Peppers and Zucchini

I haven't updated on the garden in forever but am still trying to participate in the From Seeds to Harvest challenge.



Remember Clarence's pepper plants in the two-liter bottles? He planted them in the ground in the hoop house when they had little peppers already forming. He is now thinking it was a mistake to wait so long to transplant them because the peppers haven't been getting very big. He's been picking them as they ripen, hoping the plants will make more (and larger) peppers before the end of the season.

The zucchini is starting to yield like...well...zucchini. We have been enjoying it as Honey Roasted Zucchini, using honey from the neighbors, whose hives are on the far side of our mud-hole pond. The honey isn't my favorite on its own, but it works great for this.

The other peppers are starting to produce and the first tomatoes have ripened, which is a bit earlier than we sometimes have tomatoes.

Our green beans are behind the normal schedule. We had some almost ready to pick and the deer visited Allison's garden and had a snack. Thankfully, they just grazed the tops, rather than devouring the whole plants. Clarence put some fence up the next day and we're hopeful we'll have more soon.

We also have beans planted in the strawberry tower that have yet to produce. We're thankful some friends have been supplying us pretty regularly with fresh beans-we've been enjoying them.

The snow peas are still producing pretty well. Usually ours are done by now but it has been cooler and wetter than most summers and the peas apparently have been liking it.

The weeds seem to be doing the best of all. With the amount of time we've been spending at camp, it seems to be a losing battle.

More garden updates can be found by visiting Teaching Good Things.

Where to start?

It's been 3 weeks already since I last posted? Whew, you can tell it's summer, can't you?

I'll try to slowly update some of what has been happening with us lately.

One of the happenings was that Allison went to Ranch Camp for a week. On Friday morning, before you pick up your camper, you watch the showdeo!

It starts with a couple ranch hands riding with the American flag and an ichthus flag while the National Anthem plays.

Then the fun starts.

The spectators, doting parents, grandparents, and siblings sit in the sweltering sun and watch about 35 campers circle the arena, one at a time, showing off the skills they have learned during the week. It's an exciting time, I'm tellin' ya.

But it makes my girl so happy that I'm willing to go each year. This year she mentioned it to her grandparents and they all came and watched, too. That is love!

This year Allison got to ride Buttercup, a horse that was previously owned by some folks we know. Buttercup doesn't always like to obey. She likes to trot when they're supposed to walk. She likes to go see what the other horses are doing instead of going where her rider intends. Allison was given the choice of having the challenge of riding Buttercup or choosing a horse that is more compliant. She was happy she chose to be challenged.

At the end of the showdeo, the campers are given certificates.

Allison happened to have a girl for a cabinmate that my girls met last year at Family Camp.

Our church's annual Conference meetings and Family Camp came on the heels of Ranch Camp. During Conference, Allison was again recognized, along with about 6 others, for receiving her John Wesley award. I even remembered her sash this time!

Our trailer remains at camp for another couple weeks so, as we come and go, I'll probably be scarce around here but I'll update when I have a bit of time.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

It's the little things

I'm not a camper.

I'm also not a morning person.

When the girls were little, one year during our church's Family Camp, I drove them over to our camp every morning so they could participate in the day camp program. We had to be there before 9:00 which meant leaving home around 8:30. Now, we could do it, but by the end of the week they weren't moving very quickly in the morning and I wasn't sounding very sweet or loving as I tried to get them out the door.

I told Clarence that I'd be willing to camp, as long as we had a trailer to camp in. No tents for me. His stipulation was that he didn't want a pop-up. There's just something about pulling those canvas ends out on a pop-up that brings on the rain.

We managed to find a nice trailer for a price we could afford. Clarence's dad is a sweetheart and not only moves it back and forth for us with his truck, he also stores it at his relatively tree-free house since we live in our own little forest.

It's been all good. Until last summer when Clarence gave our granddaughter baths in the little trailer tub. It required kneeling in front of the toilet where, every year, the carpet gets damp. I knew this. I thought he knew it, too, but he was rather surprised by his wet knees.

After camp, he pulled out the toilet to try to fix it.

His dad asked him this spring if he'd gotten a new toilet yet. We had both forgotten the old one was gone. Dad noticed when he was in the trailer, vacuuming up the dead flies that litter the place every spring. [Have I ever mentioned that my father in law is just as wonderful as my husband? I thought it was amazing that the trailer stayed so clean every winter until the girls were visiting them one time and Grandpa had Allison help him do the vacuuming.]




The new toilet is installed. It's such a little thing, right? Nope, not to me.

I'm ready to "rough it" again.

Normal, yes. Typical, no.

Julianne turned 14 last week.

She has a lot of interests and hobbies, so she is very easy to buy for. She was delighted with all her presents, most of which were purchased because they were on her wish list. Yes, my teen-aged daughter requested PVC pipe for her birthday. Told you she isn't typical.

We often ask the girls to make a wish list and are frequently surprised by what ends up on it. It's usually an eclectic mix but this one may have been the most unique.

She has a book checked out from the library called Kids Weaving by Sarah Swett. In it, there are directions for making a PVC pipe loom. She wanted one badly-and just how often can you send Dad to the Evil Orange to shop for his daughter's gift?

She and her dad cut the pipe pieces to length and she has been labeling each part as she assembles it. She still needs a couple incidental items and then she can try weaving.

I know she can't wait.

4th of July parade

Our little town puts on a big parade every July 4th.

It usually lasts over an hour, and this year was no exception.

There is always a semi pulling a flatbed trailer full of dancing girls.

And the tractors.

The tractors are everywhere.

They come in all colors.

We even get tractors being hauled instead of driven.

You get to see some farm machinery, being paraded down Main Street.

(I have no idea what that piece of equipment is. I just wanted a picture of one of the blue tractors.)

So, if you've got yourself a tractor, you're welcome in our parade.

Or, if you drive an emergency vehicle. We have a slew of those, too.

It's fun to head to town and see everyone decked out for the 4th, sitting back and enjoying the show.

Does your town have a huge parade for the 4th?

My busy week

This tabernacle is a smaller version of the tabernacle where our camp meetings were held when I was young. I love it, just because it reminds me of the other.



It sits on one of our church's campgrounds. One of the churches in our conference donated some "new" pews, so the camp was giving the old ones away. My best friend's mom was at camp last week and heard about it.

Monday, my friend was kind enough to tell me about it, too.

My husband was sweet enough to take me to get one.

Once we had one loaded, I called Kathy. Clarence wasn't sure we could fit two into the van but said we could try.

These babies are 9 feet long! And it was raining. We didn't want them sticking out, getting wet.

We reclined the passenger seat all the way back, to the floor, then finagled the pews over it. It worked!

Don't you love the detail?

I'm going to try to strip mine and stain it. I'm hoping to get it looking decent because I don't want to have to paint it.

I also had a baby shower to attend this week.

Julianne turned 14 this week.

We've had a couple Amish men here this week finishing the windows, doors, and siding that didn't get finished last fall before the weather stopped us. I try to keep them supplied with cookies, so that adds extra baking.

I'm not quite sure how it got to be Friday so fast
but
the shower gift was done in time,
Julianne had a nice birthday,
and the Amish men finished the job today.

It's been a good week.