Adventures On a Rural Homestead

In Our Garden

All four of us and Petey cat were in the garden at 6:45 this morning to tour and work together. Nick got the hoses set up to water green bean and zucchini seeds I planted last week. Eli watered the sweet potato plants.

Alex picked potato beetles and kept us company identifying bugs. 

The Bee Balm is starting to bloom and is covered in bees. I hope I see the little hummingbird that enjoyed the Bee Balm last summer!

The pear trees are covered in baby pears, I hope it'll be a good year for pears. 

I love this space, and as the sun came up this morning on the four of us in the garden I thought there is no place I'd rather be!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

I've been making delicious chocolate syrup using the recipe from Zero Waste Chef. We like it over homemade vanilla ice cream, and in chocolate milk.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup sugar (I use coconut sugar, and a bit less)

large pinch salt

1/4 tsp vanilla

~Combine cocoa and water in pot. Whisk over medium heat until cocoa dissolves. Add sugar and salt, whisk. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes, whisking constantly. 

~Remove from heat. Add vanilla, stir and pour into a glass jar to store in the fridge.

Makes 2/3 cup.

Snapshots of Our Week

Eli and I spent a couple afternoons this week at my parents house, helping my mom plant hundreds of native plants in their natural garden. Eli helped us scrape the mulch back to plant, watered the new plants, and entertained himself by watching an ant colony in their sidewalk. I loved seeing his fascination as the ants carried away cracker crumbs he dropped. 

Our mealworms arrived this week and the boys got them set up in our mealworm breeder. In a few months our chickens will have lots of good mealworm treats! 

Mom and I walked to the Farmers Market again yesterday morning. Once our tomatoes are in I won't need to go to the market, but I've enjoyed this time with her! Afterwards we sit on their porch and eat cinnamon rolls, my dad joins us too. 

Last week was cooler and wet, we had 4.5" of rain! This week has been dry and very hot, it was 91 a couple afternoons. We had a good week, and our garden is looking good. I'll share more about our garden soon. 

Creamy Dressing

Yesterday I cooked a delicious lunch from our homestead: sauteed bok choy, new potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. I served it on a big platter, with a homemade creamy dressing. I combined a couple recipes from the Lancaster County Pa. "Wholesome Home Cooking" cookbook put together by the Amish we met with for Ladies Day. (Oh how I miss that community!) 

Creamy Dressing

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 tsp salt

1 Tbl lemon juice

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

finely cut a bunch of fresh basil and parsley

Mix together and pour over salad. We also enjoyed this over a tomato cucumber salad. Enjoy! 

Fathers Day

We had a lovely Father's Day on Sunday. I made a big breakfast, and while I cleaned up afterwards the boys lounged in the shade of our backyard Maple tree. 

My parents came over for lunch, and we had a good meal and chat with them. We toured the garden, where my dad squishes potato beetles with his bare hands! 

I am so grateful for the wonderful, kind, caring men in our lives~ my father and Nick are shining examples of love and devotion! 

Garden Update

The boys have done a great job of going out every day to pick potato beetles. We harvested the first potatoes Sunday and Monday, they are doing so well!

Alex likes to pick weeds and take them to the chickens, good for the garden and the hens!

The bok choy and kale are doing well, and we planted sweet potatoes next to them this morning.

We'll have our first cucumber harvest probably the end of the week! 

This morning we harvested bok choy, lettuce, peas, spring onions and calendula. We're planning to have a meal of only food that we've raised here: eggs, potatoes, peas, bok choy & onions. 

Tonight with Nick's help we'll stake up the tomatoes. I love this space and growing food with my boys!

Mountain Views

Alex asked us if we could drive into the mountains this weekend. We decided to leave early in the morning, so if it wasn't crowded we could get out of the car and hike. We drove up to the Confederate Breastworks at the top of Shenandoah Mountain. We got there right at 8:00, and had the lovely view to ourselves.

We've stopped to enjoy the view before, on our way to the maple syrup festival and to our Highland County friends, but we hadn't hiked the trail. 

The trail winds up the hill and has markers along the way, telling the history of the Confederate soldiers time there through letters a soldier sent home to his wife in 1862. 

The woods were beautiful, and it was good for my soul to be in them. It's the first time we've been in the woods since late March! The boys loved looking for bugs, hearing the first cicadas, and balancing on fallen trees.

There was a whole stand of blooming Mountain Laurel, so beautiful!

There was a pretty overlook at the top, then the trail wound back down through the woods. When we got to the bottom around 9:00 a bunch of cars were pulling in. Other trails we passed on the way home had full parking lots! It was so wonderful to be out and to hike in the woods, I hope we'll get out early and do this again soon.

 

Favorite Summer Meal

I've been making the taco salad from "Hope's Table" at least once a week. "Hope's Table is a beautiful cookbook written by a local Mennonite lady, with good, easy recipes.

It's such an easy meal, basically beef and beans seasoned with taco spices over lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, spring onions, crushed tortilla chips, cheese, and an easy dressing. I put all the ingredients in bowls on the kitchen counter, and let everyone make their own salad. It's a nutritious and quick meal that we all enjoy! 

 

 

Haying

Our neighbor farmer cut and baled our hay this week. It was the perfect weather for haying! As he was baling he asked us to come out and help get it on the wagons. We all four grabbed hats and water and headed out to work together. Eli and I drove the truck while Nick and Alex loaded the hay wagon. 

One of the best things about days of hot, hard work is that we have fun together while we work. I am so glad we can all stay motivated and calm, and play while we work! 

We kept bales of hay for our chicken run stacked on pallets under cover in the run. The boys have enjoyed sitting with our snuggly chicken, Bold Rocket, on the hay stack.

The hay looked great, farmer Russell said it was so good that we mowed the field early spring. And now the field looks so different all mowed, until the September hay-cutting! 

Pasture Walks

I know I've written often about how wonderful my walks in our back pasture are, but they truly bring such joy to my day. Levi comes with me, and Eli often comes for a loop to pick mulberries. 

In all of our recent work cleaning out fence rows I was delighted to find a wild elderberry bush. I hope now that it's uncovered it will thrive and spread out! 

I love seeing the huge asparagus with seeds, that will be delicious eating for us next spring! The fence rows and our new property are covered in wild asparagus. 

Alex explores at the pond while I walk, and on my way by I wave, and at the end stop to see what he's found. 

I love that this half mile loop is right in our backyard, and every single time I walk I say thank you thank you to this land that is such a healing place.