Brenda Whiteside's Blog, page 92

Ahoy Matey! What Lurks in the Fog

  Tortuga Thursday In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.
Fog hangs over the cropsI was treated to a rare weather phenomenon this morning - fog. I think we've only had a foggy farm one other time in the three years we've been here. Fog fascinates me for some unknown reason. The urge to walk into the cloud and see if there's something waiting that's different pulls at me. A romantic notion because I know that the only thing waiting is mud. We've had so much rain.

The big heirlooms are finally coming ripe. This guy made our salad last
Heirloom compared to regular tomatonight, or at least half of him did. The taste was phenomenal.

The purple green beans are coming in at such a rate we can't keep up. Today, we'll have to can some of them. They are so sweet and tender,
I hate to lose any of them. I'll see if I can wrangle Frank into doing the canning. After cutting and preparing, he'll probably agree to pressure
All shades of purple green beanscook can them for me. I don't want to learn how.

Last week I promised to unveil our Kickstarter campaign but plans have changed. We've decided to coincide it with our reentry into the farmers' market on August 23. I'll do a special edition
Campaign to expand is comingof Tortuga Thursday on a Saturday.






Sadi in the willow tree
Sadi clowning in Grand Pa Pa's hat

How I "Birth" My Characters

MUSE MONDAY
The first thing I do when I come up with an idea for a novel is set up my Character Sketch Files. I do this even before I write a synopsis or any kind of plot outline. I need to know everything about my characters. Some of what I know never makes it into the book. And often, as I write I learn more about them and add that to the sketch.

My latest book, The Art of Love and Murder, required me to do a family tree research too. Well, I call it research. I had to make it all up of course. Lacy is researching her past and that research will spill over into book three so I had to go back many generations.

I'm not sure you'll find this interesting, but I thought I'd share what my character sketch pages looked like for my main female character, Lacy Dahl.


CHARACTER SKETCHTITLE: HeroineCharacter Name: LACY DAHL                                                      Birth Date and Place:  Flagstaff, AZ 1969Character Role: HEROINE Physical Descriptions:                 Age:  43                Race: HALF AUSTRIAN, HALF AMERICAN INDIAN HOPI                                Eye Color:  LIME GREEN[image error]                 Hair Color and Style:  BLACK, THICK, HANGS BELOW HER SHOULDERS                Height/Weight/Build: 5’7”, 135, MEDIUM – CURVY - NICE                Skin Tone: DARKISH                Style of Dress: jeans, pricey shoes, gauzy or silk shirts, sparse jewelry but precious
Characteristics/Mannerisms: brushes her hair along her chin when thinking, likes real things like ceramic not paper, diamonds, leather
Personality Traits: until the story begins she’s been happy to live in the present, not an inquisitive person, but a happy person, settled. Self-assured, independent, responsible
Background:  orphaned as a baby and foster parents eventually adopted her. Foster parents were unable to have children. When no blood relatives on either side could be found, they were allowed to adopt her. Her husband died three years earlier before beginning of book in a mountain climbing accident. His name was Conrad Dahl. He was a surgeon. She bought the coffee shop 6 months after his death. Her birth parents were Hartmut Luschin and Kaya Mockta born 1947. They were 27 and 28 when they died in an airplane crash that only she survived.
Internal Conflicts: husband and parents dead, she’s left to discover who she is for her sake as well as her two children – but does she want to know – she’s always been happy with what she knows of her adopted life –she will struggle with an attraction to the sheriff
External Conflicts: someone wants the artifact and sketches she possesses, Kitty is a rival in the romance story
Occupation/Education:  college graduate, now owns a coffee shop in Scottsdale
Miscellaneous Notes: runs every morning before opening the café and then goes home to change before returning to the café. practices yoga twice a week at a studio. She has a son who is at chef school in Paris and a daughter who is getting divorced in Tucson and owns an art gallery.
Lacy’s car is Crimson Red with beige interior. The BMW Z4 [image error]Smooth and powerful engines, quick-folding hardtop, comfortable ride, big trunk (with the top up), excellent visibility for a roadster, sharp styling inside and out.


That's a glimpse into what goes into a book before I start the story.

LIVING CHEAP AND LIVING LARGE

 Tortuga Thursday In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love. Tomatoes on the left, cucumbers on rightI thought it was time for a look at how our work in progress is going. It's been about nine months since I recapped how we're making it and gave what could be some helpful bits of how-to-get-by for you too.

Our vegetables are plentiful but our funds are not. I've found lots of ways to save. Some of these I've told you about before. Some have been tweaked.
Food and Gas - two huge expenses. Fry's is our regular grocery store. The first Wednesday of every month we get 10% off for the age factor. Although we have to shop more than once a month, we try to make that day the stock up day. Sprouts is our fresh, natural, etc. store. Sadi in the cukesEvery Wednesday is double up day which means the specials from last week overlap the specials of this week so there are more deals to be had. Costco is our bulk item store and does have better prices on some things. Costco has good gas prices. But if we get enough points built up at Fry's, we get cents off gas at their pumps that can beat Costco. One big saver for us is our own vegetables and fruit. About the only things I buy fresh at the store right now are potatoes, mushrooms, avocados and peaches. And shortly, I won't need to buy potatoes. I could live without the peaches but Sprouts has such yummy organic peaches!

Entertainment - we still do the $5 senior price for an occasional movie. Every couple of weeks we do taco Tuesday at our favorite Mexican restaurant. $2 tacos and $2 margaritas. For $12 we both eat and drink. This time of year, it's difficult to find time for any entertainment. But a visit with friends on occasion is the cheapest and most entertaining. The local swimming pool has provided many hours of cheap fun this summer.

Miscellaneous purchases - we always ask if they have senior or veteran discounts. We shop Home Depot because they give Frank 10% off.
Credit Cards - yep, we use them. The trick is to pay them off each month. For Costco, we use American Express and get a refund check at the end of the year which we turn around and spend at Costco to save money on food that month. For all other food and essentials we use a Visa card that builds points. We've used those points for such items as food, household needs and Christmas gifts. We have another card for farm expenses but we chose one with low interest and have made payments with our farmer market income. 
There's a new venture coming up to take our Pirate Pickling to the next level and that's Kickstarter. We need to grow and get creative funding to do that. It starts next week so I'll tell you all about it then and hope you'll get involved and spread the word.
Overall, we're doing great. It isn't an easy thing to bring two families together who are a generation apart, have day to day different lifestyles and philosophies. But we're doing good. We've embraced the age-old lifestyle that has been mostly lost in the United States - multiple generations living under one roof, who share the workload, follow their individual dreams and reap the benefits of combined talents.

Creating the Characters for SOUL TAKER by Karen Michelle Nutt

MUSE MONDAY I am honored to have Karen Michelle Nutt on Muse Monday today. You'll enjoy her post and you could win an audible book. Read on! I believe a back-story breathes life into the characters. Their journey is what makes them what they are and why they react in a certain way. Of course, you don’t want to do info dumps, but to gradually add the tidbits of where they’ve been through the years with casual conversation, and inner thoughts like when they reminisce about an event. If not overdone, flashbacks or dreams are a great tool also.   GARRAN MACLAURIN                                                         My character, Garran MacLaurin is a Grim Sith (pronounced Grim Shee). This sept of vampires was created by a powerful Baobhan Sith, (pronounced baa’-van shee) from Scotland. Garran’s transformation took place following the battle of Culloden where his cousin Alexander betrayed him and his men by leading them into an ambush. Fallon, his maker, was the first Baobhan Sith to create what is now called the Grim Sith sept, the male species of this vampire clan. We find out about Garran’s transformation when Isabella and Garran mind-link and the scenes of this event unfold.
HARRISON CONNELL
Harrison Connell is a werewolf from the Mac Tíre (pronounced Mock-tee-ra) clan of Ireland. They prefer to be called moon shifters than werewolves. He has left his clan to help Garran with preternatural business, but to Garran’s annoyance, he’s always looking to add members to the team. In the story, Garran mentions this need to add people to their team in a passing conversation with Harrison. Harrison reveals more of his past when he admits he is a werewolf to Isabella. He gives her a brief history of his clan.In Ireland, the wolf is often referred to as the Mac Tíre.  I thought since my werewolf pack or moon shifters fled from Ireland that it deemed appropriate they call themselves the Mac Tíre.  I first introduced the Mac Tíre mythology in my novella, Moon Shifter published by The Wild Rose Press.
ISABELLA LUCCINecromancy is a term used to describe manipulating death through the use of ritual magic or ceremony. You might say séances, channeling and Spiritualism are a form of necromancy since they involve invoking spirits to find out information.
Isabella Lucci’s family is from a long line of Necromancers. When Isabella was a child, she died, but her mother summoned Isabella back from death, but in doing so there came a price. Death can never be cheated. Her mother paid the ultimate price with her life. Isabella has not been trained, but she’s a natural. She can see the world beyond the veil. It is why Harrison wants to recruit her to help Garran and him find the Soul Taker. She uses a cell phone to communicate with the dead. The shades text their responses via a cell phone.
You learn about Isabella and her past through conversation, her reminiscing when she sees a photo of her parents, and still more information when her brother confronts Garran and his involvement with Isabella.
***There are many ways an author may incorporate information about their characters without taking away from the real heart of the story. I hope you enjoyed this behind the scene glance at my characters of SOUL TAKER. 
Brenda, thank you so much for allowing me to share.
*GIVEAWAY*: I’m giving away an audio book copy of SOUL TAKER to one lucky commenter. All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter. (Coupons are good at Audible US or Audible UK). Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the Book: E-book: $2.99     Print: $11.66 Audible: $24.95 or 1 credit
Word Count: About 95kE-book Available at: Amazon Kindle US  / Amazon UKPrint Available at: Amazon  /Barnes and Noble Available at:Audible US  / Audible UKNo soul is safe…
A vampire from the Grim Sith sept is sucking the souls out of young women from the Boston area, but this sinister crime is far worse than a vampire seeking substance. He’s selling the souls to the highest bidder and it seems business is booming.
A vampire, a werewolf, and a Necromancer are a most unlikely team, but Garran, Harrison, and Isabella plan on putting a kink in the dubbed Soul Taker’s plans. It’s personal now. One of their friends has fallen victim to the Soul Taker’s charms, but to stop him from hurting anyone else, their efforts may involve raising the dead.

Author’s Name – Bio
Karen Michelle Nutt resides in California with her husband, three fascinating children, and houseful of demanding pets. Jack, her Chorkie, is her writing buddy and sits long hours with her at the computer.When she’s not time traveling, fighting outlaws, or otherworldly creatures, she creates pre-made book covers to order at Gillian’s Book Covers, “Judge Your Book By Its Cover”. You can also check out her published cover art designs at Western Trail Blazer and Rebecca J. Vickery Publishing.Whether your reading fancy is paranormal, historical or time travel, all her stories capture the rich array of emotions that accompany the most fabulous human phenomena—falling in love.
Visit the author at her website: http://www.kmnbooks.comBlog: http://kmnbooks.blogspot.com
Gillian’s Book Covers, “Judge Your Book By Its Cover”http://judgeyourbookbyitscover.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkarenmichellenutt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KMNbooksPinterest: http://pinterest.com/karenmnutt/
Amazon Author Page:http://www.amazon.com/Karen-Michelle-Nutt/e/B002BLLBPE

Rotting Onions - a Cure

 Tortuga Thursday In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love. Sadi in the cucumbersGrasshoppers this year are in locust biblical proportions. I exaggerate only slightly. Lance has tried every natural/organic way possible to get rid of them but they thrive. Although we've been much more successful this year at keeping the weeds down in the garden, a few other areas have gone ignored. Weeds harbor grasshoppers as well as other unwanted bugs so I went on the warpath. All good sized weeds met their end. The potatoes are the most bothered.

We had little black bugs and aphids in the greenhouse a month or two
back. A bucket with some water and rotting onions set inside the greenhouse was the cure. Stinks awfully - I guess the bugs don't like it either.

Pickle jar processingThe cucumbers are beautiful this year. The jars of Pirate Pickles look great. We perfected the point at which to harvest so there will be more pickles in each jar. Consistency is important and demanded by the head Pirate, Lance.

Some of our other veggies, like the zucchini, do not get the same manic attention. Most of the zucchini goes in the dogs' food so we aren't that concerned about size. You zucchini lovers out there are probably screaming "what?" but, yes, most of it goes to the dogs.

Giant and normal zucchiniBut not all...

Like tonight we had grilled veggies which is about our favorite on Tortuga. If you haven't purchased a grill pan for vegetables, you really should. Tonight we had zucchini, yellow squash, onions, bell peppers, kohlrabi, and patti pan (the patti pan and yellow squash from our neighbors and the rest from our garden). Cut the vegetables in chunks or thick slices, toss in a bowl with olive oil and lemon pepper and grill on the barbecue for about 45 minutes. Sooooo good.

The monsoons continue. The wind is the killer. We've lost about 30% of the cayenne pepper plants to the
Monsoons mean mudstorms. The rain has been great for the crops but the wind is bothersome. We're a windswept prairie. We are very happy to have the rain because the Big Chino Aquifer was in desperate need of replenishing. Wouldn't want the well to go dry.

Butternut Squash PlantsIn case some of you don't know about our Pirate Pickle web site, here is the link. Hope you check it out.
http://www.piratepickling.com/

And we now have a Tortuga Flats Farm Facebook page. Please drop in and "like" us!
https://www.facebook.com/TortugaFlatsFarm

It Happened WHERE?

  MUSE MONDAY "The book’s strength is in its characters and descriptions… The setting was a character in itself. I loved the town! The author really made it come to life, not stinting on details (but not boring the reader either)… the writing kept me turning pages and I never once thought about setting it down."
This is a partial quote from Long and Short Reviews for The Art of Love and Murder. And they aren't the only one to comment on my setting for the novel. What a compliment. My stories are always character driven so it made me stop and think that maybe my settings are another character.
My guest, Lynda Coker, on Friday, talked about world building - great post - and she got me thinking about my own world building methods.
I start with real places; use a little reality and a lot of imagination. When I write a scene, I put myself there, look around and decide just how much is needed to put the reader beside me. It's happening here, now! You've all read books where they go on and on about every little detail down to the color of the pen on the desk. Not my kind of book. 
Some times I throw in brief descriptions throughout a scene to make a picture. For instance, from chapter one of The Art of Love and Murder:

Her head swung side to side, but the empty street and sidewalks could have been a ghost town. In the distance, a jazzy tune drifted through the air with voices too far away to help.
“Breezeway? Yes, well, it’s not like it’s an alley for Pete’s sake, with trashcans and rats.” She glanced back at the darkness she’d escaped. “It’s paved with brick, and the doors have signs on them.
The old-fashioned street lamp lit his hair…
Thin-soled sandals didn’t help her wobbly knees on the cobbled cement, scored to look like stone…
When she reached the Monte Vista, she climbed the steps, took hold of the ornate, brass door handle…
Ahead, on the corner of the breezeway and Santa Fe Street, the sounds of the Lumberjack Brewery invaded the night…
He passed the back entrance of the Kachina Café, the rich smells of Mexican food drifting into the air from the plates of the people sitting at the patio tables.
Once known as Route 66, businesses, bars and shops flanked one side; the railroad tracks skirted the other.
He turned on his heel, retracing his path back up the breezeway. He’d left his Cherokee parked not far from the Monte Vista. He’d eaten dinner at Jane’s Whole Earth and had a beer with a friend at the Broken Arrow.
Other times, I do interject longer (but not too long) descriptions of the setting:

The short flight of stairs challenged her as she trudged, tiredly pulling each foot up to the next step. The floral carpeting, narrow hallway and gold patterned wallpaper transported her back in time. The renowned hotel, beautifully restored, reflected the era of the 1920’s. The antiquated wall lamps dimly lit the hall, casting warm shadows of the past. She walked the hall that many famous people had traipsed in the last century.
That's my take on world building, creating a setting that adds to the character of the book. If you'd like to read the entire novel, you can purchase both eBook and print book at numerous on line book stores, such as: The Wild Rose Press   Amazon   Barnes and Noble  ARe

WORLD BUILDING –Who Needs It? by Lynda Coker

FEARLESS FRIDAY Please join me in welcoming Lynda Coker to Muse Monday. As a writer, I learned early that creating a believable story required architectural and construction skills. The second thing I realized was that I didn’t have a clue what World Building meant, how to begin, or when to stop. And most disturbing, was how my own writing style predicted dark days ahead. You see, I write by-the-seat-of-my-pants. I do some plotting, but mostly, the story just evolves one weird, funny, amazing, or awful idea at a time. Thankfully, these ideas do eventually merge into a story that previously only existed in my mind, a world with its own reality and principles of existence. So World Building is not something I consciously and meticulously predetermine, rather, I construct what I need when I need it. (*Smiles precociously) That’s not to say that a lot of building repair isn’t required in the editing process. (Woe is me!) After all, two things are definitely needed to make World Building concrete that is strong and durable—Coherence and Consistency, which miraculously appear during editingAs a reader, I don’t enjoy being bogged down by endless description. For instance, I don’t need to see the blueprints for a 33 room mansion. Just tell me it has 33 rooms including tennis courts, swimming pool, and riding stables and let me put it all together in my own mind. I guarantee, I’ll like my mansion better than the one you describe to me in full detail!So what’s my point? In World Building, I try to construct only those features that are necessary in order to understand the rules or laws which govern my world, the environmental territory, time and space, new technology, and the characters that people my world along with their philosophy, language, etc. As a writer, I do the framework and allow you, the reader, to decorate so-to-speak. In reality, my world also becomes your world through participation.

Blurb:THE OCEAN BETWEEN by Lynda CokerBetween the skyscrapers of New York City and the ancient sands of the Middle Eastern nation of Ahalamin lies an uncharted ocean, not of water, but of culture and prejudice. When financial executive, Victoria Ballard, is tricked into marriage with a Prince of the Desert, her perfectly designed life unravels. To put the pieces back together and claim the heart of a Prince, she’ll have to find a way to bridge The Ocean Between .Book Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvtCCEoOTDEBuy Links: AMAZON THE WILD ROSE PRESS 
Excerpt: Rashid took the stairs two at a time. IdentifyingThe source of the problem did not take long...theverbal tirade echoing through the lounge came fromhis private compartment at the rear of the plane.
“Let me out of here! I’m an American citizen andthis is kidnapping. I’ll have you all arrested andexecuted for this! I’m warning you, Califar. You tellthat unscrupulous, deceitful, desert creep to get backhere and let me go!”
Rashid took a step forward and then paused.The sudden cessation of verbal ranting was moreunnerving than the previous clamor. The pregnantsilence made the hairs on his arms stand erect. Withthis woman, he was certain the calm was a precursorto worse atrocities. He hoped he was wrong and shehad exhausted her vile temper instead. The thud of asolid object slamming against the other side of thedoor ridiculed his supposed control.
He yanked off  his robe and headdress. Slingingthem toward the back of a chair, he barked acommand to his two bodyguards.
“Give the pilot orders to depart...NOW!”
Both went forward to deliver the message,almost jamming the small doorway in their attemptto pass through at the same time. Consumed withhis own anger, he could not find any humor in thespeed with which they fled one loud, but smallwoman. He wondered about the quality of hispersonal security.
Spearing Califar with a glacial look, hemotioned him forward. “You will ignore any soundyou hear from the other side of that door.Understood?”
“May I speak frankly?”
Rashid stiffened. “If you must.”
“This woman you’ve made your wife is astranger to you and to our customs. These areextreme circumstances for her. Despite her less thanrespectful manner, she is still deserving of the gentlepersuasion you always accord the women in yourlife.”
“Are you telling me how to treat my wife?”Rashid lashed in reply.
“As your servant...never,” replied Califar. “Asyour friend...I offer a reminder. Guard well youractions this night and remember with what care youhave always protected what is yours.”
“I will deal with the princess in whatevermanner suits me,” growled Rashid. 

Hotter Than...Kraken's Breath

Kraken's BreathThe first cucumbers have come off the vine and into jars. We're pretty excited about this year's batch because all the lessons learned from last year will make this year's Pirate Pickles even better.

I looked back on pictures from our first two growing seasons and experienced a rash of pride for my farmer son. He seemed to  have a certain amount of "farmer sense" and a built-in know how when we first started this adventure. But he's a quick study and the crops are benefiting. Our fields not only look better but are producing equally gorgeous vegetables.

June 2012
The heat has been awful for me but a boon to the plants. Some of our plants aren't baring ripe produce yet but of the ones that
July 2014 same fieldare, it's been good eating! Last night, we had spare ribs cooked with our cabbage. A salad consisted of tomatoes, kale, chard, leaf lettuce, shredded kohlrabi and diced celery - all from our fields. Tonight, steamed carrots from the greenhouse were sweet eating. Tomorrow night, I think we'll have meatloaf seasoned with nothing but our Pirate Relish. Love it!

Shared my space with the bees in the cukesLance worked on our Kickstarter campaign today so I harvested
Where I spent my morningcucumbers in his place. It's a little disconcerting with all the buzzing, but he said if I just ignore the bees, they'll ignore me. Still...I did my best not to disturb too many of them. The cucumbers are coming slowly but in a day or two it will be manic. Lance is striving to complete the Kickstarter process before then. I'll announce how that works as soon as I can.

Rachel Brimble's Writing Journey

MUSE MONDAY A great Muse Monday with my guest Rachel Brimble. She's giving away a book! Your choice! Just leave a comment and she'll draw a name for a pdf copy. How cool is that!  My writing journey started back in 2000 when I made my first attempts at short story writing. It took a year of rejections before I managed to get acceptance in women’s magazines and online. I then had my second daughter in 2001 and most of us will know how a newborn can take over your life and everything else goes on the back burner. Once I started to feel capable of writing again…and the baby started napping for a couple of hours a day, I went back to my short story writing. Further success made me want to reach for my goal of becoming a published novelist. After taking a long…long time to complete my first novel, Searching For Sophie was accepted by The Wild Rose Press in 2006. Since then, my career has gone from strength to strength and as I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home forever, I am able to pretty much treat my writing as a full-time job. After several novel and novella releases with small presses, I secured a US agent in 2011. I am happy to say I now write contemporary romance and romantic suspense for Harlequin Superromance and Victorian romance for eKensington. The latest Superromance is What Belongs To Her and is the third book in an ongoing series, even though each book can be read as a stand-alone. My latest with eKensington is The Temptation of Laura and can also be read as a stand-alone. If people ever ask me what was most helpful in extending career, I would have to say the wonderful online courses on plotting, POV, characterization and pacing available, as well as entering the wonderful contests ran by the Romance Writers of America chapters. I can’t recommend entering them enough!
She's ready to take back what's hers -Since the moment a local crime boss claimed ownership of her family's fairground, Sasha Todd has dreamed of righting the wrong. Now it's time to act, and backing down from the man's estranged son is definitelynot an option. After all, giving up her legacy to hot-blooded John Jordon means losing the chance to finally heal the wounds in her past.  Stopping John in his tracks—and resisting the sizzle between them—is Sasha's best defense. But there's more to him than she thought, which changes everything. With what matters most at stake, she'll have to risk a brand-new future with John, or walk away from the man whose heart belongs to her. Buy Links: Amazon US Amazon UK Barnes & Noble




Excerpt: He turned and his dark blue eyes, aflame with anger, pinned Sasha to the spot. She forced herself to stand still as his gaze languidly glided over her face, lingering for a moment at her lips. No smile lifted the corners of his mouth. No softness seeped into his hardened study.She smiled even as her stomach knotted. “Hi.”He continued to stare.Okay, so he’s got that sexy, broody thing going on, but since when does a guy––any guy––leave me speechless? Say something… “Well, you’re all sorts of angry, aren’t you?” Great, Sasha. Just poetic.  

Bio: Rachel lives with her husband and two young daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK.  After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in 2011. In 2012, she sold two books to Harlequin Superromance and a further three in 2013. She also writes Victorian romance for Kensington--her debut was released in April 2013 and she has since signed for three more.Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family and beloved black Lab, Max. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.
She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!Links:WebsiteBlogTwitterFacebook

Making Use of Pantyhose and Brown Bags

 Tortuga Thursday In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.
Lance tying up cucumber plants
When we lived in Minnesota, every year it seemed the winter would never morph into spring. And then one day I'd wake up and spring had sprung. Overnight, there would be flowers everywhere and shades of green sparkling on every tree.

It's the same sort of feeling here on the farm when I'm waiting to start harvesting. Even though we have the greenhouse with year round greens and the garlic was harvested in July, when the bigger vegetables start coming and the cucumbers appear on the plants it feels like an overnight event.

The zucchini and peas appeared three days ago and are now an everyday chore to harvest. Every couple of
Bags and bags of drying dill seedsdays the kohlrabi can be harvested. And carrots can be dug up whenever we need them. The last of the dill seeds have been harvested out of the greenhouse and are hanging in bags to dry before going into jars. Lance planted more onions, okra and broccoli in the dill's place. The outside dill is about six inches high so that should be coming ready before we use up the dried weed and seeds we have from the greenhouse crop. They got so huge in the greenhouse that they restricted air flow and held in too much humidity so we had some mold going on. Lance got that under control.

Garlic in nylonsFound a better use for nylons than wearing -- they make great bags for storing and hanging garlic. Dollar Store (the Paulden Mall) had boxes of ten for cheap. 

More good neighbor stories. Frank's boat trailer had a weld come loose. He asked Dave (of Dave and Eunice with the eggs) if his welding machine could do the trick. Dave took the section of the trailer to Phoenix and had a welder friend of his fix it - for free! We've been swapping produce with them, too. They didn't plant carrots, shard or kohlrabi. I take them some of those every week and we get yellow squash, snap peas and of course eggs.

Can't see the pea plants for the weeds

With all the rain I can always weed if I find myself without anything to do -- which is never, but I still have to weed. No matter how many weeds, it's still better than the last two years.

I'm going to sit in the walk-in care at the Indian Medical Center tomorrow down in Phoenix. Really hate to take the time but they can't see me on a scheduled appointment for ophthalmology until August 18. My eye is blurry with light flashes and I don't want to wait. You know I've written how great it is to have the care available and I mean it, but I sure hate the idea of just sitting for who knows how long. Wish me luck!


My path of destruction when weeding