August Garden

Enter at your own risk. We haven't been in the garden as much as we should lately. It's quite weedy. The kids will quickly run out and fill their baskets with goodies and head back in with delicious treasures for me to freeze or can. Last weekend, it was corn, this week, more green beans. The beans have surprised me. I thought we'd have a terrible harvest, so I planted more. The second planting isn't ready yet; but the first is still yielding beautiful beans. Mostly, the garden is growing weeds. Since we haven't played in the garden much, we lost control of the weeds. The soft soil and hay/straw cover make pulling them easy though.

Our watermelons are growing bigger each day. Eli counted 24 melons.

We have lots of tomatoes; however, the cooler summer is causing them to take forever to ripen. Not to mention, our late planting. We enjoy fried green tomatoes and tomato relish. So, none will go to waste. Next year, though, the tomatoes are going in earlier. I'm feeling a little impatient.

The lettuce is overgrown and the spinach has started seeding. I think we'll go ahead and plant another salad bed before the season is over.

Okra is one of our "fun" plantings. We usually grab a few and fry them the same as tomatoes. We don't plant enough to freeze or dehydrate. Okra flowers are so pretty.

We have two pumpkin patches. One has pie pumpkins planted. We found several little pumpkins peeking out behind their flowers. Our other patch is for jack-o-lanterns. We planted them late so our pumpkins will be here in October instead of August. We usually get excited and plant them way to early. What's left of the pumpkins will be chicken treats.

Potatoes are ready. We've been grabbing some when we need them for a meal. I think this year, we will can them instead of keeping them in the pantry. Next year, we hope to plant more potatoes.

Our second green bean planting is filled with three varieties. We tried a purple bean this year. The little purple flowers give me hope that beans will be here soon.

The kids planted corn with Da this year. It turned out fantastic. They picked 151 ears from four rows. That gave us about 28 quarts of frozen corn. We still have to pick a few more rows. Oh my!

Our perennial and herb bed turned seeds into beautiful flowers. Next spring the volunteer tomatoes will be removed and a variety of colors will be added. I'm excited to attract more beneficial insects and bees to the garden.

Our second pea planting is not doing as well as the first. Nor is our second beet planting. But, there are enough peas to provide for a few suppers.

We have truly been blessed in the garden this year. The pests were not a problem, we've had great yields, and have already put up a lot of winter food. The children like pointing out everything on their dinner plates that come from home. From the meat to the vegetables, this has been a good year.

Sometimes you have to take a break from the garden and play in the rain. Or, take pictures of children playing in the rain.

4H and the Fair

Fair Week = A week full of excitement, rushing, washing animals, waking early, and getting home late, seeing lots of animals, and fun. The kids look forward to this week every year. I look forward to the quietness of the week following the fair. It is a time of great memories and learning experiences.

This year, the children were responsible for caring for their animals without much help from Ma or Da. They did a great job, and realized there were a few things they could've done better. Each year, they learn new techniques and gain knowledge about the animals they care for.

Of course the week is donned with boots and jeans. Seems, we're missing a pair in this picture.

 

Bunny ribbon



Noah helped Hannah show her rabbits, while she was in the horse show.

Hannah had the opportunity to show a couple rabbits herself.

Motor cross: Now the children want dirt bikes.

Showmanship

Goofiness is expected.

 

Auction

 

Action! Thank you Walmart for bidding on all three of our children's projects.

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I highly recommend 4H. There are many learning opportunities available; and many are not farm or animal related. You don't have to live in the country to participate. Many children live in neighborhoods. Our children have been involved in Robotics, Vet Sciences, Insect Studies, Rocks and Minerals, Rockets and more. Check out the opportunity 4H has to offer. 



A Day on the Lake

 

We were gifted the opportunity to spend a day on a pontoon boat. How exciting! Lunch was packed along with fishing poles, and other day-on-a-boat necessities; and we jump in the truck and headed East. Our destination: Piedmont Lake. However, once we arrived, we discovered all the pontoon boats had been rented. There are several lakes in the area, so we decided to give another a try. Clendening Lake is pretty; and, they had plenty of pontoons to choose from. We had never visited this lake before, so it was fun driving around exploring a new place.

 

We didn't catch any keepers, but were able to pull several small fish in. Most of the time, we played with fishing lures, experimenting to see which ones we liked the best, floated around the lake, and let the kids jump in the water.

Although, the day was absolutely beautiful. It was a bit windy and chilly. The water temperature was warm enough though, that the boys didn't mind jumping in and getting wet.

 Hannah and I spent a lot of time keeping warm under a blanket (or beach towel).

We had a wonderful day on the lake. By the time we headed to the truck, it was near dark and everyone was hungry and tired. Arriving home a couple hours later, we gave the animals care and attention and promptly went to bed. It was a day full of adventure and love. I'm so glad I decided to go instead of staying home to play "catch up".