What We've Been Up To

Since going on vacation, we've been working around the farm. Not to say that they didn't work on the farm while we were gone... they did. It's just that we've been working more since we got home! We've been weedwacking, cutting grass, getting ready to put up fencing, planting, cleaning... you get the idea!

A double daffodil - so pretty!!

Joe sharpening the lawnmower blade.

A swallowtail! They're so beautiful.

Crab apple blossoms on a tree in our yard.

Spokane Falls

On Friday, after we went to music lessons, we decided to stop by and see the Spokane Falls! They're really pretty this time of year, since the water's high and fast. Here are some pictures!

It's not two rivers, the river just splits and goes around this Island.

Our shadows from the bridge. (Downriver, of course, where the water is calmer.)

Whitewater.

The kids!

Vacation

Hello, everyone!!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted in forever, I was on vacation!! Mom, Joe, and I took a 12-day trip to Wisconsin and Tennesee to see some of our extended family. Here are some pictures of our trip. Hope you enjoy and have a great day!

•

Wow - this posting took up the whole page!!

Off we go!!

•

Pretty flowers at the garden center in Wisconsin.

Mom and Grammie.

Mom and Grammie at Starbuck's.

Me at the garden center.

Dinner with Aunt Gail.

Mom and me, at lunch with Grammie.

"God made us cousins, love made us friends... we made us partners in crime!" (unknown) JUST KIDDING!! (well, about the crime part, anyway...)

Cool cousins.

If you can imagine how hard it is to take a picture of seven kids and their grandparents... you'll understand the feeling behind this picture.

Me, Mom, Pop-pop, and Joe.

Joe and I at Kopp's Custard!! A family tradition - go to Kopp's whenever you visit Wisconsin!! Too good to be missed.

We stayed one night with our aunt in Chicago. She's lots of fun - and took us walking down Lake Shore Drive to enjoy the scenery.

•

Having fun in Chicago!

Joe's Chicago Art.

Leaving Chicago early the next morning, we drove through Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and finally got to Tennesee.

But, in the meantime, we stopped at a few locations to pick up a geo-cache. I won't try to explain, just visit the Geocaching Site - you'll be hooked! It's such a cool idea.

~

Me and a geo-cache!

Joe on Uncle John's tractor.

Joe, Aunt Elaine, Uncle John, and Mom.

One of Uncle John's young Longhorns.

See the long horns? Isn't that cute?!

Hey!

Farm Art... from another farm!

More Farm Art.

We began our drive back to Wisconsin from Tennesee with extra time. So, (thanks to Joe's great idea!) we decided to visit Michigan! I had never been to Michigan, and Joe had only been once when he was younger. We traveled to St. Joseph, a small, lake-side town just a few miles north of the Michigan-Indiana border. We loved the little town and are so glad we went!!

•

We rented some bikes and rode around for two hours! Lots of fun!

Apparently, this is a pretty famous lighthouse!

Art.

Art.

The shore.

~

Joe at the Firefighter's Memorial in St. Joseph.

The day after we were in St. Joseph, we flew home! We're glad to be back!

Thanks for visiting the blog. Come back again soon!

The Blueberries Are Here!!

THE BLUEBERRIES ARE HERE!!!

•

At this news, probably our biggest news of the year, I am sure that you will be able to imagine our excitement at the arrival of our blueberries!!! They're here - after years of dreaming, preparing, and trusting God! We're SO glad to finally have our berry farm dream start coming true. God has faithfully worked everything out so perfectly, from the big details, like providing us with this (almost) perfect farm, all the way down to the little details of the day.

•

We're so grateful for our wonderful friends who were here yesterday to help us plant. Originally, they were only supposed to have to dig holes for the blueberries, as the scheduled arrival date was today. Well... a few minutes before they arrived, Dad got a call from the truck driver who was delivering our blueberries, saying that he was 45 minutes away! You can imagine our surprise!

•

When the truck arrived 45 minutes later, we attempted to unload it by using Dad's tractor to lift the pallets of blueberries off the truck. Problem was, Dad's old tractor couldn't lift all that weight!! So, he and the very nice truck driver, Joe, handed down about 175 blueberry plants from each box as we loaded them into all the wheelbarrows and carts we could find. When the box was about half empty, Dad's tractor could lift it and we got the first box out of the way and repeated the process for the second.

•

After the blueberries were unloaded, it was time to start planting. Around this time, a light drizzle of rain began. Ironically, rain is the best kind of weather in which to plant blueberries, as it helps the plant take to the new soil without being dried out. And blueberries LOVE water. The light drizzle kept up the whole time - a muddy mess, yet a surprising blessing!

•

Thankfully, the men had gotten enough holes dug that us ladies could start on the planting while they finished. So we did. Sarah would cut the bags open, while the moms popped the plants in the holes and got them ready and at the right height for burying. Roberta and I would shove all the dirt back into the hole, making sure to pack the bush in gently. The little kids raced around and collected the bags the blueberries came out of (In the process accidentally throwing away my camera, which, in it's black case and in a plastic bag looked a lot like a plant sack! No damage, though.) I think that, on average, we each planted 71 bushes!! Almost two whole rows.

•

We finished planting the blueberries in about two and a half hours - probably a blueberry bush planting record!! :-) Now all 500 plants are up in the blueberry field, each one happy and healthy! Thank God! Now you'll have to come visit us to see how they look! We'll have berries in three seasons, so maybe you should wait to come until then... :-)

•

Enjoy the pictures, and God bless your day!

The rows are ready to go!

•

Unloading.

Busy bees.

The hole. Er, one of many holes.

Blueberries in the wheelbarrow.

Handling the bushes carefully.

You might not ever see it again, but this is how blueberries are shipped! So take a good look.

The holes are dug.

The blueberry dream begins to come true! (yes... that is really my hand - it just looks kind of weird because that picture is bigger than real life! in fact - it's about twice as big as real life -which goes to show you how tiny the blueberry blossoms are and how amazing technology and cameras are!)

Aren't they gorgeous?! It's really too bad, but all this year's blooms have to be pinched off so the bush can concentrate on growing this year.

Leaves of promise.

Ready to go in the holes.