I'm still so excited by our honey. This picture shows the honeycomb. I understand that it actually contains lots of good things for you and its so fun to chew. I remember buying little wax soda bottles filled with flavored water when I was a small child. This is better.

We spent the afternoon doing chores with the dogs. We turned around to get back in the Kabota and Ben and Angel had taken over.

Life is fast paced on the farm this week! We have had fellows finishing up the "bones" of the new barn. It is really amazing to see. The roof is corrogated metal that has been treated to rust like a really old building. We will be siding it so it looks like it's lived her forever. You can see it in the picture above the hay stack.

We pulled honey from the hives. I may be prejudiced, but it is the best honey I have ever tasted. It seems so effortless - keep the little buzzers happy and they give us honey. That cute "bug" in the white suit is our son James. He really enjoyed working with them.

Speaking of buzzers, the picture of the buzzard above was taken down the road. Buzzards have a bad reputation, but I like them. They clean up our messes (dead animals in the road) and are really quite pretty when they fly.

The picture of the semi truck only has ONE tree it (covered with netting) that was delivered yesterday. We actually received 2 of them and the other picture shows the excavator (with my son James at the helm) digging a hole for planting. These mighty oaks are huge. I will show planted pictures later.

I couldn't resist the kittens at play.

The vegetables are getting ripe. We are open for u-pick so come on out and get some tasty veggies with no pesticides and only organic fertilizers. We have LOTS of tomatoes, artichokes, yellow crookneck squash, zucchini squash, fennel, cilantro, cantalopes, potatoes, brocolli, cauliflower, red cabbage, green cabbage, hot peppers, bell peppers and corn to come. Call ahead to make sure we are open (805) 610-1053 or 801-1899.

I never thought that farm life could be so busy, but I also never dreamed it could be so fulfilling.

Good Dogs!

We awoke this Sunday morning to "alarm barking" from Ben and Angel. You need to understand that they spend the night sounding off - that is barking to warn everyone (wild animals) to stay off the farm. When their bark changes in tone and volume, we know that there is something that hasn't heeded their warning.

We had visions of sleeping in until 6:00 today until they sounded their alarm at 5:15. Marvin got out of bed to a little herd of wild pigs heading to our barn. As he ran to get his gun and ammo he yelled "pigs in the yard" and I hopped out of bed (as if I could do anything to help). One nice sized sow down and the others took off to parts unknown. We praised the dogs and took them to see their prey. Angel circled carefully around it while Ben insisted on guarding me. So much for sleeping in. Marvin will need to skin and clean this pig so we can fill the freezer. Nothing is wasted on the farm and fresh wild pork will be good for the nightly summer BBQs.

The photos above show the progress to the new barn as well as the first of our reforesting project. These farms were cleared of trees in the late 1800s and early 1900s in order to take advantage of the maximum number of farmable acres. Now we are trying to reverse this by planting native oak trees in strategic spots. The trees are being delivered by a nursery and will be planted by their experts to assist in their successful adjustment to their new home. The first 6 were delivered this past week and are about 20 feet tall. There will be more delivered in the next few days.

The baby chicks are growing into teenagers and it is pretty crowded around the barnyard. We will be moving them to the fields soon.

The vegetables are really starting to come on. We are expecting a little warmer weather this week and will have many varieties ready for the picking in about 10 days.

My husband has fixed a wonderful smelling farm breakfast, so I will sign off and enjoy the spoils of country living.

By for now.

The California Rare Fruit Growers Assoc.

What an great weekend!

We hosted the annual BBQ for a wonderful group of members of the CRFGA. This organization has given us more knowledge during our monthly meetings than we could have accumulated in the time we've belonged. It is great for large scale growers as well as the person who has one fruit tree in their yard. You must check out their website located on the right side of my blog.

Our good friend Kaliko, her son Cameron and his friend Luke (both Juniors in high school) drove all the way up from Malibu Saturday morning to help us with the preparations. While we were getting everything ready, the boys took care of the chickens and pigs, gathered eggs and put them in cartons.

It has been really hot this past couple of weeks (over 100 degrees) so I was a little concerned. We planned the meeting at 5:00 (first time for a dinner meeting) hoping to capitalize on the afternoon "breeze" that we enjoy. We again were blessed as a cooling trend began on Thursday and the breeze turned into a nice strong wind. We weren't sure of the expected attendees, as we are far away from the southern SLO County members, but were extremely excited to see around 80 people.

Everyone brought a salad or dessert - amazing array of food. Our son James came up and helped Marvin BBQ chicken which was great and the farm also supplied sodas and water.

Our meeting was complete including the viewing of an American flag that flew over a US base is Iraq. It was sent to the chapter in thanks. The CRFGA had sent over olive trees to be planted in their soil to help the healing of their country. What an emotional tribute.

I gave a talk about Wayne's vision when purchasing HZ Harvest Farm and what we are trying to accomplish together.

The attendees were invited to wander amongst the olive orchard, fruit orchard, vegetable fields and barnyard. I think everyone had a great time and many said that they would be returning with family. This is what we really enjoy - sharing the vision.

Marvin and I answered many questions and accumulated more knowledge. It was really a great evening.

All guests left by about 7:30 after helping us clean up. The boys put the animals to bed for us before leaving for their return to Malibu. We owe a great big THANK YOU for their help. It was a really long day for them and we are extremely grateful.

On Sunday we went to Templeton where we purchased the newest member of our flock. His name is Jethro and he is a very handsome Boer goat ram.

I have new pictures of the progress on the barn and will be sharing them with you on our next posting so stay tuned!

Progress!

Well as you can see, our new barn is starting to go up. It is so exciting to see progress like this. It seems like only yesterday that we moved in. Wayne had so many ideas and we have had such a great time making them happen. I'm sure you will be seeing more "in progress" pictures of the barn.

Maybelline looked so darn cute the other day that I had to take a picture. If you are new to the blog, she is one of the 5 heifers that Wayne bought last year from the California Mid State Fair. They were all pregnant and raised by 4H or FFA students. Maybelline was bottle fed, so she is very friendly.

Ben and Angel found out what the pond is for. It has been really hot here for the last week or so and they now know a way to cool off. Angel just walks in and sits down in the water. Ben is more of the the roving type and they get frisky and play when they are cooled off enough.

We went to Templeton's 4th of July parade and festivities on Monday. My grandson Landon enjoyed all the sights and sounds while sitting on his Mama's lap (better known as Melissa). Small town celebrations are just plain good for the soul.

We are hosting the California Rare Fruit Growers Association's BBQ Saturday evening. It's going to be great to have all these experts and amateurs alike come see all the fun that is happening at HZ Harvest Farm. Of course I will post pictures of the fun event for you to see. It looks like the weather is cooling down just slightly for us too.

Veggies are ripening all over the farm. If you are close at all, give us a call and come by for some U-pick. We have all types of things for the picking. The best way to reach us is (805) 610-1053 or (805) 801-1899.

We also have baby hens for sale - same phone number.

Enjoy your weekend!