Food storage

Last night I managed through 11.5 pints of strawberry rhubarb jam. It was 85F in house but the berries and rhubarb were all ready so it had to be done. That makes 26 pints of jam for awhile. Now I am on to planning for those cute little tomatoes that should be quite large soon enough. The bush beans are flowering well and the corn is still upright. The zucchini has a few blossoms on so hopefully salsa and Spaghetti sauce will be projects later this summer.

July already!

I can't believe I have skipped right over June. I have been busy I suppose. The garden is planted and growing well. This morning I counted 11 tomatoes on my plants and many more flowers excited to become tomatoes. The carrots and onions are looking good and the radishes are ready to come out. I have collected various herbs four times now. Mostly for drying for later but some to flavor dishes for the day. Brent has put in a wonderful fire pit just in time for a great Fourth of July party. We have had a little time for camping and hiking too. The girls and I have taken up the very fun pastime of letterboxing which is giving us some great adventures. Our next adventure is to make our own letterbox for others to find. Hopefully we will get a stamp carved this week and maybe even planted we will have to see. My thoughts are jumping to canning and making salsa and sauces for us this winter. How many tomatoes will grow for us? How many cans on things can we produce? How healthy can we live? Here is hoping July brings us a few hints at the answers.

Sewing Time

Quite a domestic week for me so far. Monday I canned 18 1/2 pints of triple berry jam. Wednesday I made two feed bag totes. They turned out quite nice. I made them out of chicken scratch bags and they look great. I also got a fair bit of the garden weeded. I have also crocheted 4 dishcloths in the shape of flowers to give for the Relay for Life fundraiser this weekend. I also assembled a very nice barbecue grill for Brent today.

Rhody Run

Yesterday we sought to have some fun exercise. We ran in the Rhody Run. A 12K in Port Townsend, WA. What a feat family race to help show our girls how exercise is important and fun. The weather wasn't great but it stopped raining before the race. We were a little wet starting but it kept us cool which probably helped in the running part. Melanie took turns in the stroller and walking or running. She managed to get herself through about four miles of it. The first and fourth mile she did in entirety. She also did the last bit after the seven mile mark. She was so good and proud. She only complained once, about a stitch in her side. I love getting my girls to be active. I hope this will transform into lots of hiking this summer.

Gardening some more

Today Melanie and I planted Swiss chard, sweet peas, yellow cucumber, cosmos, and cilantro. The walls of water went up yesterday for the biggest of my tomato plants. The plants won't go out until Friday probably as tomorrow is supposed to be quite cold. I have now passed along flowers and herbs to four different gardens this year. I actually think I am removing more volunteer flowers and herbs than weeds this spring. I love that I can pass things along. The strawberries are blooming making me very excited for the happy little fruits to showup soon. The lettuce is peeky it's way out now too. I am not sure if I should have planted it weeks earlier or not but we will see. The pastures are greening up making the whole valley gorgeous. We have been talking of camping this weekend or maybe hitting the farmers' market. Both sound like a great way to spend time mother's day weekend. Teaching the girls about this wonderful place we live is so important and enjoyable that it is hard to decide to stay home or find the woods.

Gardening

The gardens are ready. The first round of weeding is done. Lettuce, carrots, and onions are all in. Radishes should be going in this afternoon. The tomatoes are taking turns under the grow light now. I am getting very tempted to plant more but sofas logic is winning. There are a lot of volunteers in my garden this year so I am transplanting some, weeding some and finding good homes for a few others. Can't wait for the growing season to really be here although I am not sure where it will all grow yet. Just opened my last jar of canned jam today, a little early I am afraid but I am glad we all enjoyed it so much. We still have some apple pie filling and a few jars of green beans but we will definately be ready for more soon.

Irrigation Season has begun

Today was a busy day. Starting those irrigation pipes always takes forever. We survived it but it took a lot out of us. The girls helped get the house cleaned up in the morning leaving the afternoon for outside chores. The tomato plants coontinue to grow well. We started some zucchini seeds today that will hopefully get transplanted in a few weeks. Melanie is training to walk some of the Rhody Run. It feels so good to encourage her to exercise. She plays and runs so much I don't worry about her but instilling good habits is always good. She is really excited about all the gardening and planting we are preparing for. If only weeding were more fun. Gardening with Heirloom Seeds by Lynn Coulter is my next readin endeavor. It is an interesting book with lots of history and growing advice for heirlooms. So far it hasn't changed my plans for this summer but it is giving me ideas for the future to try.