Buy Locally!!!!

Well after having yet another nasty, mealy, store bought, supposedly 'Vine-ripened' tomato, I'm done! I am soooo ready for summer to get here so I can get some real ones. That tomato was so bad, I ended up throwing it to the chickens...chickens will eat just about anything. Of course they devoured it like they were starving...like I hadn't just fed them less than 30 minutes ago. I swear they have hollow legs or something.

I popped back onto this site Local Harvest. They have listings of farms, CSA's, farmer's markets, etc in your area with a listing of the goods many places offer. Driving an hour for some tasty organic/naturally raised beef is so worth it. Besides, for my kids, since we homeschool, taking a drive out to someone else's farm is just another field trip!

Since I'm not planning to put a garden in this year due to some other plans we hope to have going and being that the garden area is currently being occupied by the Hereford calf, I was on there looking for a place that sells organic produce. I found a local farm nearby and can't wait to head down their way later on this summer.

Buying locally is great! Your assured to get fresh produce, you can see how it's been grown, your supporting local business and making new friends...what could be better than that. You'll be eating better too. I'd like to start selling the lambs we've started raising. I only have two ewes, but they have given me a wonderful start! We also found that we love lamb home grown...that store bought stuff is way too strong for my tastes and who knows what's in it unless you buy organic, which can cost you a bit, but I still recommend buying the best you can. After all you are what you eat.......

Vikings...

We are loving the study of the Vikings. It's funny how the kids will take the time period we are studying and really expand on it during their own play. We have a Viking helmet in the dress-up box and it's worn regularly...though the children now know that helmet wearing by the Vikings wasn't as common as it is portrayed to be. Since the era of the Vikings came almost one thousand years before the industrial revolution. No factories meant that any metals would have to be hand-mined and hand-melted; a costly and time consuming task. Therefore helmets were probably only worn by the richest, most important vikings. Also archeologists haven't found many of them preserved at the larger burial sites. They have found many swords, shields and other battle gear though.

On another note...B said to me last night, as I was reading some posts about winter gardening on a site I visit: "Mom, I like reading the stuff you read...it's so interesting". I think I was reading about adding compost to a garden and what different materials add different nutrients. Atleast it's something worthwhile that she's gleaning information from. Not enough people seem to be keeping gardens anymore. Atleast she finds that more interesting than other kids her age: what teen celebrity is wearing what or dating who, who's in rehab now or playing in what movie...that just bores me to tears! I'm so glad she isn't into that sort of thing; it's so superficial.

The Winter Garden...

I've never really planted a winter garden. I just never seemed to get to it, plus we always needed someone to come out and till the big garden and I'd forget to call someone in time.

This summer we did a smaller garden-although I said I wasn't doing one at all...I say we, but really it was just me with a little help from the kids. 'Someone' here said he'd help me tend it this year if it was smaller and sort of pushed me to do it with that proclamation. Well he tilled it a couple of times after I dumped a bunch of manure and dirt in there to add to the soil, and he tilled it after it was weedy and done producing, but that was the extent of his help...And he wonders why I don't believe him when he says he'll do something (insert rolling eyes icon here). I didn't hardly weed after the first couple of times because he who I'll not name, didn't want to come help me weed it...

Well anyways, the kids wanted to try some winter gardening this year and so I hoed up three rows with the kids help and we planted broccoli, cabbage, romaine lettuce, brussell sprouts (I don't know why I did those! I don't remember liking them really...we'll see I guess) and some radish seeds thrown in for good measure since both Jacob and I love those.

I want to pickle some of our eggs soon. I've been looking for a recipe online that was similar to one we had when we were visiting Amish Country . They were soooo good there and I think I may have found a few to try out.

My friend called me and let me know that she had a bread order for me...10 loaves! My goodness! I'll be making bread all this weekend. That's good for me though since they are good and I sold those loaves at $3.00 each! More money in the kitty for the barn! I have to go pick up flour now and some more yeast. I am going to look online and see if I what it'll cost me to buy in bulk quantities. This is another of those reasons that I wish I lived more near the Amish. They always sell this type of stuff in bulk at their stores and at a good price. I hate the stores here that want to charge you $3.50 for a 5lb bag of wheat flour and sometimes when you get it, it's got bugs in it! UGH!

Planting radish seeds...