Fruitful Logs

The oak logs we innoculated with shitake mushroom spores finally made mushrooms. I had not done a great job of making sure they stayed moist. The logs were not close to the house and to be honest I would just forget about them. Yesterday Allen and I walked out to check on them and were pleasantly surprised to find logs loaded with dried mushrooms. I would have rather found them fresh but dried is better than none. So far I have had some in miso soup and am planning a creamy soup for tomorrow. I am so happy! I have been thinking about putting together some type of log innoculating party. Maybe sometime before thanksgiving?

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

We Made It!!!

I had two titles for this post- the first is as above, the second was I love vacation and high speed Internet. You cannot believe the difference between dial-up and wireless(? is that what this is called when you can pull up web pages and blogs without doing a load of laundry in between). Anyway it's beautiful here and I am looking forward to a week of sunsets with the boys, even my biggest one who is fishing into the night.

A Mid Spring Walk Through My Garden

This is a Jackson Wonder Butter bean. I have high hopes for this bean. Jared and I planted them on 5/30. We have 3 rows about 10-12' in length. One of the dogs dug a hole in one of the rows. He or she buried an old animal hide Allen had finally pulled off the shed. It was a raccoon he had killed when we first moved out here, it had eaten a chicken or two, we haven't had a raccoon disturbance since.


A view of my koi pond. I love this pond it brings me such peace- that is when the sun isn't blazing above. I have dreams of some sort of trellis or what's that word? is it arborvitae, no I believe its pergola. I have been thinking recently that what I really need is a big market umbrella. My birthday is soon- hint, hint, wink, wink.


Yes I know it's not that much to look at but it makes up for that in its smell. I LOVE Gardenia. Its smell is intoxicating and just about perfect.


This lovely flower is okra in my humble opinion it is the most beautiful vegetable flower. I think it belongs to the hibiscus family of flowers. Okra is one of Allen and Logan's favorite veggies. I know in our climate it is prolific and if you can keep up with it will produce all hot summer long.


I know its just a day lily common everywhere, but I still love it. Its so hardy the dogs and kids just can't kill it. It is almost effortless to grow. It never needs water or fertilizer just some dividing and passing every few years.


This is a new addition from last fall. I can't remember the name but it might be hyssop. It has a wonderful licorice smell that really opens the nasal passages. It's hard to tell from the pic but it also has some pretty cute little orange flowers.



These are my water lilies. My hot water lilies- need I say more.


The bee balm has been outstanding this year. It has grown over 7ft. tall. I am not sure why or where this majestic flower got it's name but I have a feeling its because I have seen the bees just sleeping under the pink blooms. They are in an almost catatonic state, they do not try and fly away when I reach out and stroke them on there backs. You wonder what kind of power the flowers have over these amazing little creatures. Are they drunk with nectar?



This is a volunteer zinnia. I love that name- volunteer -its like the flower choose my yard to grace with its presence. I also love zinnia- its such a great and super easy flower to grow from seed. I like to see them all over my yard.

The Boys and Their New Cousin

The newest member of the family is my nephew, Nathanael Ellis Childs, Allen has already given him a nickname- Nate Dawg. I think it fits since my brother, Ellis, is a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan. He (Nate Dawg) was born May 9,2009 at 2:45P.M. Mommy Amy is doing great and yeah she's breastfeeding. The boys are in love. He is so cute and has all those precious newborn faces. I can't wait to see him again.

Catching Up

A Friday farmhand harvest.


Allen getting friendly with a go-devil at Wise Creek.


OUCH!!!


Logan relaxing in the river.


Jared and his pal Jr. Jared sleeping in.


A bee catching some Z's on a bee balm.


Spring is busy. I've hatched a few chicks- close to 30 and planted a good many plants. I've also had some great Friday Farmhand days. We have harvested pak choy- one of my new faves, it is a Chinese cabbage and much easier to grow than head cabbages. Sauteed with a few onions and it is very tasty. We also picked sugar snap peas, lettuce, broccoli, cilantro, green onions and radishes around the 1st of May. This week we will harvest the last of the peas, do some weeding and finally some long awaited planting. We are still waiting on potatoes,carrots, cabbages and brussel sprouts to mature from our early spring planting. Mid-May I planted several different varieties of tomato and pepper plants, some basil, red okra, Cajun okra and lots of zinnias. I also planted sudangrass in a newly cleared area. The sudangrass will act as a green manure and improve the fertility of the soil. I hope to use this new bed next spring.

All that work is no good without some fun days so last Saturday we went to Wise Creek on the Ogmulgee River. This is such a wonderful place, the boys always have a blast shooting down the river and playing in the sand. Logan snorkels with Allen and his Uncle Stan looking for Native American artifacts, Evan and Jared like to float in the current and sometimes I get to just be and sit and think and relax, it's always a good trip- even the 8 miles of dirt roads to get there are so worth it.

Turkeys and Herbs

Allen got his first turkey of the season on Tuesday- a 16 pound jake. He was very excited and proud as was Evan and the neighbors- David and Austin. I don't share Allen's enthusiasm for hunting. I don't get it - that doesn't mean I don't want to see it done. My husband has a great love and appreciation for the land. He respects nature and does what he does because he loves animals. I eat meat. I like meat. I don't like what I read about the state of meat and meat production in the US. It is disgusting what can happen to animals in our current food chain. I believe maybe hunting can supplement our corn-fed meat consumption which in turn lowers our carbon footprint.
I must admit it was very satisfying to gather the herbs for Allen'a wild turkey breast (he gave most of the bird to some very appreciative neighbors). I used rosemary, thyme and some of my multiplier onions. The meat was very tasty and the kids loved it.
All of the veggies the Friday Farmhands helped plant about 2 weeks ago are sprouting. I also have asparagus sprouting - I will not be able to harvest it this year, it is a perennial crop and takes a few years to get established.
This week Allen picked up my 50 blueberry starts from Helen. I am going to pot them this weekend and plant them in the ground next spring. I am going to plant a cover crop this year so they will have a good start next spring.
You could call this year,for me anyway , The Year of the Soil. Cover crops, green manure, biomass these are my words- my mantra if you will. I will be reading, planting, researching and composting these words. I will try to keep posted my mistakes and successes- in spite of my dial-up capabilities.

Signs of Spring

Jared cracking pecans by the koi pond.

Jared sporting my new sunhat.

Ahh! Blueberries blooming!!!




The tulips are blooming, clothes are hanging on the line, blueberries are blooming and Jared is shoeless. I love spring and all the newness it brings into our lives. I will be attending the Georgia Organics Conference Friday and Saturday. I will actually be spending the night with my friend Maggie. There is lots to do before I go so this post is short, but I think the pictures make up for my briefness.