Coming Home

I still need to update here about the amazing trip Valerie & I had to the Black Sheep Gathering last week. But for now I feel like I came home to a whole new back yard.

First, our patio and pergola are complete. Yay! It's just begging for patio furniture and some grapevines and other landscaping.

I was showing off our new set up to the neighbor yesterday when we meandered into the garden to find several overripe cucumbers. Honestly! I checked a week ago and there were two little ones. Now there are a ton that will have to go to the chickens!



Here's a view of the East garden this year. It is nightshade central. We have tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants. Special guests include basil, lettuce, chamomile, coriander, hibiscus, volunteer squash, pole beans and sun flowers and amaranth.


Our west garden has some butternut squash, pumpkins, melons and beans. Oh, also some chives, volunteer potatoes and mums. I have a potential plan to till this in and plant pasture for a couple of Shetland sheep. Still thinking about that. Darn cute, they are!!


I harvested some goodies from the yard today. Looks like we'll be having stuffed zucchini, pickles and cucumber salad this week. I think maybe some grilled eggplant too!


I decided that while I was hanging laundry and messing with the garden that it was time for some yard appreciation. Here is my plant barn with a butterfly bush in the foreground. I aspire to paint the chicken house theses colors too someday.


Our red flame grapes are busting out. I sneaked a taste this morning. They are crisp and tart but feel like they will sweeten up beautifully. This gives me hope for my pergola plans!


My sunnies!!!


Artichokes are delicious and beautiful.


I'm lacto-fermenting these pickles. Cukes, garlic, dill, coriander and grape leaves from the yard. Everything else came from the store. But, hey, it's not like we live in the spice islands. We're doing pretty good considering!



We also have ripe donut peaches!!! These guys are amazing and will all be eaten within days,


And this little plumb was my morning snack. I feel so lucky. It was insanely perfect just off the tree.


Moving to this house has provided so many great experiences and a ton of yard food in addition to great neighborhood kids. It's not perfect and I'm no Martha Stewart ... But it is uniquely Rancho Wilhelm and a happy place at that.

Location:The. Back Yard

Big Day for Amira

Amira has been wanting to get her ears pierced for years. Finally after demonstrating some responsible behavior, for months in a row, we decided this was the time. I told her that when I got back from the Black Sheep Gathering that we would make time to do it.

Tonight Valerie was spending the night at a friend's house and Rex had back to back volleyball and scouts. It seemed like a good time to take Amira out for her special event.

We went down to Clair's at the mall where Valerie got her ears pierced three years ago. It was great timing. Amira hopped right up on the chair, picked out a sparkling pair of posts, got the schpeel about leaving these posts in for at least 6 weeks and cleaning them 3 times a day then went for it.

Naturally I forgot my camera/iPod. Poor third child! So, I took these photos of her ears when we got home:








Well, I sat down to put those pix in the blog when Amira and her friend, Madelyn, came out to tell me they had a problem. Amira said she was messing with her earring and it came out. Neither of them could get the earring back in. Ugh!!




Back down to the mall. The lady at Clair's cleaned up her ear and tried to push it back through with no luck. So, she had to call her manager to get permission to re-pierce her ear.




This time I had my camera:








The real story came out later. Apparently she wanted to take out these earrings and put in a different pair ... Regardless of the rules that were set out initially that she had to keep these in for 6 weeks. Giiiirl!

Location:The Mall

While some people were out bagging ground squirrel for a cattle farmer (saving the lives of cows ... Temporarily I assume) others had to hold down the fort.






Mmm! Trophy squirrel ...





Since it wasn't a sweltering inferno today as it was yesterday, I was able to do a bit of pinching and weeding in the front herb and flower bed and hang out some sheets to dry. Honestly, the laundry I hung out yesterday actually spontaneously combusted by 10am. I decided to duck and cover under the shelter of the AC. (I know what you people in Phoenix are thinking: Wuss!) okay, yes.

Amira had her doppelgänger, Eily, over for a sleep over last night. Once Eily went home, she found some time to play with Precious (as we refer to my amazing iPod. I've even got Siri in French! Apparently my enunciation still sucks because he's like, "What?!")






Anyhow, I harvested gobs thyme and some calendula. I'm thinking of making my own healing salves instead of dropping coin down at the co-op.


Echinacea and roses were begging to be cut back and placed on the table. Really dresses up burger night!




Other delights of the season involve gaping at the bees that dive into the blooming artichokes like clown fish in anemones. I found this cool fuzzy black spider with white spots lurking about. I shall call him Spot. (It's true, I'm not allowed to name the pets anymore).




Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the last Camp Kelly Hefeweizen found lurking in the garage fridge. Thanks, Scott! You are an awesome brewmaster (yes, both Scotts, but you know who you are).




And the rest of the family is playing in the dolphin holding tank.




This week we are supposed to get the pergola installed and the concrete sealed. I wahoo! Looking forward to a summer with some shade out back. And looking forward to planting grapes and other amazing things to canopy our back living space. Yay!!! I love pergolas. Thanks to my sweetie for staining ALL THAT WOOD.

Location:Squirrels, herbs, pergolas

Huntin Ground Squirrels

Squirrel stew for dinner tonight.





I hear they are going out again tomorrow. Hey! Squirrel sandwich for lunch!




Remember Rat Race?

YOU

SHOULD

HAVE

BOUGHT

A

SQUIRREL!!!

Medieval Games

Valerie's 6th grade class studied the medieval period this year. A culminating activity for them was to participate in an exhibition with other Waldorf schools in Northern California.



Students were divided into Shires and demonstrated some skills for the king and queen. Here's Valerie dancing across the pontoon bridge. She made it look easy.


She had good form on the javelin.





And what an archer!


She slayed the black dragon!


She crossed the swamp on a pole.


But decided to go for a refreshing plunge.


Mmmmm! Leaches!


At the end of the day she was knighted.


Meanwhile the parents horses around. You can see the executioner caught up with me .


Here's Valerie's class with their tabards they made with their personal crests.


Up close you might be able to see her crest is of two rats that look like Cookie's & Cream in a yin and yang pose.


Huzzah!

13

First off, I must update you on the Useless Cat:




Valerie came home from school today and reported, "Okay, there are two things on my bed. I find one of them disturbing."

I don't blame her. That cat drags in all kinds of foxtails and itchy things.

The skull is a souvenir from Michael & Rex's hunting trip today. They said that thing was coming right for them. So, not the wild boar meat they were hoping for, but not empty handed.

Today Rex officially turned 13. We have an actual teenager in the house. Michael and I cannot even remember our 13th birthdays (although 12 and 14 can be recalled) so we snapped a few photos for posterity:











He requested a cheese cake. I made it with eggs from our chickens and honey from our bees. On the side was a strawberry rhubarb compote that was also harvested from our yard.

In fact, at dinner tonight the salad and artichokes came from our yard and were served with a homemade mayonnaise (also compliments of our hens).

So, when Rex was in my belly I was still eating canned tomato soup and tater tots. 13 years later we are harvesting as much food out of the yard as possible. We've come a long way ... Baby!

Thank goodness for Rex and his sisters for this grand adventure.

Useless Cat!

Let it be known throughout the land that Mr. Whiskers (aka: Steve Austin, the $6 million cat) is utterly useless! He woke me up at 2:30am to go outside. Darn cat.

At 6:15am I stumbled into the kitchen and put on water for tea. I turned to get a glass of water when something sprang out of the garbage disposal toward my face. Naturally I screamed. I stood staring at the sink for a moment wondering if I had just imagined that. A dark gray shape sprang back up toward my face and fell back into the sink again. "Mouse!! Mouse!!! Mooooouuuuuuse!!!" I screamed in the hopes that someone would come rescue me. Who? Oh, you know, one of my children. They are so brave!

I never thought of myself as the type of woman who would shriek at the sight of a mouse. I think it was the combination of the utter surprise, followed by the suspense of wondering where it would go, would there be others? And then the larger issue: We have mice!

So, I screamed again, "Valerie!!! Mouse!! Mouse!!!"

Now, normally it's difficult to get the girls out of bed for school in the morning. But when Valerie heard her name followed by the word "mouse" out she ran. "Oh, it's one of those little jumper mice," she said. We discussed catching it and she put on some leather gloves as I ran to get a box. "What ever you do, Mommy, do not turn on the garbage disposal. It is already really wet and scared." With the authority of someone who has years of experience with these situations she took charge. "I need a flashlight. Okay, I can see he has lots of food and water down there, so he'll probably hide out a while. I'm going to have to go in after him. How much will you give me if I catch the mouse and turn it loose in the field down the street? $5? Okay."

And the next thing I know, it was done.

Later in the morning she was taking some scraps out to the chickens and came in to inform me that there is a squished mouse under the hinges of the nesting boxes in the chicken house.

Mr. Whiskers, you are so fired!