I know I've been a bit quiet lately. It's not because there hasn't been much going on...it's the opposite actually. Below is a glimpse into our summer thus far.
(back garden)
During a weekend of company, there was a cherry pie that was overlooked in the fridge. Having been inspired by this friend, I chopped the whole pie up, gently stirred it into slightly softened vanilla ice cream and refroze it. I might just bake pies to chop them up from now on. Swoon.
Speaking of zucchini, we've discovered baked zucchini fries. Cut them into spears (slicing away the seeds), coat them in beaten egg and dredge them in seasoned bread crumbs. Bake them on greased cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees (or until they start to brown) then dip them in ketchup or tomato sauce (as you're eating them). My six year old even likes them and that's saying something.
While our blueberry bushes are producing a small handful of berries every few days, it feels like a tease so we went blueberry picking. I am so thankful for pick your own places that don't spray. And we lucked out- the morning we went was cool and cloudy and the patch was empty. We were able to pick along side the owner- a sweet, sweet lady- who gave me some blueberry growing tips amid lovely conversation.
Is there anything better than getting to hang your laundry outside? Even if your mama has the clothes pin basket at the other end of the line? I think not.
Peaches. Will we ever get to eat them?! The odds seem to be against us as either we lose the blossoms to late frosts or critters climb up the trees and eat every blessed one the day before we intend to pick. This year, the frosts didn't get them and we wanted to make sure the critters don't either because they are LOADED under all those leaves. So. We saved the tacking strips from our carpet runner on the stairs and lashed them to the trunks. Try and climb up them this year, you greedy buggers!
Do our pigs look bigger to you? While fully pastured pigs do grow slower than pigs raised on grain, it's rewarding to see them fill out and know that they are eating excellent cuisine. In addition to being rotated through four paddocks in their yard, our friends bring us leftover garden produce from their CSA business and farmer's market stand. Below you can see them feasting on summer squash. When they're not eating like people, they enjoy all the weeds we can send their way. Weeding has taken on a whole new purpose around here thanks to them.
And last, but not least, let me introduce you to our new ducks. They are Khaki Campbell running ducks. They flutter and fly as much as chickens or maybe even a little less so. We started with the four you see below but we lost one the very first night, likely to a predator. After an intense game of chase-the-untame-ducks-around-the-yard, we corralled them into the chicken duck tractor where they'll live full time for awhile until they learn to call it home. Then we can hopefully let them out each morning after they lay and shut them in at night.
We've only collected one egg so far (they've had quite the transition) but we hear they're excellent layers. Their conversation is as, if not more, entertaining than that of chickens. If they prove themselves worthy, we may increase their numbers instead of the chickens next spring.
I have two recipes to share that will hopefully come soon...this post is already long enough. I hope you are having a wonderful summer! Here's to hoping the second half will crawl along instead of fly by like the first half has :-).
Blessings,
Jane
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by Roz Chast.
. Beam lays out the history of foster care in New York City as a way of helping us grasp how it has evolved throughout the United States. Dispersed between the history and politics/bureaucracy of it all are stories. I love stories. These stories are of real kids, real foster parents, real social workers and attorneys, and real birth parents. The social worker in me found the non-story sections interesting while the parent and foster mom was enthralled with how the author followed many of the children and families over the years. What happens down the road? What impact does foster care have on these children? I digested the book in small spurts, chapter by chapter. This was in part because of the whole not-having-much-time-to read factor but also because I needed to take it in slowly. It drew me back in each time, nonetheless. If you're interested in the story of foster care, in all it's parts, read this book.
because I was intrigued by the perspective with which it was written. The author is the biological child of a couple who took in over forty foster babies over the course of his growing up years. How did the revolving door of babies in and out of the home impact the permanent children who lived there? And what of these babies? The author talks about his parents, what life was like during those years of fostering, some of the babies themselves (and their incredibly moving stories), and how he feels this type of upbringing impacted his adult life. I won't spoil it and tell you what he thinks...you'll have to read it yourself :-).
. I loved this book. I read it on vacation and had trouble putting it down. I think I liked it so much because I could relate to Kathy Harrison. Not because I have 13 years of experience fostering and not because I've fostered close to one hundred children in that time but because the reasons she does foster care are reasons I strongly relate to. The first chapter or so that describes their life pre-foster care parallels ours- living out in the country, growing their own food, raising animals, etc. She's a homebody who wants her family to eat healthy, simple food and she's drawn to babies in need.
and the second Herrick Kimball's 
. Both books are a series of essays/blog posts-turned-chapters. This made it easy to jump from one book to the other and allowed for interruptions without making me lose reading momentum.
is an eccentric lady who lives in an upside down house. All the parents in town end up calling her because she can fix their children's behavioral ailments using some very creative treatments including "The Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure" and "The Answer-Backer Cure" and "The Selfishness Cure" and "The Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders Cure" and so on. My kids, between giggling, were pretty embarrassed to hear how awful some of these behaviors sound when read about- how familiar they sounded was the embarrassing part. This book was highly entertaining and very sweet.
is about a boy and his adventures in the quaint little town of Centerburg which include how he and his pet skunk help catch some thieves and what happens when his uncle's donut maker contraption goes haywire. It, too, was delightful.
I learned so very much and Sam did, too. Sam is almost 10 years old and I would say that would be an accurate younger end to the age spectrum for this book. The author explained concepts very simply, but it's still a lot to take in.
is delightful. It's a quaint story about an orphaned girl who lives with two different sets of relatives. While she's loved dearly by both, one allows her to blossom and realize how much potential she has. Both Sadie (almost 7) and Miriam (3 1/5) scurry to my sides when I begin to read this one. I adore it, too.
is included in Sadie's 
