6th Annual Strawberry Day

(Give or take a year.)

2011

 

2006

April 19–Carlton Farm

One of our spring field trips was to this picturesque dairy farm.

The tour included milking and egg sorting demonstrations and lots of time to pet baby animals.

 

Our friends the Spaughs and Barias

 

Meg could have stayed by this little calf’s pen all day.

 

At the farm we bought a gallon of raw milk for about $7 (I hear that is a great price) which they sell “for pets” (in Georgia it is illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption). The farmers and several friends of ours tout the health benefits of drinking unpasteurized milk. So under the influence of all the fresh air and green grass I decided to bring some home. The kids thought it was wonderful (that was just because it had all the fat in it), but all kinds of other people said, “Um, you really shouldn’t be drinking that.” Well, I’m just enough of a rule follower (ok, I’m completely a rule follower) that I started having second thoughts. Of course you can find loads of facts and anecdotes to support both sides. But then one of the kids began to complain of a stomach ache, so I dumped the rest of the milk down the drain! I know, I know people have been drinking milk straight from the cow (goat, etc.) for millennia but, at least for now, I guess I’m not one of them.

Viburnum!

I have always wanted viburnum in my own yard. A few years ago I bought one small bush and now every spring I can cut several large vases full. Love it!

Shortly after these pictures were taken our cousin Josh finished the last phase of the kitchen remodel. The walls are a lovely, soothing, light green and the cabinets are white/off-white with a dark brown glaze in the grooves. If anyone in the north Metro-Atlanta area is looking for construction/remodeling/handyman services, please call us to get Josh’s number. He is the best!

Caleb at the Nature Center

I think I’ve posted pictures of the Dunwoody Nature Center before. It’s a nice place to be in the woods and only about 5 miles away. This time we ate lunch and the kids played in the creek for a little while, but then Nate gashed his foot on a broken root in the path, so we had to head home early.

Blueberries

My mom gave us some blueberry bushes this year. As part of a gardening/nature week in school we planted them in these pots and situated them on the deck. Since I’m posting this over four months after the fact I can report that the plants have grown and we actually picked several handfuls of fruit from them, spread out over many weeks, of course. Every few days someone would conduct a berry check and would ceremoniously pass around the allotment from that particular harvest – usually one berry each. This fall we hope to put them in the ground and get a larger crop next year.

Spring Centerpiece

This is one of my favorite table decorations we’ve ever had. We save the bird nests from year to year; as young children Philip and I painted the ceramic bunnies while visiting Aunt Irene and family in Ohio; our yard is full of great little blooms in April; these “permanent” eggs were on clearance the craft store last spring. We were able to enjoy this all month simply by refreshing the flowers every few days.

 

Table for Two

I scored big points with this episode (1) mac & cheese and (2) raspberry crystal light (3) eaten outside. This picture captures several endearing traits that make me laugh: Their lunch spot in the bushes under the oak tree where they periodically have an entire hobo camp set up (apologies to the neighbors)…Meg’s mismatched shoes…Nate’s habit of riding his bike for five minutes and keeping his helmet on for the rest of the day…and the not-pictured attraction off to their left—Caleb running around the front yard in his underwear.