Olivia, figs, and potatoes

As promised, I have definitely been slack with blogging since the arrival of sweet Olivia. Even without much produce coming in right now, we have been swamped here on the farm. There is the ever so time-consuming task of three daughters ages three and under. I have been enjoying my time off work by trying to do some things that are so hard to find time for with working 40 hours a week. The girls, our friend Allison, and myself took a trip on the Light Rail in Charlotte. The family, except Mary Claire, visited the Nature Museum in Charlotte as well.

The one thing we do have coming in now is FIGS! Lots of figs. So... fig preserves time! I made a batch with cinnamon in it that we have been very much enjoying.


I am also getting an opportunity to cook a little bit. Last night's dinner was accompanied with some home-grown okra and some roasted fingerly potatoes Allen grew. This was our first year doing potatoes and they turned out great.

Updates

It's been two weeks since Olivia joined the family, but it already feels like she's always been a part. Mary Claires LOVES holding her as often as we will let her. Emma is super sweet about telling Olivia how much she loves her. We are definitely adjusting well to being a family of five.

Sadly, the heat and dryness (along with the new baby) has brought our garden to a bit of a stand-still. The second planting for the summer did not quite happen, but the fall planting has begun. We are still getting a little here and there, but should be back in business in another month or so with some fall produce.

Today's task - Allen is making and canning salsa. A bit larger of a task than he expected.... the pot has ended up huge! We are looking forward to some good, homemade salsa all winter long. Thank you Granny and Papa for the extra tomatoes!

Olivia Jane Lowrance

Born July 22, 2010. 7 pounds, 10 ounces. 20 inches long. Perfect.

We cannot wait to share pictures of our beautiful new addition. Be on the lookout for them once we make it home from the hospital! Thank you to all our friends and family for the out-pouring of love and support as we have completed our family. We love you all.

Thursday morning, Allen and I will be headed into the hospital bright and early. Hopefully within a few hours, we will have sweet baby Olivia in our arms! Assuming all goes as planned, we will be returning to the farm on Sunday. A big thanks to Allen's parents who are coming in from Raleigh to take care of our kids, our animals, and our garden while we are gone (although I'm sure Allen will sneak home at LEAST once to make sure all is running smoothly!). Please keep us in your thoughts as we complete our family. We look forward to introducing all of you to Olivia in the near future!

Impending addition

I have become a slack blogger and unfortunately, it will probably get worse before it gets better! Within the next few weeks, these two girls will welcome number three to the farm. Three girls ages three and under -- Allen and I are in for a crazy ride! Please bear with us over the next month or so as we make the adjustment from a family of four to a family of five!

Support local!!

We are finally up and running our own "mini CSA". We are offering $10 assortments of whatever the garden is currently gracing us with. Just call ahead and let us know you are coming to pick up! You can come weekly, every other week... whatever works for you! We love sharing what we are doing with our community. Bring the family out - take a look around. For an addition $3, add a dozen eggs to your order.

And now... a few shots from the garden!

Black bean and corn salsa

One of our favorite things to eat is black bean and corn salsa. Let me tell you how much better it was when practically everything came out of our garden this time around - the tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, bell peppers, and of course, the corn!
Home grown tomatoes... a beautiful sight.

Cilantro. Yum.

Early corn - super sweet raw in this salsa, grilled, or boiled.

Does it get any better than this?! Some lime tortilla chips and we are in business!