Archive for July, 2007
July 31, 2007 – Blackberries!
The blackberries we planted in the spring of 2006 are giving their first fruit this year!
They have a sweet/sour taste that has to be sooo good for you! The row looks very healthy and there are many more on the way. Like most everything we do, we weren’t too sure how we’d like them or ...Read more.
July 30, 2007 – Claire’s First Road Trip
This weekend Grandma Jo took Claire on a road trip to get some driving experience. They went down to Keokuk, in the tiny SE portion of the state that juts into Missouri.
Over the course of a couple of days, Claire drove 11 hours, down to Keokuk and back up the river. Â
One stop was at the ...Read more.
July 29, 2007 – Peaches!
Today is a day to live for – fresh sun-warmed peaches just off the tree!
This is a day we greatly look forward to – we are cheating the range of peaches to get them this far north – and despite the ice storm and late, hard frost, the trees still managed to produce a tempting ...Read more.
July 28, 2007 – A Night on the River
Friday night Linda and I snuck out for some live music.
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Cross Canadian Ragweed and Los Lobos played in an outdoor ampitheatre along the river in Des Moines. Los Lobos, “Just another band from east L.A.” was the headliner. The encore was “La Bamba” and they invited about 25 of their new closest fans up from ...Read more.
July 27, 2007 – Another Summer Thunderstorm
Last night we had another thunderstorm roll through. It seems like the rains this year are farther apart, but are producing more rain per event.
The wind wasn’t strong enough to blow tree branches down, but did do a number on the broom corn. I think this corn is not damaged too much and will pop ...Read more.
July 26, 2007 – Thingamajig Thursday #81
Here’s this week’s Thingamajig Thursday entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
one year ago…
July 25, 2007 – Turkeys Arrive
Ten turkeys arrived this week. We started getting them mid-summer after the first year we grew turkeys we got them in April and had 28-34 lb turkeys!
These gobblers should be 14-20 lbs by Thanksgiving.
one year ago…
July 24, 2007 – First Hazelnut!
We also planted a half-dozen hazelnuts years ago to see how they’d like living at out place They have been very slow to produce – this year the first nuts have appeared.
I’m not sure if this is normal for first fruiting but 4-5 years seems a bit long – we have peach trees that have ...Read more.
July 23, 2007 – Hops Progress
The hops we planted this year are making a tentative start.
The experimental hops we planted this spring are making their way up the trellis. I’ve been rather surprised that we are having a bit of a pest problem with these – as there are not many hops around to breed pests. There are tent caterpillar-like ...Read more.
July 22, 2007 – Dilly Beans
Finally, the finished product – 18 jars of dilly beans.
We’ve decided not to be as stingy with these as we usually are, so we are making more than usual this year. This batch is without hot peppers, the next ones will contain hot peppers. We started making these as in the past (decades now!) we ...Read more.
July 21, 2007 – Harry Potter and the Dilly Beans
Welcome to potions class, high hopes style.
Here are the instructions. Insist that each of the Harry Potter books be read out loud, together as a family. Link farm chores with additional reading. Kids are under the parent’s spells and gladly do work they may normally complain about! Today we read a few chapters while we ...Read more.
July 20, 2007 – Neil Smith Wildlife Refuge
Today we took our out-of-state guests to the Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Learning Center near Prairie City, Iowa.
There is a beautiful interpretive center nestled into a prairie hillside. The site was at one time destined to be the site of a nuclear power plant, but those plans fell through, and it became ...Read more.
July 19, 2007 – Thingamajig Thursday #80
Here’s this week’s Thingamajig Thursday entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
one year ago…
July 18, 2007 – Local Food at High Hopes Gardens
Tonight we had a nearly all-farm meal for our guests, now joined by Linda’s Dad and his wife.
The menu tonight is marinated and applewood grilled extra-thick lamb chops (lamb and herbs from high hopes); less than day-old sweet corn from northern Marshall County; new potatoes fried with fennel and olive oil (potatoes from high hopes); ...Read more.
