Berry Picking Bliss

We took a trip to the Berry Ranch yesterday and enjoyed a hayride and all the berries we could handle! Many of the berries will be divided up for delivery to our CSA customers. It's our first delivery of the season with so much leafy green goodness to enjoy: kale, head lettuce, rainbow swiss chard, spinach, turnips, and radishes!

Attitude Adjustment

I've been a little bit grumpy about farming this year.

More than a little.

May I whine for a moment?

I haven't felt like: getting dirty or sweaty; dealing with watery, sneezy allergies; trudging back up the field to retrieve the 100th thing my kids need or that I forgot.

I have wanted to do exactly as I please... read, write, watch movies, download itunes, in short, enjoy MY summer in MY way!

Hmmmm, where in all of this did I forget that life is not all about me?

I have a great husband who is working very hard and needs my help with our huge farm. Didn't we dream together of country life and sustainable living?

I have two awesome kids who just want to be WITH me, talk to me, "help" me all the time. Isn't this what I yearned for during those long years of infertility?

Yes, I worked hard during the school year. Yes, it was stressful. Yes, I need a break.

But most of all I need a break from me. Jesus poured all of himself out for me. Can I not do even half so much for those dearest to me? I am encouraged to serve, to love, to give. I need not grasp and hang on to my time so tightly. He will give me more than I need.

Spring "Break"

I'm trying desperately to think about green and growing things, life things, the precious gifts lovingly bestowed upon me. To be content and not despair of my ever expanding to do list...

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV)

High Flying Adventures

We're thinking spring here at Hilty Farm! Bring on the kite flying weather!

Catching up on fall...

I'm a bit behind on my family updates! We've had a lot of fun!

Squash Harvest

Corn Maze (See our fearless leaders! I of course was hopelessly lost!)

Happy Halloween!

Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye!

When we went costume shopping Noelle told me "I'm so tired of fairies and princesses! Can I have a transformers costume like Zach?". How could I say no? ;0) She was so proud of her tough girl costume!

Zach's preschool party! I was so glad to be able to get away from work for a few minutes to surprise Zach at his party. Here he is telling his beloved Miss Robin about his costume!

Preschool Pumpkin Patch (still fun even though he has dozens of pumpkins at home!).

Our fun trick or treating group in the Quinn's neighborhood. We had a great time!

And last, but certainly not least... we had an Elvis sighting! He was a bit shorter than expected.

We've Been Overrun

I've had it!

Not one more living creature from the great outdoors is allowed in MY house!

I don't care if we live in the country now.

I don't care if our old partially remodeled home has more holes, nooks and crannies than I can find.

This is it.

All of you spiders, flies, moths, mosquitoes, frogs, and mice are put on notice effective immediately.

Stay out or else.

How's that for tough talk?

Don't You Love...

...the aroma of herbed veggies roasting in your oven? Yeah, me too.

I can't wait till they're done!

Apricot Harvest

We've been busy picking apricots, and green beans, and zucchini, and we're STILL weeding... Phew! Farm work never stops!

Weeding Nightmare

This is what we get for going on vacation... ATTACK OF THE KILLER WEEDS!!!! We could hardly see the carrots and onions. Poor neglected veggies.

Ahhhh! Much better! After a week of intense weeding we have very sore hamstrings and much happier veggies.

Now this makes it all worth it! We rewarded ourselves with with garden fresh stir fried yellow squash and zucchini (I wish the other vegetables were also from our garden but we're not quite there yet).

Hilty Farms Website Is Up!

Check out my farmer hubby's new website! Thanks!

Where Do I Begin? An Update of Sorts

I have been so busy finishing up the school year, hanging out with dear friends and planting our massive garden that I have neglected this whole blog thing terribly! Here's what has been going on lately in pictures:

A fabulously fun wedding (I only have pics of the rehearsal... I need someone in the family to take pity and send me their pictures of the actual wedding as I was too busy being IN the wedding to take any!)...

Joel's baby sister was the beautiful bride! It seems like just yesterday that she was one of my bridesmaids!

Sportin' our fancy red shoes! No one fell or even tripped, it was a miracle! Standing next to me is Joel's brother's girlfriend. She is such a lovely person inside and out. I love her to pieces!

My children are "helping" grandma decorate the reception hall.

A trip to Point Defiance Zoo

A preschool play and a kindergarten field trip

My little guy was the Red Bird from "Brown Bear, Brown Bear".

Then he received his certificate for completing his first year of preschool! My big boy!

My cutiepatootie Kindergarten field trip group!

Farmin'

We REALLY liked this little rental tractor... too bad it's not ours! I even got to drive it which was great until the dumb thing popped out of gear, I couldn't figure out how to stop it and then I nearly ran over my husband! My farmer hero dove out of the way then leaped onto the tractor to save the day as I panicked! It was a bit of a Lucille Ball moment. So very dignified.

This monster of a garden is approximately 1 acre. Whew!

It's Planting Time Again

We are getting spring fever around here! Joel built his long-dreamed of mini greenhouse and the planting has officially begun! It may look a little redneck (note the well placed satellite dish...it's gotta go somewhere) but it's a heck of a lot better than last year's setup in my dining room! The exciting thing is that most of the materials were reused, from the windows that were taken out during the remodel to the boards from the torn down hay barn (check out the drama of that moment here). He used egg cartons to cover the vent spaces and as seed planters. The only things he had to buy were the corrugated plastic sheets and the cement corner pieces to hold the frame in place.

In another stroke of genius I suggested the hanging shelves as a space saver.

It was a dad n' son operation this year.