weather. 
It's been a good week.

Farm Life

In between the work, I sit and just try to enjoy the gifts as they come.
A cup of tea outside on a sunny day.
Bliss. 

Winter Walk

I just walked around the farm and have come back inside to warm my toes. It is a sunny day here in Idaho with the sky almost a Colorado Blue.  The moon hangs low in the sky, just above the mountains behind us, not quite full, but beautiful against the cloudless sky.

As I was walking, I thought back to when I first walked this land a year ago.  I laughed when I saw that the post I was thinking of was exactly one year ago today.  It was quite a different walk this time.  This walk, I know the land and am not exploring it for the very first time.  I know where the wild currants grow, which tree bears plums by the bushel, that all the apple trees are buggy.  I know to avoid the hole out halfway through the pasture that I have tripped upon too many times.  I know now where the roses are.  And that yes, there were rosebushes that I discovered on my walk that day.  Sadly, most of the bushes in question are thornberries, and not very good ones at that.

The other change is that today's walk was a walk, last year's was a hike.  I remember post-holing through thigh high snow and longing for my snowshoes that weren't here yet.  This year, I have the snowshoes, but not enough snow to use them!  Today I walked in just my regular boots with no snow above my ankles and bare ground in spots.  I enjoyed today's walk more for that reason.

As I walked, I left the chickens running around behind me and passed Buttercup lounging around.  I walked around the pond and up the back pasture, eying where I hope to install the wall tent this summer.  I crossed over the irrigation ditch, now empty and dry and glanced through my grove so bare I could see the other side.  So different than the summer hideout it becomes.

As I walked down the south pasture towards the house, I saw the smoke rising from the chimney lazily twisting grey against the blue.  I know I'll need to add a few logs and get it going again.  It has been warm enough today to just use it to take off the chill.  I am grateful for that.

Now I am inside, thinking about dinner knowing I need to get back on track with my meal planning.   The grocery situation around here is so different.  I still don't feel like that is an area that's working for me, but I know I need to figure out a solution.

Sweetheart has been inside working upstairs while I've been walking and the boys are playing together in their room while Cupcake naps, so it is pretty quiet here in my kitchen. Sweetheart just came downstairs to go fill Buttercup's water tank and bring in more firewood. Everyone will be up and running around any minutes I am sure.  I'd best get a move on for dinner.

I am thinking about dinnertime.  I want to declare a Bonus Movie Night and watch an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford.  I am now hooked!  What a delight it is!  So fun.  The boys think it is funny to see people they know from Cranford and North and South in it, though they did express a bit of disappointment that there was no sword fighting in the episode they watched.  They saw Errol Flynn's Robin Hood a few weeks ago and are longing for more "squash-buckling" (Pumpkin's term) adventures.

And, in spite of the total lack of recent pictures of them, they are loving life here.  The light in most of the house is simply too dim for pictures even though I am experimenting with the various settings possible on my camera.  Plus, they are often too busy to what to stop long enough for a picture.  I have taken hundreds of pictures that, alas, are too blurry.  I will keep trying.

Our craft project for this week is making Valentines!  I got out my Valentines supplies yesterday.  It made me sad as most of it was left from a Cupid's Tea I had a few years ago.  It was such a fun time and the ladies there so dear to me.  It makes me homesick to think about it!  (I miss you all!)  We'll just have to make our own fun as a family this time.

Time to go now.  Hope you are enjoying a beautiful weekend as well.  Hoping my Denver friends are able to dig out soon!

Linking up to My Simple Country Living:  The Country Homemaker Hop.

What Became of the Christmas Tree I Chopped Down

hi.

These Autumn Days

Our weather has taken a turn this week.  Cold mornings mean more to me than they used to.  In the ancient past, it meant scraping windows to drive across the city to go teach school.  In the not-so-distant-past it meant just staying in with the kids and playing.  Now, it means frozen stock tanks, crazy cold milk-covered hands and hunkering down close to Buttercup to warm up while milking.

Yesterday, I found some insulated coveralls to wear, and got a tank warmer the neighbors offered that they didn't need.  Can't do anything about the hands.  Even fingerless gloves would simply get soaked.  I will look forward to hooking Buttercup back up to the machine once everything heals up.

The trees are all showing their colors and the countryside is lovely.  I leave the barn door open for evening milking time and just enjoy soaking in all the colors.  It is warmer then.  Once the sun sets and I am still milking it cools down again dramatically. 

I am working on just trying to stay in the moment and finding the beauty and joy right now, not trying to think what might go wrong next.  Sometimes, I am really good at this.  Other times, we just won't talk about.  It can get ugly.

There is so much to learn and do and sometimes, it just overwhelms.  I do try to focus on how far we have come and all that I have learned.  Seriously, who would have ever thought I would be doing what I do now? 

This morning, I am taking a much needed break.  My Thursday mornings off, fell by the wayside when Buttercup arrived.  But I am sitting in a cafe in the next town north of us hiding out so I can focus and write a bit without interruption.

It is time to head back, but I have enjoyed each minute.  I collected a big bagful of elderberries on the drive up.  They have probably frozen on the bushes, but I am going to try steam juicing them anyway and see what I come up with. 

We are still waiting for apples to ripen, though with our cold temperatures at night, I am not sure what will happen.  The second pear tree is ripening, though the basketful I picked last week went to the compost pile yesterday.  Alas, there have simply not been enough hours to do everything that is possible.  I was able to pick and preserve a bunch of our free-stone plums which was nice.

The good news is, the trees will still produce produce next year.  And hopefully, by then I will have a better plan to deal with it all.  I have been stuffing as much as I can into the freezer and dehydrator and not relying on canning as much.  I wish I could do all I want to do, but it just isn't possible.

I am hoping to restart schooling soon.  It went to the wayside with all the milking and preserving that is time-sensitive.  We can "do school"  according to our own seasonal schedule.  I just have to keep reminding myself of that.  Being a product of the regular school system and teaching all those years, that schedule is ingrained in me.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  It doesn't have to be that way.  It doesn't have to be that way.  (Reminding me.)

Coolest thing to happen lately:  I was holding Cupcake the other night and clear as a bell she said, "I love you."  Melt this Mama heart.  Most of the time I have no idea what she says, but this was just perfect.  *sigh*

Today

Well, nothing has died today and the milk machine ran great this morning.  I've got butter churning in the Bosch from the fresh cream.  All in all, an easier day.  We currently have our fifth uninvited visitor of the day though.  I am glad people feel welcome to stop by, but it is hard to get work done! 

Mornings Around Here

Outside:::

Good morning, Amelia!

I love the blue of the chicory.  Must dig up some and try to roast the roots for coffee.  I've read about it.  Anyone else doing it?

Rusty stuff:  we've got lots of it!

Inside:::

 Milling wheat for the day's baking.

 Goat's milk from Bella and eggs from the Ladies.

 A favorite cookbook.

 A lovely breakfast we enjoy year round by just changing the fruit.

Go visit the ladies at BARN HOP #21 !