A Burgeoning Harvest

When we arrived home from Hillsboro Family Camp this year, we found that much to our delight, our garden was burgeoning with produce ready for gathering! Tomatoes were clinging to the vines, their crimson faces aglow in the southern Illinois sunshine. The green beans were almost ready to pick. Cabbage heads had expanded and were ready for cutting. Bell peppers were swelling and ripening for us to consume.

The corn was perfectly ripened, ready for harvest before the raccoons took control of the patch. Our cucumbers were hanging on the trellis awaiting collection. Sadly, the zucchini and yellow squash plants were finished for the season. Watermelon had put on its fruit and was ready for bringing in as well. In the orchard, apples were hanging low on the trees, and the grapes were beginning to turn to their beautiful shade of purple. Pears were becoming ready for the fall harvest.

So, we set to work. 

We cut and froze the corn after a day of effort husking, blanching, cutting, and freezing. Everyone got in on the fun, each one doing his or her part!

Next came the green beans! Picking was first. We had planted Blue Lake Bush, and somehow, ended up with a strange mix of pole beans that made it hard picking! We all enjoyed our time talking around the table as hands flew, ending and snapping the beans. Alas, they were a little stringy and those needed pulled off as well. Nevertheless, we canned several quarts of green beans for use in the colder months.

Our tomatoes have flourished! We have made tomato sauce a couple of times. We use it for pasta and our Friday night pizzas. 

Quartering tomatoes, cooking them, pureeing the result and cooking it down to a sauce consistency and seasoning the result, all before canning it, is time consuming. Jayla pretty much single-handedly made the second batch of sauce. She has been such a help and is learning valuable skills in doing so!

Our cucumber harvest has been turned into refrigerator pickles and fresh cucumbers with dip. When we finally had more than we could eat, we made dill pickles. Jayla and Halayah took charge of this batch of pickle making. I am proud of my children and how much they are learning!

We have made grape jelly from our sun-ripened grapes. We used the long cook method which uses the natural pectin contained in the grapes rather than store bought pectin. The jelly turned out splendid and is preserved in pints for use later on.

When the banana peppers were prime, they were pickled for enjoyment in the cold days of winter.

The squash, okra, and bell peppers that were ready were daily harvested, processed, and flash frozen for winter use. Every child in the household took part in this process and knows how to do the job well.

This year is the first year we have had a good harvest of apples from our orchard. We were so excited for them! Halayah has made two pies and a large bowl of applesauce in addition to the ones that have been eaten fresh. She is growing in her kitchen experience as we go about our days!

Jalapenos have been pickled as well as made into poppers and frozen. We are awaiting several turning red so that we can make our delicious "Cowboy Candy." It is always a family favorite!

Mark and the boys came carrying up a few armloads of watermelon just the other day. They look and sound like they will be good ones this year! They are in the refrigerator chilling. We look forward to the amazing taste of homegrown watermelon!

We've strung up cayenne peppers to dry. Later, we will grind them into red pepper flakes. We are looking forward to fermenting our own hot sauce with any hot peppers that remain in the garden.

Each year, when we plan and place the tiny seeds into the garden, we have faith that they will grow. We believe that they will flourish. We trust that they will produce a harvest. We faithfully put a lot of hard work into the process, but we acknowledge that God gives the increase. And we give Him praise!

~Rhonda

A Critter Corner Account

Recently I was walking in the playground, and I saw a couple of toads. Many toad species live in the United States. I caught a few of the warty amphibians and made a home for them in my tank on Critter Corner. Then I put them in my terrarium.

I wanted to find something else, so I walked down the driveway looking for lizards. At that moment I saw a flash of gray. I tried to grab hold of the lizard, but it got away. They are very fast and can escape you. I came back up to the playground and caught two more toads. The next day I fed my critters some news bees. News bees are very hard to capture!

I went back down the driveway to see if there were any more lizards that I could discover. I saw one. It was on the split rail fence. Since lizards are cold blooded, they will come out in morning to lie on the split rail fence to warm up in the sun. I walked up very slowly and grabbed him. It was a baby Eastern Fence Lizard. Females are usually bigger than the males. I did not know if it was a boy or a girl because he was small. I like hatchlings because their mouths are too small to bite. Besides they are very cute. He is only about six centimeters, including his long tail.

A couple days later I saw Bartimaeus, our cat, playing with something. I walked to him and saw that it was a rainbow skink, also known as a blue tailed skink. I took Bartimaeus away and grabbed the skink and put it in my habitat. It looked like it was hungry, so I gave it a pill bug to eat. It liked it, so I gave it some ants. Skinks can grow up to twenty centimeters in length. Mine was only about seven centimeters without his tail.

It has been an exciting time to watch my creatures run around and eat what I feed them in Critter Corner, our special place on the north side of our porch. I have learned a lot about amphibians and reptiles by looking after them every day.

~Isaac

Our Jog

  

We all like to jog,

Sometimes in the fog.

It makes me hot and tired,

As hot as a gun when fired.

Jogging is good for you,

It makes your body mostly new.

One time we saw an owl,

I hope to see another one, wow!

We see lots of wildlife,

Nothing manmade like a cutting knife.

I love to see things like logs.

Which we see lots on our jogs.

~Unique

Soundsational Reflections

My mind can create the image, the little six-year-old girl excitedly sitting down at the piano to perform, a glorious vision of her fingers gliding over the black and white keys, letting loose imprisoned voices which stir the hearts of the listeners. Now, I see her enchanted, eyes sparkling with delight as she listens to her older sister pick out dozens of familiar tunes, her fingers appearing to effortlessly fly over the eight strings of the mandolin.

2012

When I first came to be a part of my great big, wonderful family, I wanted to play music. From the beginning I was submersed into the melodious world of violins, guitars, mandolins, pianos and voices all blended together to create a soundsational home. I watched, listened, and knew I wanted to be a part of it all. I was going to be a musician.

Mama began to teach me. I tried to imagine there were balls underneath my fingers, keeping them curved upright like every good pianist does. Patiently, mama explained to me the language of music, the letters of the notes, their corresponding keys, etc. A little while later, Rachel tuned up, and gifted me with one of her older mandolins that she no longer used. I was ecstatic, and that instrument became one of my most loved and prized possessions.

2013

The little girl was brought back to reality when it actually came time for her to play. I can feel her disappointment as she places her fingers on the piano. Instead of her glorious vision, she could only plunk out the notes to Old MacDonald Had a Farm. Instead of recognizable tunes, all that came from her mandolin’s strings was barely recognizable chords, and aching fingers. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the little girl in this story is me. Disappointed and discouraged, I became afraid that I might never be able to play music as well as the rest of my family. That is when Mama told me to realize that the reason we play is to give glory to God. Our music is a way to praise and worship Him. We hope that those who listen to our songs are encouraged and blessed by them, but we mustn’t lose focus of why we do it. And God gives the increase as we are diligent!

2015

So, I continued to practice and practice and practice some more, and slowly my music transformed into what I wanted to hear. I am still learning. Sometimes I lose my focus and become nervous. But Mama told me that every musician feels that way in their own journey. I am so grateful for those who help me continue to make my musical vision become a reality. I am pleased that I listened and am still persevering to become a better musician for Him who gave me the ability and the aspiration to make music. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all the earth. Psalm 100:1

~Halayah

Scores of Hungry Garter Snakes!

About two months ago while I was walking around the pond, our dog Pepper started barking and running in circles around something on the ground! When I walked up, Pepper grabbed the thing in his mouth and shook it viciously until I yelled for him to stop. When he did, I saw that the thing was a very big garter snake! The scared garter snake was ready to strike at anything that moved. By the time I had it safely in a home that I fixed for it on Critter Corner, I had been bitten twice! As I closed the lid to the snake’s new home, I saw the reptile had a cut on its side from where Pepper had grabbed her! Feeling sorry for the snake, I took her out and wrapped the cut with a piece of tissue and tape. After a few days, the cut was healed, and I removed the bandage.

The garter snake was doing very well now, and without its bandage I noticed that she had an unusually long lump in her belly. At first, I thought that she just had eaten something recently before I caught her, but when the lump continued to stay in the one spot, I realized that she was probably carrying babies! It was exciting to think of having baby garter snakes on Critter Corner.

I continued feeding and caring for the snake, and slowly the lump in her belly grew bigger. We were going to be gone for a week at Hillsboro Family Camp, so I put enough food in with the snake to last until we got back. When we returned, I looked in the snake’s pen and there were tons of baby garter snakes all over the place in the tank! It was getting dark, and when I shone the light in the tank, I saw a whole lot of snakes in the log tunnel!

After I showed everyone the snakes, I tried to feed the hungry reptiles with earth worms, little toads, baby frogs, and tiny insects. A few of them ate, and when it got too dark to see, I decided to feed and count the rest of them the next day.

The following day after church, I counted and fed every one of the baby garter snakes. There were 51 of them! 

I kept every one of the thin 3-inch-long snakes for about a week. Then I let 36 of them go, leaving me with a mere 15.

I have had my garter snakes for about a month now, and they have already grown two inches! Feeding them is a big job. 

When I feed them their small fish, frogs, toads and insects, I must stand and watch because sometimes they almost eat each other! It’s fun to watch them eat.

I hope to keep my garter snakes until fall. Then I will let them go. Maybe next year I will catch some of the same ones when they are bigger. I wonder if they will remember me.

~Samuel

The Florida Weave

Several visions may pop in your mind when hearing the term “The Florida Weave.” One may think it is an intoxicated driver traveling down the road in Florida. Maybe you conjure up thoughts of a line dance from the past, where individuals pass back and forth intertwining with one another. You could consider that it is a special basket made in the Sunshine state. All of those are good guesses. However, the term actually refers to a simple way to support tomatoes, keeping them off the ground, while allowing them to grow to their full potential.

The technique was developed by Florida commercial growers because it is a fast, simple, and inexpensive method that helps tomatoes grow tall with good production, keeping them exposed to the beneficial Florida sun. While there are several ways to employ the weave, they all employ the same general method. I will describe the method we used, but this could be easily modified depending on your resources and location. We utilize 2ft by 8ft raised beds for our tomatoes.

1. Place three plants in the 2x8ft box, one in the middle and one on each end about one and a half foot from the ends.

 

2. Drive a seven-foot T-post centered on the inside wall of each end of the box about one to one and a half feet deep.

 

3. As the tomatoes grow, take twine (we use balers twine) and tie it about six inches up on one of the t-posts. Then pull twine to the right side of the stalk of the first tomato and to the left side of the second and to the right side of the third. Then wrap the twine around the other t-post and bring the twine back to the opposite side of each tomato and tie it at the same point that you started.

 4. As the tomatoes grow, continue with the same weaving process about every six inches up the t-posts.

Do your best to keep all the leaves off the ground and the plants standing tall. This keeps pests from climbing up the plant leaves. If the plants are indeterminate, they will continue to grow taller and taller until they finally reach the top of the t-posts around six feet. With this method, it is simple to observe and reach each angle of the plant, which allows you to easily pinch off the unproductive suckers that drain its resources. You can also detect diseases, bugs, or worms more readily, as the plants are at eye level, adding to productivity.

We have found this method more beneficial than cages, fences, or stakes, as we have enjoyed a fruitful harvest of luscious red ripe tomatoes from our garden throughout the summer.

~Mark

Home

Home is the place where love abounds. A place where joy is easily found, and laughter energizes the very air. Home is the place where you can relax. It’s a place where you can dream and put those dreams into action. You can work and make goals uninterrupted by worldly distractions.

Blessing adorns the home. Contentment is a halo on the roof of the house. Home is a stronghold robed in the garb of encouragement. The walls are painted with tranquility and radiate with serenity. The air is fresh and unpolluted by the worries of the world. Home is where the music of goodness echoes though the walls and the song of faithfulness is heard. Every thread of carpet is charged by happiness. Peace mists down from the ceiling to the floors. Comfort is infused into every piece of furniture and spills over to the blankets in the basket around the corner.

Meals are served and are never without a helping of thankfulness. The table is surrounded by an atmosphere of gratitude and thankfulness. The old oak table and the chairs encircling it are infused with memories, and stories that have been told in its presence.

Home is a place so full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that there is no room for doubt, complaints, fear, anxiety, stress, hatred, selfishness, arguing, or anger. Home is where we continually feast on the Fruit of the Spirit.

Home is where bonds are strengthened, and lessons are learned. The shadow of sorrow may come for a time, but the sunshine of gratitude and gladness drive it quickly away. When uncertainty approaches, confidence in the Lord carries you through. Home is a safe place; a harbor, a haven, a refuge, and we find solace there. Home is where we learn about our eternal home, Heaven.

Home is love, strength, and family.

~Jayla