This summer in the Shenandoah Valley and on our farm has been wonderfully busy! All our suffering through a harsh winter has been rewarded by an extremely green and mild summer. The valley has been so green and lush! Corn fields, red barns & farmhouses, Blue Ridge mountains, misty mornings, heavy thunderstorms... such a beautiful place to live!
A few photos of the Shenandoah river....
My sons fishing in the Shenandoah River
Wineberries picked along the river to make jam for my daughter who is in serving in Tempe, Arizona as a missionary. :)
The garden has been struggling this second year with too much moisture, but the heirloom tomatoes are finally producing! We'll have seeds to sell, soon! :)
Pumpkin vines growing along our stone wall.
The stink bugs in Virginia kill off all my squash plants by July every year! This year I am trying to use wood ash from the woodstoves to keep the pumpkin alive...so far so good! Hopefully they will keep growing until fall!
Green peppers and the pride of my garden, glass gem corn! The stalks are at least 10 feet high. :)
More corn! I may have enough time left in summer to plant a second crop.
Just a reminder of how beautiful the corn is at harvest! I always have seeds available for sale.
I had just a few surviving Jerusalem Artichoke bulbs which I brought in our move to Woodstock. They don't seem to mind the clay soil and are thriving! These are a delicious root, shaped like ginger and flavor like a smoked potato. This is a great "hidden" potato crop as the plant itself looks like 10-12 foot tall sunflower plants. I hope to have a plentiful supply available for sale within a year or two.
Some of my plants are struggling in the cool summer, but the gourds are going crazy. I hope I get a big crop for painting and selling! This is a young dinosaur gourd.
Yellow squash, ripening for seed gathering.
Misc. little baby gourds. Aren't they cute?? :)
The peppers aren't taking off this year like they usually do, but I have some giant California peppers which are doing nicely.
The swiss chard went crazy this year! The leaves on this plant are plants are 21/2 feet tall!
The Icelandic sheep are getting a nice thick coat of wool for shearing at the end of next month. Annukah gets a pretty blue color in her wool in the sunshine.
Ysabel...she's so huge, but I don't think she's pregnant...just fat off the green summer grass.
Thorin the ram, making faces for the camera. What a clown!
This is Astrid...it's a good thing she is beautiful with that amazing long, thick wool, because she is a royal pain in the butt. She does not like people at all, and throws a psychotic fit when caught for feet trimming, shearing, etc. I have some long bruises and scratches on my arms from wrestling her this week! She'd better throw some good lambs next spring, is all I'm sayin...
Astrid with her twin sister Aowyn.
Almost a photobomb with Thorin, haha!
Dagny, guardian of the barn!
My red sheep out grazing. They've given me some trouble this summer, not proving to be the hardiest of breeds. I may slowly replace this flock with a Coopworth cross. I do love them though...they are sweet!
Tourists floating over the pasture
Some kind of flowering poplar, I think? I have several of these trees and they bloom all summer long!
The garden!
Good friend of ours going for a ride on Mr. Baxter
Sometimes I have to pinch myself, that I live in such a beautiful place!
Hanging out on the deck... just love my family...and that old brick!
Photo from my 41st b-day,with my homies, the sister missionaries! Youngest son dressed for the occasion, haha.
My husband, dressed up for church in his Navy whites for Independence Day. <3
Finding a little time for folk art... these are gourds grown last summer. :) I love doing simple, whimsical paintings.
Fisherman...notice the "waves' on the dinosaur gourd? Gourds are available for sale, and I do custom paintings, in addition to folksy pieces.
The family with our favorite sister missionary who is being transferred to another area. She was with us all spring and helped shear all the sheep this year! We said goodbye with the gift of a handspun scarf. :)
Captain kitty & son
Carding wool. My favorite summer pastime!
5 skeins of Tunis wool, and 6 California Red wool spun so far. Working to get it all spun up to sell before the holiday "project" season starts!
We haven't done much remodeling this summer. We ended up having to install a new well pump, and an entirely new septic system, so house projects are on hold till next year... but I did get a new addition to the bathroom! Sadly I can't wash wool in these, so it'll be done by hand. Fun, fun!
Our favorite aunt visiting for summer, taking her on a tour of the creek.
My sons playing in passage creek that runs through our property.
A great birthday gift from Oregon! Oregon blackberry roots! They survived being shipped in the mail, and are growing well because of the cool summer. I can't wait to have Oregon blackberries to harvest!
The blackberry plants are from my adopted sis!
Highlight of our summer so far... a trip to the Sacred Grove in Palmyra New York, where the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days began.
http://josephsmith.net/article/the-first-vision?lang=eng
http://josephsmith.net/article/the-first-vision?lang=eng
....and more importantly, my sweetheart, lover, husband, and best friend and I had our marriage solemnized in the Palmyra New York temple for time and all eternity!
http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/mormon/marriage/
http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/mormon/marriage/
Our close family and best friends attended. <3
I don't know if there are farms and sheep in heaven, but I am so happy to know that families can be together forever!
For more information on our farm, please visit :http://samsbillthepony.wix.com/getting-liberty#
or email us at samsbillthepony@yahoo.com
