Our kids...

... are interesting people. They have lots of ideas. Some of them are good; some are not so good. They're really ambitious- they have that optimism that we all had when we were young: that we can do anything if we try hard enough. Sometimes we let them run with their ideas and projects, and sometimes we don't even let them get started (you know, if their idea might damage themselves, other people, or our property, lol.)

One thing they've been wanting to do for a very long time is dig a fish pond. Mitchell has probably been asking us to let him dig one for two years (if not longer.) Then his brothers and sister began asking. Rob and I envisioned muddy, half dug holes in our yard that would be abandoned once the digging got old. And we said NO, NO, NO. NO FISH PONDS...

...until we met another family of homeschoolers and visited their farm. They had not one but TWO ponds that their teenage son had dug. They weren't perfect, but they were really nice, and we could tell how proud he and his family were of them. And we got to thinking that we should probably lighten up a little and let the kids work on their fish pond idea. We had to adjust our thinking, stand back and realize that our kids aren't babies anymore, and trust that they're capable individuals. Instead of expecting the worst, we told them that they had permission to dig, and we sat back and expected the best.

Before I post pictures of the pond, let me say that Rob and I did not work on this pond at all. We did not dig on it, we did not line it, we did not move the rocks. All we did was offer advice if they asked us (we set limits on the size up front) and buy what they needed (liner, plants, fish, lights, and pump.) All of this was a collaborative effort on their part, from the oldest (almost 15) to the youngest (not quite 6.) We are super, super proud. They got the lights and pump set up (themselves) late this evening, and we all stood back to admire their work.



Is this pond perfect? No, it's not. Professionals did not build it. Our kids did, on their own, and we love it so much.



Joanna couldn't resist dipping her toes in the water...



...and neither could Hannah =0).

Rob and I are thrilled with the pond because the kids cooperated with one another, they saw it through to the end, and they did an excellent job. No cutting corners, no fighting amongst themselves, etc. They're proud of their accomplishment, and we're glad to see them feeling pride in a job well done. Plus, they just think the pond is cool, and stayed out there until waaay after dark... looking at the fish, and enjoying themselves.



And we think that's cool.

Our garden...

I should start out this post by saying that growing up, I spent every summer with my Grandparents. Other than taking one three day-trip every year, we never really did anything special, but those times at their house are some of the best things I remember about my childhood. Days flowed into one another, but I wasn't ever bored. They didn't treat me like a guest- I made my own bed, did chores, and entertained myself- and I tagged along with them to help with whatever work they had to do. Sometimes it was working on one of their rental houses. We would occasionally go to the woods and get a load of wood (or pick berries, or whatever else needed to be done.) My favorite thing to do, though, was to help my Grandad in the garden.



To me, it all looked so easy. I realize now how hard he really worked on it, though. It was HUGE, and he grew every veggie that came to mean summer to me- tomatoes, sweet corn, green beans, squash, eggplant, cukes, okra... and onions, butterbeans, field peas, collards and mustard greens; not to mention the gorgeous flowers. (He had the most eye-popping zinnias you can imagine, and he'd always bring my Grandma a bouquet, held together with a rubber band.) I loved the evening meals with all the fresh produce I'd helped to pick. In summer time, I can live off of fresh squash, sweet corn, maybe some snap beans, and a fresh sliced tomato. I thank my Grandparents for introducing me early on to the art of slow food (they didn't call it that back then, but it was their lifestyle.)



Of course, when I got all grown up and we moved out to the country, a garden was the first thing I wanted. If you've ever lived on garden fresh produce, cans and frozen veggies and even produce from the supermarket just never measure up. We were so enthusiastic and we went to planting with abandon... and every deer, rabbit, and coon in the neighborhood enjoyed our garden. The caterpillars and bugs liked it, too. I remember my Grandad patting me on the back and laughing at our first attempt. We did get a decent amount of food from it, but all in all, that first garden was a flop. Over the years we have gotten better, but we never have had a super nice garden like Grandad's.



This year we're doing something different- Square Foot Gardening. Raised beds with close spacing. So far, we're THRILLED with how it's working for us. We finally have that awesome looking garden I've always wanted, and I know that if my Grandad were here, that he would be proud. Weeding takes a few minutes... watering, a few more. And that's it. We are having a problem with cabbage worms, but we're committed to doing this organically, so we've just used a little diatomaceous earth and put the kids to picking off the crawlies. I definitely suggest that if you'd like to garden, buy the Square Foot Gardening book by Mel Bartholemew. It is worth every penny, and if you have a four by four foot space that gets some sun, you can have a square foot garden, no matter where you live.



So far we're just harvesting lettuces, chard, peppers, and a few strawberries, but soon we will have an abundance of fresh veggies. It's good to know where your food is coming from and how it was grown. It's also good for children to see that food is not something that comes in a box at the store, and for them to participate in growing it. I hope that by doing all of this, that Rob and I will help to spark the same love for healthy, home grown veggies in our kids that my Grandad and his garden sparked in me.

Chicks!

It's been two years since we brooded any chicks here, so we were all thrilled when our new Buff Orpington chicks arrived last week. Now they're eleven days old and growing fast. Yesterday was really nice and warm here, so we got them all out and made a little pen in the yard so that they could be in the real sunshine and scratch like big chickens =0).

Right now we have about six older laying hens and six younger- the older girls don't give many eggs and the youngers are just getting started laying. We never have enough home eggs for everyone and have to buy store eggs each week. The kids argue over who gets "chicken eggs" verses "store eggs". We're all really looking forward to an abundance of good, fresh free-range eggs in a few months.



We've still got a long way to go, though- these guys are all still pretty small- but for now, we're ALL enjoying watching them grow up =0).

I am probably the worst blogger ever...

because I get SO busy...

But, I still love to blog when I think about it or have something I'd like to share, and a few times this spring I've wished for my blog back so I could write about what was going on here at the farm. We've had flooding (!!), baby goats (always exciting, no matter how many times we've gone through kidding!), new goats (again, always exciting), put in our garden, and had lots of other interesting things happen.

We're making yogurt and kefir from our fresh milk. Ice cream, too. We also just made our first batch of mozzarella and ricotta cheese (I'm encouraged that we will get better and better at cheesemaking with time.) Our hens are getting old and not laying so well, so we have some younger pullets started and some more chicks coming this week. This time we chose an old timey breed; Buff Orpingtons. Hopefully at least some of the new ladies will go broody and hatch their own eggs and we can have a self sustaining flock of layers. We ditched the old row crop method with our garden this year and put in raised beds (check out http://www.squarefootgardening.com/index.php/The-Project/how-to-square-foot-garden.html , it's so easy!) We are super, super happy with them already and hope to eventually have our entire old garden plot filled with boxes (that won't happen this year, though.) We've used recycled lumber on them where we can. I've been *trying* to get back into my old habit of baking our bread, but again, I get so busy that I don't always manage it. I've modified two different recipes into one that works well for our family (three loaves of freshly ground whole wheat bread in about an hour!!) but need to work on keeping it made. I'll post the recipe sometime, with pics.

We're always busy here and we're never caught up (ever, lol) but we're content, and happy to have something to do all the time. We don't get bored here! I don't know if we will ever reach our goal of a self sustaining mini farm, but it's fun to try, and super satisfying to produce at least part of our own food and know that what we are feeding our children is healthy and pure, and teaching them that food isn't a product that you pick up off of the shelf at the grocery store.