Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Hello from the desert

As Indiana (or at least my house) continues in one of the worst droughts on record, I thought you might like to see some photos from the stupid year that I picked to be my first one farming.

Our quaking aspen are dropping leaves like crazy. I took this two days ago and the ground is now three times more yellow.

 
This is a big rain cloud to my east. It was on track to pass over me, but diverted about five miles before my house and missed me completely. This happens at least three times a week. Not kidding. It has happened twice today. 

 
I can see the rain, which just makes the whole thing more depressing. 

 
See that drop in the bottom of the jar? Right in the crevice? That was the result of the big scary storms that went through earlier this week. It doubled the amount of rain we received in July.

Not kidding about that either.




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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Summer = popsicle!

I just pulled this popsicle out of the mold and felt like such a kid again! Is there anything more summery than popsicles??

 

It's a coconut peach popsicle. I saw the recipe when the ever lovely Becky pinned it on Pinterest. We had a few sketchy peaches left from a bushel we picked up recently, so I cut them up (the chickens love the icky brown parts), roasted them in the masonry oven and then made some popsicles. So yum.
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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Mushrooms...

Knitted:

 

Meteorological:

 
 

Our dinner (no mushrooms here)

 

A dorking rooster:
 
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Saturday, July 14, 2012

The greenest post of them all

Garden tour! (Did you know that gardens are one of the cheapest ways to add to the value of your house?? The internet says so.)

Watermelon the size of a softball:

 
Chickens hanging out in the pumpkin patch:

 
Cucumbers, sprawling: 

 

Chickens, looking for treats:

 
Tomatoes that are taking a long time to turn red:

 
This is my favorite part of the garden right now because the plants are so lush and there are no weeds. Pole beans growing up locust tripods and mounds of winter squash:

 
Cayenne peppers loving the heat:

 
Bill, demonstrating the hight of our sweet corn:

 
What did one melon say to the other, upon proposal of marriage? "YES! But, I cantaloupe: 

 
The pepper patch. Pepper plants are so pretty:

 
Carrots:

 
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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Crickets....

It's been quiet around here, eh? I hope to post a garden update tomorrow, but in the meantime here's some knitting and spinning I've been working on:

 
 
 
 
 
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Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Podcasts 2 & 3

I made more podcasts. I know you didn't really ask, but I did anyway. I plan to make them weekly.

Even number episodes will be standard editions of me talking about the farm and my knitting and spinning. Odd number episodes will be field trips to see what we're working on in the field or on the house. Episode 3 is a tour of the garden and is about 24 minutes long.

If you are so inclined, please check out the podcast blog.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

In memory of Bernie

Our cat Bernie passed away recently. He went from being a playful, energetic goofball to a sick old man in just a few days. He died peacefully at home (in my lap) and is now buried under the best sugar maple tree on the property.


Bernie was the first (and only) animal I got completely on my own (well, Jessica, my post-college roommate had to agree). I got him a few weeks after graduating college. He lived with us in 4 states - including in a tiny, 13th floor apartment in DC.


I think he liked Indiana best, though, because in his heart, Bernie was an outside cat. He was only allowed out under supervision, but he took every opportunity he could to chase bugs, eat grass and sleep in the sun.



Bernie was a trouble-maker, but no one minded because he was so cute about it. He liked to sit on the kitchen table during dinner, snuggle between you and whatever book you were trying to read, and insert himself into as many pictures as possible.


He especially enjoyed laying on clean clothes. Especially, especially if they were black and he could get his white fur all over them. Warning...this next photo is of our first apartment together...Bill was a grad student and we were both rather messy... (see the cheap wine in the background??)


Bernie was the subject of my first foray on the internet...back when you had to code the html directly or use programs like Front Page. (if I can find a link on the wayback machine, I'll include it here)


He was a great cat and he will be greatly missed.