Bees and Blossoms

Wow, time sure zings along! We've been down at the farm working most every day but Sundays. The strawberries are growing and the flowers are doing well. Since our mowers are pitching fits, the field grass is very high. We are getting a lovely show of wildflowers throughout the field since I haven't been able to keep it cut. I always wanted a field of flowers and now I've got it! Those bees have been busy!

On Saturday, I was mowing with the push mower (while it was still cooperating) as the drive areas and paths needed attention severely. While I was mowing the bee yard, I accidentally bumped the pallet the beehive is on and got stung for the first time. Of course, I broke all the rules so it was my own fault. It was a cloudy, rainy day (sunny day, happy you, happy bees!). I had no protective gear on. I had a loud, noisy machine near the hive (calm, quiet movements near the bees). I had the wrong colors on (wear white, white, white!). And I should have stopped after bumping the pallet but I wanted to get ONE MORE strip done and that's when I got it! Listen to your instincts. Listen to that inner voice. God gave it for a reason!!

And then as I was trying to move away in a slow, calm manner (while trying to get the bee biting me off my eyebrow) I thought of that bee giving it's life for the safety of the whole hive. That reminded me of Jesus. Yep. Right there in the midst of the very mad bee stinging me. I had all these thoughts whizz through my brain. Thanks Jesus that you cared so much for us that you laid down your life. I know you rose again, too, and that's the difference between You and the bees. We know the outcome of Your Sacrifice and instead of death, it's eternal life!

Harvest is on the way!

OUR FIRST RIPE TOMATO

Picked fresh from the vine 6/23/09!

When you can taste the harvest, it is truely a great delicacy. This is our first ripe, red tomato from a seed we started back in Winter in our window boxes. This is absolutely the earliest tomato harvest we have ever had ... and was it ever delicious! At the farm, there are a couple more tomato plants with small tomatoes on them and some plants with flowers. With this high heat week, we should be eating more tomatoes real soon.

Even though today was a scorcher, I went to the farm alone, to plant the remaining plants that were in our greenhouse. Now, all the tomato plants are finally in the ground. I no longer worry about the ones that get leggy as I plant them in a furrow, leaving only about 5-6 inches of the top showing. This is a good trick as roots will grow all along the underground stem. No staking necessary!

The strawberries and corn have doubled in size over the past two days with the increased heat wave. Keeping things well watered can be a chore, but I am watering in the evening so the plants can have time to absorb the water before the baking sun comes up again. Sometimes, it feels like a desert there.

With all the primary seeds finally planted, we can tend to some other activities. It has been a tough, back breaking Spring, but I can say that the family all pitched in when needed and got it done. Many hands make light work, that's for sure.

I've ordered 150 Wopper strawberry plants to arrive after April 15th, 2010. When things are sold out early the year you want to plant them, it's never too early to get next year's order in.

We'll do our best to tend to the blessings we have for this year and wait on the LORD for a bountiful harvest.

Planting and Then Some

This image was taken by our 14-year-old daughter of a hummingbird that lives at our farm. There are now three of them.

Today Hubby and the older youngins headed out to the farm to do some more planting. It seems strange to be planting some of these things at such a date on the calendar, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. It's up to God now.

They planted:
* Early Yellow Summer Squash
* Zucchini
* Sugar Baby Watermelon
* Table Queen Squash
* Cantaloupe
* Butternut Squash
It has definitely changed over to summer here in the Upper Peninsula! We've now been in the high 70s to 80s for the past few days. When it's prudent, some of us stay home with the littles so they can stay healthy instead of baking in the field. When planting and such slows down, we have a few building projects to consider:
* Nicer entry gate to farm
* More secure/permanent entries to orchard/garden space
* Shade from the elements for littles, for resting and picnicking
* Log shed (either vertical or log-end)
* Permanent log greenhouse
I've heard it said that when you have your own place, the work never ends. Truer words...but it sure is worth it to see the family working in unity (mostly), being visually reminded on a regular basis that we are indeed dependent on God, seeing actual progress and God's Hand working on our behalf, watching things grow (including the children and adults) and seeing the former pasture/hayfield gradually being changed to a "farm" yielding abundant fruit for ourselves and others.