Monday, September 19, 2011
Farmer Dave and the 2011 Veggie Garden in Wis.
Well he did it!! Dave planted out first veggie garden in Wisconsin and it turned out pretty well!!
When he first told me of the garden idea I just shook my head..... i love fresh veggies and the idea of growing some of our own food BUT..... number one, i am the "black thumb" of growing anything in the plant world and number two, we are only in Wisconsin two weekends a month!!
But Dave did the impossible...against all odds...the deer, the birds, the summer of drought on the island....and yes the magic of the timer on the soaker hose which watered our garden one hour a day each eve!!
We reaped a small harvest of fun sized cucumbers and carrots, 12 spaghetti squash and a few beets and sweet potatoes and green beans but no melon at all. Gardening lessons learned- plant seeds farther apart so they have room to grow to full size, plant squash earlier in spring so fully developed by harvest time, do not plant beets, melons or sweet potatoes....to hard to grow in these circumstances and ah yes...learn to pickle cucumbers from my daughter Liz by Fall 2012!!
The cucumbers are really delicious!!!! They are so crisp and no after taste like grocery store variety. They are the "Best Crunch" i have ever had!! And the carrots...well i must say they are as sweet as a dessert..yum yum yum!!!! The poor little sweet potatoes were just enough for one small recipe of apple/sweet pot crisp and i actually pickled the few tiny beets to just try them out- not bad for a refrigerator variety. The jury is still out on the spaghetti squash as although they grew to med size we had to pick them this past week because Wis already had a frost that turned our beet greens black...can you believe that...a frost before Sept 15th!!??
Dave tried baking one and he said not ripe enough so I ill put them in the sun a bit in hope they continue to ripen and plan to try to bake one in a veggie cloth bag in the micro...like baked potatoes....who knows maybe we will get lucky!! SP. SQ is Dave's fave!!! He actually started some from seed at home but planted them before we finished building our 8 ft high deer fence and sure enough they were all eaten in one week!! But Dave persisted and planted some more from seed and they grew great!!Too bad the frost hurried the harvest..i sure hope they continue to ripen...i am crossing my fingers!! Dave planted 3 yellow plum tomatoes in containers at home (in Illinois) and they grew to be small trees!! We have so little sunshine in our yard we had to place them on the driveway to get full sun each day. We harvest about 10-15 a week now. Pretty great for a first try at this too. Good job Farmer Dave i am proud of you and will continue to be your helpmate in this fun new veggie garden hobby !! YUM YUM for growing your own fresh veggies!!
We were told to have a garden there we would have to build an 8 ft high deer fence, string fishing line across the top to the fence to keep the birds out and put a remote control action activated plastic owl to keep the animal predator's guessing...he he!! We did all of that and i must say, we had no trouble with the deer or birds( except for that first sp sq seedlings that they got before all the precautions were in place). I did have a raccoon( we assume) eat the cork off my decorative jug in my perennial garden and eat some popcorn out of our Bag-O beanbags we left in a bag in the porch over night!! RASCAL RACCOON! My perennial garden( over our septic covers) and barrels and flower boxes with petunias did very well... despite me!!Great bright yellow tiger lilies and 5 ft tall daisies smiled at me this year! :)I will be the first to say i do kids and pets not plants but i try anyway!!
Well it was a tiny farming adventure that we are sure to continue next year and for years to come!! YUM YUM..... CRUNCH CRUNCH!!
When he first told me of the garden idea I just shook my head..... i love fresh veggies and the idea of growing some of our own food BUT..... number one, i am the "black thumb" of growing anything in the plant world and number two, we are only in Wisconsin two weekends a month!!
But Dave did the impossible...against all odds...the deer, the birds, the summer of drought on the island....and yes the magic of the timer on the soaker hose which watered our garden one hour a day each eve!!
We reaped a small harvest of fun sized cucumbers and carrots, 12 spaghetti squash and a few beets and sweet potatoes and green beans but no melon at all. Gardening lessons learned- plant seeds farther apart so they have room to grow to full size, plant squash earlier in spring so fully developed by harvest time, do not plant beets, melons or sweet potatoes....to hard to grow in these circumstances and ah yes...learn to pickle cucumbers from my daughter Liz by Fall 2012!!
The cucumbers are really delicious!!!! They are so crisp and no after taste like grocery store variety. They are the "Best Crunch" i have ever had!! And the carrots...well i must say they are as sweet as a dessert..yum yum yum!!!! The poor little sweet potatoes were just enough for one small recipe of apple/sweet pot crisp and i actually pickled the few tiny beets to just try them out- not bad for a refrigerator variety. The jury is still out on the spaghetti squash as although they grew to med size we had to pick them this past week because Wis already had a frost that turned our beet greens black...can you believe that...a frost before Sept 15th!!??
Dave tried baking one and he said not ripe enough so I ill put them in the sun a bit in hope they continue to ripen and plan to try to bake one in a veggie cloth bag in the micro...like baked potatoes....who knows maybe we will get lucky!! SP. SQ is Dave's fave!!! He actually started some from seed at home but planted them before we finished building our 8 ft high deer fence and sure enough they were all eaten in one week!! But Dave persisted and planted some more from seed and they grew great!!Too bad the frost hurried the harvest..i sure hope they continue to ripen...i am crossing my fingers!! Dave planted 3 yellow plum tomatoes in containers at home (in Illinois) and they grew to be small trees!! We have so little sunshine in our yard we had to place them on the driveway to get full sun each day. We harvest about 10-15 a week now. Pretty great for a first try at this too. Good job Farmer Dave i am proud of you and will continue to be your helpmate in this fun new veggie garden hobby !! YUM YUM for growing your own fresh veggies!!
We were told to have a garden there we would have to build an 8 ft high deer fence, string fishing line across the top to the fence to keep the birds out and put a remote control action activated plastic owl to keep the animal predator's guessing...he he!! We did all of that and i must say, we had no trouble with the deer or birds( except for that first sp sq seedlings that they got before all the precautions were in place). I did have a raccoon( we assume) eat the cork off my decorative jug in my perennial garden and eat some popcorn out of our Bag-O beanbags we left in a bag in the porch over night!! RASCAL RACCOON! My perennial garden( over our septic covers) and barrels and flower boxes with petunias did very well... despite me!!Great bright yellow tiger lilies and 5 ft tall daisies smiled at me this year! :)I will be the first to say i do kids and pets not plants but i try anyway!!
Well it was a tiny farming adventure that we are sure to continue next year and for years to come!! YUM YUM..... CRUNCH CRUNCH!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Labor Day Weekend Sept 2011
Although it was a rainy, windy and cloudy weekend in Wisconsin.... any place family is together is a blessing!! Andy and Liz flew into Milw. from Portland , OR on Thursday eve and we drove up and stayed overnight at a motel in Sturgeon Bay. We enjoyed breakfast at the famous "Al Johnson's in Sister Bay- Swedish pancakes and complete with goats on the roof!! For any of you that are confused by that last comment, Al Johnson's is a Swedish restaurant that in the Swedish tradition grows grass on the roof and has goats living up there as well. Crazy hey??
We then hopped on a car ferry to Washington Island , just 25 min away.It will be 20 yrs since we bought our summer house on the Island and it holds a special place in the heart for Liz as she lived in our island house two summers working as a waitress at a commercial fisherman's restaurant and met her now husband of 4 yrs Andy while doing so. Andy was hired as a Moody Bible Institute Intern to run the summer youth program for those two summers Liz was present. So it is at Liz's request we try to get up to the island at least once a year with them even though they now live in Portland, OR.
We have spent countless hours on the island through the years during summer vacations and on many weekends. The girls have taken swim lessons, danced in the Scandinavian Dance Fest, helped teach VBS at Bethel church numerous summers, helped lead tours of the fishing museum, attended church youth group and made many friends along the way. Most of the friends have since grown up and away from the island but the memories are still there.
As a family we have biked, kayaked, swam and even boated to explore numerous surrounding islands with light houses and beautiful Lake Michigan coastlines, spending hours and hours of family fun on Lake Michigan.Perhaps that is why I write this blog as it holds a special place in our hearts and memories.
Although the weather was off and on during this holiday weekend we managed to fit in :an evening of sunset Salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, playing yard games( like Bag-o and Boccie ball), went to yard sales,had our own outdoor fish fry, attended the Legion's annual Fish Boil(yummmmmm), church at Bethel, enjoyed the company of a missionary family from Thailand, watched movies and read, and generally had a nice quiet and very relaxing weekend. Sometimes it is almost nicer if the weather doesn't beckon you to do too much as we all needed some down time to just sit and relax with family...ahhhhhhhhh
It is always a gift to spend time with family and we all loved that!!
We then hopped on a car ferry to Washington Island , just 25 min away.It will be 20 yrs since we bought our summer house on the Island and it holds a special place in the heart for Liz as she lived in our island house two summers working as a waitress at a commercial fisherman's restaurant and met her now husband of 4 yrs Andy while doing so. Andy was hired as a Moody Bible Institute Intern to run the summer youth program for those two summers Liz was present. So it is at Liz's request we try to get up to the island at least once a year with them even though they now live in Portland, OR.
We have spent countless hours on the island through the years during summer vacations and on many weekends. The girls have taken swim lessons, danced in the Scandinavian Dance Fest, helped teach VBS at Bethel church numerous summers, helped lead tours of the fishing museum, attended church youth group and made many friends along the way. Most of the friends have since grown up and away from the island but the memories are still there.
As a family we have biked, kayaked, swam and even boated to explore numerous surrounding islands with light houses and beautiful Lake Michigan coastlines, spending hours and hours of family fun on Lake Michigan.Perhaps that is why I write this blog as it holds a special place in our hearts and memories.
Although the weather was off and on during this holiday weekend we managed to fit in :an evening of sunset Salmon fishing on Lake Michigan, playing yard games( like Bag-o and Boccie ball), went to yard sales,had our own outdoor fish fry, attended the Legion's annual Fish Boil(yummmmmm), church at Bethel, enjoyed the company of a missionary family from Thailand, watched movies and read, and generally had a nice quiet and very relaxing weekend. Sometimes it is almost nicer if the weather doesn't beckon you to do too much as we all needed some down time to just sit and relax with family...ahhhhhhhhh
It is always a gift to spend time with family and we all loved that!!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
A Whirlwind Weekend With My Girls
I had a whirlind long weekend trip in August to visit both my girls- Liz in Portland ,OR and Katie in Boulder, CO. I flew Chicago-Portland,Portland-Denver, then Denver-Chicago. It was such fun to see both my girls and our son in law Andy and spend time with all of them.In Portland we went Lavender and Blueberry picking in the Mt. Hood "Fruitloop",sang at Karoke with Liz and her church friends, , helped Liz get her bikes in riding condition, play with my"grand dog
4 yr old Pollyanna Bulldog,and ate out some great meals with local foods and then I was off to Colorado. Unfortunately I arrived in Denver a bit slowed down and found out 24 hrs later I was dehydrated and had a strep infection, so spent a few days in bed, rescheduled my flight and then headed home. I was able to do a few things with Katie after i was on medication for 24hrs- we went to her Bible Study/small group one night and then out for frozen yogurt at the famous Denver "Yogurtland" and enjoyed a few quick meals out. I mainly hung out at her apt and cleaned a little just to pass the time. But luckily Dave and I have a weekend trip planned to see Katie in September, as we try to get to see the girls in their hometowns at least once a year. This quickie weekend trip extravaganza was a surprise anniversary gift from Dave to me for our 38th anniversary. Of course my bachelor brother had a good laugh when i told him that... as he said ,"ahhh let me get this straight your husband sent you away for your 38th anniversary...he he. I was just missing my girls and so Dave got me a last minute ticket. I do look forward to seeing Katie for a healthy, much more fun weekend in Sept! They are both such wonderful places to visit- Portland with its beautiful location near the Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood , vineyards and orchards,and ocean coast just an hour away and Boulder with the Rocky Mt backdrop and just 30 min from Denver.My girls love where they live and that says it all. They have great jobs, great friends and nice homes to enjoy!! God is good and we are blessed!!
4 yr old Pollyanna Bulldog,and ate out some great meals with local foods and then I was off to Colorado. Unfortunately I arrived in Denver a bit slowed down and found out 24 hrs later I was dehydrated and had a strep infection, so spent a few days in bed, rescheduled my flight and then headed home. I was able to do a few things with Katie after i was on medication for 24hrs- we went to her Bible Study/small group one night and then out for frozen yogurt at the famous Denver "Yogurtland" and enjoyed a few quick meals out. I mainly hung out at her apt and cleaned a little just to pass the time. But luckily Dave and I have a weekend trip planned to see Katie in September, as we try to get to see the girls in their hometowns at least once a year. This quickie weekend trip extravaganza was a surprise anniversary gift from Dave to me for our 38th anniversary. Of course my bachelor brother had a good laugh when i told him that... as he said ,"ahhh let me get this straight your husband sent you away for your 38th anniversary...he he. I was just missing my girls and so Dave got me a last minute ticket. I do look forward to seeing Katie for a healthy, much more fun weekend in Sept! They are both such wonderful places to visit- Portland with its beautiful location near the Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood , vineyards and orchards,and ocean coast just an hour away and Boulder with the Rocky Mt backdrop and just 30 min from Denver.My girls love where they live and that says it all. They have great jobs, great friends and nice homes to enjoy!! God is good and we are blessed!!
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