So...Summer Started!

Sometime in there we went from Spring to Summer.  L's last day of school was June 2nd.  She celebrated with her friends at their annual End-of-School Water Balloon Party.

We have finished picking strawberries and moved right into blueberries.

I weeded my flower bed and put out the pigs and bird baths.

Last week we went camping at Spruce Knob Lake, WV.  To get there, we had to take unpaved roads.  In the rain.

This is how dirty the truck gets in that situation 

We put up the tent in the rain, but had beautiful weather the rest of the time (except for rain the last night as well.)

We put up a hammock in our campsite.  It was amazing the lay there and look up at the trees.

We did a bunch of hiking.  It was gorgeous!

We hiked up to the top of Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia at 4,863 feet.  

It was a nice trip, and I think we finally have all the camping stuff cleaned and dried and put away again - it only took a week.  JP and I have been talking about the next camping trip.

So, It's Been About a Month...

Where did the time go?  I'll try to catch you up!

We had a graduation party for J, which was well attended, and she had a lot of fun.  There was food,

Tree houses,

Swimming,

As well as a fire for s'mores, an outside movie, and a couple of friends slept over.

We took a day trip to Oglebay Park's Good Zoo in Wheeling, and ate lunch along the Ohio River.

L and I met with the Pediatric Neurologist at WVU and they do not feel that she needs any further work up for the seizure.  They are working on treating her chronic headaches, however.

We bought some property in Rockingham Co, VA, and explored it with the girls.  

One amazing find there was mulberry bushes!

We had a cookout and a few fireworks on the Ridge with the family to celebrate Independence Day.

The girls started their summer jobs at the library.

The garden is going gangbusters - particularly the blueberries.  This weekend I picked 3 gallons of blueberries, zucchini, cucumbers, wax beans, baby lettuce and sugar snap peas.

Whew!  I think we are up to speed now!  Hope your summer is flying by in the BEST of ways!

Around the Farm

I have been desperately trying to get the pool ready to use, but am thwarted at every step.  First we faced a chlorine shortage, next we couldn't find a fixture to replace one that apparently cracked over the winter, then we were low on water (everywhere, not just in the pool) and we hauled 3 loads to fill it up, and finally found that the skimmer itself was cracked.  We have been trying to use epoxy to stop it up, but keep having a tiny leak.  I just want it ready next week when J has her graduation party!

In the effort of cleaning off the veranda in anticipation of said party, JP and I have listed the Big Green Egg for sale on Craig's List.  When we moved it to the garage for easy loading by a future buyer, one of the wheels fell off.  It has taken us the past couple of hours to get it fixed, and in the process, one of the garage door windows got broken.  We crawled around on the concrete for a long time, picking up tiny shards of glass.

I discovered this little bugger amongst my strawberries when I was picking them yesterday.

On a happier note, we put together this swing set for the girls over the Memorial Day weekend.  JP has been promising the girls for one for YEARS, and needed it to happen before J left home.  It is pinned to the ground with 4 giant screws - shouldn't go anywhere!

The pear tree is absolutely COVERED with tiny pears this year.

I am off to do some more veranda cleaning - it appears that the cat threw up on the chair covers and have clawed one of my benches into splinters.  SIGH.

And So It Begins...

On Friday, the girls had 2 hours of school before being dismissed for summer vacation.  We attended the annual "End of School" party at our friends' house, with a bunch of other kids, and about 1300 water balloons and pizza.  Here they are crossing the line between "School" and "Summer."

 JP and I have been working on a bunch of projects for the upcoming season.

We moved the lower fence in the garden up about 20-25 feet, and took out the bottom 2 raised beds.  I just couldn't handle all of the garden on my own!  We have covered the strawberries and blueberries against bird predation, and I have picked strawberries at least 3 times.

My asparagus bed is now out in the open,

surrounding by netting to keep the deer out.

This weekend we have been trying to get the pool opened.  The stairs in the pool have broken the past 2 years, and this time were un-fixable.  We are building a small deck to attach a new ladder to.  This was all we managed to accomplish all weekend, including 2 trips to the hardware store for supplies.  The posts are pounded 3 feet into the ground, and the frame of the decking is bolted to the posts.  We still need to attached the ladders in and out, and will be putting PVC fencing all around the pool so that we can install the basketball hoop and volley ball net that JP got for Father's Day 3 years ago, and won't have to worry about losing the balls!

In addition, there has been plenty of mowing and weeding going on.

Next week, L has BBall camp, and we need to do the summer clothes shopping.

Zippidee doo dah - we're off into summer!

More Summer

L & I have had lots of activities together this summer.  It has been nice to spend one-on-one time with her...something we've never really had the chance to do before!  We've done simple things like take a picnic lunch to a local park and play on the playground...

 

...or climb the trees.

 

We went mini golfing, but didn't get photo documentation.

Last week we went to a nearby village and museum with re-enactors from the late 1800's.  We had the chance to practice our atlatl throwing.

And of course, we've spend lots and lots of time in the car, driving J to and from work at the library.

L also FINALLY had her voice recital.  She did a great job, but looked extremely nervous.  She does not want me to post the video here...sorry.

 

All three of us spent a few hours at the county fair last week.  One of our favorite things, the petting zoo, was conspicuously absent this year.  We did manage to buy expensive food on a stick, and ride a few rides.

 

Today was J's last day of work, although she is returning tomorrow to volunteer for the final Summer Reading Club.  She has had extremely long days for the past 2 days...working 8 hours, and then going directly to 3 hours of soccer practice. She is getting home at 9:30 PM, eating dinner, showering, and going to bed.  This morning, she also had an appointment before work, so it was even longer.  Tomorrow she has a voice lesson after library, and then concussion testing prior to practice - another extremely long day.  Thursday she will finally have the chance to chill out during the day (I think!)  But, she has her first soccer game on Saturday!

The pullets began laying a couple of weeks ago, and now we are getting many beautiful brown and very small eggs.  Today I found 16!  I think that the pullets themselves are quite attractive.  We only have 6 old, balding hens any longer.

 

Summer is winding down, and I always start to feel a bit melancholy this time of year.  I will really miss the girls when they go back to school!  I'm sure that I will still have plenty of things to keep me busy, but I am happy to say that I managed to accomplish quite a few things that have been lingering on my To-Do list for years.

Here's to the final 2 weeks of summer.  Live it to the fullest!

Silver

Just in time for the Olympics, JP & I have scored a Silver of our own - this week we celebrated our 25th anniversary.  We were able to get away to the city overnight, thanks to my parents who gave us the great gift of taking care of the girls.  We watched a baseball game from our hotel room.

We strolled around town, and walked to a fancy restaurant for dinner, where we dined with a hometown hero.

We even got to watch fireworks from our hotel once it got dark outside!

In the morning, we walked to get coffee and bagels.

That evening, the girls, a friend, and I went to the fair.  J was roaming with her friend, so L & I got to take in things we don't normally see - like the veggies and canned goods.  It was not very crowded, so we took multiple rides in the Ferris wheel.

 

We watched the truck pull for awhile, we could even see it from the Ferris wheel later on!

 

We ate fair food, and L fed the baby zebra.

I woke the girls up at 5:30 the following morning to head out on our mini-vacation.  We were on the road by 6 AM!  The girls had been begging to go to the beach, but we didn't have time to drive the 8 hours to the shore, so we went to Presque Isle on Lake Erie.  The weather was hot and humid, but it was lovely.

We visited 2 different light houses.

We saw an IMAX movie about space, looked for beach glass (didn't find any), played in the sand and water, and had a very nice time.

I forgot to mention that last Friday, the girls and I loaded up the bikes and drove up to our favorite park, where we ate a picnic lunch,

...rode our bikes on the bike trail,

 

...and played in the creek.

It was a lot of fun!

In between all of these activities, I've been doing this:

 

The peaches are now all canned, but I've been doing tomatoes every other day!

Tonight we are exhausted, and it is overcast outside, but tomorrow night we plan to stay up late to look for meteors as it is time again for the Perseid Meteor Shower, and it is supposed to be exceptionally awesome this year!

I hope that your summers are winding down as nicely as ours!