Pear Blossoms

How pretty the perfectly formed pear blossoms! They reveal themselves now and at the end of the summer, when the ripe and juicy sweet fruit is cut in half, the beautifully bursting little star will shine again!

Hot Cross Buns

The first batch of hot cross buns is complete. I remember as a child our hot cross buns had bits of dried fruit and currants, but this batch has only golden raisins or sultans as the Irish call them. They also have cinnamon, nutmeg and a shake of allspice. The frosting was touched with a bit of orange oil to bring back the childhood memory of citron! Are you ready for Good Friday?

The Farmer

Here is my dear farmer! Tim and Marial are waiting (on me!) to get the rest of the fencing project finished. Although this spring the weather has been so wet, Tim has managed to begin and complete many projects in a short period of time. The recent fencing project was just to move an existing fence over about 3 feet to allow more room for parking, access for our small tractor to another portion of the farm, and cleaner lines for the garden. Little did we know, as in all 'simple' projects the length of time it would really take to complete. Tim is such a patient person and enjoys the work outside no matter what the weather decides to do. It is one of many pleasures to work with this wonderful farmer!

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

Here is Tyler! He helped with the fresh produce shopping at the Grower's Market. He counted 6 carrots, 6 potatoes, 6 onions, 6 Baby Bok Choy, bunches of leeks and purple broccoli. Can you guess how old Tyler is on April 14?! He is such a happy, sweet boy, and Tyler has an infectious laugh! We had a lot of fun getting ready for a birthday dinner on the farm!

Saturdays are a busy day for the Browns. They have a cupcake stand at the Grants Pass Grower's Market every Saturday. Ryan and Tyler help their Mama and supervise all of the fresh baked tasty treats.

The trio, Ryan, Tyler, and Anna are ready to eat. They made the center piece place mats for my birthday one year: Anna's hands, Tyler's vegies, Ryan's fruits! They are so sweet and a real keepsake.

The dinner of choice by the birthday boy: pork ribs and pork chops with BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes and carrots, purple broccoli (that turns green when it is cooking) black olives, and orange cottage cheese. That was the contraband! (A tub of cottage cheese, mandarin orange slices, whipped cream...the real stuff, and orange Jello powder mixed all together!) The orange Jello was a bigger hit than the orange potatoes!

Most of the partiers before dinner! The kids were ready to stick olives on the ends of their fingers and dig in!

Finally, the cake and candles! This is chocolate picnic cake that was a recipe handed down from my Nana. It is also called a Texas Sheet Cake and many other names, but it is chocolately, moist and very delicious! Tyler blew out six candles after a birthday song and some cha-cha-cha!

Giggling, laughing and so much fun as Daddy pulls and Ryan pushes the wagon around the farm!


Happy Family of Brownies!! Aiden, Anna, Tyler, and Ryan, what a wonderful day! Happy, Happy Birthday, Dear Tyler, Happy Birthday to you~

Nesting Boxes

The hens are busy laying eggs and we are busy hunting for eggs! While there are beautifully built, easily accessible, fresh filled boxes, the hens insist on laying their eggs in obscure and random places. One or two eggs are actually laid in this box right now. It used to be the favorite. Now, an empty water trough, under the tractor, on a back shelf of the barn, and in an old manger have replaced the nesting boxes. We still find this box handy though!