In the Garden Now

Zinnias with a wonderful pollinator attract beneficial insects to the garden.

Peaches the size of our hands!!

The peach tree is bulging and bursting and needs help holding her branches up so boards are used to support the weight of the fruit on the tree.

The first Irish Eyes sunflower to bloom.

Many more Irish Eyes are ready to bloom. Their buds seem to twinkle as much as Irish Eyes!

Oh, the broccoli is super sweet this year.

Dill, zinnias, onions, yellow wax beans, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, cabbage...

Our small crop of corn with wind damage. Blood Red Corn and Smoke Signals Corn shades the chicken coop from the late day sunshine along with the sunflowers.

Bursting and budding and blooming and producing. We are now picking daily in the garden!
How does your garden grow?

Peach Picking and Harvest

Looking down on the peach tree! Tim is standing on top of the car port as the tree has produced so much fruit this year, it is easier to pick from above!

This lovely tree is loaded no matter how you look at it!

Up close, the peaches are tree ripened and beautiful. They are super juicy and very sweet. We don't know what variety of peach the tree is, but it seems to be an earlier ripener, cling free, easy to peal and disease resistant.

Picking the low to the ground peaches and waiting for the next call for a full bucket from above.

Three bushels were lined up ready to go, but it wasn't enough!

As soon as the bushel baskets were filled the peaches were taken inside to immediately cool.

Off the roof and hauling bushels into the house.

One little tree and two pickers later we had more than 200 pounds of peaches ready to eat fresh, can, make into jam, peach butter, dehydrate, and a fresh peach cobbler for the evening! 

Blackberry Peach Baked Oatmeal

With blackberries and peaches in abundance, there is no better combination for Baked Oatmeal! You really can't go wrong with Baked Oatmeal. It is a very easy make ahead meal. It is good right out of the oven or the next day eaten cold. Give it a try!

Pick the blackberries and peaches first. Gather the eggs from the barn. Butter the bottom of a pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Now you are ready to get started mixing and baking.

Blackberry Peach Baked Oatmeal 3 Cups thick cut oatmeal (we use Bob's Red Mill or Irish Oats) 4 Eggs 2 Cups milk, coconut milk, water or a combination of all 1-1 1/2 Cups of sugar depending on how sweet you want it 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 4 peaches pealed and diced Mix all ingredients above. Pour into well buttered 11 x 15 inch pan. Add a Tablespoon of sugar to 1 generous cup of Blackberries. Gently pour blackberries on top of Oatmeal mixture. Bake at 400' for 45 - 60 minutes. Enjoy!

Peaches of August

We have had several peach trees over the years and they just haven't done so well. Usually a late frost kills the buds and we have a few lingering peaches in August. Last year there was all of 20 peaches. We thought about cutting the last of the peach trees out, but Tim decided to prune away one last time. It worked!  We have picked over 170 pounds of peaches this year and they all ripened in the height of the busy season between river trips, farm work, family visits and heat.  We were happy to have the extra helping hands!

The first two bushels and they smelled so sweet! Baskets were ordered from Lehmans.

Golden, sweet, juicy, ripe and ready to preserve for later or to eat right away.

Tim's parents from Chicago and nephew from Ohio! There was a lot of taste testing and smiles!

Peach crisp...mmm...good for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack...you get the idea!

Dehydrated peaches will last through the winter for trail mix snacks and in hot cereal.

At it again and this time it was made into spiced peach butter, frozen for smoothies and frozen for pies.

Peeling, music, conversation and before we knew it more than four bushels were processed.

Of course, ready to eat pie was the reward for the hard at work peelers! Only one bushel to go! We will keep the peach tree and hope for the best again next year!

August Shortcake

Mmmm, Peaches and Cream Shortcake! Just what we need as our summer days are full, full, full with farm and river activities! Here is where we are keep so utterly busy, and enjoying all of the people we are meeting this summer.  Happy August Days!

Sweet Smell of August

More golden goodness in the peaches! They smell even better than they look and we can't wait for them to be ripen enough to pick. Sadly, there aren't very many golden nuggets on the tree so they will be savored one at a time!

Peach Blossoms

The sky was dark and full of energy as we headed out to the Grower's Market. It rained, hailed, blew, and shined all day long. The pretty pink blossoms against the dark sky were so pretty to see this morning.