What makes me smile... besides family

1.  GREEN RIVER WATERMELON and fresh sliced PEACHES from the orchard

2.  VINTAGE CHAIRS and BENCHES.... front porch

3. TEA POTS and TEA CUPS ... Mother's Day Tea

                                                 and 

4. PRETTY DISHES... mother's, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and vintage finds

5. BRIGHT COLORS

6. NATURE

TULIPS are my favorite flower; Willard Bay SUNSETS;  hiking in Southern Utah CANYONS (Spring Canyon, Iron County); watching ANIMALS  is so therapeutic and always makes me smile! We don't have pets so I frequently visit and enjoy the oldest daughter's farm of animals... I could watch them all day!

7. PAINTED FURNITURE... my latest project

SEASONS

8. SPRING... apricot blossoms in the orchard

9. AUTUMN... looking over the grape vines and barn; Willard Bay in the background

10. BLUE... it's my favorite color.  

And there is another reason to smile besides loving the color BLUE, as in the sky above... the beautiful LDS Brigham City Temple is a wonderful addition to our community and is so beautiful, both on the inside as well as the outside.  I can't help but smile all over! 

Link up HERE to see more of the new B.C. Temple.  When you get to the main page, after reading the information there, click on the site tool bar that says Construction Status .Then click on Brigham City Temple. Finally, click on latest photos submitted.  You will be able to see over a hundred spectacular construction pictures of the temple.  I hope it will make you smile, too!

There are so many things to smile about; the things listed above are just a few of the things that bring me joy and a smile to my face.  Life is good!  

What makes you smile?

Prompt # 2:  Share the Fruits of your Labor

Farmer d and I are fruit farmers.  It's not a big farm, but it's a lot for us.  Growing fruit trees is a little different than growing a garden.  Our main crop is peaches.  We planted semi-dwarfs; just right for picking.  No ladders needed in our orchard!  We planted about 20 varieties so we could have peaches for 2 months or so.  Our farming season starts in February, when the snow is still on the ground.  We have about 800 fruit trees to fertilize. We have a special mix made up from the local Co-op. Fertilizing takes most of a day because we do it by hand.  In March, we prune the branches.  We hire it out because it is such a big job.  It can take up to a month or so to do.  In May, we see the beautiful pink peach blossoms appear.  The bees are out in abundance carrying the pollen from one blossom to another.  It is one of my favorite times to be out in the orchard.  After the fruit is on and is still quite small, usually the 1st part of June, we thin the peaches about 10 inches apart.  We hire that out, as well.  Although farmer d will go back through the orchard and thin out more. Thinning is needed so the the energy will go to a few fruit, rather than a lot of them.  The peaches will be large and healthier. Thinning also prevents the branches from breaking from the weight. In June, we spray the trunks for peach bore and then we spray a couple more times in the summer for pest control.  We have a holding pond and fill it with canal water every week for irrigation.  After the pond is filled, we flip a switch and the drip irrigation begins and will go for a few days.  About the 1st of August, our early varieties of peaches mature. They are cling stone and last about a month.  Then, usually toward the end of August, our later varieties come on. They are free stone and are very popular. A traditional peach, Early Elberta, is a popular peach for canning.  On average, the peaches will produce until the end of September.  The nights are too cold after that to allow for any ripening.  We sell most of our peaches to a local Food Market.  On Saturday's, we sell both fruit and produce at a Farmers Market in SLC.  The farm is cleaned up and put to rest by the end of October or first of November.  Three months rest, and it starts all over again!

Fruit farming is a lot of hard work and takes a lot of time.  The summer months are dedicated to picking, marketing, and selling fruit. But... I love the smell, sights, and sounds in the orchard. It is beautiful, peaceful, and welcoming any time of the day or season.  The orchard, as much work as it is makes it worth it when the daughters and I get together and bottle fresh peaches.  It's nice to pull a bottle off the pantry shelf in the middle of winter and enjoy the fruits of my labor! 

I love fresh peaches on french toast for breakfast (absolute favorite!), peach cobbler for dessert, peach shakes in the afternoon, and a bowl of fresh sliced peaches any time of the day.  

FRUIT ORCHARD

peach blossoms 

rows of peach trees

picking peaches

a full basket... picked in less than 10 minutes!

I can drive the tractor, too!  

baskets of peaches... ready for Market

fruits of my labor

Goulash... the MANLY kind

I think most people have eaten goulash at least once in their lifetime.  We were no exception.  Goulash is usually considered a poor-man's meal.  But not my mom's!  No siree.  Her's was Manly in every way.  Not the Wimpy kind that you associate goulash with. You know... the macaroni and loose ground beef, tomato sauce, and a few left over veggies thrown in. Mom's goulash had the most delectable combination of flavors.  She fashioned bite sized meatballs, sliced fresh carrots, potatoes, and celery.  A perfect blend of soup and milk made up the gravy.

Mom's goulash was a complete and well-balanced meal and full of color.  It was the perfect meal for any season. I loved it as a child and love it as an adult.  I fixed it for my children growing up. They still consider it one of their all time favorite meals and request it when they visit.  Mom's goulash was, and still is, a First Prize, Blue Ribbon meal in our family!

GOULASH

Meatballs:

• ground beef
• small grated potato & carrot
• 2 T. onion, grated
• 3 T. flour
• 1/4 t. garlic
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup evaporated canned milk
• salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together and shape into walnut size meatballs.  Put in fridge for a half hour.  Place a small amount of oil (I like Canola) into a large fry pan and cook meatballs until done, turning as needed.

Vegetables:

• potatoes
• carrots
• celery

Peel and cut potatoes into walnut size pieces.  Peel and slice carrots.  Slice the celery. Combine in a saucepan and cook until semi-done.  

Gravy:

• can of cream of chicken soup 
• rest of canned milk

Mix soup and milk together.  Pour over meatballs.  Add vegetables.  Heat just to warm gravy mixture.  

I like to add a green salad and homemade rolls and jam to make the meal complete.

Dog days of Summer

It may not be the picture perfect summer I imagine, but I think it's perfect enough.  It includes everyone and everything I love.  And that's what matters most!  

It's the dog days of summer.  It's hot and there's no time for wasting.  It starts out early... very early in the morning. Just when I see the first hint of dawn peeking in through the east window of my bedroom, I know it's time to get up.  Or, rather, farmer d (that's my hubby), gets up to work the farm. We don't need a rooster to awaken us.... farmer d has a built in clock!  He lets me sleep a little longer.  Nice.  The hired help is already arriving to pick the blackberries. There are peaches, nectarines, pears, and plums bursting with perfect fullness and flavor... begging to be picked.  Farmer d starts up the tractor and soon I can hear the purr of the engine as he heads out into the orchard.  I drift back off to sleep and farmer d works for a couple of hours picking fruit before heading off to his real job.   

My work on the farm starts when farmer d goes to work.  There are phone calls to be made to customers and orders to be filled.  On days I need to make a delivery to a local Food Market, the fruit wagon (van) is loaded with twenty to thirty half bushel baskets of peaches. Farmer d makes it easy for me.  Nice.  

Fridays and Saturdays are our busiest days of the week.  We prepare for the Farmers Market on Friday.  Farmer d picks eggplant and fruit.  I top the berry baskets with lids and stack them in boxes.  It can take two hours or more just to do that.  Fruit that has been picked during the week is put in a large walk-in cooler to keep it fresh for stores and the market.  Late Friday evening, we load the wagon up with fruits and veggies, in half bushel boxes, to take to the Farmers Market.  Saturday starts very early in the morning.  It takes us an hour to get to the Farmers Market in SLC.  We arrive at 7:00 a.m. and start our sales shortly after we set up.  We are busy greeting customers and making sales from start to end.  The hard work usually pays off.  What started out as a hobby has overtaken much of our summer.

One might wonder if I ever have time for fun.  I do!  Sometimes it takes some creative planning on my part.  But with 19 grandchildren, I'm not about to miss out on making memories.  So, when I'm not farming, I'm playing. 

Summertime when I'm not farming -----

1. Traveling suitcase.  One day in the summer.  It's a day adventure with grandma.  I pack a suitcase with an atlas, stories, activities, and other items of interest.  Grandma, kids, and grandkids are then ready to go!  It may be a Museum, the Zoo,  flower gardens, State Parks, the city, the mountains, the lake, a train ride, a theme park, and even a cemetery. It has to be something that creates a memory and is fun.  Added bonus -- they'll be learning and may not even know it!

2.  Swimming lessons and ball games are a tradition for as long as I can remember.  I enjoyed them as a child, I enjoyed watching my children when they were small, and I love watching my grandchildren now. 

3.  Shaved ice.  Summer's are so hot and dry where we live.  There's nothing better than sharing a shaved ice treat together. 

4.  County Fair.  I have been a County Extension Agent so I'm quite partial to Fairs.  4-H or participating in the county Fair was always a part of my life, my kids life, and now the grandkids life.  A county Fair is so much fun!  Not only do you get to enter an exhibit or animal and have it judged, but you get to see a rodeo, feel the thrill of a carnival ride, watch a parade and collect a bag full of candy and eat popsicles, see animals of all kinds, and see exhibits of food, fresh garden produce, art, clothing, quilts, and lots of other ingenious things made from citizens of the county.  There are dutch oven cook-offs, pie eating contests, animal shows and so much more.

5.  Celebrations.  Every 24th of July we celebrate Pioneer Day (days of '47), but most importantly, dad's birthday.  Every year we put a sparkler in his cake before singing happy birthday to him. He's not with us any more and keeping that tradition alive is more meaningful than ever.  
                                                                   and....

Birthday Party.  For everyone!  Heard the saying... "one size fits all."  I decided to have one HUGE birthday party instead of sending un-meaningful and useless gifts through the mail 35 days of the year.  A day at the pool, lunch and birthday cake in the park, dollar gifts, togetherness, and tons of fun makes up our family birthday party.

                                                                    and....

Family Reunions.  Staying in touch with brothers and sisters, their children and their children is both fun and necessary.  I grew up with cousins that were like siblings to me. The same for my children and their cousins.  Extended family reunions also keeps us tied and grateful to our ancestors and pioneer heritage.  And that leads into genealogy research (a whole other topic). 

BUT THE BEST PART OF SUMMER ---- Sitting in the backyard with the family.  Watching the kids play, the dogs play, the chickens run, sitting under the huge cottonwood trees, having a bbq, sitting around an evening fire, relaxing and visiting.  It may or may not be planned, and it doesn't have to be perfect, because it will be perfect enough. Oh yeah... that's summer at it's finest!