Of Babies, Autumn, and Farming

Things have been busy around the farm these days. We are in the peak of harvest and market season and on top of that we just added a new baby. He is such a sweet little guy and we all love him so much. He adds so much joy to our lives. He keeps mommy busy, cuddling him, nursing him, and changing him. And of course I love it! He loves it when daddy comes in from the garden and holds him and talks to him. He is becoming so alert; looking at faces and noticing voices. David is getting used to his new brother and even adjusting to sharing Mommy. He likes to hold him and kiss him and pick out his clothes :)

I have been mostly resting and recovering from the birth and enjoying my new baby. The last few days I have enjoyed getting back out into the garden a little bit. I wrap Matthew in his Moby wrap and pick a few tomatoes or I hold him on my lap while sorting cucumbers or weighing out beans. Today I enjoyed going back to the Chewelah market for the first time!

Andrew has been doing most of the farm work and all the markets by himself. And he is doing a fantastic job! The booth looked wonderful when I stopped by for a few minutes last week. We have been appreciating the help of my sister with much of the harvesting as well.

Around the farm fall crops are starting to come on. We harvested the first leeks this week and the pumpkins and winter squash are getting close. Andrew harvested most of the garlic and it is hanging in the barn at my parents place. Soon it will be time to harvest the potato crop.

There has been a chill in the air in the mornings and evenings lately. We even had a light frost last weekend. Autumn is definitely on its way. The hoophouses are all covered up again and some of the beans and cucumbers have floating row cover over them. I am looking forward to the autumn season ahead.

Our Second Son

We are so happy to announce the birth of our second born Matthew Jonathan Engell. He was born at 6:41 in the evening on Tuesday August 14th. He weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 21 inches long.  My labor went really smooth this time and wasn't overly long. I went into labor around 7:30 in the morning. I kept going about my normal business for awhile. My contractions started picking up around ten.  And everything went steady and smoothly from there. I don't remember when the pushing started but it doesn't seem like it was too long.  And then Matthew was born at 6:41. I felt so good after he was born just relaxing in my bed holding my sweet little son.

Weeding the Potatoes

Little Luxuries

Sometimes while living the farming life it can be easy forget to make time for little luxuries. Money can get tight so we don't buy extras or we can get so busy that time seems to be in very short supply. Recently I have been enjoying making sugar and sea salt scrubs. I have been selling them at the farmers market but I always make a bit extra for us. They are wonderful on dry feet, hands, knees, elbows or anywhere else. I use them in the shower on any rough spots from working in the garden. Andrew even likes to use them on his hands. So now I am going to share my quick and easy recipes with you. Enjoy!

Sugar Scrub

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1/4 cup coarse turbinado sugar

1/3 cup sweet almond oil or other light oil

20-30 drops essential oil (I like blending vanilla and lime)

Sea Salt Scrub

3/4 cup sea salt

1/4 cup himalayan pink salt

1/3 cup olive oil

20- 30 drops essential oil (I have been using lavender and grapefruit)

For both recipes simply mix all ingredients together and store in a lidded container. I like to put mine in small cute canning jars.

Just a couple of cautions now. If using in the shower be careful because they can make the flour slippery. Also the sea salt one will sting or burn any open cuts or scrapes.

Real

Come visit our farm and take a look at our garden and you won't find perfection. No, what you will find if reality. You won't see perfect beds with perfect rows of crops free from any weeds. Everything isn't completely tidy and neat. You will find the reality of the never ending struggle with weeds, the challenge of keeping the row fabric on the beds to help crops grow faster, and maybe some empty flats from the last rush to transplant before a rainstorm. You will find real work that has been done and plenty more to do. It might seem a bit untidy with all the grass along the fences and certain corners that look like a wilderness. It can all be so overwhelming at times and yet it is also beautiful. We have healthy, abundant crops in the midst of it all. Lush zucchini, beautiful lettuce, and colorful swiss chard. The pine trees just behind the garden give a wonderful woodsy, mountainy scent, especially after a rain. The little birds sing and play in the especially wild, grassy corner. Sometimes I think that I like a little bit of wildness better than complete perfection. We do continue to work to make things better, we try to reduce the number of weeds, to make the garden tidier overall. But somehow I have a feeling that we will never reach perfect and that is okay with me.

Under the Rainbow

I looked out the kitchen window and saw this lovely rainbow and Andrew cultivating the potatoes under it. I had to snap a photo of the beautiful scene.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Recently I have been trying to get the freezer stocked with some quick and easy meals for the busy days of summer ahead. This week so far I have added one rhubarb pie, one empty pie crust, and four packages of ten homemade pita bread. I am planning to use the pitas for some picnics this summer. We have a delicious recipe for pitas with lamb, cucumbers, and yogurt. I will post it in a future post. For now I am going to give you the pita recipe. It of pretty simple to make and they turn out delicious. The most time consuming part is rolling them out.

Pita Bread

1 Tbsp. Yeast

1 Tbsp. Honey or sugar

2 1/2 Cups warm water

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Oil

6 to 7 Cups whole wheat flour

Dissolve yeast and honey in water. Add salt, oil and 6 cups flour. Knead 5 to 10 minutes adding more flour as needed. Let rise until doubled about one hour. Divide into 20 equal pieces. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. Let rest on greased cookie sheets for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Just before baking flip pitas over. Bake 8 - 10 minutes switching position of pans halfway through. They are done when puffed in the middle and slightly browned. Sometimes I have some that don't puff completely but they still work, I just have to cut them open carefully with a knife. These pitas are not real big