Sundays and gardening

Some Sunday evenings are long enough to make scones. Andrea is in the stage of wanting to help with every cooking project. She is a very insistent little girl 

We love scones it is an easy way to end a sabbath day. 

These two lovely ladies although far apart in age are similar in drive and desire to do things and to help mom. How thankful I am for the uniquely talented spirits that bless my life. 

A favorite place to play this summer. I'm thankful for the gift of siblings, both my own and the relationships my own children are developing. While there is plenty of fighting and name calling too but sometimes they are friendly. Both sides are part of growing up and the challenge of summer. 

My garden continues to grow and provide delight. I was so happy to see these little broccoli. We harvested them and put them in the freezer. 

Addie is a critical part of the farm management. She is enjoying the new sprayer this year. I love that it is less hands-on. She keeps the edges of the fields looking nicer. 

A new food experiment is making sauerkraut from culled cabbage leaves. Greg is worried we are going to be very sick from it. I'm not sure we will be brave enough to taste test but I can try and see what happens. The cabbage are also starting to make heads. It is fun to watch the progression from seed to finished product.  

I think the tedium of passing time has been greatly improved by growing plants. Many of these I started in my kitchen in February and early MArch. We also have small tomatoes and the first brave little hollyhock flower bloomed this week. It takes daily watering and weeding as often as we can spare time but it is fulfilling to watch the effort become what we hoped. 

And it gives us time together. And time away from fighting at home. And the weeds are good time users. So we garden, we are growing lots of flowers which I will share next but we are blessed with sunshine, temperate weather, and seeing the power of creation and life in our hands. Work is a fundamental principle of the gospel of JEsus Christ. President Spencer W. Kimball said that "Work brings happiness, self-esteem, and prosperity. It is the means of all accomplishment, it is the opposite of idleness. Work should be the ruling principle in the lives of our church membership."