Monday, June 29, 2009

Happy Birthday Emily!

Today was Emily's birthday! (Actually it was the 28th, but we celebrated today.) The day started out like all birthdays in our family start out- with breakfast in bed. She enjoyed spinach pesto kefir-cheese eggs, toast with her homemade grape jelly, fresh picked strawberries and sugar, orange juice, and of course coffee. :) Then we headed to Stanley-Eddie Park for a two hour long hike. It was a beautiful day, and we had lots of fun! Mid-trail we stopped for a picnic lunch, which we had packed. After our hike, Emily and I headed to a tea shop to meet some friends for tea. Then, of course, we did a little shopping! :) When we got home, Emily jumped out of my car and into the truck, and went out for coffee with Dad. They enjoyed a date in a park, sipping coffee. Mike told Emily that since she was now thirteen years old it was probably time for her to start dating. Emily looked at him surprised. Then he told her that they needed to set some rules for dating. Mike said, " The first rule is........you can only date me!" :) They came home from their date and we had tacos and watched a movie Emily had picked out. (One of her favorites- "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers") Then of course, we had cake!

We are so thankful for Emily. Her girlish ways (drama) keep us in stitches! And we love her quick, witty sense of humor. She is kind, sensitive, grateful, and thoughtful.
Happy Birthday, honey!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Peas, Glorious Peas!

Hello everyone, its been a long time since I've personally written a post. I often times get involved in proof reading and such, but being the lead author is a dim memory from colder weather.

I thought I'd take a few minutes today though to share a little gardening success. For years I had given up on trying to grow peas. It was just one of those "black-thumb" areas in my gardening life. When I planted peas I was lucky if they reached six inches high, and even then they would just fall over and die. Last year I decided to try again, and had a very small amount of success, a couple plants actually flourished (out of many seeds put in the ground).

This year though, we have incredible looking peas. Thanks to what I'll call the "Mohrghaine Method". Mohrghaine is a friend from my "other life" of being a computer consultant. For years she gave me advice on how to plant my peas, but I was so burned out by my pea problems that I was reluctant to try again. HOWEVER, this year I listened. I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

Sugar Snap Peas by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds: These are well over 5 feet tall! They started blooming a couple days ago, and there are a few little pods forming.


Cascadia Blue Snap Peas by Seeds of Change - these are bush style pea, they've been blooming for over a week and we started picking peas a couple days ago. Mmmm.

Oregon Trail and Pioneer shell peas, both from Seeds of Change. We had very poor germination on these, about 50%. But what came up is doing well, blooming and some pods are started.
Needless to say, we will have peas to sell this Friday. See ya on the Farm!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Baby Goats! by Emily


Yesterday morning I was awakened abruptly by Mom whispering loudly, "Emily! I think Belle is close!" Now normally it takes a long time for anyone to get me out of bed early in the morning, but not today! Instantly I was wide awake! While I hurried out of bed and put on my boots, Mom told me all the strange things Belle was doing. We hurried out to the barn, me in my jammies still, and watched Belle. Mom was right, she was doing the oddest things! Acting fairly normal, she would just walk around or eat or whatever, but then suddenly, while still standing, her whole body would, rather violently, scrunch up. After watching her do it around 7 times, Mom and I went back up to the house. I got on my outside clothes, got mom's cell phone, and went back out with orders to call when her water broke. When I returned to the barn, labor was progressing rapidly! She was doing the "scrunch up" thing often, and began to paw the ground. Then she would lay down, and grunt, groan, and strain while pushing hard. Then she would get up and 30 seconds later lay down to push some more. On one of the times she was laying down, she began to push REALLY hard. She was "maaing" at the top of her lungs! (It almost hurt my ears!) Then suddenly her water came gushing out! I quickly opened Mom's cell....and it wouldn't work in the barn, so I ran outside and called the house. Dad answered, and I blurted out, "water's broken! you better hurry!" then I rushed back into the barn. Belle was already pushing out the water bag. ...and there was a kid in it. I tried and tried to break the water bag, and I couldn't! I was getting worried, and Belle acting like she was dying and in excruciating pain didn't help much. Then I FINALLY heard the 4-wheeler, and Dad came in. He broke the water bag, and out came a VERY black kid! It was all black except for two white patches on either side of his stomach. SO CUTE! I got his nose dried off, and just as he was completely out, Mom, Ben, and Jonny came running in.....30 seconds too late! :) Surprisingly, Belle did not get up. But just looked at it as if she was wondering where in the world the slimy, wet creature came from. But before we could think, out came another water bag with ANOTHER kid in it! We were REALLY shocked....this was Belle's FIRST time, and normally they only have ONE baby their FIRST time!!!!!!! By this time I had checked the kid already out....it was a boy. :( (Anybody want to rescue a adorable, tame, sweet little goat from------?) Then came the second. It was the absolute spitting image of Belle! It's front half was white and the back half black....with a black stripe running down it's spine. The kid also had all the same white and black markings as Belle! Dad, trying to be funny and not being said: "Now if that one's a boy, everything will be great!" I checked "it" and said triumphantly, "It's a GIRL!" We named them Dandy and Polly. I'm sure Dad must have felt SO honored to have them born on Father's Day! :) They are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! And, because we are bottling them, they are VERY friendly, and follow us around...ADORABLE!!! And, like I said, if anyone would like to rescue Dandy from ----- and give him a good home, we (especially me) would be VERY thrilled!!!!! (just leave a comment if you're interested or have any questions about him!...thanks!) ...oh, I weighed them, and Dandy is seven pounds, while Polly is eight and a half. :)

Friday, June 12, 2009

Thursday-Baking Day!

Every Thursday morning Emily and I get down to business, baking for our Friday farmer's market. Baking is an all day event, and all other chores fall by the wayside. Spending the day in the kitchen not only supplies us with enough goodies for our farmer's market, but also for our family's consumption for the following week. We bake yeast bread, sourdough bread, banana bread, herb hamburger buns, scones, rhubarb bars, gluten-free muffins, and pies. The boys love baking day!



We also have been making jelly, and drying herbs for seasoning, along with herbs for making tea.

After being inside baking on Thursdays, we look forward to getting out of the house on Fridays, visiting with people, doing farm tours, and of course selling our goods! :)
















Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Planting Potatoes

Here are some pictures of Ben and Jonny planting potatoes last week.