Late Summer/Early Fall

The perfect season.

Summer Star

We find at least one bunny den every summer. The kids peek at the bunnies and have even held them, but we've never tried to keep them. The mother always comes back and the bunnies have all grown and left their nests. This year, however, Kona found a bunny den. Baby bunnies carry no scent to protect them from predators, but Kona must have seen movement or something. The kids were playing in Rollin's "workshop" beneath the trees and all of the sudden there was all sorts of commotion. The kids were screaming, Kona was scrambling, and Rollin came running across the yard cupping something in his hand. Kona ended up eating one of the babies, one escaped, and Rollin caught the third. Their nest was gone. The kids took great care of  "Summer Star" for 6 days. We did lots and lots of research on how to get this bunny strong enough to release into the wild. Sela woke at 4am to her alarm to feed. We talked to the pet store and they sent us home with some puppy milk to supplement. The bunny continued to grow, drink milk, eat alfalfa, and once we felt confident that he was at least 31/2 weeks old (the age we learned that cottontails are completely weaned and ready to head out on their own), the girls took him to an empty field with lots of brush and released him. They were a little sad, but more happy  because the the only place for a wild bunny is back in the wild, and they know this.






Sela and her friend, Lauren, feeding the bunny. They both love bunnies. Lauren came over several days in a row and they pretended they were college students working as animal rescue people. This was part of their job.


This is the field where the girls let Summer Star go.

Our other bunnies, Spotty and Oreo, are getting lots of playtime too. We even took them to a concert in the park a few weeks ago...on leashes. Oreo is a little temperamental, but Spotty is just the best, most docile bunny ever.

Peas & Potatoes

The garden is humming along keeping us quite busy. This is one of the reasons I haven't been blogging lately. That and the weather is pretty amazing right now. Definitely not the time to be sitting in front of a computer. In fact, I've sat down several times to blog and actually have a pretty big post in progress, but then I think of how I should really be picking the raspberries or attending to any number of other things beckoning my attention outside . There are definitely not enough hours in the day right now. But that's okay. However, I know the grandmothers are getting restless and anxious for some photos of their little lovelies, so here I sit on a gorgeous 70 degree sunny and breezy afternoon attempting a brief update.

A few weeks ago we had a big party with the leadership team from Zig's group. I was talking to someone about some of our gardening successes and failures (the party was outside so people were wandering around the garden). I mentioned how much work it was to grow and clean baby spinach and how it wasn't really worth it when you can get a huge, washed organic bag for $3 at Costco. Kale on the other hand, is a different story. I love that stuff and it stays so clean. Anyway, this man mentioned potatoes and said for how cheap they are, it seems like a waste to grow them as well. Probably true, but we do plant potatoes for several reasons. First, you can't get the variety at the grocery store that you can plant. Second, every time we have store bought potatoes sprout, Zig just buries them in the garden box where the potatoes go and they grow new potatoes. And finally, harvesting the potatoes is like a huge treasure hunt for the kids. Rollin spent a couple hours outside with Zig one night digging the potatoes up. He had a ball. So yea for potatoes!


Found another one!




Thank goodness we have a powerful hose to clean these guys up.

Proud of his spuds

Potato Leek Soup made with potatoes, garlic, and chives from the garden.


snap peas and snow peas







Asian Chicken Salad w/ snap peas from the garden (the kids loved this one)

Last Saturday, Zig was doing some work on the computer in his office and I was sitting on our bed reading. Rollin came in asked Zig if he would come outside with him. I knew Zig was trying to crank an important email out, so I was preparing myself to join him if Zig couldn't at that moment. Then Zig asked Rollin what he wanted to do and he replied, "Dad, I just want to walk around the yard with you and look at plants and stuff."  It was the sweetest little interchange. And then I heard Zig get up from his chair and off they went. Rollin loves his Dad so much and I really love seeing them enjoying many of the same things. He looks up to Zig so much.

chase the chickies

Evan wakes up at the crack of dawn. Every once in awhile I take him outside to walk around (and let the rest of the house sleep), see the chickens, and lately pick some berries for an early morning snack. For some reason he went all commando on the chickens today and I had to run grab my camera because it was so funny. I've never seen him saying "hi-ya!" to the chickens before, but it was pretty cute. Now if only I had the energy for karate kicks at 6am! Both videos are very similar, but I thought I'd throw in an extra one for mom, since she said I haven't been updating frequently enough. They aren't in hd so they aren't the best quality, but Zig is out of town and I'm too lazy to change the format this late at night. You get the idea :)

berry good

Strawberry country cake, strawberry rhubarb crisp, strawberry pancakes, and this morning, strawberry shortcake. When it's time to harvest, you just have to drop what you're doing and get it done.  All hands on deck!

Several evenings a week we all head to the garden to try and put a dent in the strawberry patch. We have some nesting bowls and the biggest goes to the oldest and then on down from there. Nina filled hers up quick and was off to play.

Rollin took his time and finished about an hour after everyone else. It's hard when you eat so many!

Four of the six...Zig, Ashley, Sela, and Nina.

Zig thinks he picked the biggest strawberry.


strawberry shortcake assembly, kids running the show.


I think he likes it!

When we make strawberry shortcake for breakfast, we make a simple biscuit and then top it with slightly sweetened whipped cream and the sliced berries. It's not too sweet first thing in the morning.

The biscuit recipe is 1 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 3 tsp sugar (optional), 6 Tbsp cold butter, and 3/4 cup heavy cream.

Combine the flour, salt, bp, sugar. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until the butter is the shape of peas. Pour in the cream and mix gently until the dough just comes together. Roll out the dough and use a biscuit cutter to make eight little biscuits or so. Brush the tops with heavy cream and bake for about 15 minutes or so at 400. Slice and put a dollop of whipped cream on each side and berries on top. I do sprinkle a little sugar on the berries, about a teaspoon, just so they will get release their juices. Yum!

got weeds?

We call them sticky weeds. They grow like crazy, strangle other plants, wrap around the fence, and they are generally just a very big nuisance. They are very easy to pull, though, so I guess that's good. Well, the kids found a new use for the sticky weeds today, and this creative play is the stuff summers are made for. I love it!


It started with petals in the hair.


Then a crown for Nina




And a belt for Sela




Anklets


Bracelets


Earrings

Rollin couldn't resist making himself some accessories

One final shot of the children accessorized in their finest weed creations. Sela would like everyone to take note of her armpit "hair." This was oh so funny to her!! Rollin looks like he is rockin' the belt look, but may have made his crown a bit on the small side. He is staying very still to keep it in place. Good times.

more garden

There are hundreds of bees buzzing around the raspberry plants. I won't even walk down the pathways right now, but these guys have no fear.





Evan standing in between the raspberry bushes and strawberry patch


The bushes are loaded with strawberries, more than ever before.


Zig got the fencing all ready for the sugar snap peas. They grow so quickly and need something to climb.




I picked a few pints of strawberries, but they disappeared. I think I found my culprit.

a sunny sunday

When we came home from church this afternoon, the sun was out and the kids went straight to barn to get the bunnies out. I'm sure the bunnies love summer just as much as the kids. They get so much more attention and more frequent opportunities to nibble grass and roam around the yard. We had planned to go on a little hike after lunch, but the kids decided they just wanted to play at home, and maybe do the hike tomorrow. I sat outside and read while the kids played. I took a few pictures and enjoyed watching as they entertained themselves all day. The girls even surprised me by cleaning the kitchen this evening while I was talking to my mom on the phone. The kitchen was spotless and they even mopped the floors. My jaw dropped when they finally allowed me to come to the kitchen.



My favorite little orange poppies are in bloom all over the yard.

After seeing Nina with Oreo, Sela and Evan went to get Spotty.

The bunnies get very nervous when Mr. Evan comes around, and rightly so!

We try to teach Evan the meaning of  "soft."

Oh gosh. This child is a born streaker. I was changing him out of his church clothes and off he went. He jumped a big rock on his escape to freedom. Enjoy it while you can, little guy!

Later they started doing some body art.

If a little is good, a lot is better. Rollin's motto for everything.

The good ole' spider.

At one point, there was a talent show and they all sang to each other and then asked for ratings.