Our Homegrown Tribe: our garden

Showing posts with label our garden. Show all posts

:: Avocado Cashew Raw Kale Salad ::

fresh kale {washed and stem cut out}

cherry tomatoes

avocado

lightly toasted cashew pieces

drizzled with::

olive oil

1/2 lemon juiced

real salt & pepper

super easy

very yummy

garden goodness

enjoy!

:: Kale Chips ::

What's for snack ::

{Kale Chips}

with an abundance of kale in our garden

and my current love for salty things

these kale chips have been one of our favorite go-to snacks in the afternoon

and they are so easy

see...

:: harvest, wash & dry a large bunch of kale ::

:: tear the stem from the center and rip the rest into bite size pieces ::

:: toss the kale with coconut oil until evenly covered, add salt to taste ::

:: spread evenly on a baking sheet ::

{try not to be too jealous of my postage stamp kitchen and dirty white floor .grin.}

:: Bake at 200 for 10-20 minutes, depending on size and how crunchy you like them

...they are done before they look like it ::

:: Let cool for 5 minutes, if you can wait, and then dig in ::

and if your family is anything like mine

it will be a hit!

{how does your garden grow}

:: spinach ::

:: rainbow swiss chard ::

:: salad greens ::

:: kale ::

:: cilantro ::

:: basil ::

:: sugar snap peas ::

:: tomatoes ::

:: carrots ::

:: red.yellow.orange bell peppers ::

:: broccoli ::

:: green cabbage ::

:: jalapeno peppers ::

:: sweet corn & popcorn ::

:: lemon cucumbers ::

:: zucchini ::

...I took these pictures 10 days ago and the garden already looks so much different. It was so.slow for a while, but it has really taken off these past 2 weeks.

I am only harvesting salad greens, swiss chard, spinach, cilantro & basil

...but we have green tomatoes and pepper buds. oh joy!

I love watching the garden grow, such beauty in the simplicity of nature.

How does your garden grow?

:: Todays thoughts ::

After spending a beautiful day outside with many willing helpers...

we can officially say we've started planting the garden.

We're about 7 rows into our 20 row garden.

{which may end up being bigger if I can find the space because I have no idea where to plant the cucumbers, squash, zucchini & melons}

We planted salad greens, stir fry greens, spinach, swiss chard, kale, cilantro, basil, red onions, white onions and half of the carrots.

Our garden is full of heirloom organic seeds this year.

I purchased almost all of them from Baker Creek Rare Seeds.

We are all bursting with excitement to see some of the unique varieties come up this year.

I think the Atomic Red carrots are at the top of the list oh and the strawberry popcorn.

Everyone was covered with dirt from head to toe by the time we were done.

Although that is really no different from any other day on the farm. {grin}

The boys... big, medium and small

tilled the garden, made the furrows, raked the debris,

picked rocks, pilled the mounds and played around a lot.

I am so blessed to have so many willing and able helpers.

It really made my job a lot easier.

I most just picked what went where and put the seeds in the ground.

Every year I marvel at the tiny seeds and the amazing machine God created in the earth.

To plant a tiny seed and watch it grow and blossom into something spectacular

...is nothing short of awe inspiring.

I always get a little anxious while the seeds are still covered in the dirt.

Did I plant them deep enough, too deep,

do they have the right amount of water,

when are they going to come up?!?!

And then when I think they must not be coming,

they pop up.

I'm still learning patience....

in the garden and every other part of my life. {grin}

We quite possibly have the most affectionate, beautifully fluffy, wild farm cats ever!

They come up to play anytime you step foot outside...

and with a family of 8 on a farm in beautiful weather, that is all day long!

The girls carry them around like babies,

Ozzie puts them in his dump truck and drives them around the garden.

They climb into your lap every chance they get and purr their little hearts out.

They catch mice and snakes and eat any left overs we send their way.

They are also quite possibly the most pampered wild farm cats ever! Ha!

The girls made dirt birthday cakes for each other....

complete with rock sprinkles and twig candles.

Ozzie delivered endless loads of dirt with his convoy of dump trucks
and the big boys watched the action while adding their encouragement to make the cakes bigger

They sang Happy Birthday and You are my little sister bear

{to the tune of You are my Little Panda Bear}

while dancing around and twirling until they fell to the ground.

I wished I would have stopped to take a picture...

but I was on my knees in the dirt with muddy hands.

Ozzie drove his trusty dump truck up and down the rows rock picking....

in his pajamas.

Yeah, that's how we roll around here. {grin}

The leader of our brood. I am so thankful for this ~~boy~~ young man. I am still in awe that he is 11 and that I am the mother of an 11 yr. old!!

Despite the fact that I didn't do most of the hard labor, as I mentioned above, I was still worn out by the end of the day. I told the boys I thought we should just snack for dinner and they jumped up and offered to make Almond waffles. Well okay then, I'll agree with that!

So while ~~the boys~~ Grayson made Almond waffles and

Gavin and Vance goofed around in the kitchen keeping Grayson company.

Paul took me and the littles on a ride through the fields and down to the lake.

I love this country, it's beautiful never grows old.

Ozzie found his new best friend yesterday...

a yellow and black caterpillar he name Milo.

Which is coincidentially the name of his kitten,

who took to the woods with the feral cats while we were gone this winter.

He kept Milo by his side all day and night.

He asked me to take a picture while we were out driving around the field...

so I snapped this quickly.

Later that night he asked to see the picture and I showed him.

When he saw it he looked disappointed and asked if I would take another picture.

I told him I would in the morning and asked why.

He replied with this....

"I want a good picture of Milo so I'll remember him after he dies."

and yes... he wore his pajamas all day,

but not to bed.

He needed a bath and fresh pajamas to sleep in. {grin}

:: this was written last week ::

:: Well hello there ::

I've been staring at this empty page for 10 minutes now,
thoughts of what to say coming and going,
but nothing feels right.

I've been gone so long it's like I've forgotten how to do this whole blogging thing...
and maybe that's a good thing.
being away from the computer,
away from watching others lives through a window,
away from sharing with others online...
it's helped me rediscover some things.

There has been lots of change going on around here,
spending almost 4 months on the road....
has a way of doing that to you. {grin}
We've grown as a family, learned as a family & discovered so much.
I'll have to write an entire post just on that.

We have been home for a nearly 2 weeks,
and I still haven't unpacked the rv.
Well, we all brought a few things out, but not much.
It's still our home and it won't be long before we're back in it
...we already have a couple summer trips planned.

Adjusting to being back on the farm has been harder than I thought
...we really settled into the simplicity of life on the road.
Less space, less stuff, less distraction.
Not to mention we came home to sewer trouble. sigh.

Funny story...
I had big plans for our first trip to town when we got back to the farm.
One of the stops being the grocery store.
Myself and all six kids marched into our local grocery ready to stock up,
We quickly filled the cart with what looked like a lot of food.
...remember we had been shopping for a small rv fridge for the last few months.
At the check-out the cashier commented on how "healthy we ate".
We're defiantly back in meat and potatoes North Dakota!
On to store number 2 where did the same thing,
and heard a very similar comment from the cashier.
It looked like a lot of food...
until we got home and started putting it all in the fridge.
It only filled up half of one fridge and a quarter of the other fridge.
I guess we were really out of the habit of buying big and being an hour from the store.
I didn't make the same mistake this week...
our fridges are now bursting at the seams! {grin}

We haven't had much, scratch that, any down time since we got back.
Farming is back in full force,
the farm yard is full of semi trucks, tractors, gators, & trucks
and the lull of big engines is continual.
Even in all the chaos there is such a peace about farming.

My awesome husband tilled the entire garden for me.
I have a pile of organic heirloom seeds waiting to be planted
and now it's just a last frost waiting game.
Any day now, any day.
I can hardly wait!

We're back in full swing with school.
well as full swing as this eclectic, unschooling, homeschooling mama can get.
We ordered a few new school books for the summer
...i'll have to share what we're doing in another post.
Vance had his 1st of 2 days of homeschooling testing today,
we missed it over the winter so he is making it up with a local friend & teacher.
She already graded the first part and he scored a 99 & 98, ranking at 7.9th grade.

I have so many stories and pictures to share with you from our trip.
I had picked out my favorites and edited them when I could along the road,
hoping to share them before now. Ha!
Well, now that we are home we realized that they didn't back up and I lost them all. sigh.
At least I still have the negatives.
I promise i'll be sharing very soon,
I am bursting at the seams now that we are home.

although, I'm not sure if anyone is still around here?!
::::::::crickets chirping::::::::
I am not one to be too concerned with stats,
but I was a little sad when I saw I had lost so many readers.
smaller is better, right!!

Well I think I have filled you in on almost everything
...for today that is.
It's great to be back friends!
Talk to you soon!

my hardworking

sometimes barefoot

extremely handsome

willing

strong

and capable

farmhands

and paws {grin}

from the garden to the table

from seeds in my hand
to seeds sprouting underground

14mm 1/4000 f/2.8 iso 320 24mm 1/4000 f/2.8 iso320

from green plants above ground
to edible vegetables growing underground

24mm 1/1250 f/2.8 iso250
{should have used a lower iso and or faster shutter, it's overexposed to me}

from green tomatoes with no hope
to surprise red ripe tomatoes

24mm 1/640 f/2.8 iso400

from the fertile ground
to a bowl full of vegetables found

24mm 1/250 f/2.8 iso400

from covered in dirt
to clean vegetables in our sink

24mm 1/30 f/2.8 iso640

from the garden
to the table

24mm 1/60 f/2.8 iso2000
{I have a very dimly lit dining room, if you couldn't tell by the super high iso}

What did we eat?
boiled beets
baked potatoes with coconut oil, real salt & pepper
baked carrots with honey
tomatoes with olive oil, real salt & pepper
Spaghetti Squash with garlic
Cucumbers with dill, coconut cream, real salt & red pepper

Look what I dug up

...from the garden yesterday

yeah, I thought it was funny too!

I almost asked you all to name it...
but I couldn't do that knowing that I still haven't announced a winner from the last one.
sigh. so sorry. I will soon.

how does your garden grow

or really...
how {did} your garden grow

because my garden...
besides the carrots, beets, garlic, leeks, swiss chard & peppers

is done for the year

but this is what it looked like last month {grin}