Week 5 - June 25, 2013

Week 5

Hey, it's Oregon.  Just another rainy summer day!

It's off to work we go!

Slightly dampened spirits?

Neither rain, nor... can keep friend Bryan from picking.

Yum - blueberries!

One berry at a time.

Angie at work - between rain showers.

Angie's little helper.

Just for you!

Don't worry - it'll wash off!  

Nice collection of Sylvanberries, Bryan!

Lisa, what beautiful arrangements!

Beautiful Dahlias.

The makings of a lovely bouquet.

Fresh from the field - creamy cauliflower, broccoli, and artichoke.

Yellow banana peppers and cherry tomatoes add color.

A variety of cukes and zukes.

Wow, nice cucumber!

Artichokes are soooo good!

Florencio, those asparagus look great!

Lemon cucumbers from the greenhouse.

Anna and her helpers.

Quality control.

Aren't those lavender stems fragrant and beautiful?

Ready to eat!

Getting freshly picked onions ready for the boxes.

Ready for packing and eating!

The beginning of the assembly line.

Nephew Shawn preparing berries for the boxes.

Let's get started!

A fourth of the way there - much more to come!

The end to another productive day!

Week 4 June 18

Lisa, my sister, picks the
first of the zinnias.

An armload of zinnias.
Potatoes in the foreground.

In the background, a multi-tasking Bryan, a friend of mine,
helps pick Sylvanberries, 
 Deanna, a co-worker from Sprague who
is now at McKay, checks the cauliflower in the foreground. 

The 2nd planting of cole crops has a few
mature white cauliflower. Deanna is harvesting.

Amy, a friend who is helping us out,
picks Sylvanberries in the rain.

One of the many passing rain clouds today.

Lisa is adding ferns to the flower mix. A new texture.

These ferns are leathery.

The spores on the back are dark and a little raised.

When the sun came out we could
see the spores while looking at the front side.

Lady's Mantle catches rain drops
that bead up and glisten in the sunshine.

Lisa, my sister, made a DELICIOUS pastry for our morning snack.

Pink Astilbe is ready for this week.
Almost frothy looking.

The rains came pouring down on my great nephew who lives here at The Farm. "Should I abandon my trike, or just put up my hood?"

"It's not letting up,  heading for cover"!

That shower left big puddles.

Then the sun came out and the coats came off. She poses with a dahlia in hand and a nasturtium in her hair.
She is my great niece who lives at The Farm with her little brother and baby sister.

Blackcaps. Black raspberries.

Lemon balm is ready to harvest.
Soon this will be in the boxes.

Lovage is like an overgrown celery, much taller.
Same flavors and can be used in much the same way. 

Sorrel. Soon making an appearance.

One of the first Echinacea,
a.k.a. purple coneflower, to bloom this year.

Lavender is beginning to bloom.

Ornamental allium (onion family flower)
are beginning to burst out of their protective casings.

A purple drooping allium flowers out.

Pink snapdragon.
The lower right petal caught some rain.

These seeds in their protective casings are on a "basket of gold" flower. 

Dad planted this beautiful clematis by the entrance to the backyard of the house. I told him I loved it and he brought me my own. It is planted with a red rose and a white rose at my house. I have a living "flag" for the 4th of July. And memories.

Sweet peas are starting to bloom.

A golden hop adorns the little greenhouse.

Guess who hopped by to visit?

Twining morning glory start up the trellis.
They all grow in the same direction when they climb.

The bunny tail grass we planted along the
walkway in the new raised beds is starting to bloom.
Doesn't it look like a little bunny tail? :)

Lisa and I planted more things in the raised bed after the harvest boxes were picked up. These yarrow plants really wanted out of their 4 inch pots. Runners that would normally grow along the surface of the soil had headed DOWN.

More was added in, the late sun was shining,
good times between sisters.

Chocolate scented cosmos.
Give them a sniff sometime.

Lisa is forever on the move,
shovel and plant in hand this time.

These we purchased at Costco in a bag. Pretty!

More sweet pea colors.

Black hollyhocks bloom by our
late Grandma Daisy's house.

The underneath side of the orange drawer that won a spot in the flower garden. It was "repurposed" after the
farmhouse bathroom was remodeled.
I wonder when Queen Lily Soap was popular?

Lisa and I remember when these berry carriers
were used on The Farm's strawberry fields of yore.

Asian pears growing in the orchard.

It appears there will be an abundance of figs this year.
Unless the birds win the battle.

Apples growing in the orchard, too.

About 9:15 Tuesday night. Almost a "glow in the dark" picture. The clouds have thinned out.