Wrapping Up July...

It's been a busy July...and a hot one. We haven't had one like this for a while. It's been two weeks of yucky sticky weather...with a bunch of rain tossed somewhere in the middle...and then yucky and sticky again.

You know it's hot and humid when you are on your third change of clothes by lunch time...and you can hardly wait to go to the barn and stand in front of the big fans.  The barn smell clings to everything...even my glasses smell dirty.  Sorry, maybe that's TMI...but no amount of washing them in hot soapy water helps.  I guess I should be glad it's time for a stronger prescription even if it's a sign my eyes are getting old along with me.

Anyway...a lot has happened since my last post!

Let me back up to the fall of 1988 and spring of 1989.  I was a student at Ecola Hall Bible School in beautiful Cannon Beach, Oregon.  It was a wonderful experience, and I met a lot of great people that I still keep in touch with today, thanks to facebook!  One of my room mates, Cheryl, has a daughter who was interested in having a new experience...on her own...in another part of the country...on a farm!  My sister and I picked up LuAnn at the Philadelphia airport early last Tuesday morning.  Poor girl...it was the beginning of the hot humid yuck...and her first words as we walked out of the airport were "Oh wow, it's really humid here!"  But...she was a trooper!  She had flown all night from Portland Oregon to get here, but she came right out to the barn and pitched in.

She learned to prep a cow's udder for milking. She got to see a newborn calf. Over and over again, she scraped poop, hoed poop, got splattered by poop, shoveled fresh sawdust under the cows for bedding, fed calves, fed hay and balage, and fed rye to the heifers.  She even fed silage once (that's a heavy job!) helped me mow the yard, and helped to make pickles one day.

Here's LuAnn with the newborn calf...

We did get to do a few fun things too, while she was here.  Our neighbor Jake took us for a ride in his buggy.  That's Roger the horse.  Roger used to be a race horse, and had lots of energy, but Jake said that he's calm enough that an eight year old could drive him...

LuAnn got to take the reins as soon as we hit the road.  We were following another buggy, and Roger wanted to catch him!  Jake had a speedometer in the buggy, and we got up to around 15mph.  Eric and I were riding in the back seat, and I got a video of the ride.  We couldn't figure out how to transfer it here from her phone, but if you're my facebook friend you can see in on my page...

We did a few other fun things too...we rode the Strasburg Railroad and did a few local "touristy" things that I'd never done before!  LuAnn flew home on Wednesday, and I think she probably slept a long time once her head hit the pillow back in Oregon!

On Thursday, Jenna brought me a huge grocery bag of green peppers from the produce farm where she works.  My niece Bethany is staying with us this weekend, and she spent quite a while on Friday chopping them into small pieces...

We ended up with six quarts that I bagged up and froze.  When I need them, I can easily grab a handful at a time.  I like easy when it comes to cooking!

I can hardly believe that tomorrow will be August 1st!  That means both kids are headed back to school in just a few weeks.  The summer jobs will be ending, cross country practice will be officially starting soon, and unfortunately, the hot, humid weather is continuing.  On a positive note, the corn and beans are growing like crazy!

On the other hand...my yard looks like it needs a haybine and baler!

How's the weather where you are?

Save the Trees...

A couple of years ago, PPL (the electric company that has a power line and therefore a right of way through our farm) decided that it was time to do a massive tree trim.  Anything...anything at all that was within 75 feet of the center of the power line had to go.  No exceptions.

The fence line along our meadow was 69 feet from the center line, so all of our trees had to go.  That meant all of our shade for the cows was gone, with the exception of one lonely tree.  Here's the post I wrote about it.  It all turned out fine, because PPL made good on their promise to replant trees in another spot for us!

We chose four Autumn Blaze Maple trees, which they planted about 30 feet further in from the fence line.  During the hottest days of that first summer, the kids took 5 gallon buckets of water to each tree daily, to get them off to a good start and keep them alive.  They're thriving now.  Here's a picture of one of them last fall...

We've had wire fence around the trees since they've been planted, and the cows have pretty much left them alone until this summer.  Now they've decided it's entertaining to pull at the lower branches, stripping them of leaves, breaking branches and causing damage...

Enough is enough!  We're not going to have these trees damaged to the point that they die.  So...we had tree boxes put up around them last week...

They're 7 1/2' squares, made with four round corner posts and 2 x 6's.  The cows might still be able to chew on a few leaves, but shouldn't be able to break the branches in close to the trunk...

I like the way they look...in my opinion, kind of old fashioned!

Here's hoping for some huge shade trees in a few years!

I'm linking up with Good Fences today.  Thanks TexWisGirl for hosting!

Overzealous Tomatoes...

For the past twenty two years, I have struggled to grow tomatoes in my garden!

What?!  Who can't grow tomatoes?  Apparently I can't couldn't.

Why?  Maybe partly because there's blight in my soil?  Maybe because when I would sucker them, I was damaging the stem and allowing disease in?  Who know why.

I make a lot of salsa, and I can a lot of pasta sauce, pizza sauce, and plain tomatoes for cooking.  I was determined this year to "do it right" and by the looks of things, I've finally succeeded.  I'm 5' 5", and this one is up to my nose, and just about as big around...

I found a couple of ripening ones this morning...

This is the cherry tomato on steroids.  I'm almost certain it grows a foot each day lately...

There are tons of baby cherry tomatoes hanging on the vine...

So...what did I do differently?

*Last fall I talked to an Amish neighbor who has a green house.  He sold me something to sprinkle on my soil.  Unfortunately, I don't remember what it was called!  It was a 40 lb bag of something that resembled lime in color and texture, but it wasn't lime.

*When I planted this year, I immediately sprayed the leaves with Liquid Copper, which helps to prevent early blight among other diseases.  I'm not an "organic" grower, but for those of you who are, it's an organic approved treatment.

*I also mulched heavily with straw, which prevents the soil from splashing up onto the leaves when it rains, which is how blight spreads to the tomato plant.

*Last, I didn't sucker the plants, but just put the cages around them and left them be.

The results seem to be positive...

All in all, it's a lesson for me to "never give up"!

Memories of Grandma...

This is my Grandma...my Mom's mom...Ella Neff Herr.  Today she would be celebrating her 117th birthday...

Ella Neff Herr  July 11, 1899 - December 31, 2000

I grew up on the farm where she and my Grandpa farmed, and she and Grandpa lived just a short walk across the meadow.  We had a path worn from our house to theirs, and I remember walking often to their house, opening the white wooden gate at the corner of their yard, walking up the short hill, under the rose arbor,up the walk that was lined with Portulacas and across the porch.  After a quick knock at the door, I would hear "come in"...in a voice that was so welcoming and sweet.  It got shakier as the years went by, but it was the most kind, most welcoming voice you could ever want to hear.

In earlier years, I would often find Grandma quilting in the back room. Sometimes I would play at her feet, pretending to play "Noah's Ark" with plastic animals.  I would line them up under her quilting frame and bring her rubber boots to wear so that her feet wouldn't get wet.  She always wore them with a smile!

Sometimes she would be baking those famous sugar cookies.  She always would let us eat more than Mom would, but would remind us not to spoil our supper!

I remember eating breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa's house in their tiny kitchen.  The toaster sat on a shelf above the table, and sometimes...if we were lucky...the toast would pop out of the toaster and fall directly onto the butter dish that was strategically placed below.  :)

Grandma grew beautiful flowers and huge cabbages, like you see in the picture above.  I know she and Grandpa grew other things in their gardens too, but these are what I remember most.

In later years when I would stop in, Grandma would be in her black rocking chair and Grandpa in his recliner. She would often be crocheting and Grandpa would be reading, with the radio always tuned to the same local Christian radio station.  She and Grandpa weren't outspoken about their faith, but taught us by example how to follow Jesus.

All of us twelve grandchildren would say that Grandma made us feel like she loved us the best!  I just happened to be one of the lucky ones who lived next door.

I'm so glad to have this picture of Grandma with Eric and Jenna, taken just a few weeks before she died.  Both kids have vague memories of her...

Grandma always said that she wanted to fall asleep one day and not wake up again. On Sunday, December 31, 2000, Grandma got her wish. She lived a full and happy life...101 years of it...left many, many happy memories with those of us who loved her!

Oh how I would love to be able to spend a day with her again.

Garden Bounty...

Last year's cucumber plants died.  All of them...and before I got to make any pickles!

So this year, being almost completely out of pickles on my canning shelves, I planted four cucumber plants.  Here is today's bounty...

Last week I made a batch of Bread and Butter pickles, and today I made a canner full (seven jars) of Banana Pickles.  These are a favorite of ours.  I first tasted them at a birthday party for my friend Sue several years ago. Her Mom served them, and I soon asked for the recipe.  They're super easy to make, and are a good way to use up any over grown cucumbers that you may have!

First you peel them and scoop out the seeds.  I just use a spoon...

Then you slice them lengthwise...

Next, you fill the jars, packing them as tightly as possible, and fill them with syrup, leaving 1/2" - 1" head space...

Boil them in a hot water bath for ten minutes, and you have delicious pickles!  (recipe for syrup is below)

Last but not least, you feed the peels and seeds to the chickens, and they go crazy...

Here's the syrup...

To fill three quarts...mix together 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar, 3 cups sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp celery seed, 1 tsp mustard seed and 1 tsp turmeric.  Bring to a boil and pour over cucumbers in jars.

Enjoy!