Squash and zucchini

Squash and zucchini are officially coming in... by the bucket-full! Unfortunately, I am camera-less this weekend, so you will have to take my word for it! Today Allen picked 2 buckets. It was a beautiful sight, but there is no way we can eat that much before it goes bad. My afternoon involved lots of chopping, grating, and blanching. I froze some of each - our first "freezing" of the year. I look forward to being able to enjoy it all year long.

If you are interested in purchasing some organically grown, local squash or zucchini, let us know! We also have basil, oregano, and mint available.

Almost there!

What a beautiful sight.... the garden looks like it will bust any moment now with all kinds of produce. Makes my mouth water just walking around and seeing everything growing...

Zucchini. Looking forward to sauteing a few of these bad boys, blossoms and all. Should have some big enough within a day or two!

Corn. Need I say more?

Radishes. These and the huge amounts of mint we have growing have inspired us to try a new recipe.... Orange, Radish, and Mint Salad. We will see how that goes tomorrow.

Garlic. Which we also have randomly coming up in our front yard. Oh well - the more the merrier, right?! Hopefully this year will will have enough to last us through the winter.

Our first season of raspberries! The girls have already been enjoying them.

And down comes the rain!

I don't know that there is a better sound to a farmer than that of the rain finally letting loose after a bit of a dry spell. After 24 hours of occasional thunder, the sky has finally opened. Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!

Feeding time.

I looked out the window yesterday and saw Emma feeding the chickens... in a velvet dress, "pearl" necklace, and Easter-style hat. Emma has already learned the importance of always looking one's best.

Mary Claire and I couldn't resist going outside to join her. Emma is very dedicated to her farm work! Mary Claire is just happy to get to join in.

I am definitely a lucky mom. Happy Mother's Day!

Baby chicks

Today one of the black silkies successfully hatched 8 new baby chicks... but they are Buff Orpingtons. Allen switched out the eggs since our last hatching were silkies that we are still working on selling. The second silkie is still sitting on her eggs so hopefully we will have more baby chicks soon. The one day old baby chicks look so cute running around their fluffy surrogate mother.

Belated vacation pictures

Just a few random shots from our trip to Beaufort, NC.

Some pictures from an old cemetery near where we stayed...

Around the house....

Pre-boat ride and at the beach...

Now we are settled back in and back to the farming. Currently on the top of our list is researching and visiting breeders to start our herd of Belted Galloways as well as more work in the garden. Allen has definitely been busy with taking 5 days off the farm... that's an eternity in farm life! I imagine that will be our last non-farm related trip until at least a few months post-new baby Lowrance!

Stepping off the farm

The Lowrances have left the farm! But only temporarily. We are currently taking a little time off in peaceful Beaufort, NC. So far, Farmer Allen has gotten to be Golfer Allen. And me.... well, I'm still "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy..." We have enjoyed some beautiful weather that will hopefully stick around the whole weekend. Pictures to follow when we get back to Rock Hill.

Thank you to Granny for noticing that Farmer Allen forgot to turn off the sprinklers before we left. And here he was worrying about the garden not getting enough water. I don't think we need to be concerned with that anymore!

Oh, and anyone need eggs? We have a plethora.