Elderberry Blossoms

 

The fragrance in the garden right now is unbelievable. It makes weeding much more enjoyable. The elderberry bushes are in full bloom, I wish there was a way to share the sweet fragrance that they put off. Between the smell and buzz of the busy bees it is very relaxing place to spend an early morning or late evening.
Last fall I was going to move these bushes as they had grown too big for their location and I am adding a greenhouse that borders where they are. I really pruned them back in preparation to move them, then spring was busy and they didn’t get moved. Now they are loaded with blossoms, more than in years past. I learned a few lessons this year about elderberries. That is why I love gardening; there are always lessons to learn.

The Raspberry Patch

 

A favorite harvest from around the farm is the raspberries from my garden raspberry patch. About 20 years ago when I was planting my yard and planning my garden spot, my grandma had a raspberry patch. She showed me how to take starts from hers, and so I did. She is now gone, but around my yard are those simple special reminders of her. This time of year that is usually crazy, busy and stressful as we are usually harvesting, I love to see the raspberries on. It means a few quick, quiet moments picking berries that we love and those memories of a great lady that meant so much to me.

I shared this post on Farm Photo Friday. Be sure to link over to see more photos from those that love their farming way of life.

4th of July

How blessed I feel to live in such a beautiful country. Our family was able to spend a great 4th of July weekend with extended family in the beautiful mountains. Spending the 4th of July anywhere but in Sweet Cherry harvest is very rare. In fact in 25 years of marriage this is only the 3rd year we have not been harvesting. I had mixed feelings as I happily prepared for our trip to the mountains. I was feeling extremely guilty about being happy that we would be able to go on this rare trip since we had no Sweet Cherry crop. Sweet Cherries are one of our main crops and really need a great harvest every year to sustain the farm. In the early spring however Mother Nature was ruff on our area. Many crops were lost or extremely damaged by very cold temperatures. And so we will do our best with the crops we have and will remember with fond memories the 4th spent in the mountains.

This year we had very late snow storms. There has been alot of flooding as all the snow melted in the mountains. While on a 4-wheeler ride at one of the trail overlooks a rare 4th of July snowball fight took place.

The snow that was still piled under trees and where it had drifted was unbelievable. This drift was close to 8 feet deep in the middle. The view from this trail is fantastic, that is Thousand Lake Mountain in the back ground.

With all the spring moisture the wild flowers are blooming like we haven't ever seen. The weather was beautiful. Nice afternoon rain showers and cool evenings.