Summer Garden

We've been gettting produce from the garden for about 6 weeks now, and our tomato harvest this year is just wonderful.  This is our best year for tomatoes since we began having a garden (about 4 years ago).  They are everywhere!  We're getting beans and cucumbers as well.  We planted zucchini, but they haven't produced a single actual zucchini yet.  Lots of pretty leaves and male flowers, but every female that shoots up withers away a few days later.

But, let's celebrate tomatoes!

Farm Day

One of our local farms at the farmer's market had an open farm day a couple of weeks ago.  So we went.  JV Farms in Bismarck, Arkansas has a wonderful small farm where they raise cows, hogs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, bees and a couple of old dogs.  They also had berries, vegetables, and flowers.  I got a chance to see the potato patch where my potatoes come from.  What a great thing!

We took lots of pictures and got a lot of inspiration for our own backyard garden.  They let us sample the blueberries and blackberries right off the bush...and they were wonderful!

We eat the eggs from these chickens...

We had a great time and got to know some of our local farmers a little better.

Growing the Garden

We have a pair of bluebirds in our yard

We've had a small vegetable garden for the past 4 or 5 years now.  We grow tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, lettuce, and carrots.  We're ready to expand the size of our garden, in order to grow more of each vegetable.  But, I'd also like to add some new veggies.  We've considered some peppers, corn, maybe a melon of some kind.  Anyone have a favorite veggie or fruit?

Photo of Historic Williamsburg garden

Our herbs have always done really well.  We've got a monster rosemary bush that just keeps going and going!  We also have sage, russian sage, thyme, german thyme, pineapple sage, oregano, sweet basil, cinnamon basil, and dill.  I definitely want to add some chives next year.

It seems the older I get the more I enjoy being in the garden, and eating from the garden!

A Change in Attitude

I'm starting fresh with a new blog, here. Sometimes it is easier to start with a clean slate. I'm leaving my old blog Lamplight and beginning a new start here.

I'm drawn more and more to cooking and gardening these days. I'm sure there will still be some sewing and knitting around here, just not as the main focus anymore. And of course, everyone I know is interested in helping the budget go further!

So, let's go!