Frost

We got a frost last night. Our last frost was on June 3rd which means we had 89 frost free days.

Last night I fed the natural leavens ( white, wheat and rye). Hopefully tonight I can make the autolyse (did I spell that right?), and by tomorrow I can make the bread!

We are just heading out to go blackberry picking...bye!

Just for Today

Today for dinner I made a soup that was so delicious! I also made flatbreads. Here are some pictures...

Here I am doing the final stretching just before putting the dough on the peel.

Just getting ready to slide the dough into the hot oven. Oh it is going to be so fun when we have the wood-fired brick oven!

Here's a couple of the breads baking on the stones.

Here are the breads. You can see on a few of them I made holes in them. This is done so they are more decretive and it also makes them extra crispy. Oh Yum!

This is the soup I made. I took the garden veggies and chopped them up then I sautéed them and added tomato puree, water, and beef bullion that David made from our grass-fed steer.

My Day

We just got back from S and R's. I had a nice time with all the children (something I really enjoy doing:-).

The contest at the market is postponed three weeks because of the cold weather the tomatoes are not ripening.

Goodnight!

Good morning to you!

Well I am awake earlier than usual. It's market day and we want to get there nice and early. I'll talk to you later. Have a great day!

Dear Family and friends,

Today is wet (rainy) and the chill in the air is making me think that fall is here and summer is gone. Mama went to pick up a co-op order and then went to town (she's not back yet). Grace is finishing up dinner and I just set the the table. Daddy, Enoch, and Nathanael are outside chopping and stacking wood for the up coming 6 months of winter and snow. I love Michigan weather in the north!

Tomorrow is the veggie contest. I am excited! I will post about it tomorrow or Sunday for sure.

We might go to Steve and Rebecca's after the market. They are having a end of summer get together. I hope we go!

Bye bye!

Birdie and Contest

This evening I was going out into the woods when I saw one of our cats running with something in his mouth. I caught the cat and pried his mouth open. He had gotten a baby bird and it was still alive and it seemed like it was not really hurt. The little bird was so beautiful! It is all grey with bright orange on the end of it's tail. We identified the bird as a baby cedar waxwing. After it was calmed down some I tried feeding it gooseberry pulp and it ate it! Right now it is sleeping in a little cage. Tomorrow I am going to see if i can put it somewhere out of the reach of cats and where the parent birds can find it.

We are not going to go the friday market tomorrow because we want to go to the saturday market instead. The saturday market is having a veggie contest this sat. The different entries are:

• The Ugliest Tomato
• The Biggest Tomato
• The most Monstrous Zucchini

There is a category for ages 4-10, and another for ages 11-16.

Nathanael is entering a zucchini in the first category, Enoch is entering a zucchini in the 2nd category and I am entering a UGLY tomato!!!!

So we all have a chance to win and none of us are competing against each other!

Helping R

I just got back from spending 4 1/2 hours at R's,helping her out with the b's so she could get stuff done. I wish I brought the camera. Jeremiah and Matthias are just SO cute and I probley would have been able to take alot of nice shots that I could share with you on the blog. Oh Well. but, Here are some cute pictures that I took not too long ago that I think you might enjoy!

(`i`)

U

:~) ain't they just the sweetest? :~)

Good morning, Good morning, Good morning,

It's time to rise and shine

Good morning, Good morning, Good morning,

I hope you're feeling fine...

Get up! Get up! You sleepy-head,

Get up! Get up! Get out of bed!

I slept in really really late this morning because I went to bed really late last night.

Just for Today

We all just got back from getting Nate's icecream. Well actually, it was only Daddy and us children. Mama went with to town with Mrs. Pam.

Check out my 2nd blog and please leave a comment letting me know what you think of it!

Here is the link:

http://jesusbeautifulsavior.blogspot.com

Wild Blackberries

Yesterday, all of us children and Daddy went to see if the blackberries were ripe yet. Here are some photos of what we did:

We went down lots of two-tracks...FUN!

And yes, we got stuck, but that is part of the fun.

(Daddy has not been able to put the new wheels on yet!)

The berries are not quite ready yet. There are still lots of red ones.

Nathanael found a cicada,

and Enoch found a salamander!

"...He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul..."

There were lots of mushrooms out there in the woods. They are so pretty, don't you think so?

Cider and Doughnuts

I wrote in my last post that the weather felt like fresh cider and doughnuts. Well today I decided to make fresh apple cider and doughnuts. I went out to our orchard and picked up the apples that had fallen on the ground. I washed them and then got out the cider press. After washing the cider press Me and Nathanael chopped the apples taking turns cranking and tossing apples in. then we pressed them. Altogether we got a little over 3 gallons of cider. I went on-line and found a new doughnut recipe. I made the doughnuts. They looked store-bought(not that I was aiming for them to be that way). When we ate them, they tasted good but they were terribly dense. the cider was so sour that it tasted like it had turned to vinegar already. We dunked the doughnuts in milk and they tasted better, but we did not serve the cider ( it will be made into vinegar:).

I cant wait till the apples are ripe enough for cider. And next time I will probley stick to tried and true doughnut recipe!

Do you ever have kitchen disasters? Or am I the only one?

Is Summer Falling?

We did well at the market yesterday. Priscilla and Emma were there with Mrs. Karen.

It is cold outside this morning. I think fall is on it's way...the weather feels like doughnuts and fresh apple cider. But I know it is not because our sweet corn is just coming on and so are the tomatoes!

My Morning

We are going to go to the market today. Karen just called a little bit ago and they are coming too with their soap and garlic!!!! Goody! I can hardly wait! Rebecca is not coming this time because Steve has off from work today. Well, talk to ya later!

It's SUMMER and I'm lovin' it!

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6

I did more laundry today. I also did dishes. Grandpa D. came and we had a nice time with him. It was moist outside today and towards evening, it started raining really hard. The sky was beautiful!

Up To Date...

Monday:

RAINY! I read 2 books that I borrowed from Olivia(and started the 3rd). Did a bit of laundry. Did a bit of dishes. Help Mama and Grace get the dinner on. Zach came for dinner (he showed us his wheat presentation). We got our ancient heritage seed wheat.

Tuesday:

Sunny, hot. I made pizza dough. Grace made mozzarella. Grace,Enoch,and Nathanael did dishes. David extracted his honey. Mama, Grace,Me, Enoch, and Nathanael all went over to Zach's to pick some plants (wild bergamot) that were growing on the corner of his property. Then as we were leaving, Mama got the truck stuck in the

ditch. Grace, Mama and Nathanael ran down to Zach's house and then he came and pulled the truck out with his tractor. Mama told him he could come over for pizza. Then we drove to go get some more wild plants. We drove down some wild two-tracks and finally came to the spot where we going to pick goldenrod, and hoary vervain. We were right by a little river so us children cooled off for a bit. Then we drove over to the grocery store and got a few things, then came home and had dinner with Zach. After dinner Zach showed Enoch how to tie flies.

One of David's 8 hives.

He extracted from 3 hives and got 133 pounds of honey!

Tie Flying with Zach.

Wednesday:

Sunny, warm. I did laundry. I helped Grace and Nathanael clear out the guest house. Daddy and Enoch went over to the Marilla house and groomed the lawn. Mama went to town to pick up a few things. David labeled his honey. After a good meal of meat on a stick, and flatbreads, we roasted s'mores together.

It only takes a spark to get a fire going

and soon all else around can warm up in it's glowing...

I took a board and set it between the two swings and then

I put a blanket and pillows on it which made a comfy bed!

Chuga, Chuga, Chew, Chew... is that yummy David???

Me, Enoch, and Nathanael all in the bed!

Everyone (:except me :) sittin in smoke, roastin s'mores over the ashes.

(there are coals in there:)

Fun @ Friends

We went to our friends house yesterday (the ones we had the water fight with). Me and Grace fried onion rings with Grace, Olivia, Priscilla, and Emma in the garage. After dinner we went on a bike ride (just us oldest girls). We stopped at Dolly's to say hi to her. Then we went down past our old log home (before we lived there our friends lived there so we were all going past our old house) to the cemetery and back.

Buckley Old Engine Show

We went to the Buckley Old Engine Show on Saturday We had a nice time there. Daddy dropped David,Grace,Me,Enoch, and Nathanael off and than he and Mama went to Menards to get some things. We got there at 3:30 just in time to watch the parade. Then We went thru part of the flea market. David and Nathanael each bought a corn knife and Enoch bought a hatchet.

After going to the flea market, we got some wooden shingles and had the words "BUCKLEY OLD ENGINE SHOW 2009" wood-burned on them. Then we headed over to the water pump for a drink. We saw the B's at the pump and we said hi and bye because they needed to get over to the fair where they had all their animals for show. Then we heard the horns blowing off so we hurried over there. Enoch and Nathanael each got to pull them. I would have wanted to,but there were so many people taking turns and I never got to. Then we went and watched the sawmill. After that we felt like getting something to eat. We did not know what to get because everything looked so processed.

Then we noticed Daddy and Mama sitting on a bench they were eating chicken and pork and everything that goes with it. Daddy gave us some money and we went and got some hot fried potato chips one plate had sour cream and cheese an it and one plate had plain ones.

Then we got 2 Bayou Billy 2009 Tin Mugs filled with sasaparilla pop and one with pink lemonade. The mugs were $7 each, but you can bring them back year after year for dollar refills! After we ate we looked around some more at the different shops and at the rest of the flea market. On the way home we stopped at Nate's and got icecream. When we got home no one was hungry so we did not have anything to eat.

A Family Photo that a kind elderly man took for us.
A down view of part of the show.
The barber shop.
The Chips we got.






This is Nathanael lowing the horns: you will have to tip your head when you watch it because Grace took it on the side.

I brought $5 with me. I spent it on 1 Bayou Billy refill, a wooden snake,and a super super ball.

Grace got another kind of super ball that bounces about 20 feet into the air!

Market Day

Today was another Market Day. R and the b's came again too. We had to go in a different booth this time because we were late. We were late because we stopped at a garage sale on the way. We normally would never do this, but when Daddy saw that that there was a set of tires (and he's been looking for new tires for the truck) he had to stop! Grace got a hat, I got a puzzle, David got a hunting coat, Enoch could not get anything because he was riding with Mama and R. (who were at Mijers), Nathanael dug thru a junk box and found two padlocks that were locked together he wanted to get them but he could not find the key that went with them, and Daddy got the tires set aside and told the man we would pick them up that evening.

This is Our Table

And The Farm Sign (we want to make a new one as soon as we can)

Okay, here is another story.

Before we left I could not find my shoes ANYWHERE! I do have some sandals (Teva's) but Enoch lost one of them when he wore them a couple weeks ago. The one sandal I have was in the van. I decided I would just go bare foot, why not?? So I did. When it came time to go home, I wanted to ride with R. Then I heard R saying that she needed to stop at Walgreens. So I asked Grace if I could borrow her sandals to go into Walgreens. She responded by tossing me my 1 sandal and saying: "Here's this, just hop on one foot".

R told me to go into the store with one shoe on and buy some flip-flops. Thankfully I had on a really long skirt that hid my shoeless foot.

I went into the store....I did not know where to start looking for flip- flops. Then I heard R say "Well Hannah, take your pick!"

This is what I saw. LOTS of sandals and LOTS of 75% off signs!!!!!!

This is what I chose. Normally $5.99 and I got them for $1.50!

I also bought a $10.00 snorkel for $2.50!

All the summer stuff was on sale! I guess I picked the right day to get sandals!