August Heat

So, we started out August almost smothering ourselves... and that's when I decided it would be fun to go to Silver Dollar City. Almost 100 degrees... what on earth were we thinking? Well, we had a lot of fun anyway. Grace got to go with her friends Jemma and Maci from church... and I got to go with my friend Beth (Jemma & Maci's mom). It was a fun girls' day out. We rode the rides (at least the ones my midget could get on), we watched a Veggie Tales show, and we even spent some time splashing and soaking up the water. All in all, we had a fun day. I think I even lost a few pounds in sweat!

So now that we're in the heat of summer, my garden is beginning to take on the appearance of a bushy forest. The sweet potatoes are going nuts as well as the Spaghetti squash. Something is trying to take over my yellow stick squash & zucchini, but I think we may have saved them. The cucumbers are growing, the tomatoes are turning red, and the corn is over knee high now (not bad for a very late July start!). We'll also see our watermelons and pumpkins coming on soon too. Yummy!

Oh, and the chickens... still no eggs. We're guessing those will come in September, and Grace will sell them by the dozen to whomever wants to come get farm fresh, free range (mostly) eggs. In the meantime, we've got to get the nest boxes built before then or there's no tellin' where we'll find their eggs! The ladies are getting quite large. Many are too heavy to fly out now... wings clipped or not. The roosters are becoming obnoxious... crowing, crowing, crowing. I swear, they never shut up. We'll fatten them up and then, "Off with their heads!" I figure they'll make a nice chicken and noodles or some other fine chicken fare.

And on to the latest in the vehicles... so, my little car has started squealing and sqwaking at me when I turn... only on left turns though. I was hoping it was another rotor rub or a brake thing, but now I find out it may actually be a CV joint. That's not exactly what I was hoping for. That will cost a bit to fix, but it's cheaper than trading in an Infiniti w/ 110K on it! So, we'll fix it (Courtney and Grace tried to do it themselves...) and continue on paying off cars and debts. I'd love to get a new vehicle, but we'll wait until at least next year before we do it. I really hate car payments...

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Things are Growing on the Farm!

Wow, what a wet year we've had so far. It seems to have stunted the garden's progression... until now. After a few days of hot sunny days, the back of my place seems to be BURSTING forth! The garden is coming along nicely... spaghetti squash, yellow squash (we've already had two), zucchini, cucumbers (still a little sluggish to do their own bursting), melons, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans and peas, and soon to come... corn! They're all doing quite well. Some are small but we had a bit of a late start putting in most of the plants this year. Trenches 1 & 2 are complete. Trench 3 is in the the works... and now, surprise! We have a trench 4! A new little nook that will be enclosed in the fenced-in garden will allow for a plot of corn... yeah! All this trench digging and dirt filling requires that we have piles and mounds of manure and sand on hand to "make soil" to fill in the trenches once they're dug. It's quite a process (and a little stinky) but only required on the initial setup of the "Square Foot Gardening" garden. I've posted on this type of garden before, and I'll admit, I was a little apprehensive at first... but now I can see with my own eyes that this will be one of the easiest, most efficient gardens to maintain! I've been made a believer!! (Of course, it doesn't hurt having your father-in-law do much of the initial setup!!)

We've also been grooming and babying the wild blackberries a bit this year (left pic). They're doing quite nicely over in their little sunny side of the yard. Of course, we also have our b-e-a-utimus thornless blackberry bush (right pic)... that beauty has the biggest, blackest berries I've seen! Can't wait to make a cobbler!!


Speaking of things growing, I now have a flock of big beautiful birds! My chickens are becoming quite the little images of fluffy plumpness. They truly are "ladies". I'm learning to appreciate their different noises, and can almost carry on a conversation with them now... that's right, we talk... I figure they're happier when I acknowledge them and give them the love and adoration that they believe they deserve - he he!

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Dale's Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Dale!!

Courtney's granddad, Dale, had a BIG birthday bash at one of the country clubs in Springfield just a few days after the 4th celebrations. There was tons of food (thanks Debbe), a lot of swimming, and just a lot of good conversation and catching up.
But WHAT A SIGHT!
From his 5 sons came many children, and from those children came many, many, many grandchildren! And here are the pictures to prove it!! I think everyone had a great time. It was good to get to see everyone. We hadn't had Grace around that gang since she was born... a long time coming I'd say.

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The Sparks Did Fly!

Happy late Independence Day all!

It's been somewhat hectic around here with VBS going on at church, so I'm just now getting our 4th of July pics up. We all had a great time. The family came out to our place, and we grilled and blew up lots of stuff... always a good time. Last year, Grace was still pretty little and ended up going to bed before the fireworks show... but not this year. She was up and out there with us. She had to warm up to the lights and sounds a bit. Her initial reaction was to look shocked and to cover her mouth... but no crying! I think she decided the fireworks were pretty cool once she got used to them.

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