Fireflies in Utah County

I spent the evening on a hunt for the rare Utah fireflies.  It was magical and worth putting up with all the mosquitoe drama.  Fireflies were unheard of west of the Rocky Mountains until a few years ago when a few populations were discovered in Utah. From what I've read online, researchers are perplexed and excited as they are trying to learn more about these populations. 

I live for perfect summer evenings. To me a perfect summer evening is a simple thing. There are many things that help create the perfect summer evening, but for me it usually includes: a pleasant group people, a stunning sunset, warm air that is just starting to turn cool, and being in the middle of nowhere. Here is the last post I made about perfect summer evenings. It's been busy year and I didn't post much of them, but I'm happy to report I've had plenty, just no time to post about them. They are good for the soul. 

The photo below has a multiple choice caption: 

A) Raise your hands if you saw the fireflies tonight!

B) #SaguaroCactusImpressions

C) We trust our deodorant

D) We don't flipp'n care if our deodorant is working... Die mosquitoes!

NEEDTOBREATHE & Spring in Seattle

So I got a message a few weeks ago from my grandma because I haven't been posting. She was worried that she was missing them since she usually uses the links I post on facebook.  It was a reminder that 1) I'm super behind on posting and 2) I have at least one reader! Thanks grandma!  So here you go grandma! Also don't forget to check for previous post in the next week or so as I'm slowly adding my backlogged post.

Here is a quick update on on the here and now. Needtobreathe came to town this weekend. My brothers haven't seen them live yet so I made sure to change that. They are an amazing band. The first time I saw them live back in 2009, I left the concert wanting to chuck all of their recorded albums. Once you see them live its hard to settle for a recording because they are that good.

We took this photo appropriately during the song "Brother".

These guys know how to rock

Report from the farm. Not too much Farmer Food or any food coming in right now. Lots of stuff growing but not to much is market ready yet except for a good deal of radishes. My coworker and I have been eating a lot of radish salads at lunch. Both the greens and roots.

This is a radish salad with vinaigrette, feta cheese, sunflower seeds and left over meatloaf.  

While the rest of us were out transplanting kale one fine afternoon our farm manager come cursing by on the "G" to seed radishes. He had picked up a hitch hiker from the office. Like me she doesn't get out of the barn area much so it was like a big party down in "field E" for us.

I was trapping rodents in the barn and had to siphon peanut butter from the jar in the green house. This was my label. I really think I should have gone into advertising.

"Critter's Last Meal...."

"...For the Critter in your Life". 

Some Fantastic Fall Festivities

Harvest Party at Oxbow

Me and one of my coworkers getting the afterparty started. You know how I love my Ginger Ale. 

A friend of the farm makes these really cool mini veg-scapes for the party every year. This year was the squash alien invasion. 

I love the perspective of this photo. It's like your right there in the squash alien action

The Pumpkin Patch

On a Saturday I took my bro and his kids down to the farm to grab pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. 

Then we had a bonfire lunch with some of my coworkers.

Everyone had fun...

...And everyone was tired by the end of the day. 

Afternoon in Seattle with my Bro

First time trying the best sandwiches in the city. If you've never been to Paseo, put it high on your list. It changes you. We took our sandwiches down to the Ballard waterfront. It was a windy day but the skies were clear and sail boats everywhere. We even had a bunch of creepy crows circling while we savored our sandwiches.

 We walked off the sandwiches a bit before getting in the car

We ended the day by going down to pikes place market and the Seattle waterfront. I kind of dig waterfronts especially after moving to WA. I think it's b/c there are some really great ones here and after being in heavenly forested areas so much, this girl from the California prairies needs to see some horizons now and then.

Fall in Washington means....

"Fall in Washington means you treat every sunny day like it's the last".

This has become a motto of mine since moving here. I don't mind the weather here, but for me getting Sun keeps me happy and synthesizing vitamin D.  So when the Sun is out, I try to be too.  When the sun is not out, I still try and get out and be active. It's the best way to beat the winter blues. 

On a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago my brothers and I went on a walk to the park with my nieces and nephew. My nephew wanted to bring a skateboard and one of my nieces insisted on bring a bag of tongue depressors (we didn't have to use them but I was glad we had them all the same). The kids look most of the photos. I think they turned out pretty good. 

Kid-Os Day on the Farm

My brother and sister-in-law needed a babysitter one Saturday morning so my dad and I volunteered for the job of entertaining the three little cuties. Since raspberries were ripe at the farm, we decided to take a nice little outing to Auntie's farm.

Studious 2 year-old berry picker for hire. Works for goldfish crackers. More interested in picking than eating. Note: once berries within child's reach have been picked over, significant decline in product quality occurs, as rotten product from ground is considered suitable. 

Helping Grandpa Harvest

 Climbing tractor Wins again. 

Oxbow has an awesome living playground in the Children's Garden. It's got plant tunnels, a tepee made of beans vines, "Spiral Corn Maze" and what are the kids always the most stoked about? ...The Climbing Tractor. With good reason though, tractors are usually the forbidden object. That thing you are not allowed to touch as a kid. Not at Oxbow though.

Rhubarb leaf hats! 

Everyone is sufficiently tuckered out...time to go home. 

Garden Season -- 2013

This year my family and I put in two gardens again. We put in one in our backyard and one up at our friends place who graciously let us use space on their Hill Top spread. Over the weekend we put in the garden at our friend's place.

I decided to get a little creative this year and I did my twist on the Three Sisters (Corn, Beans and Squash). Don't ask me why I planned it this way because truth is I didn't plan it, I was winging it! 

 I borrowed the idea from permaculture keyhole garden design. I was thinking of how it would be easiest to irrigate.  Since there is a down hill slope, the curves would slow down the water, plus nature doesn't like straight lines (I would have to agree with her on that one) and it's always better to work with her when possible. I think this will look more interesting too, but it very well could end up in failure...so will see. My best advise to people gardening is just go with it, if it fails then do something else next year. 

Map of the Hill Top Garden 2013.  Green Line represents a ditch that corn and pole beans were planted in. 

View from the top of the garden. 

Tomato Town

Garden on!!!

Insta"Muddy"gram

I'm still on the fence about Instagram. Mostly because I'm not sure I want to sign up for one more thing that will take up my time. I have lots of friends and family who use it so I know that I would use and like it...but for now I'm choosing the road of social media resistance.  I'm not saying never but right now I'm trying to keep my time open for blogging. 

So for those that want a glimpse of what I would post on Instagram, here are some random pictures from my phone that I took over the last few weeks. 

#LunchOnTheFarm

 A few weeks back we had some really great spring weather here in Washington. The Farm was exploding with many many kinds of Rapini (the immature flowers of plants in the Mustard family, which is a big family). Lately my favorite lunch has included Collard rapini lightly grilled in butter, topped with hot sauce. 

#LadiesNight #DinnerInHeals #FancyForNoReason

Last spring me and my friend that helped me network my job on the farm, went out to celebrate by going out for frozen yogurt in high heels. This year we decided to do it again, just because, and we added another friend. We went out to a seafood restaurant and it was really fun.

#FindingGarbageCandy #EatingGarbageCandy  #DidThat

I found some garbage stashed under the rootwasher at work Friday. I think it got left from a group of people that came to put up a display garden at our educational center. As I was hauling it over to the garbage can, I found a bag of Tootsie Rolls. Score!!! Kind of made my day. 

Those that know me, might have picked up on the fact that I am pretty nostalgic, especially with my childhood memories. Well finding these babies took me back to a spring cleaning event from when I was around 6 years-old. We had been moving around things in the bedroom me and my siblings shared, even the massive white earthquake proof bunk-bed. This thing was nothing but sturdy. It was less of a bunk bed and more of a indoor jungle gym. The fact that it belonged to my uncles, survived them, me and my siblings and then a few of my cousins is testament to that.  I don't know what happened to it but I like to think that it had a second life as a "BUNKER"....Hey brainstorm  "BUCKER BEDS!" That's how I'll make my internet millions!!! Any way back to Tootsie Rolls, I remember my dad pulled the bed away from the wall (as best he could) and he asked me to pick up the things that had fallen under the bed and you know what I found? Yup, a big old fat Tootsie Roll, a precious lost treasure from someone's Halloween bag that was at least several months old. I snatched that thing up and hid it from my sibs. I remember sneaking away to savor it. Well actually, I was too young to understand the concept of savoring but that thing was so hard I go a crash course. Good times.