Cool Morning Happenings

Mornings are my most favorite time of day right now.  It's cool and crisp before the sun has had a chance to bake the land.  I love the peacefulness of the front pasture, as everyone gets their grazing time before the sun and insects become unbearable.

Of all of our animals (dogs excluded), Ginger is the most gregarious.  She loves to visit with everyone - human or otherwise.  Unfortunately, only we humans (and Forrest, too) truly appreciate her company!

Morning chores are quickly finished and we move on to garden harvest and berry picking.  We can scarcely keep up with the ripening blueberries this year.  There are literally millions of berries on our bushes.  Luckily, we have a little help.

One of the chickens joined us yesterday - cleaning up all of the blueberries on the ground.

Forrest likes to eat the ripe blueberries right off of the lowest branches.

(He also loves sugar peas!)

I couldn't resist checking the Mockingbird nest.  Peeking down into the blueberry bush, I saw this...

and then within seconds, Mama Mockingbird flew by my head with a warning call.  There are certainly enough berries on all of the other bushes... so we decided to steer clear in order to not to stress out the new parents. 

By the time we were finished, we had picked....

lots of berries, and a handful of veggies that I made for our brunch.

Jack mentioned that he wanted to turn the manure piles yesterday morning.

We currently have two piles.  The one above that we have been adding to since late winter.

And then, another in the distance that is left from last autumn and winter.

Normally, he would use the tractor and turn both piles, but I requested that we leave the far pile alone until autumn because it is covered in either squash or pumpkin vines.

I am hoping these are pumpkins - in which case, I will harvest them for autumn decorating - and then Jack can turn this pile all he wants!

There's nothing better than free pumpkins!!

And while we are on the subject of produce... beet season has begun.  I am going to can all of my beets (pickled) in pint jars for use during the winter months.

Beets seem to be one of those foods that people either love or hate.  The great thing about this root vegetable is that it contains many nutrients and few calories.  Studies have shown that beets can help lower blood pressure, improve athletic performance (due to the nitrates in them), they may help fight inflammation, improve digestive health and support brain health.  We actually put beetroot crystals in our morning drink every day with a couple ounces of kombucha for gut health.  And yes, we eat  farm vegetables for breakfast with our farm eggs almost every day.  Nutrition is very important to both Hubbs and me.