JUNE 10TH IN THE BARN BAR - PATCHOULI!

Yes, it was another fabulous concert in the Barn Bar that night.  Patchouli is fantastic, fun and Julie's smile is so contagious, you can't help but have a good time! We had great weather as it was cooler then usual so it almost got to the point that we might've had to start a fire in there.  (I know, June 10th!) But it worked out nicely. Bob played a couple songs with them too.  It was a night to remember. They said they love the energy of the Barn Bar and want to return. : ) Who would have thought that after what? 10 years or so, that a really great band we remember from Chicago when we lived there would end up playing in our barn?  Life is good.

I think it's time to go get that conditional use permit.

Bob, Ted and Mike opened for them.  They call their band BE

Maddie using my camera and having fun with it

I love seeing Susan Waughtal's paintings in the background

see? look sat that smile!  how could you not smile along with her?

this one is just cool looking

Bob got to sit in on a couple songs

THE MONTH OF JUNE - HOW QUICKLY SHE HAS DISAPPEARED! AND YET IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S APRIL CUZ IT'S ONLY 62 DEGREES AND RAINY

It's June 23, 2011 and it's so chilly outside, i may have to turn on the furnace.  I know!  The furnace! It's about 62 degrees and that's usually what we keep the house at in the winter. So the garden is suffering, how can anything grow out there if there is no sun?  Well this lack of sun and my loss of vitamin D from such lack is causing a minor depressive state on my part and I don't like it.

Even Max is bored!

HERE WE ARE - ON THE AIR! KSMQ'S TV SPOT ON THE BARN BAR. THIS SUNDAY!

Yes, we are officailly on the air this Sunday with our feature on the local channel KSMQ's show called "Off 90."  Wonder if that close up of the wine pouring, and pouring, and pouring made the cut?

MY FAVORITE AUTHOR IS AT IT AGAIN

This is the latest from EXPOSED mag.  WARNING:  there is a reference to Nazi's in here. (note: the remarks in this article do not necessarily reflect the values and thoughts of her mother, but one can never tell ;  )

SPORTS SUCK

THE GARDEN IS BLOOMING WITH LIFE! AND IT'S REALLY FRICKIN' HOT OUTSIDE!

Ahhh, the garden.  Of course!  I love my garden. In less then four weeks - it's grown huge!  Look at the difference:

Image taken May 11th

Image taken today - June 6th

 I had just 10 raised beds the year before last, last year we added another 8 and this year we added 3 more just for the tomatoes.  i know, right?  but I went over board this year with the tomatoes i started from seed, i actually got them to make it to the garden, alive!  So it was difficult not to plant them all! Last year, i had a hard time with that whole 'hardening off' thing' (where you are supposed to introduce the plants to the outdoors for one hour then increase an hour each day for a week. Yeah,  - too complicated). But i did do it right this year and i did it in a timely fashion, planning it all around the time before we left for Milwaukee and the horse show.

our friend Jason building the new skinnier beds for the tomatoes

The beds done before we added the dirt.
 I intend to run string up from the bed to the pergola to tie the plants to.

So yesterday we spent the whole day in the garden, building another bed for the tomatoes (for the total of 3) and mowing, weeding, and getting the final things in for the summer harvest.


 I planted more beans and used dead branches from the copious amounts of branches we have laying around here.  Seemed a more reasonable thing to use then going and buying a trellis, plus it looks cool.

For the pole beans to grow up

The Three sister's - corn on the top of the mound, pole beans around them,
then squash around the bottom..  I think i have too many squash planted
in there.  But who can have too many squash?!?!?

The Goyo Kumbo eggplant

The tri color peas

tomatoes!

peppers!

Potatoes!  All Blue and Fingerling's

Isn't she lovely and makeshift?

and it's so damn hot the chickens are panting!

So here it is - the garden!  I got more then enough spinach, and lettuce last week, but the weather is warm and rainy (actually rain forest-y hot and humid - heat index of 103 today!) and things are blooming with life!

HADLEY ANNE SIMON

Our dear friends Kelly and AJ Simon had their first baby last week, we were just so lucky to be in the Milwaukee area to see that 7 day old baby girl, the beautiful Hadley Anne!  Oh, she was precious!  I might just have to start concentrating on newborns now, get my baby fix!

THE SECOND HARVEST

So when one is gone for  few days, things start to grow faster then before in the garden.  Well, at least it appears to do that.

Ok, where is the actual garden bed???



 So in between trimming the pig's hooves, bathing the dogs,

making Parmesan cheese, deworming the horses and cleaning out the camper and doing the laundry from it, i decided i would go out to the garden.  Get the rest of the things planted that needed to be and see what i could harvest.

What i got was a five-gallon bucket of leeks, and two baskets of spinach and lettuce. 

So what we had for dinner this beautiful Memorial Day was grilled leeks and red onion over fresh salad greens and a sprinkle of my homemade goat's milk blue Stilton cheese and topped off with some champagne vinaigrette dressing. Nummy!