Summer Begins

It's been a busy few days since last we spoke! 

 Summer has arrived in full force.  And though it's not quite here yet, calendar-wise, it feels like summer, activity-wise!  There's been so much happening around here. 

It's hard to miss the fact that Mother Nature is operating at warp speed these days.   Everything is so green and blossoms abound.  Everything, that is, except the grass.  It's been a month, now, without any rain (and there's none in the extended forecast), so we are entering summer in a drought.

The farmers have been able to get a first cutting of hay, but I fear without rain, a later cutting might be next to impossible.  Luckily, we have a load of hay coming this week.  Our stores will need to be refreshed before next winter.

I have been watering the vegetable garden to keep from losing that, but I worry about all of the berries.  There were so many raspberry and blueberry blossoms this spring, but I worry that without rain, we will have few berries.  And what berries we do get will not be especially plump!

Still, the days have been lovely - perfect temperatures, sunny skies, and cool nights.  This week is bringing a warming trend.

So, since we chatted last Friday, we've been quite busy.  Friday morning's activities included baking and cooking for the weekend's picnic, as well as our weekly bread-baking.

Friday afternoon was spent getting our back screen porch ready for summer.  We scrubbed the furniture, floors and screens, and washed all of the linens and pillows.  We will be eating many meals in this space in the coming months, so it's good to have it refreshed!

Saturday morning, I drove to town to pick up Maggie.  

Her family was scheduled to join us for our Sunday picnic, and Maggie wanted a little extra farm time.  On our way back to the farm, we stopped at the annual Arts Fest in Harrisburg. 

 It's held along the Susquehanna River in Riverfront Park beneath the tall trees. 

 It's always a lovely arts festival complete with lots of yummy food trucks.

After perusing all of the vendor's artsy wares, we headed back to the farm.  It's great having the older girls
visit.  They readily help out with farm chores and eagerly give out lots of extra hugs to the animals.

Sunday we had a Memorial Day picnic with family and farm friends in our picnic pavilion.

Farm picnics are the highlight of the summer season.  Hubbs is always creative in planning fun activities for everyone.  This year, we had a corn hole contest for all ages.

Yesterday, Hubbs and I had to meet a friend to pick up our bison meat order (it's just about the only red meat that we eat).  While we were in town, we stopped by the Arts Festival - Hubbs had not been there on Saturday.  It was a perfect weekend for this art show.  So many years in the past, it has either been cold, or windy or raining.  This year... dry as a bone!

***************

You might remember that I began my journey into soap making this spring.  My first batch (that I made 8 weeks ago) is done curing and ready to wrap and label.  So, yesterday I made my second batch...

this time orange/clove scented.  In the coming weeks, I will be making another batch - with lavender essential oil for fragrance.  All of the oils and scents that I am using are plant-based.  I was happy that this second time making soap I felt more confident with the process.  Each time gets easier!