Mega Metamorphosis

We were so blessed when Gitlin Green Grocer Girl gave us our very own caterpillar so we could observe the miraculous wonder of morphing into a beautiful Monarch Butterfly.

That Hungry Little Caterpillar ate and ate and ate the day we got it. By nightfall, he was attaching some silk to the plastic wrap we were using to cover the jar. I fully intended to rig up something in the morning that he could hang from, BUT he insisted on attaching to the plastic wrap. I didn't have the courage to move the little fella.

I tried to record the event with photos, but yeah....you get the picture:

We WILL have Water

Here is our solar still tutorial through pictures in case you're ever caught in the wild with no water. Don't waste time getting this set up. It takes a good 24 hours to get a few drops to drink.

I think that is probably the hardest part about survival....realizing you need to kick into survival mode. I mean think about it. If you are preparing to survive the first hour you think you might be lost or stranded, your chances for survival are probably better. If you wait a whole 24 hours thinking you'll be rescued, you've lost a lot of valuable time and will have to wait one more day before you have water.

Anyway, I don't ever plan to be in the situation where I will need to know this, but does anyone plan to be stranded besides Man Vs. Wild or Survivorman? Okay, maybe my friend who is gearing up for a 4-6 day hike in Canada.

You will see with the following pictures, there a few things you may want to carry with you in the event you are stranded. Here you go:

Happy hydrating! I saw on Youtube a solar still about 6 feet across. That may get you some more water. We didn't get enough to drink through the straw, but the bowl and underside of the plastic was covered in condensation.

Willow Tree Art

For science last week we labeled parts of a tree, so for Art I thought it only fitting to draw some trees. I picked willow trees because we are again catering our studies around the the "Little House" books. This year we're starting with "On the Banks of Plum Creek." Well, on the banks of plum creek Laura and Mary spend some time playing in and on the Willow Trees.

So to begin, we watched a little video (that I can't seem to find the link to now) on how to do simple willow tree drawings. We did a little practice sketch and then headed outside to spy various trunk options. We each picked our own little quiet spot with sketch paper and writing utensils in tow.

After about 30 minutes, the results were in. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love love love (like Eloise loves pink), art. The only bad art I've ever seen, is art that wasn't attempted by the creator to be art in the first place. And even that can turn out amazing at times.

My daughter is completely opposite of my son and I in our approach to creating art. My first attempt is usually the one I go back to liking the most, but I always attempt to recreate, to expound on my first attempt. I end up putting out a couple of bad products, and then a finale that I have usually overdone. I've noticed my son doing this as well.

Not my daughter. She takes her time on the first piece and she would just assume be done. It is more of a task to check off the list than an artistic expression experience. By the time she tries her second and third, it turns to 3-year old scribbling.

There are few things that give me as much delight as looking at the artwork of several artists (especially young, beginner artists) that have created the same thing from their own perspective and talent. Such a reminder of the uniqueness God has created us with.

Now, I'll let you decide who drew which willow tree.

Mud Pies

I'm not the only one trying to cram in everything I didn't have time to do this summer into the last few weeks of semi-warm weather. My daughter has gone swimming in our ice-cold pool everyday for the last week. She had a friend over Saturday, and they made mud pies. Oh, fall...please hold off just a little longer!

Farmer's Market

This is what has kept me from my blog this summer:

Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Life is just a bowl of cherries
Don't take it serious, Life's too mysterious. You work, You save,You worry so.
But you can't take your dough.
When you go, go, go.

So keep repeating "It's the berries." The strongest oak must fall.

The sweet things in life. To you were just loaned.

So how can you lose What you've never owned?

Life is just a bowl of cherries.

So live and laugh, aha! Laugh and love.

Live and laugh, Laugh and love,

Live and laugh at it all!

Survey & Giveaway

Okay, this is more for fun than the giveaway. But I really want your input. I will be giving away a 1 inch "Support Local Growers" button to 5 people (that is if I get 5 people to respond). If I get more than 5 responders, I will choose the 5 using random.com.

To enter your chance to win post in the comments the answer to the following in regards to Beets:

If you attended a farmer's market, would you be more apt to buy

A. Beets fresh (tied in a bunch)

B. Beet chips (like potato chips only made with beets)

C. I would never consider buying beets

Thanks everyone! I will announce the winners sometime Friday afternoon so don't be too slow responding. Come out all you lurkers and join the fun!

Summer Days on the Farm

I am loving every minute of living on the farm (except the minutes that I see a spider or bug trying to habitate INside rather than OUTside). I'm praying that the this isn't just the "newness" of it all, but that I really will find joy in farm life for as long as God has us here.

The past four or five summers have involved some type of baseball/t-ball schedule for at least one month. This year, both kids opted and out and I couldn't be more thrilled. Although we are wrapped up in selling every Saturday at the Farmer's Market, there is a freedom that accompanies this summer that seems like I haven't had since I lived here before 6 years ago. It is also reminiscent of my own childhood spent on this very same farm around 20 years ago. I am amazed that my children are the 5th generation to live in this old farmhouse.

I thought it only fitting to post some pictures of our days here on the farm. Enjoy!

The boys setting up the trampoline given to us by my hubbies family.

Enjoying a swim break on the back steps
(White Pear Tea and Sarah's Granola Bar)

Roasting Marshmallows over the Burn Barrel with next door cousin.

Breakfast on the back steps

(When you live on the farm you can step right out of bed and jump in the pool you know)

One of the many meals made with produce from our very own garden.

The leak in the living room when torrential rains hit from the west.

Cooling off with Daddy

My Mannequin's (Jeffery) view of the garden

"Enjoying" yet another drive to town on a road that has been being worked on since 2 days after we moved in causing us to go 10 minutes (at least) out of our way each way.

Picture me running and jumping in over the edge from the left.

My routine: Weed in the Garden, Jump in Pool, Weed in the Garden, Jump in the Pool.

It seems to keep the danger of heat exhaustion at bay.

Happy 4th Day of Summer!