Baby Pictures

Reflections

Today I am sharing some of the pictures from our Grandson Jackson’s photo shoot last Sunday. My sister was the photographer and the letters that spell out the word “ONE” mark Jackson being one year old. Jackson’s actual 1st birthday was June 15, but since he was born premature he has now reached the adjusted age of one year. It is expected that by the time he reaches his second birthday in June of next year that his development will have caught up to his age.

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Jackson is no stranger to the camera.

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He has a curiosity about everything he sees.

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He is a happy baby.

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With a smile that can light up the world.

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The joy that this little miracle brings is immeasurable and we thank God for his health and happiness.

Our Harvest Picnic

Chickens, garden, garlic, garlic scapes,, Honey, Pond, Reflections, Sunflowers, The Farm, , , ,

Sunday we invited friends and family to the farm for a picnic. While many of those invited could not make it for various reasons everyone who came seemed to have a great time.

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My husband added some seasonal decorations to welcome our guests.

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The bees wasted no time finding the sunflowers he picked.

 

The chickens roaming around, pecking and scratching, added to the ambience.

 

As summer nears it’s end Black Eyed Susans, Hibiscus and Phlox continue to adorn the farm.

When we host guests this time of year we like to make it a harvest party that includes foods from our garden. Included in yesterdays meal was potato salad – with homegrown potatoes, celery and chives along with our farm fresh eggs; apple crisp – with apples from our trees; pickled garlic scapes  https://donteatitsoap.com/2017/06/15/a-year-in-growing-garlic-part-viii-garlic-scapes/ ; and my garlic and dill chip dip https://donteatitsoap.com/2015/08/14/simple-and-fun-recipes/ . We also had fresh lettuce leaves and sliced tomatoes to top the burgers which were made with locally raised grass fed beef.

While I took many pictures of the scenery before our guests arrived I somehow forgot to take pictures our guests and the activities they enjoyed.IMG_3200Trooper played in the pond early in the day, but later on some of our young guests enjoyed catching perch in the pond and building sand castles on the beach.

I also neglected to get photos of my brother-in-law flying his remote control airplanes. He brought two planes and was able to use the path which we keep mowed around our back field as a runway. He also brought equipment that enabled him to allow others to participate. It’s called buddy boxing. To really explain buddy boxing you probably need someone who understands technology better than I do, but since I’m the one writing I’ll tell you my simplified understanding of how it works. Two transmitters or controllers are linked together and set to operate the plane. The student’s controller is allowed to operate the plane unless the teacher feels the plane is in trouble at which point the teacher has the ability to override the student’s system and take control of the plane.

I think this is a great way to be able to teach kids, or even adults, who want to learn to fly remote controlled planes without having to worry about damaging the plane or endangering objects, people or pets on the ground. Pete was certainly a great teacher and the kids had a great time flying the planes.

Other activities included greeting everyone with hugs, catching up with friends and family, most of whom we haven’t seen in a year or more, my husband gave garden tours and showed off the huge, mammoth sunflower which came up as a volunteer this year. “If it’s not the biggest sunflower you’ve ever seen I’ll give your money back,” he told people. Maybe he should have charged because everyone agreed that it was the biggest they had ever seen.

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While it wasn’t a homegrown water melon, it was among the produce that our grandson (and future farmer) Jackson, enjoyed. He also got excited about watching the chickens eat corn on the cob.

Some guests left with garlic and some with honey and several left with regrets about having to leave so early and hopes of returning soon. It was a great day filled with friends, family, food and love and we are grateful for all those who visited.

Unfortunately we were so busy and having such a great time that we forgot to hold one of our planned events. The rock picking contest. Participants were to be given a milk crate, shown to one of two areas that have been plowed this summer and told fill their crate with as many rocks as possible.  Cash prizes were to be awarded. Oh well guess we will be picking up rocks this week. 😉

Okay, I’m just kidding about the rock picking contest, but we will be picking up rocks this week. Have a great day.

 

A Great Weekend

Reflections

The weather was perfect for the Saint Clair County Farm Museum Harvest Festival. Not too hot, not too cold, no rain, partly cloudy and light winds – the kind of weather you can really enjoy being outdoors, especially at the beautiful Goodells Park.

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We set up our tent and tables early Friday morning and were immediately greeted and welcomed by people we had met at last years event. We enjoyed everyone stopping by and shopping. We talked about bee keeping and honey; growing, eating and peeling garlic; and we answered questions about soap making and which soap is our favorite and why. Even though attendance at this years event was low, interest in our products and what we were doing was high.

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Garlic Peeler

We had lots of fun demonstrating the garlic peeler and many people found that they needed one.

Regrettably I didn’t get any photos of the antique farm equipment, that was being displayed and demonstrated, to share here.

I do want to send a shout out to Leslie from 107.1 Q Country radio. My husband met Leslie last year, but up until Saturday I only knew her voice on the radio. It was a pleasure to meet you Leslie.

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Another shout out goes to Lester the goose, who strolled nicely around the grounds with his friend Donna, letting strangers pet him and posing for pictures. I’m not really sure if Lester uses the internet but after seeing him walk  around on a leash it wouldn’t surprise me if he reads this and then shares it with all of his peeps on twitter.

As we get back to work, clipping, cleaning and sorting garlic to go to market, we want to say a great big “Thank You” to all of the wonderful people who we spent time with this weekend.

Harvest Days

Reflections

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This weekend you can find us at Saint Clair County Farm Museum Harvest Festival at Goodells Park in Goodells, MI. Find event details at the links below. On the facebook page you will need to scroll down a ways to see a schedule of event that will take place there this weekend. We will be selling soap and skin care products, garlic and various other items. If you make it out to the festival be sure to stop by and say “Hi”. We would love to see you there.

http://www.bluewater.org/main/EventInfo?EventScheduleID=2460&Name=St.%20Clair%20County%20Farm%20Museum%20Harvest%20Festival&Community=Other

 

https://www.facebook.com/sccfarmmuseum/

Gone Fishing

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Recently we have been spending some of our evenings fishing in our pond. When we stocked the pond we wanted fish that were good for eating, so we chose catfish, perch and walleye. We also put in a few pike and lots of fathead minnows.

When we tell people that we have perch and walleye in our pond we get mixed reactions. Those, like me, who know little about fishing and fish habitat take us at our word. They have a simple “that’s nice” attitude about it, but it is not a big deal. More seasoned fishermen, however, have one of two reactions. Some are extremely interested in how we have accomplished this. They begin asking questions like how deep is the pond (20+ feet), what kind of structure have we put in it (piles of rocks), we talk about using the windmill for aeration and the sandy bottom in the beach area that provides habitat for perch to lay eggs. Other knowledgeable fishermen don’t believe us. “No Way!” is their reply when we say we have perch and walleye in the pond. It is their belief that ponds like our only support bass and blue gill.

After catching a 15″ walleye on two consecutive nights I decided I needed to start taking my camera with me while we were fishing. Since then all we have caught are perch. We have been catching perch as small as 2″

IMG_3112 This photo is a close-up of the small fish in the next photo. It is a bit deceiving.

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We have also caught perch as large as 9″.

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While catching a large fish is always exciting, catching the small ones is confirmation that the perch are reproducing in the pond. We have yet to catch a small walleye, so it may be that the environment is suitable for walleye to live but does not meet their needs for reproducing.

Now I did say that we have only caught perch since I started taking my camera along, but like every good fisherman I do have the story of the one that got away. We were catching only small perch that evening, so it was a shock when the large fish hit my hook. It hit hard and fast (as walleye do) and I caught only a glimpse of the fish as it neared the surface attached to my line. My husband immediately realized my shock. “Don’t panic” he said as he reached to help me set my drag. Then, as quickly as the fish was on my line, the line snapped and it was gone. That’s my story; a true story. I am not asking you to swallow it hook, line and sinker because a monster walleye already did.