Dark Days Week 2

I am so far behind in this challenge it is not even funny. Our second meal of the challenge started out to be a great meal with the whole family but ended up with just me and the kids a few days late. So I will make this one quick and short. Basically it was chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. The tenderized round steak is from a local cow we bought a few moths ago. It was raised by my brother-in-law about 80 miles from us on pasture and local hay. It was coated with flour, egg, and salt and pepper. None of which which were local or organic but were in the kitchen. The potatoes come from the San Luis Valley which is to the south east of us in Colorado and are readily available in the local store. A little locally produced milk and some butter and seasoning and there you have it. We were going to have some frozen corn from a farm stand in Rocky Ford but it was late and we were starving so that will have to wait till another time.

Dark Days Challenge Week 1

Well today is my first post for the Dark Days Challenge. I have been doing some research to get ready for it. Normally the range for the challenge is about 150 miles but I am going to be using the State of Colorado as my range. I have been looking at the different people that are going to be participating and it seems that most of the people are from the two coasts and just a few from the central states and and I am the only one from Colorado. This is my first time to do the challenge and have never really thought about the SOLE aspect of food. My garden did not do very well this year so it might be a little more difficult for me this year but it has opened my eyes to what is out there (or not as the case maybe). I have been buying my beef and some pork fro several years now from local producers. Not because it was local but because it was cheaper to buy it in bulk if you will. I might be concentrating more on the local aspect and not so much on the organic part this year. It is a start and will build on it as time goes by. We are able to have exceptions of spices, chocolate, coffee, tea and oils.

So my first meal was mostly a success. I made beans

with pork and tomatoes. It was really simple. I have just learned to cook beans, so thought I would give it a try. The beans are from the Adobe milling company in Dove Creek Colorado, the tomatoes were a fire roasted organic canned from the health food store and the cubed pork came from a pig we had slaughtered awhile back. It came from a farmer about 80 miles from here. Probably not organic but very local. I also used some boxed chicken broth that was in my cabinet. Not local or organic but it was there. Threw it all in a crock pot and let it go for the day. That was all there was to it and it turned out pretty good. You could use any spices that you like to turn up the flavor. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with and hope to find some new sources for local products as time goes by.

Happy Holidays!!

Well it is upon us. The holiday season is now in full swing. Two days ago it was Thanksgiving and yesterday my husband convinced me to go shopping with him. He hates to shop except at Christmas. He loves to go out on Black Friday and the day before Christmas. More to watch the people than to shop. We did find a few good things yesterday but it is getting harder to figure out what to get the kids as they get older. Now I have to have them show me what they want and to try it on and such so they pretty much know what they are getting on Christmas morning. And gift cards, they are a girls best friend.

I am getting ready for the Dark Days Challenge to start on December 1st. I decided to give it a try and have been looking around to source my local foods that I will need. It is going to be a little hard but that is why it is called a challenge.

Need to get going and finish the decorating of the house, inside and out. Will post pictures later. Have a great holiday!!

Dark Days Challenge

Hey everyone. I have been catching up on some of my favorite blogs and have read over at (Not So) Urban Hennery that they are getting read to start up the forth annual Dark Days Challenge. This is a challenge for people to eat more local foods. I caught the tail end of it last year and have to say that some people got very creative with their meals. Now all this being said, I am thinking about joining the challenge this year. I don't know how well I will do. We do not have year round farmers markets and only one natural food store that I know of in town. I did not have a very good year in my own garden this year what with the weird weather and me going back to work this year, so I do not have my own foods to fall back on. So what do you think? Is there anyone out there willing to give it a shot with me?? The rules seem pretty simple, one meal a week of most if not all ingredients that are sustainable, organic, local and ethical or SOLE as it is called. There are a few ingredients that are exempt such as coffee, spices and such. The radius for the challenge is about 150 miles but you can adapt it to your own needs. So who is up for giving it a try with me??

The Weekend

Well I got home from Grand Junction on Tuesday night after a long and sometimes scary drive. Zach and I went to Grand Junction on Sunday for his State 3A Marching competition. The drive over was uneventful though a bit slow following the bus. We got to the hotel and the kids had a chance to relax and hang out. The next morning we got up to pouring rain. Not good for new uniforms and instruments. We later found out that the event was postponed for 2 hours and the semi finals and the finals would become just the finals. We did not have to compete till the afternoon so we took the kids to a local mall and let them eat and look around a bit. Then we took them to the stadium to watch some of the other band perform before getting ready to perform themselves. All the while I am worried about my daughter, Amanda, as she and her college band, CSU Pueblo, are traveling in to be the exhibition band for this event. They were coming over highway 50 over Monarch Pass, which had snow the night before. I find out later that the bus began to slide off the road a couple of times and had to stop and put chains on. Finally they make to Grand Junction to perform. I got see a few of the 3A bands perform and watched as one of them got snowed on as the were on the field. I watched our band perform and then had to go and get a couple of our kids changed to perform with the CSUP band. Some of our high school kids also perform with the college band. They even get college credit for it. Well anyway we ended up get 8th place this year but that is not bad. This was the first time in about 7 years that we have even gone to the state competition.I did not get any still pictures of them because of the rain but I did get a video of them. After finishing up on Monday we returned to the hotel to watch the weather for the next day to see which way we will go. It is almost winter you know and we are in the mountains at that time. We find out that we are supposed to get 10 to 12 inches of snow overnight on Vail Pass. We think that it will be alright to go that way since it will be better maintained than over Monarch Pass. Wrong!! The storm did not move out as fast as we thought and did not do as much damage over Monarch. The kids left the hotel about 30 to 40 minutes before I did and me in my infinite wisdom thought that I would catch up to them. Wrong again!! This is what I was driving though as I approached Vail Pass.

Not even close to what I will be driving through in about 40 minutes time. I finally get to Vail Pass and find that it is CLOSED!! I am thinking what do I do now. So I make some calls and let a few people know what is going on and find a Mc Donalds and sit and wait. Luckily the bus made it through before it was closed but several other bus loads of kids were not so lucky. After about an hour and a half I give it another try and the road is back open so I continue on. I make it up the west side of the pass with no problems but as I go down the east side things get worse. It is snow packed and slick. I spend the next hour going about 15 to 20 miles an hour and playing dodge the cars and trucks in the middle of the road that have stopped and started sliding backwards. All the while hoping that if I do have to stop completely that I can get moving again. Well I finally made it through the storm and the rest of the way home. Believe me I do not want to do that again any time soon. Keep safe this winter and stay close to home if you can.

Were has the time gone??

I just looked at the date of my last post and I can not believe where the time has gone. I keep telling myself that I will get to it but I guess that I have not gotten to it so here it is. A brief recap. Last weekend we went to the cabin to try to get finished up with the last of the finish work on the cabin. We got most of it done but ran out of time. We also helped the neighbors to catch their escaped horses. One little mare got her hoof stuck in the cattle guard at the neighbors place. They had to call out a vet to sedate her and then the welder could cut through the steel pipe that they used for the guard. While my husband was helping with that I helped chase down the rest of the horses. We managed to catch 7 of them before we had to leave. The others caught the rest of them with saddled horses. It was an event, and got to met some of the neighbors. We have snow on the tops of the Mountians now and the weather was in the 30's in the mornings while we were there.
We have been going to football games and watching our kids in the marching bands. Zach, the youngest, just found out a couple of days ago that they made it to the State Marching Competition and he is jazzed. This is the first time it has happened for his school. So it looks like I will be in Grand Junction next weekend. Will post pictures of that later. Ivan, the St Bernard, had to go to the vet on Wednesday. We made the decision to have him neutered. We thought about using for stud but decided that it would be easier all around not to so he got to go to the doctor and have the snip snip. Both of the boys are now neutered and I like it that way. They are just family pets not show dogs and it is healthier for them. I have a wedding to go to this weekdend. My best friend in high school is getting married. Looking forward to see her and her family again. We don't get to see each other very often. Wel I guess that is all for now. Keep checking to see what is going on and I will try to write a little more often. Till next time stay warm.

Are We Done Yet??

Well for the most part yes we are. The bathroom and the kitchen are functional and most of the furniture is in place. The septic system is up and working. There are still some small things that need to be done like the back splash in the kitchen, the tile around the shower and grass seed on the ground but that can wait till next summer. The whole family was there this last weekend and everyone liked what was done to the place. Fall is starting to approch with football games and other activities. About time to shut the place down for the season. Maybe next summer we will be able to spend some time up there and just relax!!

New Family Memeber

Well we went from not getting anymore dogs after Shiloh died to having two, yes I said two, five month old Saint Bernard puppies. Ivan came to live with us about 2 months ago. He has been fun to have around. I have had to get used to the drool issue that he has on occasion but not to bad and I have to remember that at 55 lbs right now he is still just a puppy. We have been working on our manners and have a problem with being VERY into our food. We are working on learning some patience when it comes to meal time. Well last week one of Ivan's brothers stayed with us for a couple of days till his new owner came to pick him up. Ivan and he had a blast and it gave Barron some much needed peace. Ivan loves to try to get Barron to play but at 13 he will not have any of that nonsense. So at that point we knew that Ivan needed a buddy to play with.

We began talking about getting his last brother. They could not find a home for this one. They finally talked us into give him a home. He has been with us for 2 days now and they are have a blast. The new puppy does not have a name yet so it has been a little hard to bond with him when you don't know what to call him. He is a bit timid right now. When we disciple Ivan he is the one to run and hide. I hope that he will over come this with some time as Ivan can take his food with out blinking an eye, so for now I will have to separate them at meal time to give him a chance to eat everything in his bowl. He does not wolf down his food like Ivan. He is the runt of the family so that might have something to do with it. Anyway he now a part of the family so keep checking back to see how they grow!!

Evening sky

What can be better than sitting on your front porch and enjoying the cool evening? Not much in my opinion. I sit out here looking over the night sky. The breeze is cool on my face. I sit here listening to my Ipod and have a refreshing beverage. The lights of the neighboring houses twinkle in the night sky. What more can you ask on a summer evening. It has been awhile since I have had the time to just sit outside and just enjoy. My son tells me there will be a meteor shower this evening. I will just take his word for it. I just sit here and be, waiting for my husband to come home and join me. We will talk about what still needs to be done at the cabin and wonder how we will get it all done. The summer season is starting to come to a close. Next week The youngest one will go back to school, he will be a senior this year. Then we start up with football games to be at which leads to Thanksgiving and then Christmas just around the corner from that. Where did the time go? It seems like summer just started and now I am thinking about Christmas. I think I will just go back to listening to my music for awhile, head to bed and then start all over in the morning. Here's to all of you enjoying a cool summer evening.

It's A Small World After All

Hey Everyone,


Got home the other day from the cabin. The septic tank is in and most of the dirt work and gravel is done. Even got some of the tile work done, not as much as we would like but that is the way it goes. Anyway I was trying to get caught up on Face book and with the blogs that I follow when I came across someone in my neighborhood. That's right I found a neighbor. I was finishing up reading a blog and started looking at the blogs that she follows when I saw something that caught my eye. So I clicked on the link and began reading this new blog. After reading a couple of her posts, which I love, I came across one that was titled the Westcliffe Wave. Well that caught my interest real quick because I just came home from Westcliffe. I continued reading the next couple of posts and looking at the pictures. I know these pictures!! I drive by the same alpacas, the same ranch, the same geese, the same everything!! I find out she works part time just down the road from our cabin at the local dude ranch. I discover that they have a place they go to on the weekends and such in the valley. Need to catch up on if they plan to live there full time or not but anyway welcome to the neighborhood Rhymes with Vanilla. If you have a chance go and check them out. Till next time.

Lightening

So here is another entry in the never ending saga of the family cabin. My husband went up this weekend to do some more work on the cabin and found this.

Lightening had struck this tree at some point. We have no idea when it happened and it is one of our favorite trees. I had seen the wood laying around on Saturday but thought nothing of it. We also had some issues with the satellite and the phone in the cabin. Now we know what happened. Just glad it did not hit the cabin. Hoping the tree doesn't die.

Unmetionables

You are probably wondering about the title of this post. Well lets just say I am going to talk about something people don't like to talk about. Septic tanks. Now most of you will have never had to deal with one as you live in a city or close to one and the city deals with that little problem for you. Not us, we live out in the county where we deal with it on our own. Now the septic tank at our home is not the problem, it is the one that is at our family cabin (disclaimer inserted here- not really ours but belonging to my in-laws). We have know since about day one that it needed to be replaced but it is an expensive undertaking, so it has been put off till now. We are getting a new one this next week. YEAH!! Now I know that it sounds a little weird to be happy about that but until you have lived though it you just can not understand so just go with me here.

It all started with the remodel of the bathroom which led to my in-laws bedroom to the kitchen to the entryway. You know how remodels go. Lets just say the it was held together with duct tape and baling wire. We found so many things wrong that it is wonder that it is still standing. All of the plumbing except the toilet was piped out and away from the house and on to the ground but now we have it all going in to the new septic tank. We found water lines that were plugged with spark plugs. Yep that's right I said spark plugs. We found carpeting under the kitchen cabinets that was soaked with water and tiles glued down with liquid nails. It has been an adventure unearthing all of the issues that we are dealing with but when it is done it will be a great place to relax. Till then keep the faith.

Renewable Energy

So I feel like bragging a bit today. I just paid my electric bill this morning. Now to most people that is not something to brag about, it is more like something to complain about, but my bill this last month was just under 80 dollars. Now I grant you the air conditioner was not running a full capacity yet but for me this was a big deal. You see we invested in solar panels on our roof last October and I did not see much of a change. That was till the days started getting longer in the summer. To see that our investment is starting to pay off makes me feel a little better. It will be a few years till we see the positive in this but it still makes me feel good. We still have a ways to go in our efforts to save energy but this is a step in the right direction. I would love to put in geo-thermal heat and air but the cost is too much right now with no incentives to help you out with the cost like with solar. I hope that changes in the near future. We have been trying different ways to help out the planet such trying to grow some of our own food or trying to buy local. Last year that was a better success than this year. We have planted a total of 12 fruit trees and several grape vines. We are also looking at more insulation in our roof and better windows. It just takes time and money. I would love to hear what you are doing to make our planet a better place.

The Adventures Of Ivan the Saint Bernard

I thought I would give everyone an update on Ivan. He is four months old and 55 lbs fight now. But first a little history since I have not been posting in awhile. To begin we go back a couple of years. On July 3rd 2008 we lost our beloved dog Shiloh. She had been with us for 12 years and was one of those dogs you can never replace. After her passing we had decide not to get another dog. We still had Barron, age 11 at the time, and when he left this world we would be dogless. I did not want to have to worry about who will take care of them and such as the kids are getting older and moving away from home etc. I had my mind made up! This thinking went on for about a year then things began to change. The hubby and the daughter started thinking about getting a new puppy or young dog. I was not going to have any of it. They would casually mention it from time to time. Then it happened. I looked on the Internet at puppies! Big mistake!! I was starting to miss that companionship. I missed my dog! So we started talking about what we might like to get. Would it be a puppy, a purebred, or save a life from the pound. I like the idea of getting one from the pound because we would be saving a life of an unwanted dog. And you can find purebreds at the pound or at a rescue group, if that was to be the route we would go.

Then we got the news. Rosalyn, the dog belonging to my brother-in-law, was having a litter. Having know Roz since she was a puppy we knew that chances were good that they would be like her. She loves people and just a big teddy bear. Now she is not the smartest dog in the world but love can overcome a lot. So of course my daughter decided that having a 200 lb dog at maturity would be just great. She began her campaign to win us over to the idea. And I must say she did a good job. I began to research the breed and found that I like what I read. I was turning to the dark side. The next one to be convinced was dad and she worked hard on him but he held out. It was to big of a dog for him. Of course that was until we saw them. We had to go down to their house for a graduation party and there they were. They still had five of them at that point and who can resist a cute bundle of fur. We won him over and Ivan came home with us. Ivan has been with us for about 2 months now and is fitting in our family nicely.Although Barron, our three legged 13 year old miniature Schnauzer, is not to happy about having to deal with a hyperactive puppy in his life. We still have a ways to go with manners and obedience but it is a work in progress. We will get there. So stay tuned for more adventures of Ivan and Barron too.

Time

Well it has been a long time since I last posted anything. When I started this page I had grand ideas about what I would put on it but then reality hit. I started reading other blogs and I thought who would want to read about my boring life. It was a bit of a downer for me. And then life got in the way. I got a part time job and my time became less and less. The garden was a bust this year. A family member past away and then we got a new puppy. As I sit here at about 4:30 in the morning I realised that this is exactly what this page is about. It is about sharing our life with friends and family and who ever else might stop by to read about our boring life.

So I guess it is catch up time. First thing that happened is I got a part time job. I am working for a very nice gentleman in our church. He owns a construction company and I am working in his office. It has been an interesting time. I have not worked for about 20 years or more. I spent my life raising my kids and taking care of the house but the kids are getting older and don't need me as much anymore. It has been fun getting out there and being in the public and meeting new people. I have even learn a few new things along the way. But this said job has gotten in the way in some ways. I have less time to work on things around the house. The big things was the garden this year. I started off with a bang, I had a about a hundred or more plant starts this year. But then things started to go wrong. First was the new job, less time. Second was the weather. It was a very weird year here with the weather. It seems that we went from winter to summer with no spring. It is nice to know that I am not alone. I have talked to several people that have had the same problems. An example is when I planted my peppers(had to wait till the temps got warm enough at night) it was mid June and the next day they were wilted and dead. And they were the second set of peppers that I tried, so I just gave up this year. It is that time thing again. Maybe by next year I will have learned to manage time better by then.

Another big event to happen to us this year was the addition of a new puppy to our family a couple of months ago. My daughter had bothering me about this puppy for months. Mind you this is no ordinary puppy. This would be a Saint Bernard puppy. Yep that's right! We have a monster for a pet. Meet Ivan.This picture is when he first can home. He has put on about 30 pounds since he came to live with us. That was about 2 months ago. He is quite the dog. He was supposed to be my daughters dog but you know how that goes. He is now a mama's boy. We have been building him a dog house and I have been telling everyone that We Ivan passes away we will be able to rent it out as a dorm room. It is huge!! Well my alarm just went off so it is time to get ready to go up to the cabin and work for the weekend. That is a whole other page for later. lets just say it was a gut job. Will post pictures of that later and maybe you can commiserate with me. Till later and hopeful not such a long time between posts.

Wind!!

The wind is blowing again today. You would think that I would be used to it by now. We have lived out here for 5 years and it still bothers me. I have learned that I will always have that wind swept hair style no matter what I do and skirts are a gamble. I am not talking about a little breeze here. We are supposed to have gusts up to 50 miles an hour today. My poor plants take a beating out here and I wonder if they will survive at times. The wind dries things out and beats things to death. It is really fun when you are sitting at the kitchen table and you see a tent blow by. Saw it happen once and it was put together, not just the fabric. Kiddy pools?? Not a chance. We see them everywhere. The poor birds, sometimes I will see them trying to fly into the wind and they can't move in mid air. The wind can be quite destructive also. I watched the roof of our shop blow off last summer. It pull up about a quarter of the shingles in one gust. Not a fun fix. After dealing with it for awhile you learn a few things. First, no loose pillows on the outdoor furniture, no delicate plants, they just get ripped to shreds. Keep both hands on the wheel and be prepared to dust everyday. And last but not least have a back up plan for dinner if you are planning to grill outside. Till next time. Try not to blow away.

Time to catch up

Well it's been awhile since I wrote anything. I have to admit that I was just not in the mood to talk. I had been sick for a week and then we had bad weather so not much to talk about. The last couple of days have been beautiful and have even got some more of the veggie beds cleaned out. Worked in the asparagus bed and go it all cleaned out. I had checked it about a week ago and there was nothing there and today there was enough for a meal!! Then I moved to the strawberries and got most of the dead stuff out and gave them a good soak while I was at it. I use the watering to get the weeds out. They seem to have grown overnight also. All the trees are setting blooms now and maybe in a week or so they will bloom and start setting fruit. We got apples for the first time last year. I am hoping for peaches and cherries this year. The trees are about 5 years old now. We are thinking about more fruit trees this year. Not sure what we will plant. Have to see what is in the nursery this fall. That is when we like to plant our trees. We also have been working on our fish pond. It had a leak last fall and had to be replace. I will post pictures of that project later. Well have to get back at it. Later

What Happened To Spring??

It is about 6:15 in the evening and I am sitting at the kitchen table watching the snow melt. We had a nasty storm blow through last night. Strong winds, side blowing snow and lightening. Yes I said lightening. It was really weird. There was so much snow blowing that all you would see is the night sky turn blue for a few seconds. Of course what happens next? The power goes out. It is about 10:30 in the evening at this point. Just finished watching the news telling us about the storm. Not a deal breaker but it does not come back on till the next morning!! You hear the stories on the news about people being without power for days but you never think it is going to happen to you. Now I know that it was not days but at 4 in the morning you start wondering. You have no heat and you then you realize that you have no hot water because the hot water heater has an electronic pilot light and thermostat. It is not a pretty picture in your mind. The hubby is laying next to me, we are both awake at this point, talking about going to IHOP for breakfast. No cooking for me, we have an electric stove. I on the other hand, am thinking I can not leave this house without being able to at least wash my hair. I know, I know, a bit shallow but hey that is the way I am. No make-up,the jeans I wore yesterday, that is doable but I have to wash my hair. Drives the hubby nuts!! Then I start thinking, no coffee, I can not turn on the coffee maker because we have no electricity. The camping stove is at the cabin which is under about a foot of snow, so no help there. This is going to be a bad day!! I toss and turn for a couple of more hours until Barron decides that it is time to go outside and go potty. Still no electricity. I make the daughter get up and let out the dog. I want to stay in the warm bed!! And then miracle of all miracles I hear the heater kick on. The day is saved. We have coffee. I think that the next time we go to the cabin the camp stove is coming home with me.

Birthday Boy

Yesterday Zach turned 17. It is hard to believe that my baby is almost all grown up.When Amanda and I went to get him a birthday cake we found the perfect one. Zach has been giving me grief here lately about my Farm on Face Book. I have been playing since just before Christmas. That would be Amanda's fault. She got me onto Face Book and now she regrets but I have enjoyed finding people that I used to know. Any way we found the perfect cake for Zach. He thought that it was funny.

Getting closer to planting time!!

Planting time is getting closer every day. On Sunday afternoon I planted up my seeds for the garden. Last year started to early so I waited about 3 weeks later this year. Can hardly wait to see these start sprouting. We have a variety of peppers for salsa, broccoli, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, both pickling and salad, herbs and even some flowers going. On Saturday Don and I got out in the garden and cleaned out the raised beds and turn the soil so we are ready to plant later in the season. I still have some clean up work to do and trash to get rid of but that won't take long to do. Still have to finish up on my flower bed. Started lifting Irises last fall and trying to clean out all the grass and weeds but time got away from me and did not get it finished so will try to get it done this spring. It is going to be a big job but needs to be done badly. This last fall I brought in all my pot and put them in the basement and all over the house to see if I could keep them alive over the winter and so far most of them are still alive. This will save me some money this year. I will not have to buy more plants to fill them up again. They are getting a little leggy but once I cut them back and get them outside I think they will do fine. I think Don thought that I was nuts when I started bring them in because they are sitting under every window trying to get the sunshine. I am getting antsy to get things back outside and enjoy the warmer weather but it is still a little too cold yet.

I was talking to my mechanic yesterday and he was telling my that they got 11 inches of snow up in Westcliffe on Monday. He lives up there and drive in to town to work everyday. That is where the family cabin is. My daughter was hoping to get up there over spring break but I don't think it is going to happen. She will be disappointed but that is they way thing go. Hopefully nothing broke over the winter. Last year we had to replace a good portion of the plumbing in one of the cabins. All of the water did not get drained and they froze and broke. Of course we found out the hard way, with water everywhere when we turned on the pump. So keeping our fingers crossed that nothing happened. It seems like something always needs to be fixed after the winter. Be it plumbing or a broken window or rotting wood steps, it is never finished.

Later this week we have family coming in from out of town to stay with us. Our niece and her basketball team are in the state championship playoffs this weekend. It starts tomorrow evening and we will be there rooting her on to victory!! These will be her last games as she is a senior this year and will be off to college next year. Will keep you all posted on how they do. Off for now. See you at the next post.

Spring is in the air!

So here I sit this morning looking out the kitchen window thinking about spring. The weather the last couple of days has been fighting itself, does it want to still be winter or move into spring. I vote for spring! The need to dig has hit again this year. My poor garden is in bad shape right now. I need to pull out all the old stuff and get the soil ready for new plants. My basement is full of seeds, peat pots, soil, and grow lights. The new grape vines are starting to sprout green leaves so I will need to get them in something soon as they are bare root plants. My Concord grapes put on grapes last year and we made some great jelly with them so I thougth I would put in more this year. It will take a couple of years for them to produce but it is worth the wait. I would like to put in a few more trees this year also. We were going to put some in last fall but missed the opportunity to get it done. We got our first crop of apples last year and are looking forward to a bigger crop this year. Maybe the cherry and peach trees will give us something this year. Looking to put in pear and maybe apricot trees this year. We keep going a little at a time. We have come a long way in five years. We started with a new house and an acre of dirt. We have spent the last five years planting and growing our little oasis. I see a history lesson in the near future but back to spring. It is time to get down and dirty, I need to start planting up my seeds and planning for summer harvest. More salsa this year and more jellies. Don wanted Jalapenos this year. I did not plant enough last year for his pickles jalapenos so I will make sure to plant more this year. I try something new every year and this year it will be companion planting. Mixing different plants together to help each other. We will see how it goes. Watch for updates in the near future and follow along with each new adventure.

Snow, Snow, Snow

Here is what we woke up to this morning. Zach had a two hour delay for school and Don postponed his trip to CA for a day. Makes you wish for warmer weather. Then when summer comes we are wishing for snow. Go figure.

First post

Okay everyone here is my first post. I hope you all enjoy following us on the web. This last weekend we went over to Alamosa to listen to our youngest son play in the Top of the Nation Band at Adams State College. He had a blast and talked about most of the way home. I can tell how much he enjoyed himself by how long it taks him to fall asleep in the truck and he talked about 2/3's the way home.

WE are now under construction. Return later to see the results.