Wow - Seems Like Forever Since I Was Last Here...

All I can say is that it has been very busy at work and now that it has slowed a bit, I'm able to get on here and provide you with an update. I'm not sure where to begin but I rarely know where to begin so as always, I'll just get started with my rambling with no concern as to the order of the events. Surely you're used to that by now?

Did I mention that something, some critter out there on the farm, ate every last one of my bean plants? Oh yes it did...I went out to the garden last weekend and saw that every plant was fully covered in beans...upwards of 8-10 (maybe more) on every plant in the row that I planted by myself. The beans weren't quite ready to be picked as they were only about 3 inches long. According to the Burpee catalog they would grow as long as 5-6 inches. I figured a couple more days and I'd be picking all the beans I could handle.

Well, as I said, some critter had other plans for me and my beans. All I can say is whatever animal it was, they'll be pooping green for days based on the quantity of beans they devoured! LOL I checked the row of beans that Dizzy Debbie planted and there are a few left in that row that might produce beans. I just have to get out there before the BEAN THIEF gets them!! That's not so easily accomplished seeing as how I have to be at work all day while the farm critters run free to eat whenever they please.

Such is life :) Not to worry. Wally is going to put up a fence for me so I can plant a fall crop of beans and maybe have better luck then. I'm glad I took pictures - they sure were some pretty bean plants, weren't they?

I dug up a couple of the red onions and they looked just like scallions but fatter. I used them on my salad and I'll probably do the same here in the next couple of days. The rest I'll leave in the ground so they can get nice and fat. Funny how the little BEAN THIEF has no interest in onions :) LOL!

The tomatoes Teri brought me are at two totally different stages. The German Queen is struggling a bit and hasn't grown very tall. I don't know if that's typical of the variety or not. It does have some new growth on the bottom and the top of it and the stalk is getting thicker so while it is improving, I wouldn't say it is thriving.

The other one is called a "Red Raspberry." It's a tomato plant rest-assured. This one is growing like crazy!! It is easily 3-3.5 feet tall and nice and bushy. It has already shown me two yellow flowers and looks like it promises to put out an abundance of tomatoes. I think this particular variety cares not whether it has lots of rain or very little rain - same goes for sunshine. It just grows and grows like there's no tomorrow. It's a beautiful specimen even if no tomatoes come from it. But they will - on this matter I'm 100% positive :)

The volunteers continue to baffle me with their differences. I'm beginning to wonder if they are all from last year's crop or if some of those little volunteers were from the plants Wally planted the year before I arrived. Anything is possible and if you could see them, you would know what I mean.

Some are two feet tall, others only maybe 8-10 inches tall. Some have dark green leaves while other leaves are a lighter shade of green. There are no similarities among the eight of them that I can detect at this stage of the game other than to say that they are certainly all tomatoes and they are doing their best to impress me!

I have the 8 volunteers, the two that Teri brought me and another 8 that I bought at the co-op while Wally was in FL. We should have a least a few tomatoes to snack on in another couple of months :) :) wouldn't you say? I may be bean-less but I'll be darned if I'll be tomato-less!! lololol

The carrots and the one beet still have a ways to go but thankfully, my farmer has these coming in right now so at least I'll have them to eat even if they aren't from my own garden. You can see the carrots on the flickr site along with all the other basket contents from yesterday's haul - and what a good one it was!

I got a huge bundle of Red Russian Kale which, even though I'm not a big fan of Kale, I have been advised of a couple other ways to cook it that I might enjoy better than previous attempts. I'll give it another go and let you know how that works out for me.

I got two more heads of lettuce which are always a delight to see. To date I've yet to receive a regular old head of iceberg lettuce. The baskets are packed with all sorts of varieties of lettuce that look different and taste different. Who knew salads could be so diverse? I've eaten one almost every day since the basket deliveries began. I think I've lost about 8 pounds since doing so. Not bad... I even made a salad for Wally with some leftover bbq'd chicken and he said it was really good. If the man likes my salads, I know I'm doing something right. He tends to think salads are just filler before the real meal comes along. Maybe so - but they are good and they are good for you so eat them up whenever you can!

This basket also had some Swiss Chard in it. I've never cooked chard before so this will be a new taste experience for me. I'll be going through my cookbooks looking for just the right recipe so I'm sure to like it the first time out :) The chard has pinkish, purplish and yellowish stalks with bright green leaves that have a red vein running through them. It's a very, very pretty vegetable which makes me even more excited to try it and see what it tastes like. I'll keep you posted.

The big excitement of this basket was the Kohlrabi. I've never had it and I've really only heard of it a few times maybe on Food Network...I'm not sure. Up until last night, I didn't know anyone who had actually cooked and eaten it. So I figured, what the heck? I peeled it, sliced it and put it in some water with some beef bouillon, some garlic powder and some black pepper. I let it boil until it just started to get soft and then served it with the venison we had for dinner. The Kohlrabi turned out to be really good! I tried it raw first and it was okay. It kind of tasted like a sweet cabbage. After it cooked, it tasted more like a squash/cabbage mix. It was good. I don't know how else to describe it but if you have the opportunity to try it, do so. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's a very mild vegetable so don't expect a big burst of flavor when you eat it. That's not going to happen. If you buy it to cook yourself, be sure to cut away the outer layer. It's tough no matter how long it cooks. Enjoy!

The basket did have carrots in it, which I was very excited to see. They aren't huge like store-bought carrots but what they lack in size, they more than make up for in flavor! mmm mmm good!! It just makes me anxious to see my own carrots on the table... By the way, I dug one up the other day to check their progress - hahahahaha very funny!!! It was about as big as the top section of my pinkie finger...lol!! They have a LONG way to go before they're ready for consumption.

I had to laugh at myself though because I was out there trying to dig oh-so-carefully so as not to injure the carrot. I dug way far away from where I thought it would be and way deeper than I thought it would be...what a waste of time! That little carrot sure fooled me. I kept brushing away the dirt and trying to see that orange root and it was just the smallest little carrot you ever did see. :) :) Here's where my patience kicks in again I suppose.

So we're getting healthy by consuming lots of green vegetables and healthier still by being outside in the yard or the garden or walking the dogs. It's hard on me in this heat but when the day is done and I'm relaxing on the couch, I'm glad I did what I did and it gives me incentive to do it again tomorrow. How about you? Are you trying to eat healthier? Even just a little bit?? I hope so. I need you around to keep reading my blog, else why write it to start with??

The dogs got baths Sunday afternoon and they were none too happy about it to say the least! It's no easy chore for Wally and I but we have a system that works out well for all involved. The dogs were wet down with the hose, scrubbed clean with the flea and tick shampoo and after 15 minutes of wait time, they were rinsed and left to dry for a little while. I'm sure they preferred not to have to sit there and dry off but it wasn't up to them. Ruger started barking when he felt like he had had enough of that sitting around thing so we let them go and started walking them down the driveway. There's less chance of them rolling in the dirt if they're running down the driveway. They rolled in the grass instead and how funny it was for us to watch! They roll onto their backs and wiggle back and forth like there's no end to how good that feels!

The puppies enjoy the walk, really it's more of a run for them, and they love annoying the old dogs. Smith and Wesson opted not to go on the walk with us. Indeed, they found nice warm spots on the porch where they immediately fell asleep. Can't say as I blame them - their whole lazy Sunday was interrupted by the bath they surely hoped wouldn't come.

We decided to let the puppies go free and see if they are yet to be trusted not to run off again. So far, so good. They were home when I got up Monday morning and again this morning when I left for work. They spend their days terrorizing the roosters, chasing rabbits (hopefully the one pooping green beans!) and trying to get Smith and Wesson to play with them. They are excited to come running to us when we call them and seem to be accepting of their new status. Of course they are only 8 months old so time will tell if they'll retain their freedom much longer.

My sunflower seeds are doing well - those that didn't get eaten by birds :) and the seeds have now sprouted down by the flag pole. By the outhouse, the seeds are about 5 inches tall. By the flag pole the seeds are just a bit shorter but then again they are a different variety so they're not expected to get near as tall. With any luck the birds will have plenty of flower heads to feast one within a month or so.

The sacrificial geraniums continue to bloom although they have slowed just a bit. If all goes well and I can keep them alive through the hot, humid days of summer, maybe they'll grace us with another bloom season when things cool down.

The humming  birds are bent on emptying the feeders as soon as is "birdly" possible and they keep me busy filling and refilling within a few days. Watching them is never as boring as it may seem. Sure they hover and that's really cool and their wings are flapping so fast that they make a very loud whirring sound - you can't mistake it and you hear it long before you see the actual bird. They also make a little chirping-squeaking sound when they fly off towards the trees! They aren't the least bit scared of us - they pretty much know we're nowhere near fast enough to even think of catching one of them!

The last time I was feeding them, I was emptying the remains of the sugar water that I worried had gone rancid when the darn little bird swooped down to the feeder and actually buzzed it while I was holding it in my hand!! Seriously, these little birds have some confidence, don't they? It was within about 2 inches of my hand and cared not one iota. It knew! It knew I couldn't have caught it no matter how hard I tried. Which I didn't even bother doing. It would have been hopeless.

The baby deer have been showing up slowly but surely and I've been lucky enough to see a few of them. I've seen just one spotted fawn this year but I know those mommas are out there taking care of the little ones and they'll all be up on top of the hill grazing before too long. It was just a few short weeks ago when all those pregnant deer were in the front yard - their bellies rounded and full. The youngsters I have seen are curious and playful and haven't yet learned to fear us. They just stand there looking at us like they wonder what the heck we are but they don't always run off.

That reminds me - the venison I cooked was soaked in a mojo from Winn Dixie that Kris sent me. It was juicy, tangy and utterly tender. If you're not a fan of venison - this mojo soaking might just change your mind! It was the best I'd had in a long time.

Since I didn't spend much time on food, let me tell you about the latest throw together in the way of tostadas....they aren't just Mexican food anymore! I sauteed some of the fresh spinach from the last basket and along with that some green peppers and onions. When those were softened, I set them aside in a bowl and added some chopped up shrimp to the skillet. I seasoned the shrimp with cajun seasoning, garlic powder, a little bit of salt and oregano. When that was done, I piled it all on top of the tostada that had been under the broiler for about a minute and a half. I topped it with cheese and some real bacon bits and slid it back under the broiler just long enough to melt the cheese. YUMMY FOR THE TUMMY!

There's no end to what you can create with those flat little tortillas - see what you can come up with and feel free to share it with me. I'd love to try your ideas and maybe even elaborate on them to make new ones of my own! LOL

We have much to do on the farm as days go by so if you happen to call and we don't answer, it's probably because we're outside taking care of all that we can before it gets too hot and we're easily lured inside where the air conditioner beckons. It's tank tops, shorts and flip flops here and we're taking advantage of the weather when it's nice. We know all too well how quickly the winter will come take over though it seems an impossibility on days when the temps reach 97 degrees.

Feel free to come experience TN yourself! It truly is a beautiful state and I truly am happier than ever to be here.

"Ever wonder where you'd end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash?" ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com