horse camp

Abby had a fantastic time at horse camp. We were really impressed with how much she learned, and how independent it made her. Here are a few pics from the phone, I will post better ones once I download from the camera.

doppelganger

Checking through some design blogs I daily read, I stumbled across a picture that knocked me out of my chair. It's Abby, but not Abby, since Abby does not own a shirt that says "My dad is a hells angel". Her twin is out there somewhere.

monday

Today is Abby's first day of horse camp. She bounded out of bed this morning, and any worry of her having some anxiety were gone. Crystal said she was beyond excited getting dropped off at the stable. So she should have some great stories to tell this evening.

The weekend found us deep in cherries. Our neighbor has a neglected sour cherry tree and Crystal got it in her head that we should pick some. Our neighbor was more than happy to have me clear much of the forest that had grown up around the tree, just to get near it. A few hours of picking later, we had a significant amount, with even more left on the tree. Crystal did get five jars of jam and an amazing pie. I have a feeling I will be picking more this weekend.

We also did a ton of weeding and mulching in the garden, built an arbor for the beans did some writing, and checked the bees - the Maria hive is almost 90% full on the first honey super, and had a very quiet time with just Abby. Without the other sisters around, the house is strangely quiet.

friday

Back to the blog. For the last week we have had Crystals sister and family in town. Much activity in a few short days. The studio has also been crazy, so I have not had time to post.

The two older girls left with the extended family to stay in Arizona with their grandparents for a few weeks. Not fun for the littlest who did not get to go. I had no idea how much she would miss her sisters, she literally cried for two days straight. I feel terrible for her, but it makes me happy to know they are so close. She has horse camp next week, so I think she will rally around.

For the garden, the weather has been ridiculous. We went from upper 90's to low 60's. Nothing knows what to do. Everything looks a little stunted. On a positive, the cucumbers are finally taking off, as well as many, many sunflowers. Crystal had to replant due to some bad seeds. We also finally have apples on our Granny Smith tree. We've had the tree for about six years with nothing, but this year we have had success. Pie is in our future.