Ginny's Artichoke party

Once a year ,sometimes twice we make stuffed artichokes. This year Gin gave a gift to Brian of "one artichoke dinner " for his birthday and we finally paid it off. We had the kid over too to enjoy the fun. Most of the young ones had hot dog though.


We filled the house.

We (okay ,Ginny) had to use roasters because the chokes this year were HUGE! What is with them this year? Cheap too..a dollar a piece. Not bad.

Here is a close up of how she stuffs them with a hamburger mix of bread crumbs,eggs,salt and pepper. They are good once a year for me and it is something to look forward too. I often wonder if anyone else eats them this way?

Painting pots and Rhubarb pie

Now there is one thing that Ginny makes better than all of the others, it's pie making. Apple,cherry,peach all are great. But this time of the year I love her rhubarb pie,I mean just look at the thing! This one was still warm when I got started and it was great. Thanks Gin.

Gin had Macy painting pots again and she is getting pretty good at it. I love watching . I wish she could stay this age . Where is Neverland anyway?

This is part of the first picking of greens from the raised beds. Mixed mustard/spinach,turnips and some kale. Pretty good.

Macy likes to watch me make bread and we don't mind her on the table . I think she thinks she is getting away with something...something she might not be able to do at home..only at the grandparents . Notice in the background ...Artichokes.

Painting.

April Campfire

The weather was so good last Wednesday that we decided to invite the neighbors down to have some fun around a fire. It was great until a small shower pasted by . So we just built up the flames an put up our hoods for a while and it passed. We had a great sunset and cooked some marsh mellows and had wine and cheese and crackers for snacks.
Macy got tired fast and fell asleep in Ginny's arms. I had to carry her home on the four wheeler and tuck her in...enjoying every minute.

This is my asparagus patch . Yes it looks a smokey the bear ad but this is what I do each spring just before the spears start coming up. I leave all of the dead plant material dry and then burn it off to kill as much of the weeds as i can. I don't want to use any sprays and this works pretty well. It also makes it a lot easier to find them and the dark ground warms faster. All I need is a torch and a little wind to fan the flames. Instant weeding.

Things to do,things to do.

My wood pile is still waiting for someone to split it up....I keep hoping that it will self split and I am watching for that to happen.

I planted four pear trees ,two last spring and two this year. I feel that I should always be building for the future,improving,making things better. And besides it's fun.

I got a whole trailer full of horse manure and have been spreading it everywhere...like here on the rubarb.

In with the currants and gooseberries.

This is the stage the raised beds were in a week ago. I have been keeping them uncovered to help the greens. They do better in the cold weather.

Oh and I did add another two beds. Now I have four beds ..all 4 foot by 20 . I just can't stop,I like them so.

As long as I'm catching up .....I burned my brush pile . It made quite a blaze that lasted till the next day. And that is what been going on.

Sticky Buns to Die For

I made my favorite sticky buns again because I couldn't find any that even come close to these in the store. They are full of cinnamon and cardamon in the dough and the outsides are covered in almond slivers and walnuts. Look how they rose!

It just doesn't get any better.

Ben's Evening at Our House

Tonight we had a great meal and time with Our 5 month old grandson(okay our only grandson) Ben. Everything was wonderful and the kids had a good time while Ben enjoyed the lights and looking out the window at the birds and the blooming crab tree. A nice night. Yesterday Matt and I went fishing in the Detroit river and it was one of the best fishing that I have had in years. We got into a huge school of bass and started catching fish on every three or four casts! This went on for a couple of hours. I think my arm got tired before they slowed down. I have never seen that many bass in one spot before and may not again. Right place at the right time. Thanks Matt.

Planting potatoes

This week we planted potatoes and sugar snap peas out back in our early garden. The sand there is good for spuds and can be worked early.
I had to get a brand new engine for the tiller this week too. OUCH that cost me a little cash that I didn't see coming. ($400+). I found out that all of the small engines under say 13hp or so no longer come with a horse power rating! They now state how much torque is generated. I think that the industry got sued because they were overstating HP all along.
We used string for guides to keep the rows straight which makes it much easier to weed later on. We have four rows about 75 feet long. Kennebec's all of them. They have a great creamy taste.
We stared letting the cats out and this one must have been hungry so she is waiting at the bird feeder for a little snack. She didn't do to well . I think she thinks she's invisible and wonders why those bird aren't coming around. House cats,go figure.

Cold Storage and the Raised Beds Update

We are using up the cabbages and turnips the I put in the ground last fall and am surprised at how well they came thru the winter. The cabbages had some bad leaves on the outside but we just peeled that off and they are great! They even seem to taste sweeter with age. I found that I didn't bury the trash can deep enough and some of the stuff on top froze and rotted but the ones deeper were fine. I think that just burying them in the ground with straw would work better maybe. Only thing with that is digging them up in the winter...the ground would be too hard.
Here are four heads after we took off some of the outer leaves. Nice firm heads. Now why don't you hear about this method of storage more often? Have we strayed so far and are so dependent on the food industry to supply us ,that we don't bother to raise and store our own food? I know where my food comes from and how it was grown and what chemicals were used in it's production. I like that feeling.
Here is an update on the raised beds. It has been one month since I planted and things are coming along well. As you can see the lettuce is coming and red oak leaf behind that and then some kale .

This is the mustard spinach that I liked so well last year and it is growing fast. It likes this cold weather . Some days I have to uncover the beds to cool them off.

I have built two more beds next to these and I had the dirt delivered today so I'll show them soon.

Easter at our house

We had a great meal thanks to Ginny and the girls ,and enjoyed
having both of our kids together.
We tried taking this photo outside but Macy couldn't take the sun in her eyes. She wouldn't look up even for a second so this is what we got.
Ginny's mom,who is now 95 and Macy who is almost 5. I think that they have the same smile. Mom enjoys her very much and Macy thinks that she is special too.

Our little kitchen gets quite the workout as the girls do the dishes and get to talk....and talk. A good day.

Pirate Days at the Grandparents House

I don't think these pictures need any explanation. What better thing to do on a spring day with your grandpa?