Bountiful Baskets

Recently Jana and I have been getting produce from Bountiful Baskets. It is a food co-op. For $15 per week, you can pick up a basket of stuff on Saturday morning. It is guaranteed to have 6 fruits and 6 vegetables, though we never know ahead of time what is going to be in there. We share a basket as there is too much stuff in there for just 2 people for a week. This was what was in the basket last time we got one. It's almost like Christmas...going out Saturday morning to see what treasures we'll get to bring home.

The last 2 baskets have had brussels sprouts in them. Last time there were extra brussels sprouts, so they said anyone who wanted more could take a handful. One lady stopped on her way past and got a big handful. Her son, behind her, said, "Nooooooooooooo!"

If I can't use all my stuff in a week, sometimes I freeze it if it is something that will freeze ok.

Good Deal-pt. 2

A few weeks ago, we traded for this picture. Roger finally had a few spare minutes to make a frame for it. We aren't good at matting, so we just settled for the wood frame. We found an old, gray, weathered board that used to be part of an old barn. It matched the fence and the clothes line post in the picture. That is what he used to make the frame. It's a rustic picture, so now it has a rustic frame to go with it.

Rumors

What better place to hear rumors than a neighborhood get-together? To celebrate the 5th of July, there was a neighborhood party in the cul-de-sac at the end of the road. Several grills were set up for the cooking of whatever meat a person brought. Tables were provided for salads and desserts.

We commented on something that happened Sunday before last. We hadn't been home from church long, when we saw a tractor out on the property behind us that used to be ours. I thought he was mowing....but also thought he was doing a terrible job. The cool, wet Spring had really helped the weeds grow tall and thick. One of our neighbors complained to us that we needed to cut them down, until we told him we no longer owned that lot and hadn't for over a year.

Anyway, we went out to make sure our hose was not out in that lot at all as we didn't want it mowed, but in talking to the fellow running the tractor, he pointed out that he hadn't been hired to mow, but rather just take his bucket around the lot to pick up any large rocks, and in so doing, he mashed down the tall weeds. Since it is no longer rainy, they have stayed down.

The next day a 5th wheel trailer appeared in the lot, just a few feet away from ours. We haven't seen any people around it, but at the party, one of the neighbors said she had talked to a lady who said they are soon planning to start building on that lot. We've seen no sign of building so far, but we'll keep our eyes open.

At this point, I'd not mind someone building there I think. It has become a home for grasshoppers, who then love to come and snack on our garden.

A Good Deal

A good deal is one in which both parties end up happy, right? When we were at an event called Art on the Lawn, the painting below caught my eye. (The color in this picture of it doesn't do it justice.) The artist is a man named Trent Gudmundsen. He's the same one who did the large mural inside the welcome center at the AWHC. In the course of discussing the painting and its cost, the word 'trade' was mentioned. As it turned out, the previous weekend, at the Summerfest event, he and his wife had been admiring one of Roger's boxes, and so the deal was made. He got to surprise his wife with a box she had wanted, and we got this painting, which I liked...as a painting, but also because it was clearly painted at the AWHC. I have hung clothes on that very clothesline when showing school groups how laundry was done in 1917. When Roger has time, He'll create a frame for it. I am thinking some sort of grayish weathered wood might look good...to sort of match the fence in the picture.

Partial Lunar Eclipse

Yesterday when I woke up, I remembered that there was supposed to be a partial lunar eclipse visible here if clouds permitted, so I took a peek out the door to our deck and saw this 'full moon'.



Our weather has changed radically in the past week. We've been busy every weekend of June with various shows. A week ago, during the first day of Summerfest, I was bundled up in my cape to keep warm enough. A few days later, it was 90 degrees! I guess summer has finally come.

Springtime in the Rockies?

Yesterday the weather was odd. In fact our whole Spring so far has been oddly cool and wet. There have been a few warm and sunny days, but it seems every couple of days, another storm comes in. Yesterday was noteworthy even this year. As we turned on the radio when we woke up, we heard of snow in some of the canyon areas and even some of the towns south of us. As we are usually cooler than down south, we expected the worst. With a school group coming to visit, we dressed for bad weather.

The storm seemed to be moving from south to north, so we expected the worst. It rained all the way to work and stopped just as we arrived. Luckily for us...and the visitors, rain didn't begin again until the kids got back on their bus.

The clouds stayed draped over the nearby mountains, lifting once in a while to show us glimpses of the descending snowline. Fortunately for us, the snow never reached the valley floor.

1917 Farm School Groups

When school groups visit the 1917 farm, they learn how families lived in our area during World War I. Once they get off the bus, they are divided into 6-8 groups. Each group goes with a different docent to visit a part of the farm. During their time at the farm, the children rotate through each station.

One group goes first to visit the summer kitchen...



where they learn about how laundry was done in 1917.



Next they go to the back porch of the farmhouse where they get to help churn butter.



The next stop is the farmhouse kitchen where they learn about cooking in the old days on a wood stove. They even get a cookie to eat there which was baked in the wood stove oven.



From the kitchen they go to visit in the parlor...



and see the parents' bedroom.





Then they head out the front door to go visit the barn, where they have a chance to help milk a cow.



On the way out of the barn, there are some other animals they can visit and learn about.





Next they are off to visit the farm shop where they learn about repairing farm equipment, leatherwork and blacksmithing.



After the work, it is time for some fun and games. These children are playing a rousing game of Run Sheep, Run.





The last stop for this group is the farm outbuildings....the chicken coop,



the root cellar...



the outhouse....



and the smokehouse.




It's always a fun day at the farm.