Field of weeds

I've been working some hours at the farm where we are getting our CSA share this summer. (For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a CSA is where you purchase a share in a farm and then you receive a box of produce every week.) This morning, I "weeded" a row of potatoes.

When the farmer took me out to the field, she asked if I knew what a potato plant looked like. When I said "no," she showed me a plant and described in great detail all its features. It was pretty obvious which were the potatoes as they were about 18" high and the scraggly weeds were only about 8". I wondered why she was going on and on about the looks of the plant until I realized that the row I was looking at was already weeded. The other rows were a tangled mess of weeds about 18" high covering 12" high potato plants.

My job was to extricate the plants from their tangled prisons so that they could see the sun. Without sunlight, some of the plants had already died and others were stunted. I worked 1-1/2 hours and I only got through one row. I think I now understand why some farmers use roundup-ready veggies, much as I detest the practice. I've never seen such a crop of weeds in my life as are in the fields at this farm.

Last week I spent my farm morning washing mixed greens. There were 3-4 of us working for 3 hours and we only got through 3 boxes of the greens because we had to spend so much time picking out the weeds and grasses that had been harvested along with the salad mix.

The farm is organic so no weed-killer allowed, but I wonder. Isn't there a better way? Wouldn't it be more efficient to weed the rows of potatoes when the weeds were little? Isn't it easier to weed the mixed greens before you harvest them? This is this particular farmer's first year so it seems to me that she's learning some things the hard way, but what do I know. Has anybody out there run a sizeable organic farm and can you tell me if farming organically is really supposed to be this much work?

His father's son

The other day, Munchkin asked me why he doesn't have a toy roller truck. I answered, "I don't know if I've ever even seen a toy roller truck, but maybe you and Daddy can figure out how to make one."

Munchkin thought on this a minute and then he said, "We'll need a lathe."

Like father like son. But then, after thinking some more, Munchkin showed that he's his mother's son, too. He asked, "Is there anyone that we could borrow one from?"

That evening at dinner Munchkin told Scott, "I want to make a roller truck. We'll need to use a lathe two times because I want a double drum compactor."

Love song

Heard through Munchkin's bedroom door at 7am (very loudly): Love! Love! Love! Love!...

Scott opens the door.

Munchkin (shouts): You can't come in! I'm not done with my love song!

Scott: I just want to give you a hug.

Munchkin (slams the door, leaving Scott outside): Love! Love! I love you! Love! I love you! Love! Love!...

Do you think Munchkin's missing something in the concept?

Long time no post

Thanks to all of you who are still out there -- no, I haven't fallen off the deep end or anything. I've just not been taking much time for blogging recently, and I haven't even answered some recent comments. Thanks, you guys, for stopping by and commenting anyway!

We are still deciding whether to move. House hunting is fun, but very stressful and time consuming, too. We had an engineer look at a potential problem at our present house last night and he told us that we need to tear up almost the whole backyard to fix it. And we thought the new roof would be the biggest expense!

I've received requests for more cute Munchkin stories. Maybe in a day or two. We heard the tragic news this morning that the 5-year-old cousin of one of Munchkin's little friends was killed in a freak car accident last night. Munchkin has also played with the cousin, but insists he doesn't remember her. I think it's his way of coping. It's hard to focus right now, but I wanted to share.

So anyway, thanks everybody for hanging in there with me. If we really get going with this house thing, my posting might be sporadic for a while, but I'm still here.

Too smart for his own good

The other evening at dinner, Munchkin savored a big spoonful of Cool Whip that was left over after he'd eaten all his strawberries. (OK, it's not exactly local, or organic, or even containing any nutritional value whatsoever, but sometimes it's just fun.) Scott commented that someday he'd show him another use for that spoonful. Anticipating Cool Whip splattering the kitchen, I glared "don't you dare." Scott responded that if he didn't tell, someone else would.

Munchkin, of course, pressed to know what Daddy was talking about. When Scott told him he'd have to wait until he was a little older, Munchkin thought for a moment and then said confidently, "I'll ask Grandpa."

Annual shopping trip

Not far from where we live, there is a community that has an annual group garage sale -- group meaning about 130 houses. I keep a wish list and mark the date on my calendar.

This year, my list was slightly different than it was last year. I did so well finding clothes for Munchkin last year that I didn't need much, but I did need a few things for him, especially toys and activities. In the past I've been so successful finding everything on my list that this year I took "orders." Scott wanted a kayak, sports car and a popcorn popper and Munchkin wanted more Legos, Lincoln Logs, fingerpainting supplies and blue shirts (the color firemen wear).

Cash in hand, I set off Saturday morning to see what I could find. The selection was very different this year from previous years. Everybody was selling furniture -- tables, chairs, beds, sofas, sofabeds, freezers, entertainment centers, desks, china cabinets, end tables, and I even saw two kitchen sinks, one of which was complete with cabinet. If you need furniture, check out garage sales this summer.

I didn't need any furniture so I came home with:

For Munchkin: jacket, vest, shoes, mittens, snow bibs, 6 pairs of socks, Candyland, 3 puzzles, a toy truck, fingerpainting paper, washable markers, more Lincoln Logs, and 3 blue shirts.
For Scott and me: 1 video, a popcorn popper and a pizza peel

I found Scott a like-new kayak, but he decided he didn't want it badly enough to pay $50 for it. The sports car was even more expensive. :) Also, I learned that no one sells their Legos. The pizza peel cost one dollar, so I purchased my breadbaking stone and peel for under $5. I don't dare tell my friend who bought new and paid over $60. Her stone broke, but my $3.79 tile is holding up just fine.

In all, an enjoyable way to spend a morning and a mere 20 bucks.

You try to raise a green kid...

But then he dumps out his barrel of Lincoln Logs, gets his construction equipment and plays "logging show." For days.

On a brighter note, this morning at a friend's house, he removed all the decorative wire fencing surrounding her flower garden and put it in the "recycling bin." He said he was cleaning up.

Walkabout

I stumbled across a cool website as I was browsing online for houses. The site (http://www.walkscore.com/) will rank an address on a 1-100 scale of how easy it is to walk to the grocery store, library, etc. It's not perfect, but it seems to be a pretty good guage. Our house ranks a measly 25. How about you?