I have harvested sooooooooooooo many tomatoes. Last Saturday we had a tomato tasting jubilee. Over 60 people came tasted 20 different types of tomatoes, judged which one was the yummiest. There was also a Salsa contest to see who brought the best salsa. This event even made the front page of the local newspaper. Which I don't think is that hard to do because nothing much happens in little Overton NV. I now understand the term digging, or swimming through tomatoes. You really have to dig through Juliet plants and any other tomato plant for that matter. I have picked so many tomatoes now that every time I see a tomato I think of Lauren Child's book I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (You say it with a British accent and it is more fun.) Some of the favorite tomatoes were... (drum roll please) Italian Heirlooms, Sun Sugar, Gold Medal.
All Cherry size tomatoes mixed together make a wonderful bruschetta (which if you are unfamiliar with what that is in other name for it could be Heaven on Bread. It is tomatoes with onion, basil, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, on toasted bread, and then if you add some cheese it is so yummy. ) Some Cherry tomatoes are ... Black Cherry, Brown Berry, Gold Pear, Red Pear, Juliet, Sun Sugar. These are all the ones coming to mind right now.
I'm sure you don't want to hear any more about tomatoes so I will move on to other things of import.
I have now caught chickens. I feel very Lagaan-ish when I do this. If you have seen the movie you will know why. If you haven't seen the movie I suggest you get on Netflix or go to the library and get it right away.
For Father's day dinner instead of going to the store and buying the meat, you just go out to the farm.... we caught 4 roosters. Monte did the gross part that I will not describe, and me and Hannah (one of the other interns) helped pluck all the feathers off. Not one of my favorite duties. Rooster meat is tougher than chicken meat. We had Saffron Chicken(rooster) with rice.
I have now milked the goats. Did you know that goat's milk is the closest to mother's milk and is there for the healthiest for us to drink. I enjoy milking the goats, except for one goat by the name of Una who must very much dislike me. All the other goats will behave with me, not Una. She will work with any one else but not me, tis very frustrating.
We have 2 new baby goats since the last time I wrote, each was born on a Sunday, 0ne week apart. They have beautiful coloring. I think it is called the swiss alpine look. One is named Greta, the other Rocky.
This week my chores have been feeding the Chickens and the Turkeys and gathering the eggs. Chickens smell so bad. I much prefer dealing with the goats. Did you know that chickens will eat their own eggs. I discovered this after dropping an egg and all the chickens rushed to it. You would never have known an egg had fallen. Monte says that sometimes they like their eggs so much that they will break them on purpose.
Chickens are a great weed cleaner-upper. You leave them in a couple of rows where the crop is already done, they eat the rest of the produce of those rows along with all the weeds, they eat the bugs, and they fertilize the soil for the next thing you plant. I am all for weeding less. (wink wink)
I helped out at the farmer's market this week. It is in someways funner than doing the deliveries because there is more going on, but to tell you the truth I think I prefer the deliveries.
On the way home from the farmer's market I saw the Lord's hand so many times blessing us. Let me tell you a little back round to these miracles.
First... Monte was gone this week doing a High Adventure with all of the 14-15 year old boys in the stake. So because he was gone the car instantly had issues. On Tuesday we discovered a flat tire, however 2 of the girls who come and help out knew how to fix that.
On Thursday on the way home from deliveries and the market the car started smoking like crazy. So we pulled over to the side of the road. Laura's brother Steve was with us and said "Someone who knows Laura is going to pull over and give all of the girls a ride home."
We had plenty of ice-water in the back that had been keeping the milk cool. We had a couple vegetables in the trailer that one could just munch on, and I had a book with me. How can this Day possibly get any better?! Oh and Laura's father-in-law was on his way to pick us up and get the car help. Well after waiting for about 15 minutes this car pulls over. Steve instantly said "There is the ride for the girls." I didn't think so, I thought it was just some person pulling over to see if they could help, then I saw the person get out of the car and who should it be but this lady who comes over every Wednesday to help us harvest. HOW CAN THIS DAY POSSIBLY GET ANY BETTER?! Steve had been right that was our ride home. Everyone got home safe. I know that the Lord was watching over us.
It is now late and I must go to bed so that I can arise EARLY in the morning. ttfn!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Almost a full week on the Farm
Even though it hasn't been a full week it feels like it has been.
First off... I will probably only be posting something once a week. Likely on Thursdays.
Second... I will not have any pictures until I can load them on the computer which might be a while.
So now onto news from the farm:
Work begins at 5:00am. My chores for this week are...
I got to peel artichokes today and get them down to just the heart, and get all the fur out of the centers which is apparently the "choke" part of an artichoke.
5 Gratitudes for 6/7/2010:
1. I am thankful the Lord answered my prayers and sent a gentle breeze the whole time we were working outside.
2. I am thankful for how yummy fresh goats milk tastes
3. I am thankful for new friends
4. I am thankful for the muscles I am now discovering by how painful it is to move.
5. I am thankful for the cold of Rexburg now.
Day 2:
My body is getting used to waking up at around 4:45 each morning. It's like my inner clock knows it is time to wake up I just want to resist it though.
When baby goats drink milk they wag their tails. I have decided I LOVE BABY GOATS!!!
After the morning chores we went to pick Mulberries. For some reason I always thought mulberries grew on bushes not trees with branches so high you need a ladder. On the way there I saw Peacocks cross the street. Who would have thunk that one would see such a sight. Back to the berry adventure. Mulberries are REALLY YUMMY! I like them even better than Raspberries (gasp in shock) maybe even better than huckleberries (horror). Laura left Kylee, Bethany, Amelia, Jennifer, and me picking and she went to do something else. Well... while she was gone we ran out of mulberries we could reach; so we all became savages or Indians with berry stripes on our faces. Kylee even picked up a feather and put it in her hair. Kylee's camera was in the car so when Laura came back we got a picture. I will send you the picture eventually. Kylee is quite adventuresome. As we were getting in the car to go back to the farm we saw a black and white striped snake slithering over the path. Kylee caught it with her bare hands.
After berry picking we came back to the farm and harvested tomatoes, squash, and onions. I feel kind of like a turtle compare to the other girls. In the time it took me to pick 10 onions they had all picked 20+.
5 Gratitudes for 6/8/2010:
1. I am thankful for rides on the tractor up and down the hill to the farm. (this only happens when we have chores. The tractor is taken down to carry the full can of milk back up, and someone can stand by the driver or sit in the scoop thing. I don't know it's technical term.)
2. I am thankful for naps in the afternoon
3. I am thankful for good yummy food. (I think my body is adjusting to not having sugar.)
4. I am thankful to be clean. ( I took a shower this afternoon and it was so refreshing. One can get so dusty and sweaty in only a matter of minutes when you are doing farm stuff.
5. I am thankful for clean socks
Day 3:
Today I helped harvest Swiss Chard, Squash, Beet Greens, and Green Beans. It was a busy day today because tomorrow everything goes into the baskets and to the market. There are 90 + shareholders who each get a basket. The rest of the stuff is sold at the farmers fresh food market.
If you looked at my hands right now you would think that they were dirty, however I have washed them several times the brown just remains. I keep thinking of hobbit fingers every time I look at my hands.
Today while we were sorting and washing what we had harvested. Sandy and Porter (two people who come and help on Harvest day) had to go back down to the field during one of the hottest parts of the day to pick some more Swiss Chard; because some of the ones that I had picked didn't look that pretty (thanks to Chicken pecking, and accidental holes that my fingers caused as I picked them.)
5 Gratitudes for 6/9/2010:
1. I am thankful that I just read Ether 12 especially verses 25,37
2. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father's love for me, and the manifestation of this love
3. I am thankful for new memories to always look back on.
4. I am thankful that my body is adjusting to little or no sugar
5. I am thankful for the knowledge I am capable of doing everything on the farm. I just need to learn how to do it.
Day 4:
This morning was crazy! We were frantically filling the baskets and loading the trailer to head to Las Vegas. (about an hour south of Overton.)
When we reached our destination we set up the farmer's market table (the market is from 10:00am -1:00pm.) then I went with Monte Bledsoe to deliver the baskets to 3 locations.
5 Gratitudes for 6/10/2010:
1. I am thankful for the experience I had.
2. I am thankful that I felt more comfortable in Las Vegas this time compare to how I felt when I was there 2 years ago
3. I am thankful to finally be able to post something about the farm on this blog
4. I am thankful for how much I earn each week
5. I am thankful to go to bed early tonight, well earlier than usual
First off... I will probably only be posting something once a week. Likely on Thursdays.
Second... I will not have any pictures until I can load them on the computer which might be a while.
So now onto news from the farm:
Work begins at 5:00am. My chores for this week are...
- Feed the goats, (which consists of giving the nanny goats 9 flakes of hay, and the billy goats 4 flakes of hay.) ( did you know that the big bushels of hay divides into sections called flakes. This was something new to me.) There are a couple mama goats and some kids that are too big for bottled milk now. And there are four billy goats.
- Feed the pigs ( 2 flakes of hay and 2 scoops of corny stuff that also is fed to the chickens.) There are only 2 pigs.
- (This is my favorite chore) Feed the 3 baby goats. (Bottle of milk.) The baby goats names are Dolly(she is all white), Mapleine (she is white with a brown area all over her back half that looks like someone poured syrup on her) , and Franswa (He is my favorite. He is white and black, and he has two knobs that will be big horns someday.) I have decided that if ever I get two baby goats I will name them Patrica and Poloco (after the book by this person called G is for Goat.)
I got to peel artichokes today and get them down to just the heart, and get all the fur out of the centers which is apparently the "choke" part of an artichoke.
5 Gratitudes for 6/7/2010:
1. I am thankful the Lord answered my prayers and sent a gentle breeze the whole time we were working outside.
2. I am thankful for how yummy fresh goats milk tastes
3. I am thankful for new friends
4. I am thankful for the muscles I am now discovering by how painful it is to move.
5. I am thankful for the cold of Rexburg now.
Day 2:
My body is getting used to waking up at around 4:45 each morning. It's like my inner clock knows it is time to wake up I just want to resist it though.
When baby goats drink milk they wag their tails. I have decided I LOVE BABY GOATS!!!
After the morning chores we went to pick Mulberries. For some reason I always thought mulberries grew on bushes not trees with branches so high you need a ladder. On the way there I saw Peacocks cross the street. Who would have thunk that one would see such a sight. Back to the berry adventure. Mulberries are REALLY YUMMY! I like them even better than Raspberries (gasp in shock) maybe even better than huckleberries (horror). Laura left Kylee, Bethany, Amelia, Jennifer, and me picking and she went to do something else. Well... while she was gone we ran out of mulberries we could reach; so we all became savages or Indians with berry stripes on our faces. Kylee even picked up a feather and put it in her hair. Kylee's camera was in the car so when Laura came back we got a picture. I will send you the picture eventually. Kylee is quite adventuresome. As we were getting in the car to go back to the farm we saw a black and white striped snake slithering over the path. Kylee caught it with her bare hands.
After berry picking we came back to the farm and harvested tomatoes, squash, and onions. I feel kind of like a turtle compare to the other girls. In the time it took me to pick 10 onions they had all picked 20+.
5 Gratitudes for 6/8/2010:
1. I am thankful for rides on the tractor up and down the hill to the farm. (this only happens when we have chores. The tractor is taken down to carry the full can of milk back up, and someone can stand by the driver or sit in the scoop thing. I don't know it's technical term.)
2. I am thankful for naps in the afternoon
3. I am thankful for good yummy food. (I think my body is adjusting to not having sugar.)
4. I am thankful to be clean. ( I took a shower this afternoon and it was so refreshing. One can get so dusty and sweaty in only a matter of minutes when you are doing farm stuff.
5. I am thankful for clean socks
Day 3:
Today I helped harvest Swiss Chard, Squash, Beet Greens, and Green Beans. It was a busy day today because tomorrow everything goes into the baskets and to the market. There are 90 + shareholders who each get a basket. The rest of the stuff is sold at the farmers fresh food market.
If you looked at my hands right now you would think that they were dirty, however I have washed them several times the brown just remains. I keep thinking of hobbit fingers every time I look at my hands.
Today while we were sorting and washing what we had harvested. Sandy and Porter (two people who come and help on Harvest day) had to go back down to the field during one of the hottest parts of the day to pick some more Swiss Chard; because some of the ones that I had picked didn't look that pretty (thanks to Chicken pecking, and accidental holes that my fingers caused as I picked them.)
5 Gratitudes for 6/9/2010:
1. I am thankful that I just read Ether 12 especially verses 25,37
2. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father's love for me, and the manifestation of this love
3. I am thankful for new memories to always look back on.
4. I am thankful that my body is adjusting to little or no sugar
5. I am thankful for the knowledge I am capable of doing everything on the farm. I just need to learn how to do it.
Day 4:
This morning was crazy! We were frantically filling the baskets and loading the trailer to head to Las Vegas. (about an hour south of Overton.)
When we reached our destination we set up the farmer's market table (the market is from 10:00am -1:00pm.) then I went with Monte Bledsoe to deliver the baskets to 3 locations.
5 Gratitudes for 6/10/2010:
1. I am thankful for the experience I had.
2. I am thankful that I felt more comfortable in Las Vegas this time compare to how I felt when I was there 2 years ago
3. I am thankful to finally be able to post something about the farm on this blog
4. I am thankful for how much I earn each week
5. I am thankful to go to bed early tonight, well earlier than usual
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