Bolte Farm, Spencer WV

Girl Scouts visit the farm

2011-09-18T21:33:00.000-04:00

It is a beautiful fall day. The table is set with pumpkin plates and napkins, cheese puffs, and homemade goodies... chocolate chip pumpkin brownies and glazed pumpkin cookies.

The girls giggle and eat snacks...

They play girl games...

And they run through the field in search of the perfect pumpkin...

They march from the field carrying their chosen pumpkins...

And big smiles...

They each got a big pumpkin and a small one to take home!

And this is a shot of my special Girl Scout, my niece Naomi Jo...

What a wonderful visit!

Meanwhile back at the farm....

2011-09-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

The last post I wrote was August 1, right before the 2011-12 school year started... and it's funny that the topic was about that panicky feeling I always get at that time of year. That was my last post... a month and a half ago. Daily I considered writing... considered posting... but my thoughts remain consumed with school thoughts at this time of year. My tasks revolve around school-related tasks such as grading papers, preparing lessons, and planning. I do this every year. Then when I get settled into the school year and get focused, I can take a deep breath and plunge back into my blogging again.

Meanwhile back at the farm.....

It's harvest time!

We have lots of pumpkins to sell...

We had worried about our harvest this year while we battled the squash bugs and cucumber beetles. And they did take a toll, as our pumpkins are much smaller this year. We have very few large jack-o-lanterns, but we have MANY medium and smaller ones. And the ones we have are beautifully shaped and perfectly colored. I love the variety we have this year.... green and white striped cushaws, gourds, and small decorative pumpkins galore.

And an added bonus... they sure make for pretty pictures!

The Top of the Ferris Wheel...

2011-08-01T06:45:00.000-04:00

I'm getting that familiar slightly-panicky feeling.... as I admit to myself that July is now a thing of the past. August 1st... wow! Maybe I'm alone in this feeling that at this time of year, something wonderful is ending, yet something equally wonderful is beginning.

I'm reminded of the first paragraph in the prologue of Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt:

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after.

Ending are the lazy days of sleeping in and then taking naps... living freely without an agenda...
Beginning are the days of lesson plans, new classrooms, school clothes, marching season... football season... and pumpkin harvest.

It's not here yet, of course... but like that opening paragraph in Tuck Everlasting so vividly explains... we are hanging there in the balance like the top of a Ferris wheel.

I think very near the beginning of the year, we shall study Tuck Everlasting in my 6th grade class... I'm in the mood for it.

WV Capital City and Capitol Building

2011-07-30T09:10:00.001-04:00

Our farm is located about an hour from Charleston, WV, which is our state capital. It is the largest city in WV, with a population of about 51,000. In my opinion, the capitol building in WV is one of the most beautiful....

It proudly sits overlooking the Kanawha River....

Its golden dome rises 292 feet high... higher than the dome on our nation's capitol building in Washington, DC.

By the way, am I the only one who thinks it silly that there are two spellings... capitol and capital that are so closely related?

Attack of the Pumpkins!

2011-07-28T19:07:00.000-04:00

Upon returning from our nine-day vacation in Colorado, we discovered the pumpkin vines are devouring the rest of the garden!

We reserve one end of our plowed field for the vegetable garden, and the rest is all planted in pumpkins. Next year we may need a different strategy as the pumpkins are swallowing the tomatoes plants and vining up the corn stalks. It is amazing how far they will vine if we don't keep them under control! It's no wonder our tomatoes won't ripen when they never get a glimpse of the sun.

One pumpkin vine even decided to climb up a cage that we had around a tomato plant. (Maybe this is "the little pumpkin who could.")

But I'm not going to complain, because we have PUMPKINS too!! And I love pumpkins. I think they are beautiful.

And we also came home to the corn wearing their head-dresses...

And bearing gifts wrapped in silk packages...

The green beans were ready for picking...

As were the squash and cucumbers...

Colorado was gorgeous, relaxing, and basically perfect....

But we did miss our garden.... REALLY!

Rocky Mountain High = Less Blog Time!

2011-07-21T18:35:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update.... I "lucked" into a business trip to Denver. I had NEVER been to the West, the Midwest, the Southwest... I've been no further west than Chicago in my life. So needless to say, I was so excited to experience this different part of America! My husband and I decided to fly to Colorado three days prior to my conference for some site-seeing in the beautiful Rocky Mountains!! I have time to only post a few pictures before dinner.... but I just had to share the breathtaking beauty of the Rockies....

That's all for now... gotta go get that Rocky Mountain High...

Brings tears....

2011-07-15T07:14:00.000-04:00

I love this man...

I love to watch him work on the farm that he loves....

He reminds me of my first love, my dad...

Fixin' Squash....

2011-07-14T21:22:00.000-04:00

I have a unique way of preparing summer yellow squash. Every time I have mentioned this method of preparing squash to anyone, they are always amused. My version is EASY and delicious, so I thought I'd share my recipe. Well, it's not REALLY a recipe exactly.... us country folk don't do much measuring and fiddlin' with amounts. We just pinch, shake, pour, and dab... and we go a lot on what "looks right." When it looks done, it's usually done....

Anyway ... I use yellow crook-neck squash instead of the standard summer squash for two reasons. One, it's what I was raised on.... what my mother fixed when she taught me to cook. And two, there are less seeds in the crook-neck squash.

I start by cutting the neck in circles, but when I get down to the main body of the squash, I cut around and around, cutting pieces off, like this....

I don't like to use the seeds. And the key is to make sure you have a bit of the yellow on every piece, since the yellow browns better than the inside white flesh.

Discard your seeds...

This is about the right size pieces....

Coat with flour....

Next, dump the squash, lightly coated with flour, into an iron skillet of hot oil...

Fry over medium heat. Turn when one side starts to brown....

Fry until a mixture of golden and light brown...

For a country supper, serve hot with new buttered potatoes, fresh green beans, and sliced tomatoes...

Then sit and watch it get cold while your husband runs late for supper....

Well, you don't have to follow that final step!

A Growing Spurt.....

2011-07-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

All day Friday we were blessed with a long, restoring, steady rain which caused our garden to take off on a growing spurt that was almost unbelievable. It sounds like a cliche, but I mean it literally when I report that our pumpkin vines grew a foot overnight!

All of a sudden, the numerous vines are crawling everywhere, so that there is almost not room to walk among them.

Every vine has bright yellow blooms.

And I even found one little green pumpkin!

The rest of the garden is doing well also, considering we planted every thing so late this year. It won't be long until we have fresh vegetables....

Tomatoes....

Corn....

Beans....

Squash...

Okay, seriously did you see those squash blooms? There's gonna be like 30 squash here in this one little spot... I think you need to look again....

And "The Little Pumpkin who Could" is still trying his best to reach the sky...

The Little Pumpkin that Could....

2011-07-08T11:11:00.000-04:00

This little pumpkin vine is not like all the rest. He marches to the beat of a different drummer... he's reaching for the stars....

Maybe he's heard the story of the little engine who could....

Or the story of Jack and the ~~pumpkin~~ bean stalk....

The other "proper" pumpkins that vine along the ground laugh at him.....

But I see potential for growth here (pun intended)....

Maybe he was just planted too close to the fence so he can look across and see the trees so tall....

Chloe looks at me and rolls her eyes, "You have GOT to be KIDDING me!"

Maybe...

Joy....

2011-07-06T06:47:00.000-04:00

Now I can go to the pumpkin field and see changes DAILY. I love that! It's always something to look forward to.... After my morning coffee, and after Steve leaves for work, I walk out into the misty morning, through the cool, dew-covered grass, past the still-quiet barn, to the pumpkin field.

The massive leaves have turned in the direction of last evening's setting sun, and they cover the new yellow blooms like umbrellas.

Yes, we have blooms! To my dismay, I had to order a new camera battery charger, so we are without pictures of these first delicate blossoms. I have a picture from last year, which will have to do, because the blooms are all alike, right? I just wanted to document the first blooms of this season... (pout face).

Isn't it a joy to walk to your garden and see the daily changes? The new beans coming on, the corn stalks shooting upward overnight, new tiny green tomatoes? I hope you have that joy too... there's nothing else quite like it.

Red, White, and Blue

2011-07-04T23:25:00.000-04:00

In honor of America's 235th birthday....

I went on a quest for our country's colors .....

Around the farm....

And around the house....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!

Hope you had a great 4th of July holiday.... from the Bolte house to yours!

Perspective....

2011-07-03T21:44:00.000-04:00

As I begin to experiment and enjoy my fairly new photography hobby, I am starting to look at everyday things through new eyes, or at least from a different perspective. Sometimes the mundane... the ordinary... can look quite unique from varying angles.

Did you ever take the time to just lie in the grass with your camera?

Things that are quite small when you are standing suddenly become large through your camera lens.

And beautiful...

I don't normally see Chloe from this angle....

Interesting...

I think I like lying in the cool grass on a hot summer day. I like taking time to watch Chloe take time to smell the flowers.

The garden even holds some unexpected delights if you look the right way.... like this leaf on a pumpkin vine.

And this close-up of a first tomato bloom in the evening sun.

The world looks equally beautiful looking up!

Stay Gold....

2011-07-01T17:33:00.000-04:00

Woven into the tapestries of our lives are our families... bits and pieces of memories, like bright threads, are interwoven into our minds. One of my brightest threads... my golden thread in the tapestry of my life.... is Alec. Happy 16th birthday to my golden child...

He has always reminded me of that Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay." I first read the poem in the book, THE OUTSIDERS, by S.E. Hinton.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Alec is just.... gold. He shines from the inside out. Everyone loves him. If it's possible to keep that golden hue of childhood, I'm sure it will stay in Alec.

Sixteen faces of my Alec....

Marshmallow eater...

Car washer...

Fisherman....

Cold shower-taker....

Farm-hand...

Rock climber...

Dog whisperer...

Hotdog roaster..

Silly...

Corn husker...

Heart-shaped tomato picker...

Happy...

Friend...

Drummer...

Cat lover...

Playful...

Happy Birthday, Son.... Stay Gold.....

A Little TLC....

2011-06-30T22:23:00.000-04:00

Our pumpkin patch TLC is starting to pay off!

We now have several running vines...

Earlier in the season when we found out we had the bug problem and the bacterial wilt, we seriously almost gave up hope. We fully expected to have a very low yield. And even though we know better than to count our ~~chickens~~ pumpkins before they ~~hatch~~ bloom, we finally feel we can breathe again...

We spend time in our pumpkin patch daily. We pick bugs off and we pull weeds....

Chloe even helps pull weeds...

At one time, we had decided to give up on several hills that honestly looked like there was no hope. We gave our time and energy, instead, to the ones that we thought we could save. But lately, even the seemingly hopeless plants have started to grow new leaves. So, we have been pulling the weeds in the hills, and then piling new fresh dirt around the fragile plants to make new hills.

If you look closely, you can can see evidence of repair...

You can see the small curled leaves that were damaged, but new plants are growing. New healthy leaves are popping out every day.

Steve is certain this wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been diligent in picking off the squash bug eggs, pulling off the cucumber beetles, and repairing the fragile root systems by making new hills.
It's a family affair. Chloe is a great helper, and she never pulls pumpkin plants; only weeds!

What did you say, Chloe? You found a bug?

A cucumber beetle....

Since this is a family blog, I did not photograph the gruesome execution.

The sunset over the Bolte Farm pumpkin patch...

A hard days work, some pumpkin patch TLC, and all is well.

Almost Heaven....

2011-06-29T20:30:00.000-04:00

Almost Heaven West Virginia...

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River....
Life is old there, older than the trees....

Younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze....

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong....

West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads....

All my memories gather round her...

Miner's lady, stranger to blue water...

Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye....

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong....

West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads.....

I hear her voice, in the morning hours she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away....

And drivin' down the road, I get a feelin'
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday....

Country roads, take me home....

To the place I belong....

West Virginia, mountain momma....

Take me home, country roads....

Love

2011-06-28T21:37:00.000-04:00

This morning after Steve left for work, I had to pack a suitcase and head to an out-of-town conference. While I was packing, I saw the cutest thing.....A note he had written to himself in his own messy handwriting...

It was apparently a list of reminders to himself. At the bottom of the list he wrote, "egg salad" so he wouldn't forget what to eat for supper! I had told him several things to remember to do in my absence (because you know, there are just certain things that WIVES do and not husbands).... and one of those things I mentioned was that I had made egg salad and put it in the fridge for sandwiches. I thought it was terribly cute that he had to write that down. And it made me feel so very important and needed. So I wrote a little note to him at the bottom... if he sees his list, and if he remembers to eat the egg salad, he'll see my note to him.

I hate to be away from him when I have to travel ... which thankfully, isn't often. Many times we'll arrange it so he can accompany me on my trip. But unfortunately, this time he had to stay home and mow hay. What's that saying... "You gotta make hay when the sun shines."... well the sun is shining, so the love life sometimes gets put on hold.

He keeps bugging me to post certain pictures... and I keep telling him I will post those pictures when I WRITE about that topic.... I try to explain to him that you just don't post random pictures in the blog... but he gets impatient. So for my husband, whom I miss terribly this evening....

A picture of the hay in the barn.....

Often this time of year, the hay is stacked to the rafters and the barn is full. This year, we were able to sell some hay right out of the field... and we still have a field or two to cut... so the barn is not yet full.

And a picture of a group of calves meandering around the hill in the early morning ....

I love you Steve.... you are my other half, and I am incomplete when I am away from you. I'll see you in two days.

A Beautiful Weed?

2011-06-27T14:01:00.000-04:00

Queen Anne's Lace...

Some people call these weeds...

They grow wild here, and I think they are simply gorgeous... and since they are snow white, they are perfect for black and white photos. I think later I'll take a walk and pick a bouquet of wildflowers.... I'll keep you posted!

Come on in......

2011-06-25T10:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our humble abode!...
This is the sign that greats visitors to our front door. It's very special because it was handmade by my younger son, Alec, at 4H camp last year. I LOVE it!

I don't really have a decorating style... not one that you would put a name to or find in a country magazine. But it is MY style, and I love it. It's primitive, warm, cozy, peaceful, relaxing, country, family.... it's home.

When you walk in, you are greeted with a mix of antique and just plain old... in other words, some of the decor is not old enough to be antique, but just OLD. My husband's mother collected mirrors and picture frames... this mirror was part of her collection, and it now hangs in our entry-way. The urn came from my kids' great-grandmother's farmhouse (you could say my "ex-grandmother-in-law"... but it sounds better the other way, I think).

The display I put together on the staircase landing... (another urn from the ex-grandmother-in-law's house... by the way, even though I divorced her grand-son many years ago, I loved her. She passed a few years back, and I'm thankful to have these urns.)

A beautiful old quilt we found in Steve's mom's antique trunk.... it now graces our stairway.

Another of my attempts-to-be-tastefully-primitive displays...

And nothing really tasteful about this... plaid on plaid. Hmmmmmm....

The wood stove has always been one of my favorite things in the house. In the winter, it is our only heat source. In the summer, it gets to display some of my painted primitive boxes.

This is my mis-matched hodgepodge corner, which I love. The old lamp is another treasure from Steve's family. The chair was discovered in an uncle's home after his death... it was actually hand-painted by another aunt-by-marriage. Notice the table covering? It was my very own baby quilt.. made by my aunt when I was born 41 years ago!

The silhouette image is of my older son, Kyle -- now 18 -- this was made when he graduated from preschool. What a treasure! And the basket? It's special too .. made with love from a friend and fellow teacher, Jo.

What's that mess in the window? I told you I didn't have a decorating theme! It's not country, not primitive, and doesn't fit in with the rest of the decor... but they are beach treasures... from a vacation with my husband on a clear, cool November day before we were married. How could I not display these?

There's probably some rule against this in a decorating how-to book... I'm sure you're not supposed to display pine cones and sea shells within so many feet of each other?

Basket collection...

And more baskets! I love the basket tree in the corner. But talk about organized clutter!.. it almost hurts your eyes, huh?

The kitchen.
The china cabinets behind the table contain a mix of old and new... but again, all treasures in some way.

My oldest and favorite is this pitcher.... it belonged to my grandmother (mom's mother) who is pictured here. And before that it belonged to my grandmother's mother... priceless.

I have to wrap up my tour with a shot of my younger son, Alec... on the couch with his iphone.

That's a peak into my house, my life. We don't have anything expensive... but it's all priceless. Decorate with what you love... display your treasures, and it will be beautiful.

Maybe All is NOT Lost.....

2011-06-24T15:08:00.000-04:00

Guess what I saw?

Some of the pumpkins are starting to vine! See the little "Curly Q"....

We are still battling bugs... daily. We go out and squash them, trap them, spray them, hypnotize them... well, we don't really hypnotize them, but we would if we could! We have tried to do some repair work around each hill... as the squash bugs have tried their best to destroy the root system. They destroy the roots and somehow keep the pumpkins from thriving, and often even killing them.

Like this... We have some poor plants that still look like this one. No hope.

But we have several that are trying their best to come out of it. Like this one. Notice the smaller curled leaves on the left? That is evidence of damage. But you can definitely see evidence of growth. This one maybe has a chance at bearing pumpkins for us.

And we have some that really do look healthy.

These plants with the speckled leaves are supposed to bear mammoth pumpkins. We only planted a few of these, but they are doing quite well.

Here is a shot of a portion of our pumpkin patch.

Compare it to last year....
June 20, 2010

They were even blooming last year at this time.

We've planted nearly TWICE the pumpkin seeds as last year, but at this point we would be happy with HALF the yield. But hopefully all is not lost.

Beauty in the Midst of the Storm

2011-06-24T07:14:00.000-04:00

It seems that every day we get rain. The days are warm and muggy, and the humidity always seems to bring a shower.

Oftentimes, the rain will be accompanied by a fast-moving, hard-hitting summer storm. The sky will get dark over the barn, a refreshing wind will move through the trees, and deep rumbles of thunder can be heard in the background.

The late evening storms always paint the sky with an amazing array of colors.

These pictures were taken yesterday evening....

And I am reminded to be thankful.... Thank you God that we can find your beauty even in the midst of the storm.

Ellie Mae

2011-06-23T13:13:00.002-04:00

This is Ellie Mae! We got her about two months ago, and I've posted a couple random pictures, but I've never officially introduced her.

She is a mammoth donkey, and I don't really know what that means exactly... but she IS quite large, so maybe that's all it means.

We don't really know what she is good for yet... but she's gotta be good for something. We've heard (and read on the internet) that donkeys are good to run with cattle to protect them from coyotes. Well, maybe so... but our Ellie Mae doesn't particularly like cattle. She is kind of a loner.

She runs free in the pasture, happily munching all the grass she wants. Then often she'll mosey down to the barn lot of the evenings to beg a handful of grain or sweet feed.

We thought it would be kind of fun for kids to be able to pet her when they come to pick out pumpkins in the fall. Here she is with my nieces.

I love the fact that she smells like a horse (don't horses have the most unique smell ever?), she has large soft ears, and droopy eyes.

She's only four years old. Donkeys have a very long lifespan of about 50 years, so I hope in time she comes in handy for something!

Raising Tadpoles

2011-06-22T15:59:00.002-04:00

Back in earlier spring when it rained a LOT, Alec discovered a puddle full of tadpoles near the barn.

LOTS of tadpoles!

Well, inevitably the day came that the tadpole puddle began to dry up... and you can imagine what was happening to the poor tadpoles. So, Alec and I went to the dollar store to find a tadpole pond.

We put a child's pool... our tadpole pond... in the shade of the back yard and filled it with creek water.

Then we put a chair near the pool... and voila ... our own little tadpole nature center right in our own back yard!

We feed them dog food.

We just toss a couple pieces into the pool, and they latch on!

They have really grown! Some of them are starting to grow little back legs! We put rocks in the pool for them to climb on, but they mostly still stay in the water.

I found one sitting on the rock... no tail!

Soon we can fix the rocks so they can climb out if the choose. We saved their lives!

A Photo Tour...

2011-06-16T21:04:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things to do is to pretend I'm a real photographer. I love to pretend that I know what I'm doing, that I'm skilled at the fine art of photography... the mixing of light and dark at just the right places... I take several pictures to keep on hand for my blog. Many are (in my opinion) pretty great pictures, but they've never made it to a post.

So for today, I'm going to give you a little tour... show you around and introduce you to some of my favorite things, animals, and people here on our farm.

The old cabin in our backyard.....

Steve can usually be found near the barn.....

New boots....

HIS and HER tractors.....

Black and white of the farm....

Fall harvest last year.....

Piece of dandelion fluff on a fence post....

Fresh apples....

A goat....

Our cat Mo watching the gold fish....

Lilac blossoms...

The donkey Ellie Mae

Chloe....

I didn't read the fine print....

2011-06-15T21:42:00.000-04:00

I don't remember signing up for this......

.... but maybe I didn't read the FINE print.....

I, Stephanie, take you, Steve, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, and to spend unlimited hours working in the pumpkin patch, even scraping tiny bug eggs off the underside of each little leaf, until death do us part....

After careful review of my wedding vows, I finally realize what I have signed up for by marrying this farmer....It WAS in the fine print! So now, I am spending my evenings looking for itty bitty bug eggs like this...

These are eggs from the squash bug.

And this is the squash bug himself...

And this is the squashed squash bug.... I seriously get a lot of pleasure from mashing these evil things.

We planted our pumpkins at the end of May. We almost doubled our pumpkin patch since we had done SO well last year. It was either beginner's luck or ignorance... or a little of both. This year things started off well -- those tiny pumpkin leaves burst through the ground after just a few days, and we were so excited!....
But after a week or so, we realized they were not healthy-looking. Steve did a little investigating work and discovered that our pumpkin patch was being eaten by bugs! The next step was to do some research. After some "Googling" we identified TWO problem bugs... the cucumber beetle, and the squash bug.

This is the cucumber beetle. This one was already dead (a victim of the insecticide) when I snapped his photo. These little guys can cause serious damage to the pumpkin patch as they deposit their larvae in the stem, causing a condition called bacterial wilt.

This is (we think) bacterial wilt. After further research, we sprayed the leaves with the recommended insecticide, which promptly killed the cucumber bugs... but we are left with the devastating after-effects as seen above. We aren't certain if our poor pumpkin vines will come out of it. Many of the vines appear to have stunted growth.

Then we have the problem of the squash bugs as mentioned before. The squash bugs apparently hibernate in the leftover debris from a pumpkin patch. We had a healthy harvest last year, yet we didn't realize that the pumpkins more than likely attracted squash bugs late in the summer. They ate their fill and then they hibernated in the debris that we unwittingly left behind for them (Now we know we should have destroyed the debris by burning completely all the old vines and rotted pumpkins). In the spring, the squash bugs come out of hibernation and lay their eggs on the backs of hundreds of pumpkin leaves as seen here.....

The only way to effectively get rid of these squash bugs is to spray the adults with insecticide and then destroy every little egg. (The insecticide doesn't work on the eggs --). So, guess who has been picking itty bitty squash eggs off pumpkin leaves and putting them in a bucket?!

They come off quite easily if you do it correctly. Just what is the correct way to take squash bug eggs off pumpkin leaves?... well, you kind of have to roll them to the ends of the leaves and then pinch them in your fingers.

Then you drop them in a bucket. Then you have to be VERY careful not to kick the bucket over and spill your itty bitty eggs... like this...

Yes... I really did do that. (Did you ever have that feeling that you should just shoot yourself in the foot?) I chose to not pick up every single one of these, but instead I mashed them repeatedly with a rock. I actually documented this with a picture....

Pathetic...

So anyway... I spent 3 1/2 hours this evening and about 2 hours yesterday evening picking eggs of pumpkin leaves... checking the underneath of every single pumpkin leaf... one... by.... one...

And all the while I was thinking... $3.00 / per pumpkin? And I was trying to think of cool, original, thought-provoking quotes to write here in my blog.... like "no one ever becomes an expert on his first try." (I just made that up, but I'm sure plenty of people have said inspiring things such as that at times such as these).

Here's another quote... Ladies, before you marry a farmer, READ THE FINE PRINT!"