Better late than never! Yes, I recently said we’d be scaling back, and we still are. The garden we put in is small, and since it was so late in the season the amount of crops we could grow were limited. It either had to be very cold hardy or have a remarkably short season, and preferably be a bit of both. So we have peas, carrots, sunflowers and pie pumpkins. Not a lot, but we really don’t need to bite off more than we can chew this summer.

I was a little concerned about whether or not these seeds would germinate as we held them over from last year. That said, the pumpkins and sunflowers are already up, so I’m hopeful for something good. If for no other reason I feel much more content about things – it just didn’t feel like a homestead without a garden. Plus, we have all that compost that we started 2 years ago that was just waiting to be used.

I do have to say that I’m amazed quickly the last 2 years have gone. It doesn’t seem like it was long ago that I was watching the rabbit and goat manure pile up, all while gritting my teeth and telling myself we’d be grateful to be composting it one day. It does make me realize how people have the patience to make things like homemade wines, artisan vinegars and aged cheeses. It’s much like the compost: you won’t get to use what you’re working on for years, but it’s not like you sit there and stare at it all that time. All the more reason to start now!

We have Peter to thank for this, for certain. As he came 11 days after we were expecting him we were starting to become a bit stir crazy and were looking for things to do other than make Rachel feel like a watched pot. And speaking of Peter, here he is:

Admittedly we have fewer pictures of him than we do of the other boys as newborns. This isn’t so much of the fact that he’s the fourth as much as it is that he’s always nursing. Photo opportunities have been limited. I suppose it’s all par for the course when you make it in over 10 pounds at your arrival.