Finally! We have a flag pole with a flag flying on the corner! Grandkids were here and help Grampa get the pole painted and up. He put large pink trashbags on them and said they had more paint on the bags than on the pole. Then they all went out and raised the pole - looked just the like photo of Iowa Jima! I'm not sure who is more proud of it - me or the grandkids!

Gals from Heritage of Elmwood Nursing Home

Great weekend! Had grandson, Kal, overnight and some old friends from Illinois here on Sunday evening. In between raindrops we went through a lot of raspberries. We watched a lone turkey wandering up and down one side of the patch eating berries as he went. Attempts to discourage this pesky bird probably won't work - a turkey is too dumb to be intimidated!

BURGUNDY CREAM PIE
In sauce pan mix the following:
1 cup each of raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar mixed with 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
Bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Cool.

In small bowl mix until well blended and smooth:
3 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar.

Spread cream cheese mixture on bottom of 9" baked, cooled pie crust.
Carefully spoon cooled berry filling on the top. Chill.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries.

Strawberry season is over...so short...so fast. We had about 1/4 of the usual amount of berries as so many were lost to cool, wet weather. Kal & Kade picked 7 pounds of red raspberries this morning so we are going into full swing with them. So many of our usual customers didn't get any strawberries or got just a few so we are hoping we can make it up with raspberries.
Tom just finished planting the last round of sweet corn so summer is officially here. Well keep you posted on what we have and when.

We're into the second week of picking strawberries and are quite amazed and pleased with the berries since it was so cool and rainy. There have been lots of berries that spoiled but we've tossed those and found plenty of beautiful ones. The season will not last as long as usual; we anticipate picking through the middle of next week. Grandkids picked red raspberries over the weekend - a least 3 weeks earlier than normal! Raspberries will definitely be a bumper crop. There are a few blueberries ripened but they are always slow to start. Back to the patch...more later...

Day 4 of picking; however today looks like we will pick in the sunshine. All the promises of a warm sunny day yesterday didn't come true until mid-afternoon. The berry patch is so wet. The kids have managed to pick plenty of berries in spite of it and the berries are beautiful. Hopefully the next week will be better and the U-Pick folks can get their share. Our pickers are about the same age - all will be freshman except one. It is so good to see young people who really want to work and can have fun at it.
Potato bugs have invaded the potato plants. They can eat the leaves in a flash. No telling what will happen there. This seems to be developing into an annual curse, not just here but all over. I think it's related to the locust plague. Fortunately the bug is not bright and eats only the potato leaves.
Megan (Jane's oldest) has been here all week. What a delight she is. We took berries downtown yesterday and she enjoyed selling them and figured out the counting change part. I think she was pretty hard to resist for some because she got a few tips. She does like the $$$$$$$$$.
Tomorrow evening we are hosting the rehearsal dinner for Erin Klatt and Bill Burns. Erin's parents are among our best friends. It will be a small group and should be lots of fun. Bill chose Mexican food with related beverages (sangria and dos equis). Saturday is the wedding. Hope it's a nice warm, sunny day.

Rainy week but we are ready to begin picking strawberries on Monday. We could use some sun and warm but won't complain as we needed the rain so badly. All the garden looks wonderful. No matter how much watering is done, none makes the difference that a good rain can make. Raspberries are blooming again (the second bloom?) and look like they will make a bumper crop. The grapevines are loaded with little green grapes. Blueberries are loaded - hope the turkeys stay out! We're anxious to dig that first hill of baby red potatoes and are waiting for our friend, Kai, to bring some fresh peas. The next few weeks will be very busy but so much fun. No more snoozing after the alarm goes off, at least for a while. (Retirees aren't supposed to use alarm clocks. Someone forgot to tell that to Tom!)
Hope to see you in the patch!

June 1 and it's a beautiful day. Garden is planted. Corn is up. Strawberries are blooming. Raspberries are just beginning to bloom. Blueberries are loaded! Had an inch of rain Sunday. Patrick and Jaime are officially engaged. To quote a little Robert Browning:

The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn:
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled:
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his heaven-
All's right with the world!

It's official!!!! Spring is here. Just finished planting tomatoes (4 kinds), peppers (3 kinds), cabbages (red and kraut), brussel sprouts, basil, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, lemon grass, leeks, and repotted some herbs I had in the window of the sun room. In 3 weeks I will plant cucs, squashes, and the rest of that family. They will be moved to the green house shortly and the fun begins again. It's totally rejuvenating to plant the seeds, watch them grow and know that we will enjoy the "fruits of our labor." Sounds kind of corny but to this city kid, it will always be a thrill.

Back to that cottage cheese. Somehow not everyone found that to be a great event. One son thought it was rather funny, the other asked if there was a shortage of cottage cheese at the store. One daughter can't wait to try it herself, the other just smiles and knows Mom is having a good time. Seriously, there are so many things in this world that I want to do and try before I die. Later this week we are making butter. I remember doing that at Grandma's when I was a kid. Brother, Mike, always got to churn more than Gerry and I. Come to think of it, Gerry probably got to churn the least. Oh, well. And, I didn't mention that Lisa and I made mozzarella when she was here. It was delicious. Come on over and I'll give you a lesson.

March 24 - four days into spring - about four weeks from our first asparagus cutting. So far we have been unseasonally warm and sunny. March has always been wet snow and awful wind; maybe there is some truth to global warming!
The kitchen cupboards, floor and counter tops are in and beautiful. Tom did a super job finishing the wood-it's like satin. There is still a lot of trim work to finish but that will have to wait until a rainy day. Right now Tom is up to his ears in lambs, maple syrup, and garden prep. The next 4 months will be hectic but we are looking forward to it.
I spent a week in Feb. at the Mooses while Mike and Lisa took a cruise to celebrate his milestone. The boys and I spent every minute we could wrapped up in the Olympics or going to their basketball games. Fortunately, a friend of Lisa's, Kathy, was my guide. Nice week.
Mike and Lisa then came up here for the weekend of the 14th to begin my birthday celebration and leave the boys while they were on spring break. This week we got wrapped up in March Madness (not with very good bracket picks!) although the boys spent a lot of time in the woods with Grampa setting up sap lines or in the barn with the lambs. It was a good week.
Convincing my children that I did not want a big celebration for the big 7 -0 was a trick. They settled for grilling at the Duvicks with tiramisu for dessert - perfect! While Mike and Jenny were in Florida, Jaime and Pat in Portland and Mike Moose at work, the rest of us had a wonderful evening. Be watching for a picture of my birthday present! More on that later!
The 22nd finally arrived and surprisingly it didn't hurt a bit! Neighbor, Joe, and I made cottage cheese for the first time - it was delicious! Tom and I went out for lunch at our favorite German restaurant (wish I had that meatball recipe with caper mustard sauce) and then bought the flag to go on our flagpole in the front yard. So many emails with good wishes arrived during the day that I had to wait until later in the evening to enjoy all of them!
Plan for the day is to start planting tomatoes, etc., and get the green house ready to go. I already have lettuce ready in the sunroom and lots of herbs about 3 inches high. Spring is here. The winter was hard but somehow we forget that when spring finally arrives.
Enough for now. Someone told me blogs were supposed to be short and concise. Ha!
More later.

Some one once told me that wisdom comes with age. That is not guaranteed! Here we are, tearing up the kitchen (again) to add new cupboards and countertop. And, I find it amazing how many suggestions and criticisms one can get without ever asking a question! My favorite comment is "I'd never do that!" Anyhow, it's exciting to know that the kitchen will have a facelift and that it will be done before asparagus time! Now if we can just work on facelifts for the two old folks that live here, we will be in great shape!

Happy New Year! A little late but still well meant! Our holiday season was wonderful - we spent Christmas in Kansas with the Mooses and enjoyed a TranSiberian Orchchestra Concert and delicious baby back ribs from Mike's smoker. New Year's was actually our family Christmas at the Duvicks with all but Patrick and Jaime (that's a tough season for them to travel.) One of the highlights of the whole 2 weeks was a sleigh ride as you can see from the pictures. It was so cold but such a beautiful day and truly an adventure for all of us - one we hope to repeat next year.
We spent the weekend after New Year's at the annual Berry Growers Conference at Chula Vista in the Dells. As usual, we learned at lot, ate way too much, met some really nice people and caught the spring fever virus! Our seed order has arrived, the new strawberry and blueberry plants are on order, the garden plan is determined, and if the snow would go away and the weather would warm up, we would be outside right now! Two months and a week and spring will actually be here; however, spring in Wisconsin is hardly ever predictable. We do know that by the end of April, first of May, we will be enjoying asparagus, and I will be looking for new recipes. After that the fun begins with the strawberries and trying to stay ahead of the vegetable garden.
There's still time left before gardening to finish lots of projects - knitting, kitchen, shelving in the shop, lambing - enough to keep us busy and make us wonder where the time went!
Be watching for the annual newsletter in the mail, email, or here.
Back later!