Vegie Delight!

The garden is producing a hefty bundle of good and tasty vegetables, so we are using them for the base of any dinner! Here is a mix of garlic, onion, summer squash, zucchini, carrots, peppers, and Swiss Chard.

Once everything was chopped and sauteed, it went on top of rice. It has also gone inside an omelety and if has been the base of a burrito. It can be used on anything and at anytime.

Ada Came to Visit

Ada and her Mama came to the farm for a three week working visit. They flew down from Alaska. Karyn works as a river guide for our rafting company and Ada hung out with Nana, Papa Auntie Tautie, Cousins Ryan, Tyler, Anna, and Aiden, and the doggies, chickens, and sheep on the farm! Here is Ada 'gardening'. I think the strawberries have passed inspection!

Next, Ada worked at dancing and playing with the stuffed bunny in the evening. Here she is making a spin.

Then she moved onto a bigger dance floor, aka, the deck! Ada is wearing a little dress that her Mama wore and that I wore. My Nana and Grandad brought the dress back from Hawaii.

After so many days of 'working', Ada went out on the river for a raft ride and dinner on the bank. The only visitors were the deer.

Finally, Ada got to visit Galice! After all that work, it was time for a burger. Thanks for coming to the farm and the river, Ada Belle, we miss you! Come back soon. Love, Nana and Papa ~

What is Keeping Me Busy

We run a small, but busy rafting business in the summer months. Making lunches for hungry rafters and paddlers is part of what gets done everyday between farm life and river time. Luckily we have the fresh produce from the garden and our neighbor's garden to help bring local goodness to our guests. Sometimes lunch only needs to serve 4 people and other times it will need to serve 30 people. Everything is packed in air tight, water tight containers and placed into a cooler along with juice and water.

You can read and see more about our river adventures each day here . I would love to see my blogging friends on the river. Just imagine all that we would have to talk about with friends from all over the world! See more about Rogue River Rafting Trips here, too!

Well Drilling Success!!

We drilled for water this month amid many other adventures in July. Here is the photos of that beautiful day! We (the drilling company) drilled down 37 feet and struck 15 gallons per minute of clear, sweet, refreshing water. These pictures so the first stage. After being without running water on the farm and years of careful water monitoring, we are thrilled beyond belief and so very grateful that there was so much water just below our feet!

The photos don't do the enormity of the project justice! The sheer size of the equipment being used was incredible all by itself. The volume was another stunning measurement of huge as the drill dug into the earth and then the piercing began to test if water was available. The initial prep and set up of equipment took the most time. Finding a path that would suit a truck with the need for a 40 foot clearance for the tower, among our 85 year old walnut trees was tricky. In the end, a young lilac tree that was about 12 years old was sacrificed. Small price to pay with the success of the well.

Once water was found and contained, it was capped off with a lovely red top. The next stage was to bring the water into our existing plumbing and holding tank system and finally into the house. This included a submersible pump being installed into the well. Eventually, we had a "baker pump" installed onto the top of the well head so that when electric goes out, we still have access to water. The men at Clouser Drilling and Rogue Valley Pump are our super heroes! There will be more photos, but here is the beginning our amazing well drilling story.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth of July! We started celebrating as soon as the calendar turned to July. The rafting season has kept us busy and the challenge with water (good grief) has taken us for quite a ride this summer. So much water in the river with big waves and fun times, and so little water on the farm. We will be drilling a new well on July 8. Fortunately we have a 2,000 gallon holding tank that brings water into the house for now. The old shallow well has just given up and the less than 1 quart per minute just couldn't keep us all watered. Thanks to Mike's Water Truck, we recently refilled the holding tank. The cool nights are keeping the garden growing at a slow pace, but with nearly 100 degrees predicted for today and it seems summer is really here. Here's to celebrating life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness everyday!