Taking a Break

i will be taking a break from the blog. be back soon, i hope.

Keeping RainCloud Cool

this post is written by my daughter, aryn. i thought it would be fun and educational to include her on the blog this summer. this is the third post in her series called:

It is very hot where I live. I have a simple solution so my rabbit can keep nice and cool.
A Frozen Water Bottle!

I think this is a great and easy way to help my rabbit in the Summertime.

I usually put two in each day so she can be cool all day long.

One time I forgot to put one in and I thought she was going to die because of the heat.

But she didn't and ever since then I haven't forgotten.

All-Star Baseball

this week has been filled with baseball games!

a game every day since saturday. (except sunday.)

we have anothern tomorrow. 

p.s.

i know anothern isn't even a word. it should read another one, but that's how some people talk around here. possibly myself. and i want to remember it. i like that kind of stuff.

p.p.s. 

and we are the hurricane tigers. hurricane said with a short u sound like fun. NOT a long a sound.

Family Camping

we went camping over the weekend.
our family, my brothers and sister and their families, all escaped to the nearby mountain.
it was very enjoyable.

there was a stream, some serious family olympics, outdoor fort building...
but no campfires.
a play was even performed. written by zoe, of course.

Apricot Jam

i picked apricots with my dad one morning a week and a half ago.

he picked me up early one morning, and we drove to the stake farm. we picked and chatted a little and filled our boxes, then drove back home. it took a little more than an hour.

i've been bottling and drying and making jam. i'll be giving some to him, of course.

i sure do like my dad.


p.s.
i know there are lots of jam recipes out there. i'm just going to write down a few little notes for myself...
5 cups blended apricots
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin
6 cups sugar

cook according to the directions in the pectin box.
yields 9 half-pints (filled to the bottom ring line)

Playing with My Rabbit

this post is written by my daughter, aryn. i thought it would be fun and educational to include her on the blog this summer. this is the second post in her series called:

So while I was at girl's camp, my family kind of traumatized my rabbit. Now I can't take her out of her cage. :(

I have to play with her in her cage so she can get used to me. She needs to trust me again before she can get out and play in the yard.

It is really hard to be patient when I really want to have her play in more space.

How can I win her trust?



we read an article on taming and building trust that had helpful information. and by "traumatize" she means we played with her a little too much. rain cloud didn't get hurt, she got scared.

bale of hay



my little town.

a field of alfalfa near my house was cut and baled last week. it looked so picturesque. 

Tomatoes

 i grow tomatoes vertically in my garden.

each plant has it's own square foot. they grow up a vertical support frame with nylon netting. i tuck the tops of the plants through an opening in the netting. it's kind of like weaving the tomato plant as it grows.

in order to grow the tomatoes vertically, i try really hard to follow the single stem method. that means i prune the suckers so that i have one main stem.

this is the sucker. i just pinch it off. i try and do this once a week.

as for watering. this year i haven't been as regular as i'd like with the entire garden.

lately, i have been watering once a day in the morning. the soil seems a little dry by the evening, so i might start watering some more in the evening. i haven't done this yet though.

la petite lapine

this post is written by my oldest daughter, aryn. i thought it would be fun and educational to include her on the blog this summer. she will be writing about her pet bunny in a weekly series called:

Hello. 

I got a new pet!!!!

Her name is Rain Cloud.

I bought her from our neighbor who lives a few houses up from ours. She said that her breed is New Zealand and that she is 6 weeks old.

I like to play with Rain Cloud. It is so cute when she runs around the yard and hides in the bushes.

are there any questions or topics you would like me to cover?

New Bunny

aryn got her new bunny today.