Not much new is happening around here. I have been weeding a ton of different plants, but mostly garlic and raspberries and blackberries. And strawberries. The strawberries are coming up in the hundreds but they are still green, so we have about another week before we start picking them. The raspberries and blackberries are producing tiny berries already, but they are still very green. They wont be ripe while I am here, but they look delicious! The garlic is doing really well, it is growing so fast. The beans are growing the fastest; it seems like everyday they gain at least a few inches. And the lettuces are the fastest growing! We cant eat enough of it to catch up with the plants. We eat salad or sauteed spinach or greens almost every night and we still cant eat enough. There is so much of it. Also, radishes are coming up all over the place. And asparagus is growing like crazy. Asparagus thrives in the heat, so we can almost cut it twice a day and it will still give us plenty of stalk. The stalks can grow about 8 inches per day on the hottest days. Right now it is in the high 80's and sunny! We are holding out and hoping for rain, because if not we have to connect about 8 different hoses from the house to the field so we can water corn. If we dont water the corn, it wont come up so we are just waiting a little bit longer to see if it will rain. Weather has been saying it is going to rain any day now, and it feels like it, but it hasnt come yet. There is a country song that talks about how rain is a good thing and farmer's are the ones that appreciate rain, and after living out here I can definitely see why they say that. Rain is the best out here because it is so dang hot and we really need it for the crops to grow. Plus, when it rains we get to stay inside and make delicious breads, tortillas and jams from scratch. Tomorrow we are going into a town to get antibiotics for Bobbett's cat, and hit up a few stores for some more farming supplies, like posts and wire and things like that. Next week we are going into the biggest town around the house to go to the main grocery stores, the mall and maybe the movies since we dont get out much and work very hard all day. I am excited to see the town, and I am going to try to go to a few antique stores to see what they have.
We opened the pool up yesterday and have been cleaning it every day since in hopes that we can jump in this week if it stays hot. It is supposed to stay into the upper 80's all week, and if it doesnt rain I am jumping in the pool for sure! It isnt heated so it is cold, but after bending over and weeding all day in direct sunlight, it will feel refreshing. I am usually drenched with sweat after an hour and we come inside often to cool off and rehydrate, but being outside feels wonderful, no matter how hot it is. I definitely like California's dry heat the most, but I love that the humidity here brings out so many beautiful colors in the flowers and trees.
We went to a Mennonite-run greenhouse today and they sell tomato plant starters for $1 for a pack of 6! That is so inexpensive! They have hundreds of different types of fruit and veggie plants and they sell seeds of any type of fruit and veggie you can imagine. All the Mennonite women were really excited to meet someone from California, and one loved telling me about her trip to San Diego one time. They are such nice and polite people and they are really interesting to talk to. I have been inside a few Mennonite homes, and they are always busy doing something. They milk their cows, can foods, homeschool their kids, plant crops, fix tools, cut wood and build all kinds of things. No wonder they need so many kids; just for the help alone! And it is always fun to see them riding alongside the road on their buggy pulled by their horses. Almost any store we pull up to has a buggy and horse parked outside, so that still takes time for me to get used to seeing. But they are very nice people, and if the civilized world ended tomorrow, they would know how to survive just fine. So we should start paying attention to them!
So those are the only plans we have for the rest of this week. Just waiting for rain and weeding all our fruit patches. I will update later when we do something different. I am still really loving it here, and working with Bobbett is so much fun! She is so funny and laid back. I really enjoy her company. We get along really well.
Ill post again when we make more bread and tortillas and jam.
Love you guys, be home soon!
-Sam
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