Results

Well, they didn't turn out the way we thought they would, but they're still cool! The girls were impatient and wanted to stick them in the dryer instead of line drying. The jumble of the dryer combined the colors and bled into all of the excellent white from tie dyeing. They're still happy with the results and have talked about doing it again! If they're happy, I'm happy. :) 

(Sorry about the terrible pictures and the messy house!) 

Tie dyeing the natural way.

The girls and I wanted to have some fun this week, so we decided to tie dye some clothes. (Nothing says summer like pots of dye in the yard. :) ) Instead of buying expensive kits, we pulled some beets and picked some blackberries around the block, and grabbed some turmeric and spinach. Basic and bright colors. Red, yellow, and green (although, I'm not sure if the green will work). They will set overnight in the pots and we will ready our fabric with a mordant in the morning. After that, we dye! The clothes will soak a day or two and hang to dry. This is our first attempt at natural dyeing, but I have a good feeling. The girls have been open to learning how people dyed fabrics before the use of artificial and synthetic dyes used today. It's nice to know they now consider the many uses of plants and the natural world around us as something more than just vegetation. 

Whatever our results, I'll post photos soon! 

In Bloom

Cabbage Worms 1 - Smiths 1

Our incessant search for those little green caterpillars paid off. We were constantly on the lookout for cabbage worms and because of our diligence we have a happy, healthy, cabbage! Those tiny green worms eat and eat and eat giant holes in our precious cabbage leaves, so whenever we walk into the house or out of the house we would inspect the leaves and peel the worms off. Most of the time I would collect a few and send one of the girls to the backyard to give the Donnas a treat. Other times, I would just let the greedy little worms meet their demise. 

Last year, we lost this battle. This year we evened the score. 

Blueberry Remix

After picking blueberries and getting some useful advice about rehabbing our own berries, Andy and I decided to get to work when I got home. We were told that ideally our soil's pH should be at a 4, and if it reaches a 6 it can be brought down to a more acidic pH. However, if it reaches a 7, we are outta luck and should start over. Our berries haven't done well after the initial transplant. It had berries while in the pot, but once it was planted in the ground it lost momentum. We tested our pH and what do you know? A 7! Off to the nursery we went. We opted for a 50% sphagnum moss, 25% original soil, 25% finished compost mixture plus a dash of this, that, and love. The plants are looking healthy and great, but it's only been a week or so. We'll get a better picture of our hard work in a few weeks. We'll continue to test and attempt to lower our level if we start to elevate. Hopefully, we can control it and eat our own berries next season. Fingers crossed! 

Blueberry Treats

The girls and I had a great time picking blueberries with Grandma R and our friend, Alix. Our share to bring home was two gallon bags full of large, ripe blueberries. Alix passed along a great cobbler recipe and I found another recipe online for a yummy blueberry lavender butter. Both were super delicious and extremely easy to make! I am pretty sure these recipes are keepers. 💙

However, I may need a canning refresher soon because lately my seals have been leaky and I'm nervous to keep them shelved. The seals "pop," but I still pass the jars along to friends, neighbors, and family to enjoy before they (possibly) spoil. I'd rather share our harvest than suffer from botulism. Wouldn't you?! 

Introducing...

The Ninja Turtles, Master Splinter, and Shredder! 

Matilde and Evan had fun picking five new broilers and a turkey this week. We lost the other turkey to what we think may have been a bird of prey. Our Mr. Bowling enjoyed roosting high, so we will be sure not to wait before clipping Shredder's wings. By clipping a bird's wings it grounds them. We haven't done it to the Donnas or any of our other birds but none have wanted or attempted to fly out of the yard. Anyway, the NInja Turtles and Master Splinter are Cornish Cross chickens. We will harvest their meat around Labor Day. As for Shredder, he is an American Standard White turkey that will grow between 25-30 pounds by Thanksgiving! I am so excited and will do everything I can to keep this guy alive and well fed until November. 

Thank you to Bradley Farms in Puyallup for ordering the bulk quantity birds and sharing their skills and knowledge with other farmers around the area! www.facebook.com/thebradleyfarm

A long day...

After six hours of visitors coming and going, we are wiped out!  Andy ate, took a bath, and remained here for about an hour before moving his nap to our bedroom.  I think we had about the same steady turnout as we had for last year's tour. There were first time visitors, returning visitors, visitors from as far as Eugene, OR, and local WS people too!  All had positive things to say and lots and lots and lots of questions. Surprisingly, we had an answer for just about every question!  We had a lot of fun and even hosted teachers from both Evan and Matilde's schools.  What a great experience! 

Thank you to all who visited and if you couldn't make it today, please know that you invited over anytime! 

Farm Tour Eve

We took care of last minute things around the house today and also ran a ton of errands.  It's been a busy day, but tomorrow is looking good. We hope to see a few of you here! 
Wish us luck!! 

Bug off!

We're back!  The girls and I spent two full weeks in the Yakima valley. We worked on our tans, our swimming skills, celebrated two birthdays and even built a giant wet banana and a solar oven!  We had tons of fun! Andy was hard at work here at home, but couldn't keep our garden from scorching in this heat. :( Our chard is charred, our lettuce is limp, and our beets have taken a beating from the sun's rays. We will do our best to recover before Saturday, but we can't control the weather and we can only do the best we can. I still hope it goes well. 

Below is a photo I took of our natural pesticide. We disperse lady bugs on our garden beds to keep the aphids down. The aphids eat our veggies and the lady bugs eat the aphids. It seems to work well. We also have a sack of preying mantis eggs waiting to hatch in the front beds. Last year, Andy brought an egg sack inside because it wasn't warm enough to hatch just yet and they hatched inside the house! He came home and there were baby preying mantises everywhere!