So You Want to Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers?

Let me just tell you - it's not the easiest of feats. 

I wish I could just say that it was as easy as throwing some seed out and plunking starts in the ground. There is a lot of planning and work involved in order to pull it off on any scale. 

My sister's wedding was yesterday which is now leaving me breathing space to think and process everything after frantic pace and increasing pressure that has been building since the engagement was announced.  I'm exhausted and sore, but I want to get these thoughts down while it's fresh in my mind (and I really don't want to do much of anything at the moment, so there's that too). 

I ACTUALLY DID IT!!! 

So without anymore ado: 

"Observations and considerations from surviving the wedding flowers process 

or

Things I wish I knew before jumping into this thing"

(I was going to make that the title of the post, but that seemed too long)

1. Have some gardening/farming know-how and understand garden planning

Even if you just have a little bit of an idea of what you're signing up for is a huge help. ;) I'll do some how-to posts of what we did to maximize our chances of success in other posts. 

As for the planning side of things - it's hard to plan to have flowers for a specific day. It's easy to plunk plants in the ground and harvest when they're ready. It's another matter entirely to have requirements for a certain day. To do this requires much planning and forethought and spreadsheets. 

My recommendation? Know when local flowers are typically ready. Then plan your special day during the peak flower periods. You have the spring flush, mid-summer bounties, and early fall bloomers. Early July is the wonderful lull in flower times. You've missed the flowers of May/June, but the July/August bloomers haven't quite come into their own. Just another thing to consider for your big day.

2. Understand the costs

Seeds, potting soil, pots, growing space, site prep, fertilizer, irrigation, netting, TIME. 

Your time is money. Remember that. 

3. Have a back-up plan

I had several because I was scared that nothing would work - put more plants in the ground than you think you need, plant more varieties and species than you want or think you'll need, and know a cut flower source (be it Costco, a local farm, florist, or grocery store) just in case you need more flowers. Because I was so busy with other parts of the wedding, I missed the deadline to order flowers from Costco (2 weeks before pick up). It ended up being perfectly fine because I was able to get bulk flowers from a farm located an hour from the venue on a short notice for a much better price than Costco. :fist pump: 

4. Take some flower arranging classes

The more you know, the more you know, right? Then take what you learn and keep practicing! Give your neighbors bouquets, maybe your goat will appreciate a flower crown, fresh flowers on the kitchen window sill is always a bonus. 

Honestly though, I was looking up Youtube tutorials on how to arrange boutonnieres the morning I was going to do all the arrangements because I had never done those before. :face palm:

5. Be extremely flexible with the final product

Know the general look and colors that you're going for, but be okay if they aren't EXACTLY like those gorgeous pictures you adore on Instagram or Pinterest. The flowers coming in from your flower patch will not, I repeat, not be perfect. There will be bugs, discoloring, blooms with their own opinion on which way is up, and more. If you're one with perfectionist tendencies, growing your own might not be right for your big day. 

Also, be flexible with the flowers and the length of flowers that come in. You don't know exactly when the plants are going to bloom. Those seed packets have a general range of when to expect flowers. There are a lot of factors that go into getting a plant to bloom: start day, day length, pest pressures, accumulated heat units, water accessibility, fertilizing schedule, etc, etc, etc... 

6. The flowers might be more fragile

By growing you're own, you get the opportunity to play with flowers that you might not ever see at a grocery store because some flowers just don't ship well or last that long in the vase after going through the process of getting hacked off a plant in South America, stripped of its leaves, put into a box, and shipped across continents. 

So. All that said, understand that you will need to be careful with the flowers coming in from your patch. Keep them in water, use floral preservatives, storing them in a refrigerator would be ideal after you've made the arrangements, etc. 

7. Know how much time you need to dedicate to this

This was a huge thing for me. I spent most my April afternoons up-potting seedlings into 4" pots, and then in May, my brother and I spent most afternoons prepping the site and transplanting all those babies. Once that was done, we both had a huge sigh of relief. Come the preparations for the big day, you will need to be slowly harvesting to not damage the blooms, give them time to condition, etc. I spent the ENTIRE day before the wedding just arranging flowers. All. Day. Long.

8. Never stop learning

There are so many resources out there for slow flowers, local flowers, growing cut flowers, and arranging your own masterpieces! Hit up Instagram to find designers and growers, pour over books, scour websites for hints, tips, tricks, tutorials, and how they do things! Why try to reinvent the wheel when there is so much information at your fingertips? Here's a few of my favorites

https://www.floretflowers.com/

Floret Farm's Cut Flower Book

The Cut Flower Patch by Louise Curley

Debra Prinzing books  

And this is just the tip of the ice burg.  

And that's it for now! Like I said, I'll be posting more of the nitty-gritty how-to's to give you a better understanding of what you're considering jumping into. 

Apparently this smirk is exactly like my great-grandma's

Yes, I did catch the bride's bouquet. 

I had people ask me if I had planned that with my sister; no, I didn't. I just know how she throws. :P

I also had someone ask me if I had homing flowers. 

Nope. If I knew how to do that, I would be making big bucks selling these flowers to all the brides wanting to set up their single friends.

Until next time!

SG

January Recap

 January could be summed up with snow and cold. It really forced us to slow down, hunker down, and wait until things thawed. Actually, it was a much needed breather even if it all was quite the hassle to do anything in 12-18" of snow: barn chores, haul water out to the animals, and taking longer to bundle up to head outside. It was frigid, but it was gorgeous. 

 Of course, Jubilee loved every moment of it. ;) 

 Through the years and as I've been outside more and more, I've found that I love all the seasons for different reasons and how they create a rhythm to life. Winter is a time of rest to brace for the hectic pace of spring, the dragging through summer, and a reprieve after the scurrying through autumn. There is always something to complain about with each season, but each season also has a beauty that the other seasons don't have. I recently discovered 'Winter Song' by Emily Smith, and the lyrics are rather fitting. It encompasses hygge (hue-gah) - embracing each season for what it is. 

"So we'll stoke the fire and light the lamp

Turn our backs in from the damp

Settle down beneath the starry sky

Endure the winter passing by"

 "With carols sung, the trees been taken down

We've passed a dram and the bells no longer sound

Snowdrops rise with promise of the spring

There's talk and wonder

At what the year might bring"

 "The blackbird starts to thicken up her nest

While the early lamb, he takes a snowy step

But the north wind's grip it tightens with his chill

And holds the buds closed against their will"

  "So we'll stoke the fire and light the lamp

Turn our backs in from the damp

Settle down beneath the starry sky

Endure the winter passing by"

Until next time!

SG

Homesteading with Health Issues

We all have our own reasons that drive our homesteading passion. Some to become self-sufficient. Some want to have that glorious moment of storing up their own bounty. Some want the higher quality product that can't be found in the store. Some seek the freedom (I use that term loosely) from society's daily grind.  Some night have even just happened upon the lifestyle. Others do so because they have health issues.

Many that I've talked to (or stalked on blogs) have used their land and garden as a place to grow their own food because it's the cheapest option. Food can be used to find health (or at least a lessening of symptoms). The problem, though, is that fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and herbs are not cheap, but if you have the space, you can do it yourself for less than it would cost at the store (in theory anyway). As someone with a chronic illness, the lure of being able to do something for yourself can be thrilling to say the least. There's something that's within your control, right? Wrong. Anyone that has spent any time on a farm or in a garden will tell you that there is always something running amok or it's one problem after another. But you really want to do this. And do it successfully. So here's a quick list of some suggestions that can help you when you're homesteading with health problems.

1. Only take on as much as you can handle

I know that you feel like you want to do everything. I'm in the same boat. I want to have a lush garden, a productive orchard, prolific berries, buzzing honeybees, all the meat animals to supply us for all our meat-y needs, dairy goats, sheep for wool (and to be able to spin all that!), soap making, cheese making, meat processing, all the herbs I could ever need just outside the door, raising elk, a u-pick flower farm, and more. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Ooh, throw in a livestock guardian dog in there too!
Please pace yourself (I'm preaching to myself here too).
Whenever you add a new aspect to the farm, you inevitably have a learning curve to go with it. If you have a chronic illness, there's only so much your brain and body can handle. Instead of diving in full force, try just a trial run at a small scale. This way, you don't invest as much time, money, or energy into something that might not be for you. Another option would be to tag along and learn from a mentor who's entrenched in your interest. You can get a feel for what is to be expected and decide if it will fit with your limitations.

2. Set yourself up for success

Learn as much as you can from other sources before throwing yourself into the fire. Make sure that you have all the supplies you need before you dive into the project (I guarantee you will need to make an emergency run to the farm store though - it's how life works). Or really think through the entire process and where the hangups might be.
For our family garden, we've never been all that proficient. Yeah, we've had plants that survived in spite of our best attempts to kill them, but at the end of the year, you look at how much effort you put into something and see what you got out of it... Not the best use of energy, resources, or time. This year after spending hours pulling up the morning glory that appeared (that was a frustrating discovery), we finally threw in the towel, laid out weed block, made cedar raised beds, and installed drip irrigation with a timer. The summer garden was for naught this year, but the fall garden is right on schedule. With the raised beds, we have a limited space that requires weeding and can be weeded easily. The timer and drip means we don't have to spend all day watering (okay, I might be exaggerating the time requirements there just a little). It's taken us years to get to this point, but I'm really excited about what all we can do with the space now.

3. Organize like your life depends on it

You might only have a certain amount of time before your body says, 'Enough for today.' Instead of running around getting all your materials assembled or animal feed pulled together or whatever you might have going on, set up systems that make everything easily accessible and found. Keep animal feed in bins or barrels. Have tools all lined up in the same spot nearby where you will be using them. Have files in your desk for each category that your farm needs be it equipment/tractor, veterinary contact info and notes, garden plans and resources, animal information, etc. It will take some time to get this all set up, but in the end, your brain and body will thank you. And you won't have to spend all the your time scrounging around looking for that one piece of paper. ;)

4. Many hands make light work

Do you have friends that want to experience the farm life but don't have the land? Bring 'em on board. You can host volunteer work days in exchange for some product or produce from your farm (many folks would be just fine with a hearty meal). Get the whole family involved in whatever capacity that they are capable. If chicken dander kick off asthma or allergies for some, they can be on the watering crew.

5. Make things easier for your body

Use those tools ergonomically correct. You don't have to prove to yourself that you can lift those heavy bags - let the wheel barrow do the work for you. Use a work bench. Make sure that you stay hydrated. Electrolytes are your friend. Keep your skin protected. Pace yourself and take breaks as needed. This ties into #2.

6. Do things at your own pace

Don't over do it. This speaks for itself, and I can't stress that enough. If your body is screaming at you to stop, then stop. You'll pay for it later if you push your body beyond the limits. If that means only getting a couple of trees pruned or only a single bed planted or only one goat's hooves trimmed, then so be it. You can just keep chipping away at things as you can.

7. Don't kick yourself for not doing everything

As much as I wish I was Wonderwoman, I'm not. You might wish you could be doing more or think that you're not doing enough. Silence those negative thoughts right now; shove them out the door, and don't let them back in. I know that to-do list is every increasing and changing in priority, but you're doing the best you can with the time and energy that you have. You're juggling doctor appointments, family and social life, and all the crazy farm adventures. You've got a lot on your plate, and you're taking things as they come. Everyone is on their own unique path towards health and in their homesteading journey.

8. Let something go

You have a very full plate on your hands, and something new comes up. Be it a new symptom, a new phase of life, a family emergency, you just can't handle juggle anything anymore and something's got to give. Now this one is super hard because it's so closely tied into #1 and #7. You want to do everything but you hold yourself back. When holding yourself back, you feel like you should be doing more. But there are times when even holding yourself back is still too much. Even maintaining the status quo might be too much and make you reach your breaking point. Some friends of mine just had to sell some of their dairy goats because the family's health was needing more attention than they could give. I hurts and it's hard to say goodbye to furry friends that you've bonded with for so long, but making sure that the new home is perfect and maybe nearby so you could pop in every now and again to say 'hi' could help ease some of the sadness.

Do you have any other ideas to add to the list? If so, comment below! We all could use tips and tricks to help us along the road.

Until next time!
SG

Catching up from Spring Term

Where to begin? It certainly has felt like another looong term, but I survived. ;) Here's some shots to get you up to speed. This is a text and picture heavy post, so here we go. 

Special dance for a guest caller that came to the area

Practicum harvest

Turkey poult

This picture has a bit of a story with it... It all started with my car not starting when I was running late to class. Phooey. Thankfully, I had another car option to get to class. I didn't have time to deal with the problem until the next day after classes.  

It took all afternoon, but I finally managed to orchestrate a tow truck that was 'approved' by the insurance company to get my car to the mechanic. They took one look at it, and said that the only problem was some corrosion on the battery terminal. Seriously?! I looked at that and didn't think that it was that bad. Apparently so. $40, a bunch of phone calls, and an afternoon later, my car was doing just fine. Thankfully, everything worked out well, but it was still a hassle. My classmate the next day asked what was wrong with my car, and after explaining my tale of woe, she said 'Well, was the mechanic cute at least?' 'Uh... yeah...' '!!! When's the next time you get to see him?' "I don't know; next oil change maybe?' The next week, apparently word got around about the 'cute mechanic' and some others were asking if I had asked him out yet. 'Nope.' 'Well, when's your next oil change?' 'A long while.' And this is after I was already convinced that my car was playing match maker because she kept coming up with all these random little things that needed to be checked. :face palm:  

Anyway! Continuing on! My fun class for the term was kitchen herbs. I honestly didn't fully know what to expect from the class, but I knew I wanted to take it. I walk into class to find out that it was a cooking class! Booyah! We've been learning how to grow all this fantastic food, now it's time to learn how to use it! From mocktail sangria, branch dressing, melon mint salad, green bean radish and basil salad, warm maple rosemary sundaes, and much more. Can we have more classes where we eat our way through to earn credits? I guess that would involve going to cooking school. Never mind.

Even with work and classes, my sister, a friend, and I still managed to squeeze in a fun concert one evening. Djangophiles were fantastic, and they have my sister convinced that I need to learn to play the upright bass. To humor her, I looked up the prices for a bass... Yeah, not going to be doing that anytime soon. 

 

I brought in the peonies before it started raining. Love the giant, luscious blooms!

I can't resist the words: free plants

Moving meat chickens out to pasture

Needless to say, these shoes look like something you would find in an archaeological dig after I was through with them.

My red legion poppies started blooming on Memorial Day weekend. Rather fitting, I thought. 

After her yearly adventure where we don't see her for a couple of weeks, she showed up at the back door, wanted food and water, and then curled up in the nearby basket and slept. You crazy kitty. 

A local farm had early ripening blueberries. Nomnomnom! 

That's all for now! I'll post some pictures from work later.

Until next time! 

SG

All in a Monday Morning

Hope you're enjoying your sunny (hot) Monday!

So far today, we've picked up the latest meat chick order from the post office (2 didn't make it) and got them situated in their brooder tank.

 Last night, we moved the turkey poults from the brooder to the pasture to make room for the new arrivals. This morning, we found 4 dead and 1 missing which leaves 6 still derping and chirping. I guess someone gets to sit out with the turkeys tonight to take care of the skunk (at least, that's what we're assuming it was. Skunks leave tell-tale signs at the scene of the crime. They slaughter their prey which is usually a significant percentage of the flock (that's putting it nicely), let their kills ferment for a day, and then they'll return the next night to feast. Really disturbing. Really gross. But it means that we can deal with the perpetrator. 

On top of turkey drama, we need to get the first batch of meat chickens out of their brooder tanks and onto pasture. They've put on enough weight and size to be moved out. Guess we'll have to do the great chicken shuffle this evening since it's going to be too warm to do anything productive this afternoon. 

Today is a day for chocolate. And a lot of iced tea. Because it's too hot for a proper cup of tea. ;) 

Until next time!

SG

Spring has Sprung!

'Tis a stereotypical spring day in the Pacific Northwest. The rain showers come and go with their usual drama (which includes hail and rainbows). 

The daffodils are in full bloom.

My crazy Weeping Santa Rosa plum tree is open. Maybe I'll get some fruit from it this year.  

The grape hyacinth are reaching into the sky as high as they can (but they're still dwarfed by the daffodils) 

The other flowering trees are about to explode in blooms. 

The cat gives you a weird look... 

And there are new baby goats in the barn. ^_^

Yesterday, I posted about not knowing when our goats were going to kid since we didn't know when they were bred (all thanks to escapee bucks).  

Well, we've been keeping a close eye on the mamas that we figured were due soon. Mom peeked in the barn while on her way to do some other work, and there was no sign of impending excitement from anyone. They all just stood around chewing their cud and staring at the two legged food-giver. 

Hardly an hour later, there were babies. Two of them, to be precise. Twin boys. They were pretty much dry by the time we found them and had been nursing. 

We're still debating what to name them. We've been keeping a list of things we would name the kids if we had twin boys. Now that we have them, we don't know which names to pick! Lol! Should it be Thor and Loki? Sherlock and Mycroft? Merry and Pippin? Kirk and Spock? Calvin and Hobbes? We're not sure which ones to pick!  

All that was running through our minds was, 'This is how kidding is supposed to go.' Whenever you talk to other dairymen (or women), you hear all the birthing horror stories. Then you start to freak out. Oh please, Lord, don't let that happen! Thankfully, we didn't have to worry about anything with these two. :) 

I turned around after taking pictures of the babies, and there's Rita standing on a log wanting attention.

She almost looked like she was asking for her picture to be taken. 

I'm still just as cute as those two whiny things that you're holding in there! 

See? I can pose; they can't. I look like a statue. 

The babies were born on Sunday afternoon. On Monday morning (today), the first batch of meat chicks came in. When it rains, it pours. Everything happens at the same time. ;) 

Here we go!

Until next time!

SG

"My Little Doe" - A Sonnet

My sisters are taking a British literature class, and the recent assignment was to pen a sonnet in the Shakespearean form. With it's strict rhyming scheme and meter, this is no easy task. My sister, Emily, surprised us all with this adorable sonnet written about the little doe that was born back in October. Since she was bottle fed for the first several weeks, Estella thinks that she is one of us. She is our little shadow. Our joy. If we could, we all would spend the entire day out in the barn and pasture with her and then bring her into the house to snuggle with us. She has won the hearts of everyone that she meets with her sweet demeanor and affectionate personality. 

So, it is with great honor that I give you:

My Little Doe

A Shakespearean sonnet by Emily G

Once upon a merry time lived a wee goat;

Her fur was of charcoal with specks of white.

Her diet consisted of grain, hay, and oat,

but raisins and carrots were her true delight.

Her physique was miniature and delicate;

Her temperament was darling and sweet.

Of the goats, this one was the most affectionate.

When her lady left her awhile, then she would bleat. 

She enjoyed bounding on and off her box,

She frolicked with her companions in the field,

With them, she played among the boulders and rocks.

Her joy in life was never concealed.

This tale of mine took place not too long ago,

Estella is she and to me she belongs, my little doe.

Estella and her mom, Genevieve 

September Tempest and the Final Chicken Round-Up

It a dark and stormy night. Isn't that how campfire stories start off as? 'Cept we weren't camping. And it isn't a scary story. It was just really dark and really stormy. The rain was driving down in sheets, and the gusting wind was blowing the precipitation sideways. The storm hadn't even come in full force yet. But we had a job to finish - the last batch of meat chickens needed to be loaded up in the truck for their one-way trip to meet their butcher.

The chicken tractor in the truck bed, and the cab filled with coolers ready to go. We just had to pack up the chickens. Usually, we wait until the morning of to get the chickens in the truck, but this time, we had been scheduled for an earlier slot, and no one wanted to have the great chicken round-up at 5 in the morning. We waited until the birds had all settled down for the night to make the job easier. By then, the storm had arrived.

With Jake on one side of the fence to put the birds into the truck as we brought them up to him, it was up to Dad and me to catch the slumbering poultry products. In the dark. In slippery 'mud.' With the wind blowing and the rain pouring. I'll stop playing my moaning fiddle now.

When we got to the other end of the pasture (which is where the birds bedded down), the tarp tents that we had made were barely holding on to the posts. Actually, some of the corners lost their grommets and had become shredded in the wind. We sliced the baling twine used to tie the tarps, and we set the red-neck structure-staples to the side with some weights on them to prevent them from blowing away. It was chicken catching time.

We each would catch two and slowly make our way back to the road where Jake and the truck were waiting. We passed the chickens over the fence to him, tried to keep count of how many birds we had loaded up, failed utterly at that, gave up on counting, and kept on the trudging gingerly through the wet grass and slippery 'mud' trying not to find the trip wires, er, I mean, the grape trellising anchor wires. And repeat. When all was said and done, we were soaked to the bone. Even our leather gloves had become saturated. Dad was smart - he wore the rubber duck yellow rain coat. If I had just added some soap to my sweatshirt and jeans, they would've been the cleanest things in my closet.

Take a step back. Breathe. We're done. No more meat birds. No more trips to the butcher. Until next year. But by then, we have had a winter to recuperate, and we're ready to start again.

Building (New) Fences

A good fence makes good neighbors. Or so the mantra goes.

Beside the obvious It keeps our animals on our property, we hope that the fence will keep all animals (wild and domestic) on their respective sides. Some of the fencing is to keep Wile Coyote and his family on their side, other fencing is to keep our own animals out of areas that are off-limits to their garden-destroying tendencies.

After mapping out the property again and again, trying to figure out what we wanted and where it goes, we landed on a supposedly final plan. Well, at least, final enough to call some fencing contractors to bid the job. Yes, this job we hired out. We contemplated doing it ourselves, but after looking at how much fencing we were talking about and glancing over at our previous attempts at fencing, we decided that if we wanted something that was going to last, we'd need to hire it out.

So the fencing guys came and went, and got the job done faster than we ever could have. ;) If we were to do it, we would have hand-dug the holes for the posts. These guys brought in the heavy machinery. That's what that diabolical looking hunk of metal is. It's their time and back saving machine. It attaches to the back of their lovely green and yellow tractor and just pounds in those posts like it's no one's business. Boom. Done.

If you ever need a quality fencing job done, I highly recommend going with Northfield Fencing Co. :)

Now that all that fencing is in, it's time to get going on the grand plan for the property! :D 

Bucket Hoarder

Picture stolen from here

Something about being on a farm...
You tend to collect stuff.
A lot of stuff.
Tools.
Implements.
Out buildings to store implements.
Scrap wood.
A shed to keep the scrap wood dry.
Pallets.
Mismatched dirty socks.
Bills.
Duct tape.
Saw blades.
Broken things.
Sputtering things that won't start.
Fencing supplies. Or at least enough supplies for part of the job.
Old cats.
...
Buckets.

Yes, dear reader, buckets.

There are a thousand and one uses for buckets!
You can haul feed, carry water, collect water from a down spout, drill a hole at the bottom to water baby trees, tote all the supplies for a project to the site, put extra milk in to clabber for a chicken treat, trap a mean rooster when you are otherwise defenseless, loading up with garden bounty, soaking bare root trees until you can get them in the ground, empty out an aquarium, contain the snake when cleaning the tank, soaking grains, sitting on it, contain paint, collect rocks and treasures, use as a hat, catching a drip, berry picking, 'bucket listing,' keep compost contained until you get it to the pile, etc, etc, etc. I'm sure I'll forever be adding to this list.

But you can't do all these jobs with one bucket. Eww. That would be rather unsanitary. So you amass enough to equip an army. It doesn't usually all happen at once - slowly, slowly, you gather some for this job, when they're on sale, or just cause you feel like you don't have enough. But then your neighbor brings down a pickup truck load (not exaggerating here). He bought them to water his baby Christmas trees, but purchased too many. So he gave the left overs to us. He said something about us being able to use them. ;) We can haz buckets now. If you ever have a job that needs a bucket, I think we've got that department covered.

February Barnyard

Well, someone is strutting his stuff. 

Oh yes, you, sir, are handsome, and you know it. ;) 

Someone needs to lay off the raisins, me thinks. 

And how could I forget our Mr. Collins?

LIZZY! Crazy goat... :D

Super Bowl

Okay, I'll admit it. I've never sat through an entire game of football in my life. Ever. But some friends of mine threw a party for the not-so-into-football-people. I went. ;) And strangely enough, I sat through the entire game. Remind me again who's playing? I think I learned more about football in that one game than I have over years of 'gleaning' tidbits from my die-hard friends. I mean, really, did you see that 109 yard spring across the field? Jaw dropping moment in the sports world. Granted, we were jumping all over the place (I love tivo). To let the game time buffer a bit, we watched Princess Bride (Inconceivable!). Then we skipped all the random commentary fillers and jumped right to the plays. And since Beyonce was doing the half-tiem show, that was skipped completely. When it came to commercials, we held the power to skip if we so decided. While the stadium power was out, we watched Avengers blooper reels. There was also a card game going on in the next room. I think we're ADHD football fans. 

In the thick of all the craziness and commercialism, there were a few moments of fresh air. Most notably of all, the Ram truck commercial featuring Paul Harvey's, "So God Made a Farmer." It was beautiful. Except for the Ram truck at the end; it should have been a Ford. :P

A little bit behind the commercial

"I've got worms!"

If you've met my little brother, you'll know what sort of non-stop character he is. Anything can spark his imagination or pique his interest. We were at the county fair one summer meandering through the master gardener section, and someone was there with a booth about worms. No, not parasites... earth worms. The wriggling kind that aerate your soil, help eat the compost pile down, and become chicken fodder. Nothing exciting there. But he thought the idea of having a bin full of worms as pets was the coolest thing ever. We already had the tiered worm bin from our previous attempt at keeping worms, Dad ordered some worm bedding (I think we ended up with some coconut shell stuffs), and Eli was all set to welcome his worms home. He had studied the handout from the worm booth and some books that we had on the shelf. I think he memorized them actually... He saved up his tooth fairy money to buy himself some new pets. His box of worms finally arrived via mail carrier. Actually, there were some worms that worked their way out of the box and into the mail truck. I feel sorry the the mail lady. I'm sure we have developed a reputation at the local post office... He came running up yelling, "I've got more pets than you! Do we have anything we can feed them?Look at them! Aren't they cute?"

Fast-forward about a year. My dad's aunt is visiting (we hadn't seen her since... well... I think I was but a wee tot); she hadn't met the charismatic storm that is Eli. Immediately following introductions and welcomes, Eli comes bursting in saying proudly, "I've got worms."

...

The look on my poor aunt's face. You could tell that she was thinking the problematic kind of worms. The kind that plagues carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores alike. The symbiotic relationship that is rather one-sided. We couldn't fill her in immediately. We had to relish the moment. The thought of having parasites is not exactly pretty. Let alone being that enthusiastic to inform others to your, umm, plight. We all had a really good laugh after explaining that it wasn't what she thought it was. 

Anways.

Sorry, random story. That memory came flooding back after watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.