Potatoes, garlic and peaches, some birthdays, new neighbors, horses, our 21st anniversary and of course, more flowers.
POKERS AND CONES
There was another flush of red hot pokers and some unexpected coneflower (echinacea) over by our fish pond where Bob threw a seed head last year.
POTATOES FOR THE IRISH
Bob Irish roots compel him to grow about 100 pounds of fingerlings each year. On this day, we set out to can one seventeen-pound harvest.
BEST LAID PLANS
As they say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Those seventeen pounds ended up in the freezer after we realized they would never hold up in the canner. Fingerlings are too small and soft to handle the processing instructions for regular potatoes. We had followed the guidelines and boiled them for ten minutes before packing them into jars, but by then they were cooked nearly into mush, so we froze them instead.
JUDY’S WORLD
Camille has been getting quality horse time these days, thanks to her new friend Judy. For more lovely pictures, please visit: Judy’s World
RICE AND LOTUS
Not everyone can say they live next door to a rice field. This year, the lotus has come into its own, too. Explore more at: Rice and Lotus
HELEN’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
We felt pretty special when we were invited to a lavish birthday celebration at Ted and Helen’s little slice of paradise. Full disclosure, Judy is Helen’s mother and they keep the horses here too. So as you might imagine, friends, horses and cake all in one evening was pretty darned great. For a more on this story, please go to: Helen’s Party
GARLIC MAN
Bob harvested a bumper crop of garlic a couple of months ago and we have well over 100 heads curing in the pole barn. Every once in awhile, he braids a few up as pretty as you please.
SUNRISE, SUNSET
A volunteer sunflower shines brightly in the morning sun and later that day, the setting sun glows along our front gate.
PEACH RUN
Bob drove to David’s stomping grounds in Clemson, South Carolina where they sorted through 1600 pounds of peaches and loaded them into the flatbed for Bob to bring home to Fair Game Beverage Company where they’ll turn them into peach wine.
JASON’S WORLD
Our buddy Jason works hard and plays hard. His legs were a few pounds heavier after he spent a couple of hours weed whacking on the farm. Click on the photo for a better look. On July 21st, we invited a few of the neighbors over to celebrate Jason’s birthday with carrot cake, tapas, stories and games.
SPOT ON
Hard to believe this was Amy’s first time to Trouts Farm. We’ve known her since 2006 when she and Camille both volunteered at Habitat for Humanity in Berthoud, Colorado. We lost track of each other, moved a few times and then she moved to our neighborhood while we were in Africa. What are the chances that she would volunteer at the farm next door and discover she and Haruka were weeding the Sunken Gardens of Moncure? When Amy heard Haruka say this was Bob and Camille’s garden, she wondered if they were the Bob and Camille she’d met years ago and came to find out that we were!
Coincidentally, Katie also works next door at Edible Earthscapes. It’s a small world, truly it is.
MOVING IS NOT FOR CHICKENS
Or perhaps it is. Well, moving is not for the faint-hearted. Our new neighbors are anything but, and brought much more than chickens on their big Moving Day
THIRD BIRTHDAY
We celebrated Farmer/Chef Geoff’s birthday with a plate of chocolate chip cookies at FAC (Friday Afternoon Club) on July 24th.
TWENTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY
July 31 marked twenty-one years of marriage, a triumph of hope over experience and proof that we have stood the test of time. To celebrate, we went out for Italian food at Bella Donna Italian Restaurant right here in downtown Pittsboro. This selfie was taken in the restaurant parking lot by their crepe myrtles. Bob would have been clean-shaven but is in the early stages of a new beard. Camille would have had dark hair if only she were 21 years younger.
July 31, 1994
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THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:
“If you want big happiness, take drugs. If you want small happiness, wake up early. At 6am the world hasn’t had time to make trouble. The birds tentatively sing, The sun tentatively rises in the sky. The day starts small.” Sparrow from Small Happiness in The Sun July, 2015
“I would not have fallen for horses to the degree I have if I could ride my dogs; you go with what you’ve got.” – Thomas McGuane in “Some Horses”
“Friends see most of each other’s flaws. Spouses see every awful last bit.” – Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
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