September 1

This morning brought our first egg from one of the new ladies. What a nice surprise. We have had to cover their nests at night because they roost on the edge of the nest and fill the nests with nasty things.
We haven't had an egg from one of the older ladies for weeks. I despise buying eggs from the store when I own 22 chickens.
Dad is particularly entranced with the little banties, they are a sweet little breed if you can call a chicken sweet. The ladies do have a "go to meetin " look about them though as they pick and and talk through their day. This was breakfast this morning. I know Brian says that's all the Boren's talk about is food but heh! Oatmeal with fresh berries from the garden and fresh peaches from Mike Hubbard is Bonners Ferry. Tasty. We have much to be grateful for.

Lunch

Fall is definetly in the air today. I went to the farmers market this morning and most people were bundled up in sweatshirts and sweaters. But I digress.


Lunch was a delight today. I do have a few measly tomatoes in the garden an some very nice basil. So onto the internet I went to learn how to make a basic pesto. Easy. Taking some of Marian's rosemary bread minus the rosemary with a light splash of olive oil on the flat cast iron grill I toasted the bread. Topped it with pesto, fresh tomatoe and Suzie's fresh goat cheese. It was to die for. Sorry Mel, but do you know what that would cost you in New York?

A Trip to the Green Monarchs

Michael wanted to sleep in a tent and Dad wanted to share this area to see if it would be good for the grand kids, so we loaded the small canoe and a kayak and paddled our way across part of Lake Pend Orielle. Michael got me and all the equipment. I pulled my weight after I figures out how to do the j-stroke.

Dad in the lake.

Michael in charge of hamburgers for dinner.

Skipping stones took up a good part of the evening.

There is a rope swing at this particular beach. This is getting close to sunset.

Where was Stephen to cook the bacon?

Dad's underwater camera is way fun.

We took an early morning swim. The water was surprisingly nice.

Group photo. This will be a great outing for the grandkids. If the boat is running we will tow the canoe and kayaks. There is plenty of room on this beach for the big family tent. The tiny children may need to go home after the evening activities but oh what fun will be had.

Getting ready to paddle home.

This was great photo that Michael took on Johnson Creek where you put in. The water is great.

A baby fawn right on the shore we weren't more than 10 feet from her.

My saurkraut was NASTY. I gave it to the chickens. I couldn't decide what smelled in the kitchen, but it didn't take long to figure out. Dad took one tiny taste and had to spit it out. I will not try again.

Garden Update, Fish and Stuff

So the first of the fish are finished, Dad is pretty excited, the red ones are fabulous, I really would love to keep one and hang it somewhere, where that where is I'm not sure.

The garden is a MESS, but still producing. We got great broccoli and cabbage this year both new plantings for me. I am trying saurkraut for the first time. Hmmm. Califlower did zip. The kale and fennel did great also. I used the kale still not sure what to do with fennel. Both of these were new vegetables. The snow peas were amazing. The cucumbers are almost non-existant, zuchinni good not crazy like most years. The tomatoes are as sorry as they can be. We experimented with a new technique this year and may I say we will not try it again. The marigold I planted around them to protect them have taken over besides. The berries did great, we are seeing the last slim pick'ins for the everbearing strawberries and raspberries. We will have a bumper crop of blackberries, they are just starting to ripen. We have decent basil which would be really tastey with tomatoes if we had any. Great onions and garlic. Fall is in the air but we are still hoping for an Indian Summer since summer came late and wet this year. Every year I learn something new and forget half of it by the next year but I still love eating fresh.

We had a cold wet week-end but the sun is out today so I can hang laundry on the line. I love stiff sheets but not stiff towels. I love the way the sun naturally whitens things, so nice. I love the smell of the outdoors better than any fabric softner you can buy.

I went to a site that my niece Erika likes called http/thepioneerwoman.com and got some great recipes. I tried her chicken parmigiana yesterday, We had a friend for dinner and it was really a hit, so yummy. We also had her raspberry crisp. I 've done her onion strings which are great. I'm going to try her pan apple cake and apple dumplings hopefully sooner than later. I haven't taken the time to try a lot of her recipes but everyone I have tried has been a winner.

Michael is on bis way for a short visit and it will be nice to have him. He is up to his eyeballs in a documentary project on Grandma and Grandpa Boren. We are excited about it.

Flower Picture + a Carrot

This is a monster carrot out of our garden, I was worried it would have a huge core and be pithy, but it was great.

This is a flower Mel and I haven't seen bloom before. It has a large pod that looks like a cancer growth on a tree and out of it bursts about seven or eight flowers. Fun.

Still No Flower Pictures

I made an entry in my journal last night that I will share in part.

Mel called a few days ago just to share that she had had such a pleasant day then went on to tell some very routine activities, but she went to bed really content. I had a day like that today. Got up before six and cleaned the garden before breakfast, ate, got out the tractor and cleaned the chicken coop. Ate lunch and floated on the lake with my good friend Jeannie Lyon. Ate supper, did chores, read the scriptures and the day was done.

A day full of good work and good fun. That makes you content.

Three Days

Dad left this morning for the Super with his Priests, all the granchildren and their parents have gone home, grandma is on her own for three days. Hmm... what to do ? The list is long, we'll see what happens.

I decided I haven't blogged for a long time because there are too much going on that I wanted to participate in and too many pictures to look at and organize. I want to show Mel a picture of a new bloom in the yard but that means I would need to download the camera, which means I would have to deal with all those pictures. So I am going to download the camera (and not deal with all those pictures mentally), empty the card and take a picture of Mel's flower and just deal with that. But thats for later not now.

It's been a great month. Having the kids and grandkids here is such a great treat for us. We love having the family come. We traveled to Utah for the Boren family reunion. May I say that I love watching the next generation of women (Lisa on down). They are so kind with themselves and each other. They seem to be comfortable with who they are and the direction their lives are going. They are great women. Of course Camille, Sylvia and Lilian are angels. What a great family to be part of.

Dad built sets with Mel and had a great time. Peter PAn is going to be fabulous. Mel even wrote the script. I was able to go to the Family History Library for a day and half and found some great material. Thanks to my friend Diane Loutzenhiser a talented genealogist who gave some great direction. I was able to have lunch with Stephen, Rosie, Hank, Stacy and Lorili Toone. Salt Lake has some fun and funky things happening and is taking on a more cosmopolitan aire in some areas. I also was able to spend some time with a good friend from New York, Lorinda Belnap. You know someone is a true friend when they will spend a morning trapsing thru a cemetery looking for headstones with you.

The trip was topped off with David's graduation with his PHD. It has been a long haul for him and Sherrie and the kids. We spent some time with them in their new home, and did some pruning and yard work in the cool of the evenings. They will love being where they are at.

Came home to an overgrown garden and lots of yard work but thats what happens when you leave in August. Mel I will post pictures of flowers.