Lard, flowers, chicks and more!

So many beautiful things in the garden this time of year that I take WAY more photos than I actually remember to share! But we have tomatillos, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, beans, kohlrabi and more coming in!

Also am trying to collect our own lettuce seed this year. They are sorta like dandelions. Fluffy seed pops out after the flower is done.

In addition to veggies, we are also growing more flowers this year. Some for pretty bouquets and some are edible. Sunflowers, nasturtiums, calendula, and wildflower blend. I'm looking forward to some zinnias blooming soon!

All of that garlic we harvested was mostly cured, so we trimmed the tops and roots. There was still some moisture, so we set up a fan and are letting them dry out some more before storage

Elsie's baby chicks are growing up so fast! They have cute little tail feathers coming in this week.

We took a brief hike on Sunday, but poor Daisy got stung on the paw by a honeybee. She got carried the rest of the way back to the car and was properly spoiled once the stringer was removed at home.

We have also been having some fun in the kitchen lately. We took a huge hunk of fat from the pig we purchased in the winter and rendered it into lard. Can't wait to cook with it. We also tried a sourdough pizza crust recipe that turned out decent. And I got the Farmer green coffee beans for his birthday and he had fun roasting his first ever batch. Speaking of food experiments, I trash-picked up an old charcoal grill in our neighborhood. The Farmer has been wanting to try converting one into a smoker. Now's his chance!

Well, my COVID-19 sabbatical came to an end this month. I started half-time work June 1st and this past Monday I'm back in the office full-time. While it is fun to catch up with co-workers, wearing a mask all day is no fun. Not easy to breathe and makes my throat sore by the end of the day. I discovered I can work in a different room away from coworkers for a few hours a day which helps give me a break from the constricted breathing. Special thanks to my mom for making me some cute masks!

But being back at work, I'm going to miss pruning and training the farm's greenhouse tomatoes. I enjoyed that weekly rhythm.