It won't be long until they are all gone....

Have you ever stopped to wonder why we have an endangered list for some animals but not for other animals or crops. Did you ever think we would need such a thing? Take a look at the following article about endangered crops and animals....it is an eye opener. I don't think I will look at most turkeys the same way :)

Click here to read more....

I would love to know what you think!

How useful is your yard?

One of the main things that I love about veggie gardening is how something so wonderful comes from something so unexpected.

Baby grapes from our garden. A prolific plant that in spring transforms from dead looking vines into a jungle of leaves and baby grapes. It is amazing to watch it change daily.

Banana Peppers. How such a small plant produces such large, beautiful peppers is a beautiful thing!

The roses we grow not only get dried for different fragrances, etc. but our chickens also enjoy to munch on them.

Edible and useful plants come in such a variety of forms. One of the challenges of transforminga "normal" grass filled yard into a CityFarm is that neighbors assume that it will be ugly or unsightly but, on the contrary, it can be one of the most beautiful yards around.

No yard is perfect and we are all constantly improving but it is amazing what just one productive plant can do. Take a look at your yard and see where you might be able to feature some of these beautiful and useful plants!

Breathless Moments

There are just those perfect moments that take your breath away. Recently, while working in the garden after a brief rain shower, I looked up to spot this amazing rainbow that seemed only feet away. We stood and watched it for awhile.....to enjoy the majesty of nature all around us. How many moments a day are we blessed with beautiful images such as this that we don't take the time to actually see?

The following quote inspires me to take a moment and let my breath be taken away....I hope it inspires you as well.

"It's not what you look at that matters,

it's what you see."

Henry David Thoreau

Another Picture Post From The Farm

The summer squash is here and we get to enjoy those beautiful flowers

Flowers on the Royal Burgundy Beans.....Purple beans are so much fun!

Onions, Onions and more Onions

Peas galore....we will be picking these today too!

Carrots, Turnips and Beets....Remember how they looked a few weeks ago....take a look on a previous post and see how they have grown.

My how things are growing fast. Looks like I will be canning beets this afternoon so I will post pictures of that adventure soon. Happy harvesting!

June Tally

Okay....after a wet and dreary June here are our harvest totals for the month.

Strawberries - 11.4 oz - Not too bad for their first year

Radishes - 6 lbs 9.6 oz

Turnips - 2 lbs 2.3 oz

Zucchini - 14.1 oz

June Total - 10 lbs 5.4 oz

We have already harvest more than this amount for the month of July and it is only the 7th.....happy harvesting!!

Small changes

It is amazing what small changes can produce.

In our backyard we removed a small piece of grass....2' wide.....along the length of the fence. That small amount of grass will never be missed but oh what results that space has produced.

In that area we now have 15 tomato plants, 5 squash plants and 5 cucumber plants. The squash and cucumber will trellis up the fence and we have already started harvesting red, ripe tomatoes.

Take a look at your yard and use a piece of ground, no matter how small, for something productive.

Chicken Coop -- Making the most of what you have

The purpose of backyard chickens is to produce a supply of healthy homegrown eggs and fertilizer while saving money.  To do this we transformed a run down shed on our property to their new home.  By using things we already had we made them a home for less than $40.  Take a look at our before and after pictures.  Comments and questions are always welcome!

Before

Before

After

The window allows plenty of light and circulation.  You can also see a few nesting boxes and plenty of branches for roosting.

After

Our backyard chickens have been an amazing experience and I recommend it to anyone wanting to get back to life as it was.

A fun challenge!

A new challenge that I am participating in is a Home Audit. So many times in life we forget to look around and evaluate what we are doing.

Is there a more efficient way to do this? Could we save money on that?

So many items in our daily routine become a habit when there may be a better way....a simpler way....a more economical way. This challenge involves several steps that help "Audit" our homes and lifestyles. The first part starts with one week of no spending. NOTHING!! Not one dime. Could you do it???

You can find out more at: www.down---to---earth.blogspot.com

Join me in changing our homes and lives for the better!! Let me know if you are taking the challenge!

Stock up now....It is only a matter of time!

We struggle paying $3.00/ gallon of gas now but imagine when bread will cost $8.00/loaf. According to some recent information published in the Los Angeles Times that day is coming all to soon. They project that 80% of the worlds wheat storage/crops will be destroyed. I suggest we all spend a few extra dollars now to store some extra wheat and flour now to avoid the panic later. You can read the full article by following the link below.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-wheat-rust14-2009jun14,0,1661589.story

"If ye are prepred ye shall not fear" Doctrine and Covenants 38:30