at home

We spent the long weekend at home.  Though it certainly had it’s challenges (sibling bickering, practice meltdowns, parent meltdowns…I won’t go on…), looking back over the weekend of photos, I realize we still had plenty of sweetness.  Starting with 300 pounds of honey!  Don’t worry, most of it is for Grampy.

 The girls are really digging the oil pastels and turning out some lovely work with them.

 Two very detailed “set-ups” held their attention for hours.

 As did these little cuties.

Oh and we can’t forget the other new addition to our farm.  Henrietta, merrily sitting on 17 eggs.  We traded her for some pork.  Oh my.

Andy finished up some sweet benches (to go with the matching tables, not pictured) for the folk school.

 We put up 32 pints of salsa and picked and ate a bowlful of wild plums.

 We took a long ride

and dried plenty of herbs for winter’s medicine.

That will do.  Happy Monday all.

summer harvest

Slowly and quietly that little medicine garden is growing.  This week we harvested chamomile, lemon balm, mint, feverfew, marshmallow, calendula and st. john’s wort.  The marshmallow fairy and her baby were quite happy with it all.

Then we took the first real crop of sour cherries from our very own tree and made this most supreme sour cherry/honey/almond preserve. 

And finally the hay was harvested (but not before the bobolinks fledged).  I must say there is something about our wild pasture laying in neat rows, smelling heavenly, that brings me deep satisfaction. This winter while we sip teas from the garden and spread that lovely sour cherry preserve on our toast, our sheep and horses too will enjoy the summer’s harvest.

Hope your days are bountiful too.