U-Pick Strawberries

On Saturday we drove about 35 minutes away for some good ole fashion strawberry pickin'.  It was hot, but definitely memorable, and we came home with a load of red berries.

Listening to instructions from daddy on what and where to pick.

Looking for the reddest berries.

Phew, it was toasty - see Amber's pink cheeks?

Investigating the strawberry...

...consuming the strawberry.

If it weren't for Scotty and Micah, we wouldn't have this much!

Phew, flushed but focused!

The girls picking (and eating)...

Strawberry muncher and stomper!!

9 quarts, and headed home in the air conditioned van. :-)

First Harvest and Other Young Life

We've already begun eating from our garden!! We've been snipping spinach leaves every couple days for about a week now.  And just tonight we found our first green bean and ate it raw!!  We're kinda geeking out - we're finding this whole garden thing pretty cool. :-) Aside from eating off the land, we have discovered other wildlife around, which has been super fascinating and exciting for us too!

We found a cottontail bunny and put it in a spare cage.

Micah named him "Spotty" after a book character we just read about.

After learning more about cottontails, we located a nest with several bunnies in it!!
We then learned it was best to release "Spotty" back to his habitat (see kids doing so above). 

Micah and Scotty caught a Garter snake - but he got himself
out of the 5 gallon bucket before I could see it!

We found a nest of baby birds in an evergreen tree.

Our neighbors found a robin's nest in their bush...

...here's a zoomed out picture - hardly noticeable!

Pruning and pulling "suckers" off our tomato plants.

First bite of our first spinach leaves!

Spinach from our garden!

Kids snacking while I was weeding this weekend.

Scotty fertilizing our plants for the first time tonight.

Our weeders (Noah showing the weed stash in the bucket).

Our cantaloupe is starting to flower - yay!!

Green beans are coming in!

Our neighbors said corn should be knee-high by the 4th of July - our corn is
already beyond that height and we're still 3 weeks out from that holiday, sweet!!

Our garden is growing, PTL!!!

And here's our "Sweet Honey Pumpkin" (a nickname she's had almost since birth).

Field Day!

On Friday Micah and Joy participated in a homeschool field day with roughly 60 other kids.  Noah and Amber stayed by my side while I helped lead the 6-year old team.  There was tug-of-war, 50yd dash, 100yd dash, long jump, relay race and long jump.  It was a great day to be out in the warm sun and exercise their athletic skills!

Joy in the 50yd dash (on the right, blue skort)

Water break.

Micah was on the green team (7-8yr olds).

I helped with the blue team (6yr olds), Noah was my helper (in front).

Red team (5yr olds) doing a team cheer.

Micah getting up after long jump, moms measuring distance
(he tells me it was 98...we're not sure if that was centimeters or inches) ;-)

Micah in the 50yd dash (in the middle, green shirt, baseball cap).

Placed 2nd in 50 yd dash (for 7-8yr old boys)!

Joy (and Micah) got a "Participation Award."

Garden Update

We have had some full evenings and weekends of garden "stuff" since we planted our seeds in a peat tray 5+ weeks ago.  Scotty and I have dug out a garden plot, we transferred our seedlings from a peat tray to planter cups with potting soil, we started composting, and just last night we began to plant in the ground!!  Everything provides such an opportunity to acquire new skills and learn so many new things, and the kids are right there with us learning and lending a helping hand.

Busting up sod (Scotty used an edger to make a grid)

ROCKS - we dug all these out of the ground.

Micah being helpful watering the seedlings in the peat tray...

...Middle two being helpful playing amiably, and Amber sassing her heart out.

Seedlings transplanted from peat tray to cups.

Going outside for sun...

...All tucked in at night in case of frost.

Scotty made a 2-compartment compost bin from pallets.

Our neighbor helped us get a free load of rich and fertilized top soil.

Putting our first plant in the ground - cherry tomatoes!

Girls chilling out while Scotty and I plant.

Tomatoes, spinach, carrots, green beans and broccoli are in!