God is great, God is good, and we thank him for this food!

Summer is closing in around us and Fall is on its way and will be here before we know it. Our garden has been good to us! We ate as much as we could, froze some (we will can next year in the new house, no space this year), we gave away as much as folks would take, and the rest went to the compost pile (food for the earth).I have spent the past few days cleaning up the garden, and by cleaning I mean pulling the dying plants and trimming back what is left. Here are some photos of the last few harvests. I hope we are just as successful next year and every other after!

chili's strung and hung to dry

an array of garden treats

pumpkins, had to be picked early or the ground hog would eat all of them
as he has already done to at least five 

can you identify what is hiding in the grass?

ground hog proofing over the pumpkins
F.Y.I. it does not work

eggplant, what a wonderful food

that is a potato peeking out

watermelon

basil gone wild, with some geraniums

close up of celery

beautiful cluster of sunflowers

my favorite, red sunflowers

corn on the cob is Linda's favorite

too many cherry tomatoes to eat them all
they were so many ripe ones that they just fell off the vine

yellow tomatoes, suppose to be that color
and the blight is starting to take over as you can see

green beans

Fire on the Mountain

The ground work has been laid, the rock was sent for, and we have the start of the most gorgeous hearth. I am amazed at how wonderful the rock matches that of the rock naturally found in the creek here at the farm. The contractor has really outdid himself on this one. He even used some small stones he collected from the creek, see if you can spot which ones are from the farm! It is not done and I don't want to spoil the finished work so here is just a peek.

 

 

Cabinets, doors, and floors.

The title is very catchy! I don't think much explaining is necessary at this moment regarding those three, so I will just present pictures for now. As more work is done and things change I will elaborate on each in more detail. Just enjoy for now!

Pine doors through out the interior, which will later be stained to match the floors

 

What a great farmhouse sink

Microwave will go there in what will be the island

Spice rack, wow!

Wood stove will go on the platform the dehumidify is sitting on

Vanity, and not the sinful kind.

The bathrooms are almost ready for us to use. Hallelujah! The toilets will come some time this week and the faucets will be put into place as well. This mean running water and flushing toilets. It may just be the most exciting news we have heard in a while. See ya later Porto-potty!

The bathroom vanities are already secured to the wall and the beautiful counters tops have been installed. I hope you find them as beautiful as we do. I even threw in a picture of the paint color that will bestow the wall. I find the dark vanity along with the rich creamy tile and dark wall coloring brings an interesting life to each bathroom. The vanity's look very much like elegant pieces of furniture. I never would have imagined my mother would have fallen in love with this design, seeing how she normally enjoys very neutral colors (or what I would refer to as "bland"). See for yourself and be the judge of our interior decorating skills!

Master bath vanity and linen closet

 

Paint behind the vanity will be the color of all three bathrooms

Guest bathroom vanity with knobs already attached

Guest bathroom linen closed (goes floor to ceiling)

Animals in the corn field, ready to be stuffed.

Warning to anyone who is reading this that there are graphic pictures involved. Also, those involved are legally permitted to do so!

Corn is growing high this year, no thanks to all the rain. With a good crop comes hungry animals! Many animals that get into the corn field can devastate the crop. In order to prevent further damage some animals need to be put down (sorry all you PETA lovers but it is the nature of farming). If the pests are not taken care of then the cattle will suffer during the winter from lack of grain. That can  cause an assortment of problems such as high rate of mortality in calves to loss in farm revenue. It's not an easy decision but one that must be made in order to ensure the farmers survival. Now if Josh can just get that damn ground hog (or as our friend Brandy calls them "shorty pig") that is living in my garden and eating all my pumpkins, carrots, beans, and whatever else he can chew on.

coyote

bear almost two years old