This week I have focused on what I call our little urban farm, which really means 3 gardens and 4 chickens in our backyard. We’ve enjoyed it so much and been so eager to learn more that it kind of makes me wonder, how did we get this farming itch? And the answer may go back to the 1940’s in the plains of North Dakota where my father in law grew up.

Earlier this week when we were all together for the 4th of July I asked him if he was raised on a farm. He was hesitant to answer yes and needed clarification. In the sense of commercial farming as a full time income, he was not raised on a farm. They did live off of the land though, which back then was just living, not necessarily farming. They raised their own meat, milked their own cows, and planted their own produce. He shared memories of putting fresh milk in a pillow case tied tight with a stick that would become cottage cheese. He remembers a wood burning stove, a root cellar, and a cantacerous rooster that when finally caught was slaughtered by his mother on the chopping block for Sunday dinner. He remembered that same rooster winking at his mother after being decapitated. She wasn’t able to kill another chicken after that day. Maybe J gets his farming itch from that side of the family.

My mom’s story takes us to a very similar lifestyle half a century ago up on a mountain in Vermont.

My mother was raised on a farm where she recalls growing up with 5 siblings and lots of animals eating whatever was in season. If the corn was ready for harvest then they ate corn until their hair turned yellow, if was beats they ate beats until they were ready to beat each other silly. I too have memories of visiting this farm as a child. One of my favorite activities was swinging from a rope tied to the rafters of the barn and plummeting down onto a thick pile of hay. I also remember sitting down for dinner having my uncle talk fondly of the pig we were about to partake. They were so comfortable with the whole farming process they would even refer to the animal by name as we ate her. I still have family up on that mountain and it is one the most beautiful places I have ever been. I look forward to the day I can bring my kids up there to share the experience with me.

In the mean time I do get to visit the country fairly often when I go up to J’s parent’s house.

They have a lot of land with dogs, cats, cows, and horses. This was the same field we renewed our vows on last year.

I love these photos of our rings positioned on my father in laws old tractor equipment.

Hearing stories from our history makes me feel like I am finding missing pieces of myself. Maybe that’s why we are into this farming thing right now. It’s in our roots.

It all began with a trip to the Library. J got a book called The Family Kitchen Garden and was inspired to plant the garden that he had already dreamt up in his mind. We all planted the seeds together and I had no idea how much I would love the entire experience. It’s like opening a present on Christmas morning when you find a new blossom, bud, or food growing. The cilantro was the first to come up and was ready to harvest within about 3 weeks.

First of all I would love to do some canning. With fresh produce you get so much at once it makes sense to have some of it stored up to last throughout the year. We have canned fig jam and tried our hand at pickling, but I am still a novice and if we want to get serious we are going to need a water bath or pressure canner. Anyone know anything about these? Next we are learning more about seeds and plants in general. It’s all very complicated, but it’s also fascinating and I feel like every little detail shows me a glimpse of our creator. I would love to learn more about the seeds, the process, and the life cycles of what we plant. I am currently working on drying some coriander which is the flower/seed that comes at the end of the season for cilantro. You can use it to cook or plant and I am just learning about all of this for the first time! Lastly, composting has definitely peaked our interest, but we haven’t even begun to explore all that this process has to offer unless throwing a couple tomatoes and a deformed watermelon, into a pile counts. I am sure if our neighbors knew about it they would probably have a conniption fit. Hopefully we’ll figure out what we are doing with all of this when we come back from our vacation. Anyone else try composting or know of any good resources? So that’s where we are at in this little gardening adventure. Not sure what to expect, but definitely enjoying the season we are in.

1. If you do not stop chasing the chickens we are going back inside!

2. Alright, I want you kids to behave yourself while we are at the tractor supply store okay?
3. I think we needed more dill for that brine, the pickles are a bit vinegary.
4. I love the rain. It’s like free water.
5. OMG! Is that the spring 2011 catalogue… of Irish eyes garden seeds.



6. Dinner will be ready in a minute, I just need to go out back and pick some tomatoes and cilantro really quick.
7. Would you mind helping me paint the chicks toenails?



8. This salad would have probably cost 5 bucks if we hadn’t grown it ourselves, no make that $15 because it’s local and organic!

9. “Do you have the thyme?” “Let’s make a dill.” And other herbal jokes I torment my family with.

10. All I need is a milking goat and I will be I’ll be set.

I have been anxiously waiting to share what has been happening in our garden over the past 3 months and I thought this week would be the perfect time to do it. Nothing says America like fresh home grown vegetables (or fast food burger and fries, but that’s another story).

Today we are going to the traditional 4th of July gathering with J’s family and I volunteered to bring burger toppings, most of which will be from the garden. Then I realized I had some herbs that are ready to go and need to be used up before we leave town in a week.

So I found a recipe that uses cucumbers, mint, and scallions (all of which we grow), and bruschetta which will put some of our tomatoes and basil to good use.

I’ll be back later this week to tell more about what we are doing with our little piece of American soil, but for now I’m off to see some fireworks.

Happy 4th of July everybody!

I enjoyed almost 24 hours to myself on Monday. I reveled in the coffee for one, the shopping, the unfamiliar sense of peace and quiet. J even stopped by the house and “caught” me reading my Bible out in the backyard.

He didn’t even interrupt me, I found out about it from my friends who thought it was cute, but they just don’t realize how difficult it is to get alone with the B-I-B-L-E around here.

For example, the first thing J told me when he woke up on mother’s day was that he didn’t get a card. I said “It’s okay. I don’t care about cards. Mother’s day really isn’t a big deal for me.” By the end of the day I was exhausted from playing outside with the kids who had gone inside and tracked mud all through the house and this was after a long list of other things that were a far cry from Kodak moments. J was playing guitar for a Sunday night worship service and I was at home on my hands and knees scrubbing mud off the floor realizing that I DO care about mother’s day!
I wanted to avoid a repeat of this for my birthday so SEVERAL weeks before the date I sent him an email titled “Birthday Wishes” and it stated exactly what I wanted including that I don’t want to go shopping for my birthday, and an amazon wish list for gift ideas. The reason I was so specific was because in years past when he says “how about we go shopping and you can pick out something for your birthday” I hear “I forgot about your birthday and don’t feel like doing anything for you, but here is some money.”
He ignored my wish list and got me a purse because he knew I needed a new one and he knew I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. Ironically, I did find what I was looking for at a thrift store (on the right of the photo below) the same day he found this Fossil bag for me (shown on left)! I told him he obviously did a great job because we both bought almost identical bags and his bag was actually a lot nicer.
I suggested that since I couldn’t take my purse back I would return his and then go shopping with the money. He was shocked since that is the exact opposite of what I said I had wanted. This is true, but really what I wanted was to know that he put forth some effort in finding something special for me, which he did. So now I have a new purse and a bunch of other stuff. Happy birthday to me.