What a beautiful snow-covered day!

What a beautiful day! I love watching it snow! Nate is having a blast playing in it! I especially love it when I don't have to go anywhere and I can stay inside and just enjoy the view!

The chickens seem to be happy with their new spot, they are finally laying more eggs! I should actually have some to bring to the market with us next weekend. Enjoy this lovely day!

Crazy weather this week!

What crazy weather we've had in the past week. Over the weekend it was sunny and cool and finally dry enough that we were able to dig the last of the sweet potatoes, plus we found some yukon gold potatoes we missed earlier in the summer. It is so great to still be eating right out of the garden in December!


Then we had 3 days with temperatures over 60. We went to work clearing out the gardens, ...pulling out old plants, picking up all the plant markers, collecting forgotten and scattered gardening tools, pulling out bamboo stakes and so much more.

We cleaned out the asparagus bed, layered on fertilizer from the chickens and covered the whole bed with a thick layer of hay. Then I finally got the strawberry bed mulched. Now we just wait for spring.

My dad came and helped move the chicken coop over onto the big garden right behind the house. I love being able to watch the chickens as I work in the kitchen. Unfortunately, now they can't seem to find their way home when the sun goes down.

The boys and I spent hours last night as the temperature kept dropping and the wind picked up searching for them with flashlights and carrying them back to the coop. We finally had to give up on the last one. Tonight, we had to brave the cold and blowing snow and wind to go find them and carry them back to the coop again. At least this time they were more cooperative and it didn't take too long.

Now I'm looking forward to waking up to everything covered in a blanket of snow!

We will be back at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market tomorrow morning!

Have you missed us?

Hi everyone! Just a reminder that we will be back at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market tomorrow morning.
We have lots of produce we will be bringing with us. There are 22 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, including lots of cherry & grape tomatoes. There are tomatillos, verde & purple, lots of green beans, purple royalty beans & Chinese long red noodle beans, lettuce, kale, beets, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, okra, Rainbow Swiss Chard, bell peppers in several colors, plus herbs.
On top of all that, I will have all my mixes, regular & gluten-free, as well as all the freshly ground, organic flours & organic grains, beans & peas.
Don't forget to stop by & see what Danny & Nate will be sampling.
Hope to see you tomorrow!

Good news for the market tomorrow!

In case you didn't get the e-mail from the market, here's the great news:

The extremely popular Chipotle token giveaway is back this Saturday at 8am! The first 300 shoppers will receive a FREE $10 token that they can use at any of the vendor booths at the market that day.


Hope you can join us!

New veges are ripe!

Hey, we are excited now!  In spite of a very slow start to our growing season this year, we now have green beans and Chinese long red noodle beans!  We also finally have cucumbers.  I made Bread & Butter Pickles today (using my Great Grandma's recipe.)  We have yellow squash & zucchini & for the past few days we have been picking everyone's favorite, heirloom tomatoes!  They taste amazing!!!!  Definitely worth the wait! 

Well, we just finally finished preparations for the market in the morning. Hope to see everyone there!

I'm not sure why, but we got left off the Occassional Vendor list on the Tower Grove Market e-mail. However, we will be there.

This will be the first week we have zucchini and yellow squash. We'll also be bringing eggs! and a lot more!

The market opens at 8:00.

No market tomorrow!

Hey everybody, we've had a change in plans. We won't be at the market tomorrow after all.

We will be back July 20th! Fully stocked and ready to go.

Hope to see everyone then!

Come visit us at the farm!

We have our little shop set up in the garage and we're ready for visitors. We'll be available this Saturday afternoon if you'd like to stop by. Or, just give us a call at 636-629-7838 to see if we'll be available when you have time to come.

Right now we have Rainbow Swiss Chard, curly kale, mesclun mix and several varieties of lettuce ready to pick when you call, and Bonnie just picked broccoli this afternoon.

Also, if you'd like to buy grains, beans, peas... in bulk, you can bring your own containers to put them in and get a per pound discount.

We also have about 17 varieties of heirloom tomato plants for sale. They are ready to go right into your garden!

Come check it out!

We had a great turnout at the market Saturday. The weather was perfect. We are really loving our new spot.

Did you manage to get any of the baby kale, or the spinach? It disappeared quickly. How about the fava beans? or the spring salad mix? or the Rainbow Swiss Chard?

I managed to get 2 new mixes ready in time for the market, Gluten-Free Healthy Waffle Mix and Gluten-Free Spice Muffin Mix. Did you get one? I'm anxious to get feedback from those who did. I've been using the recipes at home for over a year now. We actually prefer them over the originals.

We'll be back at the market again on June 1st!

In the meantime, give us a call (636-629-7838) and we'll let you know when you can come pick up on the farm. Just let us know what you'd like and we'll pick it just for you and have it ready when you arrive.

Market tomorrow morning!

Quick reminder, we will be back at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market tomorrow morning! 

Danny and Bonnie have been picking for hours.  We have lots of fresh, organically grown produce!

I have also been working on my new Gluten-Free Mixes this week.  I've been grinding flour for days.  Come try them out!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

May 16, 2013

You should see how quickly the gardens are changing. We are getting more beds prepared every day and more plants transplanted into their new homes. Now if we could just keep the chickens from getting through the fence and scratching them up.

Well, it worked, we made it through the market without getting soaked. Thanks to everyone who joined us. The market season got off to a good start.

Did you find us Saturday? Our new spot for the season is right near the main entrance, close to the pavillion. We're very pleased with the new location. We will have shade all season and a little more room to spread out! We're also close enough to hear the music this year.

Did you manage to get one of our flyers with our schedule for the season? We thought we brought plenty, but we ran out halfway through the morning.

Our plan is to be at the market on the first Saturday of each month as well as a few select days for special events.

We will be back again next Saturday, May 18th.

Rain, rain and more rain! Please let it stop by morning!

Tower Grove Farmers' Market begins it's 8th season tomorrow!

Rain or shine. We'll be there bright and early, ready to set up. We found out our new spot will be near the main entrance. Don't forget to look for us!

We are very grateful right now to have the hoophouse. Danny and Bonnie won't have to do the picking in the rain.

We will be bringing lots of fresh veges. We have Rainbow Swiss Chard, a variety of lettuces, spinach, several types of kale, spicy mustard greens and herbs.

We will also have numerous varieties of heirloom tomato plants for your own garden. Come check them out.

Hope to see you tomorrow!!!

May 2, 2013

Hey, cheer with us. This time we beat the rain and actually got the potatoes planted! We completely filled garden #3 and still had seed potatoes left. Now if we get the rain they're forecasting, it will just help them grow.

I also managed to weed my asparagus bed today. To my surprise and delight, there were quite a few ready to munch on while I worked! By the time I went back in the house, I didn't even need lunch. They are very tasty this year. I hope they keep on producing for a while, you wait all year for them and then it seems like the harvest is over way too fast.

Tomorrow we finish preparing for the market.

Getting ready for Opening Day at Tower Grove Farmers' Market

Hi everyone! We have a very busy week planned. We will be preparing for opening day at Tower Grove Farmers' Market.  It begins this Saturday, May 4th. Opening day will have extra shopping hours. The market opens at 8am and stays open until 2pm.

Have you been missing all the fresh, local and organic produce? Time to stock up on fresh vegetables, grains and freshly ground flours, as well as my healthy mixes. I will be working on them all week.

Hope to see you there!

New chicks in a new home!

Our new little chicks have outgrown their brooder.  Bear and Danny had to build them a new home this evening.  It should work for a little while, but they'll be flying out of it before long.  They're already getting their first real feathers.  I went out and took pictures a little while ago.

If it ever stops raining we're going to move all the chickens onto garden #5 for a while and let them fertilize it for us.  We're doing a lot of rotation this year within the gardens. 

March 21, 2013

Everthing has sprouted, I have hundreds of seedlings that now need to be transplanted.

 Danny & Zach & I have been working in the hoophouse. There is so much weeding & mulching to be done. We're also moving trellises so we can rotate crops. The greens are continuing to be harvested, as well as carrots, radishes & turnips. Danny's also been direct seeding new crops.

We're looking forward to the new marketing season. We'll be changing our schedule quite a bit this year. More info on that coming soon.

Getting started for the new season!

It's official.  Yesterday I finally made myself begin the planting season.  I've started 7 varieties of cherry & grape tomatoes, broccoli & cabbage.  Now I'm working on roma & large tomatoes. 

We've already had a couple pickings this year in the hoophouse.  Zachary has been whetting everyone's appetite with pictures of what's growing on Facebook.  He went out during the sleet storm & picked & ate a salad with everything straight out of the hoophouse.  Soon we'll be bringing some of it to the market again.

Time to go get busy again!

We would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make the summer market at Tower Grove Park such a success!  We look forward to next year's market season.

November 1, 2012
Come join us this Saturday for the last day of the Tower Grove Farmers' Market this year. We still have lots of beautiful, delicious, heirloom tomatoes. We also have plenty of greens, rainbow swiss chard, spinach, several varieties of lettuce & our spicy greens mix.

We are loving this cooler weather! This is the first year that Danny has been working on the farm full-time. He actually has the time to do the things we always planned on doing with the gardens, but never had time to carry out. He has really gotten into succession planting. He tries to keep something new sprouting all the time. Then, as soon as he has an open space available, he gets the sprouts into the ground. The cooler weather has really been helping with the new greens. He has several varieties of lettuce, spinach and spicy mustard greens all looking beautiful now. The bugs are also beginning to let up a little, maybe the swiss chard and kale can finally recover.


Come enjoy the fruits of all this labor at the market on Saturday!

September 12, 2012
The yard and gardens are looking greener everyday. I'm so thankful for the rain that we've gotten recently. The gardens are beginning to reward us again for all the hard work this summer.


We were finally able to harvest potatoes after the first rain. They taste wonderful. We've been eating potatoes almost everyday for the past 2 weeks. So far we've had them mashed, baked, scalloped and yes...terday, pressure-cooked with a roast and carrots. Tomorrow it's supposed to cool off, so we're planning on potato soup. If you missed out getting some of them for yourself last Saturday, don't miss out this weekend. We have 5 different varieties, all organically-grown, in assorted sizes. Come pick out your favorite at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market this Saturday. We're open from 8am to noon.

August 16, 2012
The gardens are looking much better now. A friend has been helping us to get rid of lots of weeds. If we get rain tomorrow, we'll start digging potatoes on Friday and then we'll be bringing some of them to the market on Saturday. It's been months since we've gotten any new potatoes because of the extreme heat and lack of rain.

August 10, 2012
We'll be back at the market tomorrow.


Last Saturday, Nate won first place in the talent show at the Washington Fair! He played the Maple Leaf Rag in the key of F, then C & then finished it off in the key of G. We're very proud of his accomplishment!

Get ready to stock up, we'll be bringing lots of veges tomorrow!

July 25, 2012
Will this heat ever end? We have been crunching our way all over the farm. Danny's watering what he can, but there's no way to water everything. The gardens look like an oasis in a sea of dead grass.


Danny crunched his way out to check on the bees several times this week. The hive is thriving, but we've had to start feeding them again due to the lack of rain. There's very little blooming for them to collect from. I sure hope we get some of the rain the weatherman says is a possibility for tomorrow!!!!

July 20,2012
We need rain!!!!! I spent so much time today watering the gardens. Thankfully Danny usually takes of the watering, but he was busy elsewhere. His watering has been paying off, most of the plants are continuing to produce quite nicely now in spite of the never-ending, oppressive heat. The peppers and cucumbers and the chinese long red noodle beans are thriving. I started making dill pickles this past week. I made old-fashioned and spicy dills. If you'd like to make your own, come get cucumbers from us at the market this Saturday. We grow an heirloom variety that we really like and we think you will too.

June 21, 2012
Big picking day tomorrow! Come get your fresh produce at the market Saturday! The weather forecast looks much better than earlier predicted. It should be really pleasant in the morning. Remember, we open at 8am.

June 20,2012
The gardens are looking great despite the lack of rain. Danny or I are watering something everyday. This past week we picked the first ripe tomatoes and cucumbers. There's nothing better than a vine ripened heirloom tomato. We've been picking and eating as we're working in the gardens.

Just want to let everyone know, I have added two new kinds of flour.  After many, many requests, this past weekend I added Almond Flour.  This weekend I will also be bringing Tapioca Flour. 

The number of people who need gluten-free products just keeps on growing.  I'm doing my best to try to fill that need.  The past few weeks I have been making Gluten-Free Muffins for the market.  I'm using my Gluten-Free Mixed Grain Flour.  So far, the response has been very favorable.  I'm considering making a different kind each week.  Thus far I've brought Banana and Banana Chocolate Chip, and this past weekend I made Low Sugar, Dark Chocolate Chocolate-Chip.

I'd love to hear some feed-back on them, as well as suggestions on what variety of muffin you'd like me to make.  This week I'm thinking about Blueberry.

Hope to see you at the market in the morning!

We're just about to pack it in for the night.  Danny has been picking since the early afternoon.  Bonnie has been picking for hours and Colin and the kids came to help too.  We got the very first new potatoes this afternoon and the kids had fun picking them up and carrying them inside.

The gardens are bountiful right now.  Besides new potatoes, we will be bringing Rainbow Swiss Chard, several varieties of kale, a spicy greens mix, baby bok choy, beet greens, red leaf lettuce, fava beans and snow peas.  We will also be bringing a few dozen eggs, so be fast if you want them.

The beans have sprouted! It's taken a couple of plantings, but they are finally out of the ground. Just seeing the sprouts make me hungry for the beans. We are growing long stringless green beans as well as Chinese Long Red Noodle Beans. Both are tasty and I am ready to eat them. Too bad I'll have to wait for a while for them to produce.




LikeUnlike · · Share

It's been a busy planting week here at the farm. Danny's been starting numerous things from seed, and I've been doing lots of transplanting. We'll be bringing more plants with us to this week's market, get your gardens or pots ready and pick up what you need to get started planting at your house. See you Saturday!

Opening Day of the Tower Grove Farmers' Market was a huge success. We hope you managed to be one of the first 500 who got the free $10 tokens. It was very nice to see our returning customers and to meet so many new people. We hope it is just the beginning of a wonderful market season!

What a hot day!  I spent the morning weeding and watering in the hoophouse until I couldn't take the heat in there anymore.  At first, the breeze felt so good I didn't notice the temperature was climbing fast.  When I gave up and came inside, the sensor showed it was 105 degrees in the hoophouse. 

The plants are loving the heat.  Everything is growing quickly and looks beautiful.  The Rainbow Swiss Chard and Kale look as good as they did at the April market.  So far, for the most part the bugs are still leaving them alone.  The Fava Beans are growing like crazy and they're loaded with beans ready to pick.  The tomato plants that we have transplanted in the ground are getting big and lots of them have blooms already, a few even have little green tomatoes on them.

We have plenty more planted in and out of the hoophouse.  I hope the weather stays nice this week so we can bring lots of produce with us to the market!

Well, the push is on.  Opening day of the Tower Grove Farmers' Market is this Saturday!  The hours are extended for Opening Day, we begin at 8am and continue until 2pm. 

We recently got an e-mail from the market, you'll want to be there early, the first 500 shoppers will get a $10 token to use at any vendor booth at the market that day! Come early, they will go fast.  If you haven't signed up to get their weekly e-mails, I encourage you to do so.  Just go to http://www.tgmarket.org/   You can see a list of vendors, activities and a whole lot more.

Danny is working on improvements for our set-up under the tent.  I think everyone will appreciate the new look, stop by and say "Hi" and check it out.  Let us know what you think.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Another beautiful day!  Danny's out weeding the potato patch! 

What amazing weather we're having, everything is growing like crazy and all the trees are in bloom!  I just can't believe this is March.  Even the potatoes have sprouted already!

I spent most of the day today weeding flower beds and transplanting perennials.  I'm looking forward to seeing them bloom. Tomorrow I'll be transplanting trees and bushes.

We have lots of tomato plants that are hardening off in the hoophouse.  By next week they should be ready to start planting in the ground.  I'll be bringing quite a few to the market in April.  We also have pepper seedlings that have finally sprouted, it seemed to take forever.  I guess I'm just overanxious because it's already so hot.  It's been getting over 100 degrees in the hoophouse--with the sides open!  I forgot to open it Saturday morning and when I got home at noon it was 118 degrees in there!

We had a great day at the market on Saturday!

It was so nice to see everyone. What a beautiful sunny day it turned out to be. We hope you enjoyed all the wonderful swiss chard and kale. I'm anxious to get feedback on the new Gluten-Free Mixed-Grain Flour.

Market tomorrow! Come join us!

We'll be at the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market tomorrow from 9am to 1pm. 

We're bringing all the usual items.  We have lots of bright, beautiful veges.  The Rainbow Swiss Chard and all the different varieties of Kale are loving this weather and the lack of bugs and are growing like crazy.  They both taste so wonderful we've been eating them almost everyday. I've been combining them together and adding chopped onions, seasalt and a little butter.  Mmmmmmmm delicious!  Get some for yourself tomorrow!

I also finally decided to let everyone try my Gluten-Free Mixed-Grain Flour.  We've been cooking gluten-free now for a couple of months and I had to come up with a good flour mix.  After lots of requests, I'm bringing some for others to try tomorrow.  I'll be waiting for comments and suggestions.

We will also have our Kimker Hill Farm raised, grass (& tomato)-fed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, beef again.  If you missed it last month, you have another chance tomorrow.  It's available for a limited time, it will be a while before we raise more.

Danny will have his candles, I'll have handmade soap, freshly-ground flours, mixes, grains, jellies, jams, gift baskets and more! 

Hope to see you!

Thank you for the comment on The Virtues of Mulch

Here's the comment that caught my attention today.

Interesting, I read a book called lasagna gardening and I follow the book every steps. First, gather all your newspaper or even junk mail soak them in water. I soaked mine in a cooler. Then, I just lay them in the ground no digging at all after I just keep piling on top with different organic matter. Your leaves, grass clippings, kitcthen scrap, egg shell, fish scraps, coffee grinds. After I saw the outcome of my summer garden I believe on lasagna gardening now. Check them out..


I read that book years ago, and I love the concept.  We've been working on applying it in the hoophouse the past couple weeks.  First, we finished clearing out the dead tomato plants.  Surprisingly, a few of the plants in the middle row were still alive, a couple of them even had new shoots growing up from the roots.  I didn't like having to pull them out, but I knew they wouldn't survive the extreme cold on the way.  Then, Danny and the boys layered on the compost and manure they emptied out of the chicken coop.  This week, I put on a new layer of junk mail and newspapers, then I started covering the walkways with cardboard.  When the weather permits again, we will layer on the big pile of leaves we collected in the fall.

It's great to be getting a head start for the spring!  This time last year, we didn't even have the hoophouse finished.

We won't be at the Winter Market this weekend

Sorry to dissapoint, but we won't be at the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market this weekend.  We'll plan to see everyone next month.

Winter market this weekend! Hope you can join us!

This Saturday we will be at the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market in Tower Grove.  This will be the second winter market for the season.  Surprisingly, we will still have a limited amount of fresh produce.  Bonnie checked the hoophouse this afternoon and said she will be picking tomatoes, lettuce, swiss chard, bok choy, kale, green beans and fava beans tomorrow afternoon.

We will also be bringing handmade soaps and candles with us.  Danny has been making candles in wonderful scents that make the house smell amazing.  Come and check them out!

We are also working on gift baskets!  If you have a favorite product (or products) of ours you would like to see in a basket, please let us know!

Grass-Fed Beef available soon!

Sir Loin of Beef, The Duke of Hamburger and Secretary of Steak are all about to live up to their names.  They are all being "processed" and will be ready for pickup next week. 

We are looking forward to enjoying our very first Kimker Hill Farm raised, grass (& tomato)-fed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, beef.  If you would like to enjoy some too, I will know prices soon.  You can e-mail me if you'd like to be on the list of buyers.

We'll be back at the market this weekend with lots of heirloom tomatoes!

We're back from vacation.  We had a great time!

We came home to lots of ripe and ripening tomatoes!  I've been busy preserving as many of them as I can this week.  Bonnie says I will have lots more to take to market on Saturday.  Come and stock up for yourself!  It's really easy to freeze them.  Just core and quarter and place in a ziploc freezer bag.  Squeeze out as much air as you can, then close and place in freezer.  You just take out what you need, as you need them, all winter long.

Get them before they're gone!

Hope to see you Saturday!  Don't forget, you can now use your credit or debit card.

Great day at the market today!

What wonderful weather we all enjoyed at the market today!  It was a very welcome change after the heat wave we have all been enduring and the storm we got hit with two weeks ago at the market.  It was nice to see so many return to the market and so many new visitors.  We hope to see you all again this next week!

Beginning next weekend, we will be able to start taking credit cards.  We hope this will make it easier to shop with us. We will be able to take Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover.

Come see what the cooler weather predicted for the week does for the produce.  Hopefully the tomatoes will finally ripen.  We have 22 heirloom varieties growing in the new hoophouse, they are all full of green tomatoes that have been just staying green.  We've been told that they need below 90 degree weather to ripen so the forecast has us anticipating a bountiful harvest by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, the basil and cucumbers have been loving the heat.  Even the kale and swiss chard have been surviving fairly well, at least when the bugs allow it.  If you got some of these from us today, Enjoy! 

Here's a recipe we've been enjoying lately.  It's a wonderful Summer Salad.  It includes kale, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and fresh basil.
 
Begin with the kale, wash in cold water, then remove the stems and cut into small pieces.  Cut the cucumber into small slices.  Chop  the tomatoes.  Finely chop a small onion.  Finely chop fresh basil.  Add minced garlic if you like.  Sprinkle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar.  Toss it all together and enjoy!

By the way, if you missed us last weekend, we were at the Washington Fair.  Nate competed in the talent competition for the first time.  He played a ragtime classic, "Cleanin' Up In Georgia."  He wore a tux and we spiked his blond hair.  He looked adorable.  He got 2nd place in his age group!  We are very proud of him! He's looking forward to doing it again next year.  He's already started practicing a new ragtime piece.

We'll Be Missing From the Market For the Next 2 Weeks

Just want to let everyone know that we are taking a much needed little break from the market. We will be back on July 16th!
Hope to see you then!

HARD WINTER , HARDER SPRING

(As I was writing this, Denise had posted her own entry about Grandma…oh well she was worth the press.)

We had high hopes for this spring here on the farm…the new hoop house…all the planning…all the prep work last fall...we really thought we were going to hit the ground running this spring. But it hasn’t worked out that way.

It is with great reservation that I complain about the weather, considering what others are going through, but all this rain has washed away (sometimes literally) much of our work and many of our plans. Just about the time things dry out enough to do some work; here comes more rain. And all the while the weeds grow taller and thicker.



The darkest clouds this spring were not related to the weather.

As Denise posted earlier, this spring we lost our dear friend and adopted grandma Sally Murphy. Sally had truly become part of our family. She lived right on the farm in Great Grandma Gerke’s house which is just across our front yard. She was a fixture here. Her smile was always there. Everyone who knew her couldn’t help but love her. Though her body had been ravaged by cancer, I personally will remember her as being one of the “strongest” persons I have ever known. We will miss her very much.

The storm wasn’t over.

Early last fall Great Grandma Gerke (Denise’s grandmother) came to live with us in our home. True, it was an adjustment but it proved to be a beautiful experience for our family. Our son’s had opportunity to become so much closer to Grandma and the respect and compassion they learned for their elders is priceless. Although the doctors would report that her heart was very weak and frail, you would never know it by the love it held. The effect she had on others was evident during her last days as an almost constant stream of friends and family came to spend time at her side.

Grandma was 88 when she passed away on May 4th. She was at peace in her own bed, with her family at her side and my little sister Bonnie holding her hand. It won’t be the same without Grandma, but she and Sally shared the same unwavering faith in the Bibles promises (John 5:25-29). We look forward to seeing them again soon.

Down but not out.

Yes, it’s been a rough spring. But we are slowly making progress. We will keep at it and try to keep you up to date.
Thanks to all our regular customers for your support at the market.
Stop by and give Denise a hug. She could use it.

Dan

In Memory of My Wonderful Grandma

This morning the last of our third batch of chicks hatched and was waiting for me in the incubator when I came downstairs. All the chicks are so cute and so much fun to watch. A couple of them seem to think the water dish is a wading pool. Each time we check on them, there is one sitting or standing in the water.

I'm writing this in memory of Grandma. We lost her in death earlier this month. She loved watching as the chicks hatched. I have a funny picture of her watching with the kids. Each time she was able to get up, she would check the incubator and the chicks' box. Sometimes, I'd come in the kitchen and she'd just be sitting on her walker watching them. She said they were better than TV. One night, with the second batch, she beat me to the incubator and lifted the new one out and put it in the box. When I came down to check and do a chick count, she started laughing at the confused look on my face.

Grandma had a very good sense of humor. She liked to tease, especially Nate. The last few months when she would get up and the kids would ask, "Grandma did you have a good nap?" she would answer, "I don't know, if I did I slept through it."

We loved having her live with us. She always had a smile and a hug ready to share and something nice to say. We all miss her! She was a very important part of our family and part of our daily lives. Now, we look forward to seeing her and Sally again in the paradise. We hope that time comes very soon!

Baby chicks have hatched!

Yesterday morning the first chick for the year hatched with another following closely behind. Throughout the day, one by one, more followed. They were the entertainment for the day. My mom, Grandma, sister and her kids all crowded around the incubator to watch as one of the chicks was actually hatching. It was the first time any of them had witnessed a chick's arrival into the world. During the night and all day today more have been hatching. So far, there are 15 new little fluffballs in my kitchen and we have all taken turns just sitting and watching them. Hopefully there will be even more to greet me in the morning!

In Memory of Our Dear Friend Sally

This has been a very difficult time for all of us here at Kimker Hill Farm. Our wonderful friend, Sally, has been battling cancer for quite some time now. Earlier this month she lost the fight. We all miss her terribly. Many of you have benefitted from her hard work here at the farm. She used to come and help pick tomatoes. When she couldn't work in the garden anymore, she came inside to help. She started early in the spring, helping to transplant seedlings into larger containers. As the summer progressed, she helped sort vegetables for selling at the market. She also cut up lots and lots of veges for processing or freezing. Sally was very generous sharing her experiences and advice and many of her recipes. She was always able to look on the bright side of things and always encouraging to others. She kept me company through many, many long workdays. I loved hearing the stories of her life and I hope I can remember them well enough to pass them on. Now, as Grandma and I transplant seedlings, we reminisce about all the seedlings Sally helped us with in past years and how much she was looking forward to doing it again this spring. Even in the hospital we were talking about the seeds I had ordered and what other ones she wanted me to order for this year.