While Waiting for Customers

The children have been running the produce stand again this summer.  They are open on Mon, Tues, and Fridays.  They've upgraded to a shed to keep them out of bad weather, but so far we've had perfect days when they are open.  The garden isn't in full swing just yet.  I'm thinking in a a couple more weeks, we'll have the shed full of yummy, nutritious produce.  They are also selling homemade items such as jewelry and jams.  The baked goods are by special order only.  That reduces the extra baked items left over that we have to eat.  :)

They are enjoying the gorgeous days we've been having.  Playing outside on the farm stuff and with the animals keeps them entertained while waiting for customers.

Alegra has been really reading and practicing her photography hobby.  She's been taking portraits of her siblings and of garden items.  I thought I should share her best shots here, so she can look back through them when she becomes a professional.  :)

And last but not least, I got tractor lessons.  It was a snap!  :)  Wood hauling has been filling our spare time.  It feels good to get the barn full of wood for winter.

Our blueberries are doing great!  We are so excited for when we can officially open for a U-Pick.  We'll need another summer of root growth to strengthen the plant, then I think we'll be ready to invite you all to come enjoy our berries.  So excited!!!  We did go through and pick blossoms off, but we found that we missed quite a few, so those were a special treat.

We've had such a lovely summer so far of bike rides, kayaking, swimming, fun with friends, bale jumping, and the warmth from the sun.  We are blessed and I have to remind myself often of that, so I don't take this life for granted.  He gives and He takes.  Right now, He is giving to us, and we love all of His good gifts that He's giving.

The Final Blueberry Planting of 2014

We've been so busy and working hard this past week.  Despite the stomach flu hitting the ladies of the house, we've managed to accomplish what we wanted to on the farm.  

The chicks are moved in with the older hens and roosters and have their wings clipped.  There is some pecking going on, but hopefully that will subside after a short bit.  They are doing well though and figuring out their pecking order.

 Onto the field.  A friend very nicely let us borrow his post hole digger which made the hold digging part of the blueberry bush planting go so much quicker.  I guess we had to do it by hand to truly appreciate the piece of equipment though I bet Jonathon would say that he didn't really need to dig those holes in order to appreciate it.  He was very thankful to use his tractor for that part of the job.

All 300 bushes of Dukes, Patriots, Berkleys, and Legacys are planted and fertilized.  The children were such great helpers and really did help the job go faster.

 Except this one.  He mostly played in the mud.  :)

 Everyone in action.  The children took turns driving the mower doing the job of mowing the rows and pulling plants down from the trailer up by the house.  They also helped plant and fertilize.  They've learned a lot and will continue as we take care of the bushes and keep berries picked off for the first year or so to help strengthen the plant.  Good lessons for them.

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Here's our Diella with worm and hat on backwards.  She loves the outdoors stuff and doesn't worry too much about getting dirty, but she also loves fancy dresses and girly things.  She's pretty fun and a great helper too.

The children did such a great job helping that we decided to take them to DQ for a treat.  Parent bonus at DQ is that they have specials on Sundaes.  If you buy so many it makes them a lot cheaper.  AND since we have soooooo many children we qualified for getting the deal.  Woohoo!!  Thankful for our children who are growing, learning lots of new things that they can use in life, and that they are choosing to be such good helpers to bless their parents.   We are truly blessed!