Garden Days......

Dearest Readers,

Oh my, the long hot days of summer are here!  It has been so dry and dusty here in the foothills.  We are blessed to have our own water supply here on the farm.  We have a well for our domestic use and a cistern and pond for all of our farm needs.  I cannot imagine our water bill if we were not self-sufficient in this way.  We do try to use our water efficiently and keep waste to a minimum. I keep a kitchen timer wherever I am so that I don't forget to move a hose or change from one zone to the next!

As you can see, Miss Caul E. Flower keeps a close eye on our garden for us.  She is extremely hard-working and doesn't charge a penny......

She is quite lovely in her gloves and pearls....she always looks so cool and collected.

Dearest and I have managed to have a cool glass of lemonade on the front porch in between our chores.  (Isn't it lovely...Dearest built this a couple of years ago.  We have enjoyed it ever so much!)

Speaking of Dearest building things........here is the latest from the "wood shop"......

Now, who says that compost can't be beautiful?  It is a dream (hence the "dream-like" effect on this photo) to use and should provide us with wonderful compost for our garden and flower beds.

We are just beginning to gather a few vegetables.  At almost 6000' in elevation, we are a few weeks behind the city.  It will be much later for our cucumbers!  It seems that some pesky varmit was munching on them as fast as they came up.  I put a wall o' water around each one and now have quite a few healthy looking plants.  Aaahhh.... pickles and relish!  I certainly will be busy this fall with all the canning that I hope to do.

I hope you are all enjoying the "fruits of your labors" this summer.  Oh dear, time to move the hose!

Yours kindredly,

Shan

Top Photo: The "Garden Hat" is the newest addition to my porch decorations and proudly portrays my love of flower and vegetable/fruit gardening!

Strawberry Boxes.....

Dearest Readers,

Now that summer is underway, we at Honey Hill Farm have been enjoying the fruits of our labors.....

Here is a beautiful bowl of strawberries harvested this morning.  I will be making homemade Strawberry Shortcake for our dessert this evening.

What is that you say Dear Reader?  How did they manage to harvest so many beautiful strawberries?  Well have a look at what Dearest built for our garden......

These wonderful Strawberry Boxes! He created this pattern himself using scrap lumber and bird netting.  These are just the ticket to keep those hungry birds and squirrels at bay.  And to make it easy to harvest.......they open.......with a hinged lid and prop stick!

Dearest can make just about anything!!!  Isn't he grand!  Next he is making a beautiful dual compost box.  If a compost box can be beautiful? I will certainly post a photograph of the project. 

If you have any questions for Dearest about the boxes, he would be happy to answer them.

Yours kindredly,

Shan