farm girl at home : The Farmer's Market

Here at home in Manassas, our Thursday Farmer's Market has begun. They are also out en force on Saturday's but it is a much calmer and engaging atmosphere on Thursdays plus I am usually at the farm on Saturday. People are friendly, stopping to chat, ask questions, and offer samples (my favorite). Above you can see my purchases for this week. I am super excited about dinner tonight, Beets, Baby squash and stuffed blossoms, fresh peas, purple romaine, local strawberries, and fresh homemade bread. I also bought another dahlia plant and a purple basil plant. All this for under $20. I chatted with the farmer from whom I bought the herbs - he allowed me to taste leaves off of a few other basil plants - just call me a rabbit, haha. I love regular basil, which I already have, and decided to try the purple one this year too. I can just see a slice of red ripe tomato, a soft white slice of mozzarella and POW - purple basil leave drizzled in a little balsmic - yummo! Now if the tomatoes would just ripen. The other basil plant I might try yet is the Italian Basil. It has large leaves, almost lettuce sized and he said they were great for sandwiches - um, a caprese sandwich on a rustic artisanal loave - oh my!
I also chatted with the pie lady and sampled her Strawberry Rhubarb pie. I will purchase one next week I think. We discussed rhubarb and she said it is up and almost ready - just needs to turn a bit redder. Can hardly wait! Farm boy and I love rhubarb anything. This year will be rhubarb jam making - I haven't done that in so long.
My CSA starts pretty soon too. I think in two weeks I need to report to work, although I haven't officially heard yet. But according to the chatter at the market things are really picking up - garlic is almost ready, everything at the market is getting more substantial in size and variety is increasing. so are the prices a little bit. Last week all onions were $1 a bunch, this week they all seemed to be $1.50.
I'm off to the kitchen to rustle up a veggie dinner.

farmgirl

along came a spider...

It's been a long week! And not a fun one either. You see last weekend while walking or working in the woods, I apparently came in close contact with a spider. Just a common garden variety
spider but whatever he was or is, he chose to bite me and leave behind a week full of massive headaches. They started almost immediately - in the truck on the way home as a matter of fact, and were obnoxious enough to mention to John Deere that my head really hurt. I could point to a specific spot and say "there - do you see anything there?" and after many "theres" and many tick checks, nothing interesting was spotted except for a little red welt. On Thursday, i went to the dr. I apologized for my sorry symptoms but told him that I really couldn't continue like this without some confirmation that I hadn't lost my mind. A thorough head check later I was informed that while an injection site was seen, there was nothing else to indicate that it was more than a harmless insect bite. Great - it was confirmed that I had in fact not lost my mind, Bummer, said headaches would continue until they stopped - maybe up to another week mimicking migraines and really not much else to do but rest and advil and a muscle relaxer if it gets really bad.


Meanwhile, I can't get the darned verse out of my head - "along came a spider who sat down beside her...." and why does my head still feel like it is full of creepy crawlies? Farm Boy says he's buying me a bee keepers suit before my next walk in the woods. haha - something tells me this will be a family joke for a long time... I have a few other choice thoughts but guess I won't repeat them at this time.

farmgirl

By the way, the spider up above is only a representation.....

Bring on the rain

Got my garden planted this weekend. Well most of it anyway. You know you are in trouble when a neighbor stops by and asks you if you are a glutton for punishment. I thought it was a modest start to our "farming" days (haha). Farmboy tilled two beds - on is about 75 ft x 6 ft and one is about 90 ft by 6 ft. The front one (on the left) is all flowers - a great experiment for the wedding. The one on the right is veggies. Let's hope they are not both deer food.

We've got big plans. We've planted lots of sunflowers (mini for bouquets), cosmos, daisy, delphinium, zinnias, and black-eyed susans and then on one end I planted two lavender plants cuz I go no where without my lavender! Funny thing is I've also planted most of these same flowers at home so between the two we should have what we need, you think? But if not then we have two back-up plans. One is the pick your own farms in the area and two is Costco - yes they have a whole section with sunflower wedding bouquets. Some might wonder why we didn't just go there first but then again - if you know me, you know why!

The veggie garden has tomatoes, beans, jack-o-lanterns, sugar pumpkins, winter squash, watermelon, and gourds for now. It is only about half planted - after 4 hours I was pooped!

It is never all work and no play for this farm girl so I took a long walk in the woods on Saturday morning. It was supposed to be raining but somehow it skipped right over us so I found myself motivationless but with a whole day ahead of me. I knew Farm Boy would come up with a plan/ farm chores so I got out of dodge while the gettin was good. He did nab me later though to help take down a fence but that is another story.

My walk in the woods..... so GREEN - I just love spring! I found several more clumps of narcissus back by the barn, the creek is still running well, the ferns are unfurling, the blackberry bushes are full of buds as are the peach trees and we found two more trees that we hadn't noticed or that didn't produce last year. We really must do something about protecting the fruit from the deer. It would be a shame to have it all eaten by them again. The more we clear the more we find so maybe eventually there will be enough for them to share with us - the greedy oinkers!

Took my friends to the farm for a birthday road trip. We had good girl time which means shopping and gabbing and food - including fried pickles. Found some great bargains on cushions at the Plow and Hearth Outlet - only $12.99 - they're 20 bucks at Target. The day could not have been prettier and the temperature was perfect. We picnicked on the front porch and then toured the farm. Judy came up with a name for it that we are trying on for size. "Whispering Oaks Farm" the trees were obviously whispering to her while we were visiting. I like it - it fits and sounds better than some of the things I have come up with. I think the girls were most inspired by the sharecroppers cabin. At least now I have some backup when John starts to talk about knocking it down. They loved the idea of making it a little guest retreat or an art studio. We even explored the inside of the main house and found some more old books and....a bowling ball - good question - I know you are asking it.
After a relaxing afternoon of exploring and visiting we headed into Appomattox to see what we could see. We found several gift, antique and book stores - woohoo - I shall have to further explore on a next adventure.
Unfortunately we spent so much time relaxing that by the time we got back on the road most of the antique stores were closed, but relaxing is what it all about when you are with friends and there's always next time.
farmgirl

Spring has sprung

Awesome! Spent the first weekend back at the farm, so good to be "home." We spent the weekend pruning trees, planting bulbs and sunflowers and riding the atv all over. This season promises to be one of beauty again and lots of work! After the winter it is always fun to see what is popping up that is new (in town it is a Walmart :) and we found several dogwood that we had not noticed before. Lots of trees and bushes and plants that were hidden by scrub and overgrown trees are coming to life. I have promised my self that each weekend I will spend some time just sitting and listening. I received an art pad and pastels for Christmas so that I could attempt to capture what I see onto paper. Like my photographs, my scribbling doesn't begin to do justice, even in an abstract sort of way, of what I am witnessing around me.

This weekend I chose to sit by the creek down behind the barn. I drove my atv into the woods as far as I could get and then walked along the creekbed until I found a sunny rock that invited me to sit. The creeks are really running at the moment. Since they are all springfed, the amount of water cruising the bed varies from time to time but in some places I think the water was over a foot high. As I sat my observations included the gurgle of a happy creek, the unique curvature of a tree, the maze of branches against the sun lit blue sky. Ferns are slowing uncurling and ants were very busy. Tiny bluettes and lacy little white flowers littered the ground just begging to be pressed for cards later this year and some fascinating purple flowers that looked like a jonny jumpup were hiding in the center of a pile of leaves. Did you know there were so many different shades of brown? To know me is to know that I always have a song or ditty in my head and as the creek gurgled along here is what my brain sang, "Give said the little stream, give oh give, give oh give, give said the little stream as it hurried down the hill. I'm small I know but wherever I go the grass grows greener still." It has a catchy little tune as well so feel free to sing along.Since I had not told farm boy where I was heading (and didn't want him to worry that the bear got me) I packed up my crayons and headed back to find him hard at work and not even knowing I had gone. We both jumped on and took off for a ride around the farm so I could point out some of the treasures found in my exploration.

I think I owe my little trailer an apology. (you can see it peeking out behind the trees) Obviously it has provided a lovely and more than adequate home for a family of spiders and a host of ladybugs and even a mouse or two over the years. Yet, in my mean spirited heart I called it names like red-neckville and white trash house, even when our neighbor told us it was the nicest trailer in all of Appomattox. Since the economy is holding us hostage for the moment and our log home is not going to built this year, it appears I will have to make peace with my little trailer -home away from home- and start to appreciate it for its finer points - like electricity, running water, hot showers, and flush toilets. To thank it for its faithful service in spite of my attitude I put some curtains on the windows and hung a picture or two on the walls and am beginning to grow quite fond of the front porch for sitting.

Other highlights of the weekend included listening to the little country church's bells as I planted my dahlias. I received quite a concert for almost 30 minutes - maybe the organist was practicing for services the next day. The butterflies were incredible and spent all day fluttering in and out of the lilac bush next to the porch. They could be found elsewhere on the farm too, traveling along on tractor rides to the orchard and sitting on the log with me at the fire pit.

Next weekend's project is the garden and my assignment while home is researching deer repellants..............stay tuned or better yet, come visit!

farmgirl

Must Get to the Farm

Spring is springing up everywhere and I can only imagine how pretty it is down at the farm. We've been so wrapped up in wedding plans and Farm Boy's big birthday that we haven't had time to head down. BUT, I daresay that should be resolved in the next week or two. Can't wait to see what is waiting for us. We have grand plans, which will have to be cut back a bit with the upcoming wedding, but I am sure we will still manage to have tons of fun and get lots done.

Until then here is a picture or two from last spring...

the magic of a woods in winter

So Farm Boy surprises me with a quick trip to the farm. There really is no quick trip about it since it is 3 hrs each way but I have said, apparently several times, that I wish I could see the farm with snow and John Dear wanted to rev up his tractor and check out the roofs so off we went; me with my trusty camera and John Dear with his atv, his keys and his big ole' heart of gold. The drive was quick, we were eager to get there and the scenery along the way was beautiful. Pristine fields of solid white, mostly uninterrupted aside from the occasional drift or animal tracks.

I was not disappointed when we arrived at our little place. In fact, I was delighted to find that no one had attempted to track back to the woods for deer or turkey hunting and the land lay bare and quiet. Parking at the neighbors so as not to get stuck we weighed our options for arrival. A) would the truck make it in through two feet of compacted snow? (of course it would he said - it's a four wheel drive...but I don't want to have to dig us out, he added.) Option b was the atv - but it sort of had its own issues as in "i don't want to take the time to unload it." so Option C it was - time to put on the hiking boots and start walking. The snow was so hard we mostly stayed on top of it but every three or four footsteps we'd sink into a soft spot and have to pull our ankles out to continue - great cardio workout if I hadn't already had mine for the day. We walked the half mile up the driveway to the trailer and the garage. We had had company - bird tracks joined us on our walk and closer to the house a small animal had been playing leaving behind his footprints, perhaps a racoon. The woods welcomed us with its quiet majesty. Tall oaks and tiny evergreen scrubs alike stood tall to show us they had waited patiently for our return. A little further up the drive we came to the storage barn - all was in good shape except for the unmistakable odor of a skunk party a few nights back - faint but definately skunky. Even the icicles offered a welcome, spelling out the word Hi as they froze solid along the vines that clung to the barn. We continued down the lane, James' meadow on one side and the woods on the other, listening to the many sounds that the woods offers. Wild turkeys called in the background warning others that someone had dared to invade their space. We both noticed how clear and close the mountains seemed this time of year without anything to block their view. We came out into the opening where the circular drive will one day go and surveyed the back fields and noticed that a) the abandoned house had not yet caved in and b) the spring fed creek was alive and well and happily carving its path through the snow. This stream had not yet had water in it that we had seen so we hiked down to it to check out the spring. John wanted to hike up the hill to the house but I begged to proceed through the woods (partly from the cardio workout and partly because I knew there would be better pictures awaiting me in the woods.) So off we went again in the direction of the woods, past the deer tracks and down the path towards the "big" barn and the little sharecroppers cabin. John Dear commented on the many great places for sledding. I personally was dreaming of a fire pit. Some day he will be out sledding with the grandkids and I will stay in and tend the fire, I said. He smiled, "Of course you will" In the clearing of the tobaccy barn we noticed that a good third of the roof was no longer a part of the roof line. "Well that takes care of that," he said, making note that some of his spring work had been started for him. We walked down to spring-fed creek #2 - this one also noisily making its pathway through the woods. Back through the woods we traipsed, the snow being much softer under the trees making our progress a bit slower, giving us time to notice the lacy effect of soft leaves that had not fallen, the buds on other trees promising us that spring was coming and the sheer peacefulness that comes from a walk in the woods.

An hour and a half had flown by as we made observations of the farm in winter. Day was dying and light was quickly waning. We popped into the neighbors house to say hello (that's what you do in the country) and to warm ourselves by her cheerful fire. After a short visit of pleasantries, invitations to dinner, rainchecks and promises of being back soon, we loaded up in the truck that waited in her driveway and headed back home.