Eggy Oatmeal

Longer ago, my cooking friend recommended adding an egg to oatmeal as something to try. It boosts the protein and adds creaminess. 

I finally gave it a try! 

Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Then, in the last two minutes of cooking, whisk the eggs into the oatmeal as fast as you can. One video said to take the oatmeal off heat while whisking. I did a combo because I couldn't manage the egg dumping and pan holding at the same time. 😅 

Looks pretty creamy!

My favorite way to eat oatmeal is to cook a banana and some dried berries in the last few minutes (adds sweetness and plumps up the berries). I still did that this time, but did it after the eggs. Maybe next time I'll switch the order. 

 It tasted great! Jaron was definitely a fan. 

Hot and Watering

I've had to get creative in Jaron's footwear lately. His moccasins are great for walking around outside, but when they get wet, it takes forever for them to drive because they are made of leather. We have a pair of water boots for him, but when he is helping with the hose, the water goes directly into the boots, and then those take forever to dry. So we tried option number three - his flip flops.

He did not like them on his feet at first. I think the between the toes sensation was not his favorite. He ended up tolerating them though. And they dried out quickly after he helped water the goats!

We are about to leave for a week-long vacation up north, so we watered everything really well. It's supposed to be hot while we're gone and there isn't much rain in the forecast. Well Jaron and I were watering the raspberries, I spotted this cool slime mold. That's not something you see everyday around here!

I'll be taking the week off from posting, so I can disconnect from my phone, enjoy the peaceful lake environment, and connect with family. 

See you back on July 27th! 

Mulching Party

We finally have the majority of the garden covered. Weeds be gone! I think I'll be able to keep a handle on the remaining areas. 

Our garden is slowly growing. Jaron picked the two ripe peppers and sampled them. He thought they were apples and spit out his bites. 🤦‍♀️😆

Galen helped by being the wheelbarrow guy. Wow, that made things go quickly! I stayed in the garden and put down the cardboard and spread out the mulch after he dumped it.

Even with the help, it took hours. Jaron went over to his grandparents house after a while, so we kept working late into the night. We finally finished around 10:30pm. 

The shed is pretty empty of straw now! Just the back left corner has some. We'll probably leave that so the goats have a nice place to lay down.

 

Red Currants

I finally got around to harvesting the red currant bush. Jaron and I went out late one afternoon with a small plastic tub. 

He wanted to pick and eat, which was fine. Then he wanted to eat from the dish. Uh, no bud, that's not how this works. I told him the ones in the dish we had to save for Dad. He ended up picking some to share! I thought he was going for more eating but instead he put berries in! "For Dad!" he said. 😆😊 So sweet. 

Here's how many we ended up with! 

They remind me a little of elderberries, just the clusters on the bush and how the berries themselves look (besides being red vs a deep purple). The taste is vastly different though. 

Sandbox Gardening

Friends of ours had a portable sand table out when we visited their house. Jaron had so much fun playing with it, I made a comment about us needing to get something like that for him. Guess what... the table was out at their house because they're getting rid of it. It was a hand-me-down to them, so they were looking for another family to give it to. That's us! 

It came with a few bags of sand and a bunch of plastic toys. I had Galen set it up next to the garden. 

It keeps him occupied for 5-10 minutes, then he toddles into the garden to see what I'm doing. Then he meanders over to his pail of dirt. And then wanders back to the sand table. 

Definitely a good distraction. 

Things are still growing slowly in the garden. The watermelon on the trellis looks pretty good. I've woven it through a few times. No mildew on leaves yet! 

In weeding the potatoes, I came across another basil plant that survived! 

The best looking thing in the garden is a volunteer pumpkin. Who knows what kind of pumpkin it is... Hopefully a good kind!

 

Backyard Pasture

The goats have switched from the north pasture to the backyard pasture. The warm and wet weather has grown things enough we decided it was time. 

This morning I noticed a vine growing and flowering.

Unfortunately, I don't think it'll last long... The goats love eating vines like that. It's just a matter of when they find it. 

One thing that's growing really well is chicory.

It has beautiful bluish purplish flowers. I don't think the goats care for it much though. I think I can spy some flowers in the north pasture, which means they haven't been eating them there. Maybe it's a medicinal plant and they only eat a little at a time? 

Tree Watering Bags

Back in Fulda again for a few days. G had a church conference to go to in Iowa, so Jaron and I went back to the farm. We brought some tree watering bags from the garden center with us to make it easier for my dad to keep these newly planted trees watered. 

I've seen them around trees in town before and always wondered how they work. They're very easy to use. Zip the bag around the tree, fill with water. Pull up on the handles when it's partly full to get it to sit upright. 

They hold 15gal that trickle out over 5-8h. You only need to fill them up every couple days or so as opposed to watering every day. 

Jaron had to check out how his tree was doing...

Yep, looking good!