City slickers are going country!

I was raised in the country on a working farm. We had every animal imaginable and always had a garden. I can remember working endless hours (it seemed like it then, but I'm sure we didn't work ourselves to death!) in the garden. Mom & Dad would leave for work during the summer, leaving me and my 2 sisters at home. We had a list of chores to do before they would get home. We always put it off until the last minute and then we probably did work like crazy. We had to go to the farm, feed & water the animals, pick rocks in the gardens (which usually ended in us throwing them at one another!), water the garden, weed the garden and pick anything ready. It was hell then, but looking back now...it was an awesome childhood. Mom always canned our veggies and I love watching her get everything done and hearing the center of the lid pop when they were done. Mom always got this smile on her face. I think she was proud of herself!!

This past summer, we talked about wanting to learn to can. So, we bought books and researched online what you would need. My kids LOVE golden delicious apples. So we went to our farmers market and got 2 bushels. I ended up making and canning about 12 quarts. And, I had the same smile on my face that Mom had all those years ago! I am not much of a cook, but I really felt like I had done something impressive by making and canning that applesauce. We eventually moved on to tomatoes. Mom and I canned about 30 quarts of tomatoes. And, let me tell you, those canned tomatoes have made the BEST vegetable soup this winter. Adam and I got a wild hair and made salsa one Sunday afternoon! YUMMY!!

Our families have decided to have a garden this summer...well, actually 2 gardens. This weekend we borrowed our brother-in-law's tiller to get the backyard ready. Adam has never had a garden, so I'm sure he is thinking "What am I getting in to?". But, overall, he is just as excited as I am. The kids thought playing in the dirt was awesome! They were introduced to grub worms!! An old container had to be fetched to save the worms and grubs for our fish, Oscar.

Adam first pass...I was holding my breath!


This became dinner for Oscar! Hopefully, we will get more food out of the garden than he did!!




Adam let the kids help out with the pushing. The tiller is self propelled, but they thought they were really pushing it up the hill!



Jack even got excited about our newest endeavor. His paws were as muddy as the boys!

Here are my lil' city slickers looking for treasures. I heard lots of "oh, I found a worm", "look Mommy, a new rock for you" ( I have containers of rocks the boys have brought home for me!), "Happy Birthday to Oscar, another grub"! I can't wait until something starts growing in this patch.

Adam even got out to re-till it the next day. The tiller broke a bolt before he could go to my Mom & Sister's house to get their backyard ready.

Next step, horse manure! Bet my boys & girl won't think that is too cool! I'm so excited about getting started and seeing how much we can get to grow and can or freeze to use through the winter months. Lots of work, but I am up for it!