The Heat!

The heat!! Goodness the weather is always the unknown when gardening. 3 years ago the spring came early but so did the fall. 2 years ago it was just a cold summer. Last year the spring was cold and wet! Barely saw the sun at all till mid-June and while the fall was nice, it came too soon.
Each year we've planted, something different is affected by the weather. Last year the biggest plant affected was the bell peppers we planted. They had enough sun to turn green but were about 20 days short of sunshine to turn orange and red.

This year the heat has killed the beans, the soup beans that is, yet the onions are growing like crazy and so are the tomatoes (though we've never had a problem with them and always have more then we need.) The cucumber plants aren't growing quite as good as they did last year (they liked the wet cool spring) and I'm not sure what the potatoes are doing under ground but the top sides don't look so good :-(

I have  LOT of respect for those way it was before grocery stores. If my zucchini plant doesn't give me one, I can just go to the store and buy one or order seeds for next year from someone else and not worry about harvesting my own seeds if the plants don't grow. Or even for those in many countries who live and die by what the weather does and how it affects their crops.

Bitter & Sweet



Our mouse chasing crew



It is Always a bit of a challenge to leave the city and come back to the farm, especially when returning from Minneapolis. We don't know Milwaukee enough to have that feel familiar when we visit, but Minneapolis feels like home in so many ways that it is hard to leave.

Each year we've been here it gets easier as we have friends here now (though those took a while to find) and our little farm is more and more home as we've done improvments all over the outside to make it "ours" (and so far the landlord doesn't mind). And of course this is the only house Trinity knows as home. 



Time to eat peas



It is a joy to watch her run outside with complete freedom to be a kid. She plays with the outside animals, has a very loyal dog that comes to her when she whistles and even when she doesn't, veggies she eats from the plant & fruit she can pick herself. Riding the lawn mower with daddy is a MUST in her mind.

I often looked at this place through her eyes whenever I question our move from all things wonderful and familiar to a land of strangness and vast expanses without buildings or good ethnic resturants...



OHHH And for those who Minneasotans that want to know.. YES! Trinity is growing up a Packer's fan. It is just unavoidable around here.. Sorry ;-)