Garden Update: July 6, 2013

 We got rain. All. Week. Long. I feel like I have said that before, but this has got to be the rainiest year I can remember having in a long time. It seemed like every time I tried to get in the garden it would start pouring. But, rain is a good thing. And everything is growing really well because of it.

This is one of Rylan's Moon and Stars Watermelons. It's either red or yellow inside, I am not sure which.

The tomatoes are huge. And I have followed my normal pattern of planting way too close together and it has taken on a jungle feel. Some are towering over my head and the kids like to crawl through the tunnels beneath the plants.

Here are a couple: Chadwick Cherry, Yellow Pear, Rylan's Golden King of Siberia and Green Zebra. The Farallones are huge and the last picture is of the Super Sioux, which is really nicely formed.

 The eggplant, pepper and cucumbers have take off. We have a garter snake living in this bed. We often find it under the cucumber vines or between the eggplant.

Red Lipstick peppers and Red Mini Bells....

Large Red Italian Pepper and Rylan's purple jalapeno...

 Apple Eggplant and Ping Tung Eggplant...We've also picked a couple Black Egg and Purple Long

And Dragon's Egg Cucumber.  These have a very nice flavor. We also picked a couple of Rylan's White Wonder and a Suyo Long.

Tonight Lakin helped me top the basil. It was getting taller and closer to flowering so we cut it down. This is the second major pruning I've done this year, but I got enough to make more than a quart of pesto tonight.

My Calendula and Chamomile and Cohen's zinnias. He's growing 4 or 5 different varieties.

 

 Then the summer squash, beans and okra... Cale's white bush marrow squash and his big pumpkins...he's aiming to take the prize in the biggest/heaviest pumpkin contest in the fair.

 

 

 This was tonight's harvest: Basil, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers....

So how does your garden grow?

This post has been linked to the Homestead Barn Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, The Backyard Farming Connection, Tuesdays with a Twist, Tuesday Garden Party, Tuned-in Tuesday, Tuesday Greens, How Does Your Garden Grow?,

On Burnout, Writer's Block and Moving On

I've been feeling rather burned out lately. Well, make that very burned out. You know when you feel stressed and exhausted. Physically, mentally and spiritually.  It tends to happen when I put on a happy face too long. When I smile and push back and ignore that stress.  But there comes a point when you just can't anymore.

I used to write a lot when I was younger. Being published was a big goal of mine.  Then along came a time of extreme burnout and I got blocked. Sometimes I joke that I have had writer's block for over 10 years. Words used to flow from me- poetry, stories, etc. But they stopped. In the basement I have a box full of pretty books and journals filled with words. And seeing those books make me a little sad. Sad that I don't write much anymore and sad to see how my pretty books have been replaced with cheap 17 cent notebooks bought during school supply season at Target. And those notebooks don't exactly scream inspiration!

I think that tends to be the cause of burn out in moms. They put themselves last in a long line of responsibilities. They don't feed themselves and they lose their identity as a person and become simply "mom".  So I am trying. I've admitted to myself that if I want to feel better- I do have to take care of myself some.  I am trying to relax some of my requirements and checklists. I am trying to find time to do something for me- that has nothing to do with the kids.

But still, life goes on. Kids still need me, dinners need to be made, laundry needs to be done, the house needs to be swept and animals need to be fed and cared for. We sold Johnny last week. That was hard for me. Animals are a soft spot for me and I need to learn that we can't keep every animal that lives here on our farm. Especially the bucklings. Johnny was the first kid born here. And he was very sweet.

But in exchange for Johnny, we got Poppy. She's a Nubian doe, with one kidding under her belt. That is about all I know about her and she is still pretty skiddish around people. We are slowly trying to warm her up to us, but she still runs and comes back to eat once we've gone.

We should find out in the next couple days if our bid for the Nubian buck from the Carl Sandburg Farm was accepted. And if it was we will also be looking to rehome Thor...which I am sure will be equally as hard to do.

New Toys

Last month I mentioned that I won the grand prize in a Sweet Potato Recipe contest. And my prize ($2000!) came in the mail last week. Paul- and a few others- pressed me to spend at least part of it on myself instead of saving it like usual....

So I went shopping....at Everything Kitchens.

The most important new item:

An empire red, 6 qt Professional Series KitchenAid Mixer. My old 5 qt was wearing down, the motor sounds sort of pitiful when I make too big batches of dough.

The other items were just things I have wanted over the years but would never spend the money on them.

A new waffle maker. I have one that works, but I have always wanted a heart shaped one.


A tortilla/flat bread maker. I have gotten out of the habit of making my own since they are time consuming, and with Annika being so little it is not time I have. So when I saw they had a tortilla maker that works for flour tortillas instead of just corn I really wanted to get it.

And finally....

This is the picture from the website since it is hard to photograph- but it's a 9 tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator. I am already planning what I can make with this year's garden produce.

Grown-Up Play Dough

I've always been a fan of playdough, clay, etc. As a kid and now. I'll sit down and make and model right along with the kids sometimes. But there is a grown-up version. One that can be somewhat useful.

Fondant.

Here are the Tiger, Wolf and Bear Scouts to top the cake for the Blue and Gold Banquet

But I think this one is my favorite so far....

He was my first attempt at a dog and I think he's pretty cute.

Wordless Wednesday: Target Practice

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Wordless Wednesday: Fondant Cupcake Toppers

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February Wrap-Up

This is what my month consisted of:

That's the cake I made for our Cub Scout's Blue and Gold Banquet. Then there was Valentine's Day, which meant a lot of this:

We did some fun stuff, like the children's museum

And playing in the mountain snow


But mostly it was baking.

And molding...

And carving...

But now it's about 6 weeks till the last frost. So it's time for this....

which makes me very happy.