Fun Work Day

     I must admit that every day we are out at The Farm is fun. The "work" is something we love. One of the best perks is hanging out with family and sometimes good friends who also like this type of  "work".  Dad would have loved to sit with us, he would have been grinning a lot.

     This blog is about a friends and family work day and the great food that Anna and Lisa are coming up with as they try out possible recipes for our CSA harvest box flyers. Each week Lisa comes up with a flyer for the box with recipes and suggested uses for what is in the box that week. We usually are the chefs' guinea pigs (lucky us, my sister and niece can COOK).

My niece Angie shows off her own measuring tape! My sister Lisa, in blue, and a dear friend, Jane in white, transplant petunias into 4 inch pots.

Jane digs in. And yes, she wore white to work in.

Showing off AGAIN! Yes, we use power tools, too. Notice my husband's chop saw in the background. 

So proud of that measuring tape!  Didn't I say we have fun? :)

Another friend, Laurie, who used to teach American Sign Language at Sprague with me, uses her very own nail gun to help build peony cages. The peony blossoms get heavy with rain and end up on the ground and in the dirt. This way, they will stay clean for the weekly bouquets. We hope.

Yes, that's her power tool for the day! She is a wood worker and has a plethora of power tools. We thought it was neat that the little kiddos saw all of us working with power tools and building things. And of course it was fun. They spent much of their time on the swing set right behind Laurie under Mom's curly willow tree.

Lisa and Anna's creation. Oh, my, gosh. So delicious. Asparagus, bacon, onion, garlic, cheese, eggs, Lisa's "from scratch" crust, which is always very tender and delicate.  YUM.

The second quiche was made with Swiss Cheese and asparagus. so delicate and very flavorful. You could roll it around in your mouth and savor it forever. And a fresh fruit salad, too. Over to the far right, homemade sandwich cookies. Lemonade to quench your thirst.

Lunch is served. Hats for almost everyone. Sunscreen on the table. Such a wonderful time to chat and tell stories. And of course sample all the wonderful food. Large sun hat wearer is "Other Mary" sitting next to the visor lady, my mother-in-law Mary, or Grams. I am sitting behind Grams with my new purple sun hat. 

Anna, my niece is to the right sitting at the child picnic table. She lives here at The Farm with her husband and their three little ones. The blue roofed building in the background is where our Mom potted up plants and hung her flowers to dry. Therefore, Lisa and I call it the Potting Shed. 

After our wonderful lunch break, Laurie built the peony cage in the top left. Lisa had requested another cage for the now short Baby's Breath. So Laurie is finishing this one up. In years past, these short plants have grown so large they have covered both of the walkways. Hopefully this new cage will help them stay up and clean and allow us to use the walkways.

The last nail for the day. A job well done!

The following are a few photos of the spring flowering plants at The Farm. By the time most people come out to pick up their harvest boxes many of these will be bloomed out. Just a glimpse of the springtime beauty Mom and Dad left behind for us to enjoy.

Mom always said "put white in your garden and it will make your other colors pop".  I think she may have been on to something.

Ferns to the right add texture.

Perennial yellow alyssum adds to the blues and whites and greens.

 Mom liked the movement the ornamental grasses added to the garden. Rhododendrons by the chimney. These raised beds were for the herb nursery she had along with scented geraniums and fuchsias. Her nursery was named "Sweetbriar".

Pink Columbine in the foreground alongside the tall green Lovage that looks like overgrown celery (they are in the same family). Variegated irises are near the peonies with their new cage.