Farmin'

We spent the past Saturday like most other Saturdays in the spring and summer - out at the farm. It's my dad's farm; it's been in the family for years. My dad and his 5 siblings were born and raised there. Now all that's being raised there is wheat and garbanzo beans and garden vegetables.
We planted a large plot for our own garden this summer. We planted pole beans, peas, carrots, lettuce, rutabagas, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, corn, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins - and probably some other foods I've forgotten.

My husband has farming blood in him. Ever since he was a little boy he liked planting and growing things. Thankfully my 3rd-born takes after him, except she plans to run a restaurant, not a farm, when she is grown. She's also offered us free meals, so no need to worry about that 401k, right?

My Farm Man planted as many green plants as he could on our apartment balcony in those early days of wedded bliss. Now he has acres to choose from. And I think he gets giddy when he wanders out there to plant. It's hard to pull him away.
I love going to the farm. It's so beautiful and ... open ... out there. I grew up outside of town, and always yearned to live in California on a beach someday. But I had enough of city life in my 2 years living in Oakland, CA. My dream now is to live on a farm, and have chickens, and cows. My girls would like horses, but Farm Man is against that idea. My son just wants dogs - more than the 2 we have now.
As a child I did not like helping my mom can the beans, or peaches; there was always so much to put up back in the day. We had apple and cherry and peach orchards, we had blackberry rows, and the garden of course, full of veggies. At one point when I was very little we had cows and goats; by the time I was old enough there were chickens and my very own rabbits to care for. I guess my parents found a good way to feed all ten of us kids. Now I am the one canning all these things to feed us during the winter. I'm hoping to get a dehydrator this year and keep even more goodies.
So for now, we are following in their footsteps, 'borrowing' the farm land to feed our family. And enjoying the fresh air and beautiful land at the same time.