Apricots, Plums, and Berries Too!

It really is fun to have so much fresh produce growing on our land. It makes all the hours of pruning, mulching, weeding, fertilizing, planting that Eric and the kids do worth while. This is why we bought this house, mostly for the land and the experience of growing things and giving the kids a small taste of being on a farm! (A very small taste!) We were reading a story about one of the Founding Fathers who lived on an 8000 acre farm and Lizzy exclaimed..."Oh my that would be awful, I can't imagine all the work 8000 acres would be, we can hardly keep up with our acre and a half!"

















I have to say this time of year I find myself in the kitchen A LOT!!! These long summer days are some of the most pleasant times, working all together. Children are everywhere in the kitchen and as long as I don't set my expectations too high we all work together nicely! I just love that they love to be with me and help with all the canning, jamming, pureeing, crisping, and eating that takes place during the month of June and July. I have wanted to share some pictures of all of us working to tuck things away on the shelves in the pantry and into the freezer!

Surprises

This past Tuesday Eric called all the way from faraway Haiti to remind me of two things...to VOTE and to check the early peach tree out in the orchard. All over both of these Babe!

I did debate not voting because it entailed dragging five tired kiddos out of the car into the heat to place my vote. However, since the girls have felt passionate about the debate surrounding Measure O (a measure that would keep supercenters out of our town), I was able to talk to them about the importance of taking time to vote. They also enjoyed watching the process of voting. A good experience even if we were a bit late to soccer practice.

As far as the peach goes I had picked a few the night before and shared them with some friends. We did enjoy fresh peaches for breakfast along with a basketful of blueberries from our plants. So Babe thought you would be happy to know that the harvest was successful! Thanks for all the yummy things to eat out there. Tomorrow we may even attempt a batch of blackberry jam. I think there just might be enough up on the hill!
We've saved a few peaches for you when you return.

We can't wait to have you home Eric. Kids miss you a ton, but I am pretty sure I miss you more! 2 days to go....
Look closely at the pictures below!



Also, this past Tuesday we had a surprise visitor in our backyard. A PEACOCK! Lizzy being Lizzy came within inches of touching it. Way too much excitement around here!

Harvesting Together

Living off the Land...




Enjoying the Corn...


Eric and his Dad placing the poles for the berries
A Days Harvest
Mary Harvesting One of Our Favorites, Lemon Cucumbers!




We have been enjoying our first real vegetable garden since we moved two years ago. We have eaten yummy things for the past several months and what fun the girls have harvesting...especially Elizabeth and Mary.

As you can see by the pictures, a few zucchini were missed and became giants. Oh well! The girls enjoyed carrying them around and weighing them for a total of 27 pounds...

We've had tomatoes coming out of our ears and recently froze over 40 cups to use during the "long winter" ahead (as the girls like to call it).


Pluots are our new favorite fruit from our orchard. I have to admit that I was not keen on Eric planting TWO of them. I'd never heard of them before, but Eric wanted to try them out. I was quite happy with the two plums and three apricots we had already. I have to say that I am eating humble pie right about now as they have quickly become my favorite fruit. We only had about 20 on the trees this year as this is the first producing year, but Eric was great about supplying me with a perfect one each day and boy what a treat. They are the perfect mix of sweet and tart, not at all soft and pithy. Just Heavenly!!!

We enjoyed 8 ears of corn to be exact from our two rows of corn and learned our lesson on planting pumpkins too early. They are pretty much over already and we have two months until October. Next year we'll wait until June 1 to plant the pumpkins.
We have stored up a large supply of butternut squash for the winter ahead, at least they will keep.

Anyway, we have enjoyed learning this season and look forward to changing a few things next spring. It has been a great experience for all of us, especially the kids though. It is so fun to see how much of dinner came from our own garden.

Just a quick note...my husband gets a lot of credit for all of his hard work in the prep stages. He layed the irrigation system for the hill (the area with the garden and the rows of berries), prepared the soil, and layed the drip system that kept it nicely watered. I feel so blessed to be married to Eric who loves this kind of thing!
Thanks Babe for all your hard work!