Alot has happened since the last blog. We said good bye to Big Red and his 3 steer friends. They chewed the pasture down pretty well and it was time to go to greener pastures which translates to the Colvin Ranch where their permanent home is and there is more food. With the departure of the cattle, we continue to be on the look out for deer. So far, the electric fence and the new 8' fence we put up around the rest of the gardens seems to deter them. 
This part of the season is dedicated to harvesting. Tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, and green beans coming on and on and on. They are in the house refrigerator, on the counter in the kitchen, in the metal building, in the walk-in cooler, and in the field. We are grateful to have the problem of too much rather than too little, but it's a bit overwhelming to say the least. Every subscriber box is loaded to the max--I bet they feel a bit overwhelmed as well. The challenge of using all of those great vegetables--we have canned dill pickles and salsa, frozen beans, peas, broccoli, and tomatoes, and are trying our first brine pickles. Today we had a visit from a special young woman who might be the best dressed person to ever visit the farm. Ella, whom we have known since she was born, brought her mom to gather vegetables for a Girl Scout function and for the Roosevelt Elementary School fundraiser. She agreed to pose for pictures in the sunflowers and the tomato tunnel (although she did not really care for the tomato tunnel--too many spiders). Her beautiful pictures are below.

We took a little time off Sunday afternoon to enjoy good friends and an all-terrain bocce ball tournament. We had three games going on with two 2-person teams each. The object is to 'bowl' the ball as close to the little white 'jack' (ball) for points; however, unlike formal bocce ball with a pristine court--we use the terrain of the yard and farm. And, the rule is that partners cannot come from the same house. We even had an audience--the four steer were quite interested in what we were doing and hoping for some food. Fred (Colvin Ranch) says the cows need to leave next week--they have done their job and there is little grass left for them. The deer must have heard about the cows getting ready to leave--two showed up last night in the front yard--yikes! Guard the beans!

Last Saturday was our first day to open the farm 'stand' for anyone who wanted to come. Setting up that morning was a little like being kids 'playing' farmers. How do we arrange the vegetables? Where do we put them? Will they hold up on the slightly sunny day? Who will come? And, what do we have available to sell and what do we need to keep for our subscriber boxes? We had a great time showing a few new people the farm and meeting a few more of our subscribers. A nice surprise was meeting Kerry who is co-owner of the Great Harvest Bread Company on the Westside. She came to trade cinnamon bread for vegetables. I KNOW we got the better end of that deal! 

Our long-time family friend, Wendy Finney, came and spent the day with us on Saturday. She started babysitting our kids when she was in high school and has been a major, loving influence in the lives of our now young adult children. As it turns out, she is also a natural as a farm helper. We made dill pickles, planted beets, picked beans, weeded, and shoveled compost. When Rich, the beekeeper came to check on his bees, she continued on with the work while we gave him a quick tour of the farm. So far, Wendy is the only person who has made the cows moo. She kept feeding the cows weeds and when she stopped, Big Red let her know that he was not happy. 

We had an open house for our subscribers last Saturday and the gate between the neighborhood behind us (Bridlewood) was open to let neighbors through for the first time. Our hope for the gate was to increase the accessability to the farm by neighbors, but more importantly to offer another option for physical activity to our neighbors. We were so pleased that the first people to come through actually rode their bikes--four kids and their mom and their neighbor. Huge kudos to Alida, the mom for encouraging and modeling the importance of physical activity. We also owe a thanks to Doris Sanders, the Bridlewood Neighborhood Association president and the Association for giving us permission to put the gate in. Doris and her family also used the gate last Saturday to visit the farm. The open house was hugely successful and we enjoyed giving farm tours and talking with our subscribers. We plan to open to anyone who wants to come on August 13. 

I am on 'vacation' this week--taking time off before starting a new job next week. Mark took two weeks off during the first part of July and spent his time building a walk-in cooler as well as 'playing' in the greenhouses and gardens. Today was the day I proclaimed that I would go 'somewhere'--maybe Mt. Rainier or the ocean. But when it came to the decision, I really just wanted to stay here on the farm. it's a cloudy day--perfect for planting--just me and my dog Max and 120 lettuce and broccoli plants to go in the ground. The farm is like being on a hike and camping trip without the crowds and with great kitchen and bathroom amenities. I fixed one of my favorite meals--mixed greens stir fried with a little onion, bacon fat (yep--I use it occasionally!), red pepper and lemon juice. And, just like any good resort vacation, I'll spend time on the deck in a lounge chair reading a book. 
This past week, Mark picked the first cucumbers and zucchini--a 5-gallon bucket of each. He said it was the best time he has had in a long time. Thus begins the MASSIVE harvest of zucchini, cucumbers, and very other vegetable we have planted. Last year, I nearly went crazy trying to pick it all and use it or find someone who could use it. Thankfully, we have CSA boxes this year which provide a wonderful end point for many of these vegetables. That said, I will continue my path of learning to let go when some vegetables don't get eaten by somebody. 

One of the most interesting things about living here is the people who stop in because they are somehow connected or intrigued by the story of George and Isabella Bush. On Monday evening, we took our 21-year old daughter to the airport--she was flying to Kenya where she will live for a year. We returned to a beautiful, peaceful evening and immediately went to work for some de-stressing from an emotion-packed time in preparing for this day of separation. I picked the shell peas and thought it would be nice to sit on the deck, shell peas, and watch the sun go down with a glass of wine. We heard voices down at the end of the driveway, so Mark went to check and brought back an African American gentleman we had never met before. Come to find out, he is a history buff and was on his way back from Portland to Tacoma and decided to stop and see where George Bush had lived. He is Gary Boone and we invited him up for a glass of wine and he shared his story of researching the Quaker and native American pieces of Bush's life. Fascinating! He has done work with African American History Museum in Seattle where they have a George Bush display. We look forward to Gary stopping back by soon with his wife.

We have managed to put out vegetables for six weeks of CSA subscriptions--given the ultra-cold wet weather start, I am grateful for a partner (Mark) who continues to pull rabbits out of hats when it comes to vegetables being ready for the boxes. He is completely amazing with skills and wisdom from growing and working in the wholesale nursery industry during his formative and early career years. We reached a milestone here--the last one and done crops were planted when Mark planted the pumpkins and corn last weekend. Now it's the continuous succession plantings and more family and friends like my sister to help with scallions and mom with lettuce and beets. And, I can't leave this week without mentioning Tanner, our adorable great-nephew who has visited for the second time in the nine months he's been on Earth--nothing like a baby and farm animals.

One thing that is way different than the garden we had when we were kids is the succession planting we do here to provide crops like lettuce, broccoli, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, and onions throughout the 23-week CSA season. So, every week, we have something that needs planting. Kathleen's mom (top) joins us  each weekend to plant whatever is needed. She has helped us plant at least 25% of all crops we have on on the ground. We had another 'guest' farmer last weekend (bottom)--Mark's sister Louise. She helped plant sunflowers and zinnias in front of the well house. Working together is a great way to catch up with our family and friends and we are grateful they are willing to spend some time out of doors with us.

Let's just say Mark has a way of growing tomatoes that is a bit different than most weekend gardeners. This past week, he has spent HOURS trimming the lower branches off of the tomatoes so there is more energy going to the blooms and fruit. First, he cuts their 'hair' (branches), then he ties them to a string which stretches to the top of the hoop house, then he clips the stem (black thing on left tomato plant) to the string. Fortunately, he was long gone when the snake (middle of picture) came out from underneath the warm, red plastic. We have survived the first three weeks of CSA fullfillment. I have progressed from completely freaking out to just running around with my head cut off on delivery days. WILD! We always have help--Mom helps harvest and Dad drives the delivery truck.