Flowers on the Veggies...the hard work pays off

  

The weeding, the watering, the tender care, it all pays off. As our plants continue to grow and flowers bloom, we know harvest will not be far now.

We ate our first fresh beans last week. Yummy, what a treat!

 Flowers on the potatoes too. We are keeping the rascally potato bug away!

 My handsome garden partner.

And my adventure of taking on  another garden plot has been very rewarding in many ways. If you missed my post about my new adventure of  taking on another garden and my blessing of my friend Marv, please click the following link.

My New Adventure 

And I will have another fun Endevour to share with you soon.

How about you? What is your favorite fresh from the garden...can not wait to eat...veggie?

Birch Flower Pot

 My son Atticus made me the following garden pot.

He made it with the help of his grandma and grandpa. 

It is White Birch. Grandpa helped him peel the bark from a White Birch tree that Xcel Energy cut on my parents land. They shaped it into a planter and secured  it with wire to dry.

I planted hens and chicks inside of my new planter.

Thank you, Atticus, it is perfect for my rustic garden.

A Journey West

 Hello Friends,

I am on the road this week.

Off on a journey to visit a dear friend, who we have not seen for a long while.

The photo above was taken in 2009.

Forever Friends

We lean on them when times are tough. We turn to them when we can't find our way. And we laugh with them over life's little joys. They are our best friends, our soul mates, our precious gifts from God.

 

 We will be seeing lots of the good old United States. I love to watch how the land changes as we head West. 

We are heading to Great Falls, Montana.

The mighty Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana.

 I hope to see some fun animals along the way.

Mule deer, antelope .... and?

Wishing you all a great week.

 

Thoughts on Saturday

July is National Ice Cream Month

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day, which this year will be celebrated on July 20.

He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious food that is enjoyed by a full 90 percent of the nation's population. In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the U.S. to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."

People in this country do eat a lot of ice cream ~ the U.S.  ice cream industry generated total revenues of $10 billion in 2010, with take-home ice cream sales representing the largest section of the market, generating revenues of $6.8 billion or nearly 68 percent of the market's overall value.

About 9 percent of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream.

Source: www.idfa.org.

Are you going to have ice cream this weekend?  

What is your favorite ice cream?

 

 Have a great weekend!

I'll Fly Away

Over the 4th of July weekend we Celebrated the Life of my grandma.

My sister had the idea of doing a balloon relase at the end our our ceremony.

It was a beautiful time.

 We are walking out to the field to release our balloons. Each family member got one to release.

 Getting ready to release.

 I'll Fly Away

I'll fly away old glory

I'll fly away

When I die hallelujah by and by 

I'll fly away

Some glad morning when this life is over,

I'll fly away

To a home on God's celestial shore,

I'll fly away

When the shadows of this life have gone,

I'll fly away

Like a bird from prison bars has flown

I'll fly away

Just a few more wary days and then,

I'll fly away

To a land where joys will never end,

I'll fly away

 I love how my Aunt Sharon is waving good bye in this photo.

 To every follower of the Lord,

there comes a time when they'll hear God say,

"Welcome Home!"

The sound of those two words at journey's end is something

every traveler longs to hear.

It means you're in a place 

where you are fully embraced,

appreciated, and enjoyed.

Most of all, it means

you're in the presence

of those who'll love you forever.

Roy Lessin

Deer in the Garden

Yes, we have deer in the garden. So far they have not eaten anything. We just find their tracks along the gardens edge.

 Our trick of keeping the deer out of our garden has been Marv's Deer Solution or as my husband calls it, Marv's Deer Juice. He also drew the fun deer on the jug. Our boys just laugh and laugh when they look at dad's art work. :-)

If you have deer trouble in your yard or garden, try the following recipe. It has worked well for us.

Marv's Deer Solution

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 TBSP dish detergent

1 TBSP cooking oil

Add everything (except dish soap) whip on high in blender. Let settle, add dish soap, put into a gallon jug, fill remaining with water. Let solution sit in the sun to get stinky.

Spray plants and watch the deer walk past.

You must spray again after a rain and the plants are dry.

Do you have a deer solution that works for you?

 

On the Road Friday ~ Marieke Gouda ~ Holland's Family Cheese LLC ~ Thorp, Wisconsin

Welcome to, On the Road Friday.

This week Jeremy and I had some business in Marathon City, Wisconsin. Our drive took us past a brand new creamery in Thorp, Wisconsin. We decided to stop in on our drive back home.

I am so glad  we took the time to visit.

And now I will take you...sit back, grab your tea and let us take a trip.

Marieke Penterman was born and raised in the Netherlands where she grew up on her parents 60 cow dairy farm. This is where her passion for dairy  cows and farming began.

Her husband Rolf, emigrated to Thorp, Wisconsin and started a 350 cow dairy farm with his brother in May of 2002. Marieke followed Rolf a year later.

Once in the United States she missed the cheese from back home and began researching how to start her own business. Marieke decided to get her Wisconsin Cheesemaking License. She worked with a local  cheesemaker and traveled back to her home country where she trained alongside two different cheesemakers  throughout the week.

Just four months after Marieke crafted her first batch of Gouda, she captured a gold award at the US Champion Cheese Contest in 2007!!

Dozen more followed including her biggest win thus far, the United States Grand Champion in 2013!

 Me, holding some Aged Gouda to bring home for the boys to try.

  

Holland's Family Cheese will hold an Open House on July, 26, 2014

Alice in Dairyland will be one of the many fun guests at the Open House.

 Holland's Family Cheese Shop has a fun collection of gifts, candies and other treats imported from Holland.

The business started with only one person helping Rolf and Marieke in the creamery. Today the crew is made up of 13 women and 3 men.

 A tour of the milking parlor.

 Exceptional milk makes impressive cheese.

Holland's Family Cheese thanks their cows for that. 

They take pride in caring for their cows, with love and respect. It is a code they live by on the farm. They have the cows relax in a sand filled  free ~ stall barn. They have rotating back-scratcher brushes, sprinkler systems and fans to keep them cool. They like to call it the Cow Spa. Guests are welcome to visit the cows anytime.

 Cheese!

Combined with farm fresh milk and traditional herbs, spices, seeds and berries gathered by hand in the Netherlands. Each wheel of cheese  is carefully aged on Dutch pine planks, honoring the Old World cheese making methods.

 

 I found this notice interesting.

 I love the siding on the buildings. 

Jeremy says, "It is called, Board and Batten"

 

If your are traveling on Wisconsin State Highway 29 this summer, be sure to take time to stop at Holland's Family Cheese LLC.

And it is a great place to stop with kids. This fall they plan to have a corn maze too.

FUN, FUN, FUN!

Thank you for taking the trip with me today.

Have a great weekend.

Carla

 

June and July

In June comes summer's longest day,

Now meadows smell of new - mown hay.

Hot July brings picnic joys,

Firecrackers for girls and boys.

Tasha Tudor

 

Family, Food, Fun on the Water...

How did you celebrate the 4th of July weekend?

We enjoyed time with family and friends.

We ate lots of good food, watermelon, cantaloupe, cherries, s'mores....

We got to head out on the water and take a canoe trip.

We also celebrated the life of my grandma who passed away in January. With all our family together for the 4th of July weekend, we celebrated her life.

I will share some of what we did in future posts. 

It was a blessed time.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Happy Monday!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July

Wishing you a happy weekend with extra time to spend with family and friends.

I will be away from the computer a few days...catch up with you all soon.

Have a great weekend!