as far as the eye can see...

yesterday we took the time to go strawberry picking with friends from church, Ben and Korlissa. M and G were able to come and help, and of course we took A and B.

the picking was great~ and the weather was very co-operative as well. since it was an overcast day, we weren't baking and sweating in the hot sun!

since this is A's second year as a strawberry picker, she was an old hand at it, and did very well. i was so proud when she picked the whole bucketful herself! she was quite proud, too.

initially B hung right close to my elbow, but quickly discovered that she really likes strawberries. she would hold out her little quart box to me and say "strawberry, mama!" I'd oblige her and plop one in, and she'd just as quickly pop the strawberry into her mouth. as she became more comfortable with the strawberry field, she would wander into her own row. as i would glance up, i could see her little head just sticking up over the plants as she intently searched for her own strawberries.

judging from the red lips and fingers of the little girls, they ate nearly their weight in fresh strawberries yesterday!


a handful of yummy, fresh berries!



40 quarts of fresh strawberries~ but now that we have them home, the work really begins!


* first order of business- strawberry shortcake for dinner. that's an annual family tradition.

* 2 strawberry pies, using the recipe from Dave's Aunt Velma.

Aunt Velma's Strawberry Jello Pie

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup water

1/4 cup corn starch

combine sugar, water and corn starch in small sauce pan. cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add~ 3 oz. strawberry jello. pour into cooked pie crust with fresh halved strawberries. refrigerate until cool and set.

*42 pints freezer jelly

*2 quarts freezer jelly (for G to take along to Creation '09)

*8 bags (2 quarts) frozen whole berries for pie

(Korlissa promised to give me the recipe at church on Sunday, so I'll share it with you then.)



* I put 3 quarts of berries in the fridge to eat fresh- on salads, cereal or on ice cream. of course, those are already nearly gone!

with G's diligent help, we had nearly all the berries processed and frozen before 11PM last night. i'm grateful for his help, and we'll all be glad for the pies and jelly during the long, cold winter!

open for business!

for a while now, Dave has been wanting me to advertise that i make and sell quilts. (or if you want to be really highbrow about it, you could say that you desire to commission me to design and sew you a future family heirloom.)

although we really do live rurally, we live right next to a major north/south thoroughfare. so, today with G's help, i hung out my shingle!

while not every quilt that i may display will actually be for sale, i hope both the sign and colorful quilt hanging on the porch rail will prompt people to stop and inquire. perhaps i can have the privilege and blessing of making them their own quilt, in a design and colors that they've chosen.

at least that's the plan!

look how far we've come!

while I've been focusing mainly on the gardens, Dave has been rolling right along with the siding project. we've got quite a bit done, and i thought that you'd like to see what we've accomplished!



here are M and G, stubbornly refusing a picture my two camera shy workers.


they're working on the front porch

baby B helps dada lay out the starter strip

even A helps by handing the siding M has cut to G

M looks like she's having tons of fun!

B will quickly find any unattended and forgotten ladder and zip right up to the top!

oops! i must have accidentally uploaded this, but you can see that B and A really love their water table. we play with it nearly every day.

we've started on the front of the house now

once the starter strip is laid out, and all the corner pieces and j-channel are on, the siding itself goes very quickly.

here is the addition almost completely sided, as well as the south facing portion of the house. the shutters are also on, and we are amazed at what a huge difference it makes in the appearance of the house. it's very encouraging, and motivates us to finish the rest of the transformation.

here's a view of the porch~ the door is painted, the shutters are on, and the porch railing is finished being painted.

*disclaimer*

these next few pictures will be a shock to your vision!

this is how the house looked on the day that we *almost* bought it. (due to problems with the deed, we didn't close until a week later)

here is the back view

and the view of the addition and front porch. notice the many windows, as well as the many random large rocks lying about.

18 months later and we're all pleased with how well the house is turning out. (we will side the remaining portion of this side of the house after we replace the rooves. roof on both the addition and the main part of the house.

Thursday's Livestock and Garden Report~ Week 11

some rain: check

much dirt: check

many tiny seeds: check


profound cuteness: check and double check

the little girls have recently adopted the tiller as their very own "little tractor". we were down working in the LG, hoping to get the last of the planting done before the rain, and as i turned around i saw baby B climbing on the tiller, saying "drive! tractor. me."

it's the grocery store for country folk!

even though we live quite rurally, we are fortunate to live very close to our local feed mill, Shaffer's.

it's a good thing, because there are some weeks when I'm there several times.

our Cornish X meat birds have eaten over 1500 lbs. of feed in the last 12 weeks.. the pigs, laying hens, rabbit, ducks and wild birds can also eat quite a bit, making it a challenge to assure that there is always food on hand for them.

A loves to come with me, mostly because of the lolly pop she will surely receive, and knowing the the neighbor's cat will most likely come over to visit.




even though we have the very same lolly pops at home, and a very needy affectionate cat of our own, A always looks forward to zipping across the bridge and making a brief foray into town.




A will climb the steps of the old loading dock, push open the creaky door and tramp across the wooden floor in her work boots. she's right at home in her overalls, and can politely ask for her lolly pop from the clerk.

i love the small town friendliness and camaraderie that welcomes us, and enjoy this special outing with A.

and that's a good thing, since i often spend more at the feed mill than at the grocery store!

Thursday's Livestock and Garden Report~ Week 10

more rain again this week. (not complaining!) even though we weren't able to be in the garden we had plenty of other stuff to keep us busy.

like butchering these guys. (who are were 10 weeks old. i just miscounted. like 4 times.)

we skin our chickens, since the idea and smell of wet chicken feathers is enough to make anyone gag and consider going vegan. besides, chickens are kind of gross to begin with... Dave taught G how to skin a chicken, and with the both of them skinning and me gutting we had a nice and efficient assembly line going. we were done with all 20 of the chickens before lunch.

here they are in all their naked, embarrassed glory.



this guy weighed in at 4 ½ pounds~ not too bad. the remaining 30 chickens will be butchered in 2 weeks like we had originally planned. (except for the one ravaged lonely hen that was rescued by the little neighbor girl to be kept for a pet.)


so, from 20 chickens we got 15 meals. we had the chicken tenders on Wednesday night for dinner, and they were delicious. tender, juicy, yummy...






the lettuce in the cold frames is producing nicely, and we've been enjoying lots of salads. especially wilted lettuce. (although G keeps telling me that it cannot be technically called a salad if it's just a bowl of lettuce...)



M and i weeded both the onions and the beets this week. both seem to be doing well. the row of cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower are another story, however. it seems that Little Peter Rabbit found my row of tender plants, and he and his sisters had a party. they chewed off every. single. plant. right down the line! i even had nearly a flat left over that i was going to plant in another row, and they found and ate that, too!



the pigs are doing fine, and growing well. mostly. the pink (female) pig is a runt. Dave had mentioned that when i first brought her home, and it seems that he's right. in spite of the fact that both the pigs were the same size when we got them, the red (male) pig is obviously growing faster. I'm not very pleased, but of course there is nothing that i can do about it.



next fall when i go to get our next pair, I'll know what to look for. one of the tell-tale signs of a runt is curly hair. the red pig's hair is all straight. however, the runt's hair is very curly, especially towards the back.

can you tell what this curious little cutey is?

it's a duck! an Indian runner duck, actually. Dave has always wanted this particular breed of duck, and back when i ordered our peeps i also ordered him half a dozen runners. they arrived on Tuesday, and have settled into the mud room nicely.

both A and B like the ducks, and go to "visit" them regularly. (although i have caught M snuggling with the ducklings, too!) the ducks are friendly, and getting tame. they are so sweet! already we can see their upright walking habit. when they get to parading around the swimming pool it's quite comical to watch. makes me think of that song:

Six little ducks that i once knew

Fat ones, skinny one, little ones too

But the one little duck with the feather on his back

He led the others with a "quack, quack, quack"

so, with that song now annoyingly and permanently looping in your head, I'll leave you until next week...

it's a family affair!

in between rain, gardening, working and *sometimes* sleeping, we've all been helping Dave with the siding. Dave has been very patient in teaching us all the basics of siding technique, and with a few extra hands the siding can go up relatively quickly.


M was eager to go out and help, and she's braver than me when it comes to ladders!

A and B were just as eager to help out on the ground, although baby B did manage to sneak up the ladder onto the porch roof! she popped her head up over the roof line and said "hi dada!"

with this last piece of siding, the addition is *nearly* done. just a few more pieces near the eaves, but most of the work is done.

yesterday Dave started on the south side of the main house, beginning with the part above the porch roof.

while the girls were napping, i went out to help for a little bit. just cutting the siding for him makes the job go so much faster.

here's the view from the bridge. as you can see, there is still alot of house to go, but we're making a dent in the bucket! both N and G helped with the siding, too, but i didn't get any pictures of that.

we're all looking forward to the completion of this project, and know that it will make the house look so much nicer. then it's back to the inside work... drywalling, painting, floors, electrical, lighting: the list is endless!