The Dutoit Farm I

The farm house (with front patch that will be a soccer field next
year), house from rear with Patricia and farm cat, the seed house, the
smoke house and the new silos. Today Patricia and I investigated and
speculated about the big red barn and checked out the amazing old root
cellar. The place is full of dreams and schemes and enough scraps from
decades-old old dreams and schemes to help build the new ones. Today
for lunch we had summer fruit and broiled open face tomato cheese
sandwiches under an ancient weeping willow. I hear the Jewish phrase
"Next year in Jerusalem" ringing in the back on my head as I wonder
how our future farm will be different and the same. And, will it
really be next year?

At the Dutoit's in Colorado!

You can expect quite a few posts in the next few days as we enjoy the
gorgeous country just outside of Berthoud, CO. (Pronounced "bertha"
with a D at the end.) Their farm is over a hundred years old and
surrounded by green corn fields and amber waves of grain. Pictures to
come. Today it's raining so we went to a free movie then to a magic/
juggling pirate show here at the library. The kids loved it, even the
too-cool tween sitting back by me had a smile on his face. Kudos to
Ann Lincoln the magic pirate juggler. Thanks to Patricia for her
hospitality and a very fun day!

Enjoying what comes vs. Pursuing Pleasure/Avoiding Pain

I know this quote is common, but I thought of it this morning and it seemed more true than ever.

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. 
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Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." 
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~ Gordon B. Hinckley

The quote of the day

This one really hit home today:

“… It is not possible to make real change all by ourselves. Our own willpower and our own good intentions are not enough. When we make mistakes or choose poorly, we must have the help of our Savior to get back on track. We partake of the sacrament week after week to show our faith in His power to change us. We confess our sins and promise to forsake them.”3

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president.

Red Butte Gardens

How come I've never been to this place? It reminds me of the arboretum
in LA we used to frequent so often. The roses were amazing and the
whole place smelled divine. (Thanks, Claritin!). Got some rare
chatting time with Sis. in law Carla visiting from Las Vegas and the
kids got in some serious green time. Heading home to slave away on the
computer before doing the Tae Kwon Do drill at 4.

Kids, you've officially been parented today, so don't be coming to me
asking for more! :-)

Mueller Park Hike

Green time over screen time is my goal this summer. The TV has been
ordered off and I'm trying to schedule more time in the mountains.
Today we had cousins from two sides and a friend of Ben's, Matt, who
has gone with us twice now and says he's hooked on hiking.

I didn't know if I'd be up to it because I was working in the garden
seven hours again and feel like someone took to me with a baseball bat
in the night. Yoga twice a week after the kids go to bed has been such
a welcome thing, but apparently not enough to prevent the aches of
overexertion.

But it went just fine and now I'm home and can finally really get into
the checklist I abandoned earlier in the week. I just need to remember
that the overly ambitious Monday checklist I write each Sunday is
actually for the whole week. Checklist living is kind of a drag anyway.

The Buddha said, "Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the
future. The past no longer is, the future has not yet come. Looking
deeply at life as it is in the very here and now, the practitioner
dwells in stability and freedom."

It's easier to think that way out in the green, isn't it?

The best laid plans

Today I had no less than 13 things on my list to do, probably
totalling 20 hours of tasks, from the chaos which is my post-Fathers
Day weekend kitchen to lunch with old friends, planting, work on three
different websites and five errands to keep business and home running
smoothly. But bad mom took kids swimming last Friday and forgot
Lucy's earplugs, so if I am to keep the screaming and crying away
until the doctor can see her I have to sit perfectly still right here,
sandwiched by my two youngest, with Dora on the laptop.

I've been working on practicing the idea that the key to happiness is
to expect nothing and want only what I have, and it's working. I
actually am enjoying this time with my little ones. I can't consider
them distractions after all, since they are the point of me being home
now in the first place.

Plus, one-thumbed blogging is a good lesson in patience. :)

Kaysville East Wilderness hike

Loved this place. Easy, kid-friendly hike, gorgeous view and greenery.
Highly recommend. Great for the soul.

Wheeler Farm field trip

Lucy's birthday

Lucy's birthday: Ensign peak hike

Saturday is a special day

It's the day we slave away in the garden for nine hours yet still not

finish! I have some more corn and my melon and giant pumpkin plants

are ready to go in but waited so long to do it the weeds had come back

since David last tilled. Much gratitude goes to Bro. Ferrin, who

hardly knows me, but enthusiastically retilled it, calling the hour of

physical labor on a Saturday "better than Prosac." I'd have to agree.

Physical work outside has been a bastion against the crazy for three

gardening seasons now.

I had read that you can plant radishes with carrot and beet seeds 
because they ripen so fast that when you pull them it spaces the other 
root veggies as they start to get going.  I won't be trying this again 
because 1. Really, who can eat the six buckets of radishes that 
result?  I used six in a salad last night and not even the chickens 
could finish off the rest. 2. By the time I finally got out there to 
rescue the patches from the speedy weeds, some of the radishes were 
gigantic mutants. 3.  Pulling up the weeds and radishes stressed the 
carrots and beets and half couldn't  stay up without all that radish/
weed support. So here are some monsters.

Potato flowers. Supposedly they are ready to start eating when they 
flower. To store or get the nice hard skin, you leave them a few weeks 
after the plants die. Looking forward to digging me up a treat.

Mayflower pole beans. This variety was actually on the boat!

Inca rainbow corn from Bakers Creek Rare Seeds.

I love getting back in the dirt. Joblessness is sweet!  Thanks Dave!  
(And Happy Fathers Day!  I adore you!)

Sophie's Locks of Love

Arizona Retreat II

I haven't been to Arizona since I was a kid. But I've got to be
honest, I've been totally down on desert living and thought I would
never think of living in such a place. But this short weekend away
has actually changed my mind. This place is lovely. And the dry heat
feels amazing after a long, cold winter.

We are here for the miraculous and beautiful reunion and remarriage
of David's older brother Mike and his once and again wife Michelle.
The whole day was an amazing experience of love and forgiveness and
restoration. I've never been to a marriage where you knew that the
couple knew what they were committing to. This marriage was the most
moving I'd seen because they both were going in with full
understanding of each others faults and how hard marriage can be, and
 choosing to do it again. God bless you both, M&M.

Dave and I are about to eat local agritopia food at Joe's Farm
Grill. The sweet potato fries with pineapple serrano sauce and my
fontina burger, plus my way-hot male companion here, tell me it's
time to quit blogging on the iPhone.

The wedding theme was spot on..."Life is sweet."

Arizona Retreat