August 30th market and Shitakes

I didn't have time to take good shots at market as we got busy early on. Things are pretty much the same besides tuberoses, purple majesty millet, and the dahlias starting to come in.
It's now so much darker in the mornings packing up the truck and driving in.
There was thick fog in some places Sat. morning. For some reason, the drive into town on market mornings makes me feel as good as say, floating down a calm river on an intertube. There is something really peaceful and almost serene about it. songs ringing in my head. Until we get behind someone going 40 mph in a 55 zone. And then it's mostly musings about how stupid some people can be.
We just realized today that our shitake mushrooms have begun realizing their material form. Very exciting as few things are better than shitakes.

Blister Beetles on attack!

So after the deluge we got from the remnants of Fay, we are sinking in our muck boots and recovering from sleeping way too much while it was raining. We still can't believe the time of year....almost Sept.? Is this for real? Stuart and I have gotten thrills for weeks whenever we look at our last planting of tomatoes---until this past Monday when we discovered blister beetles thriving on the plants.
We should call them little poop machines. They are really taking a toll on what seemed to be our healthiest tomato planting in some time. I didn't know what they were until we looked them up online after I had squished about 100 of them with my fingers. Lo and behold, their name is true to form. I had four very large and juicy blisters come up on my skin--three near my neck and one on my arm. Stuart asked me what happened and I said, "Gosh, I don't remember being burned." And then we looked up the bug online.......FOOLS!
Other than dealing with these pests (we hear companion planting works but it's a little late for that), we've been sowing minute flower seed. This little pile in my hand is 1000 seed. Crazy.

Insects on the Farm

August 23rd Market

Fascinating Link

Farmers, family and friends! We've found a great picture slideshow of farming techniques and how they affect soil, as well as pictures of soil quality and depth of topsoil around the world. A must see! We're even more determined to fit in no-till practices after seeing these pics.

Beauty and the Beast

Okay, here's the story. I was showing off my moves water-skiing while we were visiting our parents in FL for their 40th anniversary, and this shark came from nowhere and completely sideswiped me, making me stumble like an idiot and pull a muscle in my hamstring. It's a good thing the shark ran off after I bit it good right under it's dorsal fin. Cause otherwise....and it's okay no one else saw the shark; it was a small one, so it's understandable.
So the rumors are true. Stuart has locked me in our bedroom until my leg heals itself; until I can do arabesques and pirouettes in grand fashion; until I can pretend like I'm Shawn Johnson and vault over Clover-rover, sticking a triple-doople turnaround twist; until I can dive off of our bed with a back somersault shimmy and have nothing fall off a shelf. I've had minimal contact with outside life, just Olympic viewings and Phelps fanaticism really. Some computer Jeopardy. Books. But let me tell you all, if you have never gone around an airport in a wheelchair, it is a fairly unique experience. I've never had special attention from a stewardess, and wow--I even got a personal wheel-down right to the plane from the lady taking people's boarding passes.
I've been trying to stay positive and have been dreaming of fall-planted bulbs and their lovely blooms. Bulb catalogs have been pouring in, and I do a dance every time one comes in the mail, usually to Stuart's chagrin. The color! The blooms! The elegance! We don't have many flowers coming in right now and I had a dream someone mowed down our purple majesty millet and jester grass, two of my favorite things about to peak. My heart skips a beat whenever I glance at them. I have to watch myself from spending too much time staring at them in fear Stuart may catch on to my amorous affair with such beauty.
We have been SO SUPER LUCKY having Stuart's sister Erin and her beau Gerard come out and help us not only on the farm, but at market as well. They have been the saviors of Bluebird Meadows this past week, and have made the whole leg situation bearable. Mom, or, as we like to call her, Raula (her name is Paula, but she got a piece of junk mail once with her name as 'Raula' so we like to think of it as her Brazilian alter-ego), has also been helping out. Clover rover has had plenty of play time with Gunther, Erin's dog, and Jihzara, mom's dog. Well, supposedly my brother Aubrey's dog, but mom takes care of her. As a blog picture finale, we're going to call this one 'Beauty and the Beast'. I know it's not nice to call Clover a beast, but next to Jihzara, I mean, really.

We'll be back on soon

Hello everyone! Sorry to have disappeared for so long. Clover chewed through our computer cable so our own computer is dead, and we were housesitting in paradise for awhile as well. so look for a post early next week; we have some great pics and tidbits to share with everyone.

August 2nd market

18 markets down, 16 left to go!