Pumpkins

We have never had much success growing "real" pumpkins, but several years ago we were given some neck pumpkin seeds and we have grown them ever since. Neck pumpkins are similar to butternut squash, except they're much larger and taste just like other pumpkins.

Daddy and the boys picked about 50 pumpkins this week and there are still more out there to be picked. We have been busy putting them up.

Boiling the pumpkin

After the pumpkin is boiled, we mash it and bag it for the freezer.

Some of us like to eat the mashed pumpkin with butter and cinnamon.

Next year's seeds

Here is one of our favorite pumpkin recipes. This is the best cornbread you will ever eat!

Pumpkin Cornbread

1 c. cooked pumpkin puree

3/4 c. cornmeal

1 egg

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/2 c. frozen or fresh kernel corn

1/4 c. oil

Beat egg slightly, then beat into pureed pumpkin. Add the other ingredients and mix well. Pour the batter into hot, oiled skillet and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Our Produce Stand

Last night's sunset

The Green Beans Are Ripe!

This week we picked 4 bushels of green beans on Wednesday and 4 bushels on Friday! Some children from our church were spending the day with us, so we had lots of help snapping them.

Will (5) is a very fast snapper!Amanda and Bethany (17 months)Bethany enjoyed eating the beans. :)This is what the kitchen counter looked like after we were finished snapping the beans. Some of the beans were in jars already.Here's what the cabinet looks like after just 2 pickings of beans. Rebekah canned 125 quarts!

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. ~Genesis 8:22

Our Garden Is Growing!

Blackberries!

Look at this big berry!Here is some of our corn (and cucumbers to the right).This is early corn, so it tassels when it is still very short. One of our fields of peas - the bags are to frighten the deer.Tilling the beans

We love having this tiller! It really cuts down on the time it takes to get our fields clean.TomatoesCantaloupesWatermelons

A mocking bird sitting in the wild plum trees

This field is behind our house; we lease it to someone else. I love the look of freshly plowed soil!

Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side...and some fell upon stony places... and some fell among thorns...but other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. ~From Matthew 13:3-8

Enjoying Spring!

Planting the fields earlier this weekThe garden from a bug's perspective :)David sorting through the seedsThe azaleas are bloomingA stormy skyTennessee's state flower - the iris Stuart gets a bath!A beautiful butterflyBlackberry blossom Blueberries Baby bluebirds