8/12-First of the season and a surprise too. Hopefully there will be more to come, lots in fact, if we can just keep the pullets and turkeys out of the garden! So much for fencing...


8/13- no photo.

8/14- A rare zucchini means the opportunity to bake the best zucchini muffins ever, even when you cut the flour with half whole wheat.  

8/15- Usually the beans are bothered by Japanese Beetles, but this time a stroll through the garden and I noticed that the leaves were being defoliated literally overnight. This little pest wasn't hard to spot and a quick search later and I found I get the pleasure of learning how to deal with Bean beetles. Nearly a week later and they've all disappeared. I imagine it's not the last I've seen of them, but who knows maybe the turkeys & pullets are working for their free lunch after all. 

 8/16- In our state, we have to send in a notification annually with the composite score from a standardized test. Thankfully, I can just test the children here at home. The tests I buy are inexpensive too. It made for a long, stressful week though (followed by another this week as I try to play catch-up around the house & garden). We don't test here and there was a student or two who didn't take it entirely seriously and when they were done, they were done and it was all a guessing game after that. I learned to really appreciate the short lessons advocated by Charlotte Mason and wondered if every day would be a struggle like this if I pushed them for too long? The worst testing day with the fluffiest, cotton stuffed brains I noticed came the day after Hannah made "summertime cookies." I've been weaning these guys from sugary post meal snacking over the last several months and now we eat treats which are "out of the ordinary and gives great pleasure," like a seasonal pie, etc...  whereas I've always been one where getting to the dessert was the whole reason to eat the meal. But that day after, I actually had one student get up and tell me they didn't feel like finishing it and didn't care to mark in any more answers! 

 8/18-Radish blossoms. I think the flowers and their lure of beneficial insects to the garden is quickly becoming my favorite reason to save my own seed. Who knew radishes could be so lovely?

8/18- Girls' portrait session sneak peak. 

And not a moment too soon for my camera up and broke on me again. Instead of an sd card, it has a cf card and one of the pins in the reader must have bent in half when I inserted the card. I tried my best to find a diy fix for that, but there isn't one to be had. While I was packaging it back up to ship to Nikon (again), my husband was going behind my back and making up for the fact that I wouldn't allow him to get me birthday or anniversary gifts the last several years and bought me a brand new one. I can't decide whether to do a cartwheel or kick him in the shin.