Bountiful, bountiful, bountiful land

It's been WAY TOO LONG since I last posted. I've been so busy with taking care of the garden and now with canning and freezing. It's almost done! As much as I love this I'm looking forward to just resting and EATING the canned/frozen products. Below are some pictures of the girls helping me.

Yory with some cucumbers. We only got about 25 quarts of pickles before our cucumber vines died one night. Very frustrating. Paulina with some dill.

Lily in pink peeling apples.

Maddy and the twins making salsa.

This is a quesadilla that Lily or Paulina made with the freshly made salsa.

SALSA!!!

Corn, cherry tomatoes, zucchini

Wild plums! We made plum jelly with these and plum sauce for ice cream.

We have our apple "source"!

CAMP SHILOH

The kids left for camp today. Mixed emotions for mom! I will be very busy this week cleaning, organizing, getting homeschool things ready and visiting my husband! We're also planning a day together in the cities! Below are pics of the kids right before leaving for Camp Shiloh in Madison Lake, MN.

Well, it's Lily's and Paulina's FIRST year of camp. They're entering fourth grade this fall, so they now can go to Camp Shiloh. It was very hard letting them go!!! They were so excited though. I hope they have a lot of fun and learn a lot of wonderful things about God.

Progress.

It was hot today! Over 90 degrees and HUMID. The garden still needed "a-weedin' ", but all six of my kids helped me. It's a lot of fun to grow your own food, but it sure is a lot of WORK! Satisfying though, ya know? Here are some pictures to show the progress...

These are a couple of pumpkin vines starting...
We've got a whole long row of potato plants. We planted them late in the season, so they're just starting to comeup. Nice and dark green though!



Below is a picture of corn. It's only about 6-7 inches high due to the drought. We've got four rows of it. Not enough to freeze a ton, but enough to have some great suppers "come fall."

Below is a picture of a zucchini plant. We've got nine bush plants so far. Planted more than that, but some aren't coming up.

These are hard to see. Most are green peppers. Down the row further are Mexican hot peppers. I love putting newspaper down and then the straw. NO WEEDING. We'll continue to do this throughout June/July. We just didn't have enough paper, straw and TIME to do it all at once!

On the right side of the fence in the picture below are green beans. We planted those late too, but they popped up quickly. On the other side of the fence are cucumbers - lots and lots of cucumbers. We're hoping to "train" them up the fence.

My boys made me these wooden frames for Mother's Day. I LOVE them!

In the frame below I have onions planted on one end and parsnips on the other. The parsnips are JUST starting to come. Can't see them in a picture yet.

In the frame below are radishes and dill. The radishes are ALMOST ready to eat!

Tomatoes, tomatoes! Almost all of my tomatoes were from seeds I planted myself. I have sixty in our garden. I gave about 25 away! We'll be swimming in tomatoes by August. Can't wait to start canning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh - and making fried green tomatoes for me and my boys (the girls don't like them).

Another view of the garden.

We put the newspapers and straw down right when we put the tomato seedlings in back in May. Haven't had to weed them yet and it looks so nice.

One more view of the tomatoes!:)

HAPPY GARDENING TO ALL YOU GARDENERS!

Will You Let Him Chisel You?

A Grieving Duck

The following was a devotion I read the other day. I felt led to post this:

A Grieving Duck

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." - Matthew 10:29

A mallard duck was trying to get to his mangled partner. He seemed to wonder why his partner stayed on the road. When cars came, he darted to the shoulder and then started cautiously back toward his mate. When there was a lull in the traffic, he finally reached his partner and lay down next to her. The scene was too precious to disturb. I passed slowly on the other shoulder. In the mirror I saw him stand and then lie down again. The scene passed from view. As I looked up from the mirror, a semi roared past, speeding toward the duck. I wondered if.....

I found myself praying. In my heart I felt like I had seen grief. If you know someone who is grieving, pray for him or her. Some are wondering why this had happened. Some know they must move forward and they want to, but they can't seem to do it. Life has stopped, but it lies in the path of the rest of the world still rushing forward. Change has to be accepted, decisions have to be made, and life has to be restructured. Yet it seems like time, responsibilities, and normal life rush upon them like semis, leaving no more time to heal. Some wonder if they will...

Jesus said that the Father is with each bird as it dies, then He said, "Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows" (Matthew 10:31). In the valley of the shadow of death our Shepherd does not leave us. God is always the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:4). Just as we hurt when we see a tragic scene, God hurts when He sees us weeping and struggling. If you are grieving, may God grant you the mercy and the grace to face each day.

Steven R. Kooistra - Lagrange, IN

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying." - Revelation 21:4