Our crab apple trees have finally bloomed. I mean to say, bloomed for the first time in the 3 years we have lived here. It’s sad we have missed this beautiful display each year because of late freezes. I think the first spring we arrived the trees bloomed (we didn’t live in this house). But coming from lush Maryland this high desert spring couldn’t compare with the one we had left behind. Our yard is quite beautiful in its spring glory.
Some new developments in the Smith home. Zed is walking and Ezra finally decided to play with the counting game I made him for Christmas.

I first became aware of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) while we lived in Boston. My friend Anna and I joined a CSA. We were lucky to have a neighborhood group so we could take turns driving out to the farm, about a 45 minute drive, to pick up the food.

The farm was a 3 acre clearing in the forest directly east of Walden Pond (yes Henry David Thoreau’s Walden Pond). We would first head to the storehouse to collect whatever the farmers had harvested that morning. Everything was displayed in baskets and on tables in this cool shed dug into the side of a small rise. It had three walls in the soil and was always at least 10 degrees cooler than the forest surrounding it.

Next we would harvest the rest of the share. Mind you, we would harvest 8 shares. We would pick raspberries, beans, tomatoes, flowers and bunches of herbs. It all depended on when things were ready. It took about 2-3 hours to pick all 8 shares.

Our girls would help a bit, then run off and play among the herbs and munch on peas or carrots. This is where India learned to eat snap peas. I was amazed! She loved them (why wouldn’t she?) and I soon became a huge fan of working the farm.

One of my favorite memories was picking up our shares on a rainy day in August or September. Zach came to help, since Anna had already moved to NC and I was about 5 months pregnant with Ezra. We had to pick tomatoes, and raspberries. The rain came down in torrents as Zach filled a bag with golden cherry tomatoes. He probably had to pick 8 pounds.

India and I stayed in the car and when the rain began to ease, we jumped out to harvest some raspberries. The sun began to shine from behind the clouds. We were just commenting on our luck when we arrived to the huge raspberry patch. The bushes were well over my head on either side and a loud humming could be heard. The bees had come out to pollinate while the sun shone. India was a bit frightened but I tried to play up the fact that the bees were busy with their thing and wouldn’t be bothering us. She was a brave 3 year old and decided picking (and eating) a few raspberries was worth the risk. It was an ideal setting. The damp air, the warm sun, the humming bees, and the tasty raspberries. I haven’t seen a raspberry patch its equal since.

While in Baltimore, our good friends the Reads worked the CSA. They just happened to move into our ward about 8 months after we did. They actually lived on the farm in a little rundown cottage that would often be plagued with ladybugs. I remember keeping India home from preschool so we could spend a nice day at the farm. On the porch helping Nick split the garlic, getting it ready to plant. We would often compare notes about different CSA’s. My one experience lending a bit to the conversation.

Now here in Denver we have finally joined a CSA. Apparently purchasing a share it is akin to getting your first born into a good Boston school… or camping out to buy concert tickets. Thankfully I remembered to get on the waiting list sometime in February and we actually got in!

It has been nearly impossible to work the 3 hours required for our share each month. India has been really helpful, but the rain, the baby and a groggy preschooler has made us seriously behind. Thursday at I finally remembered to ask how I could fulfill my hours without working the field. I am now making a photographic record of each item of produce for the farm. This is some of what we picked up this week:

My latest project. We’ve got 10 homes for the tour! Any other AA folks want to add their home to the list?
The money earned from the tour will go to the local elementary school’s Victory Garden. We are hoping that this garden will teach the kids all about sustainability, nutrition, science and how satisfying it is to work for food. India was amazed that I pulled 3 zucchini from our garden the other day. She said “It looks just like what we would get at the store!”

I say that not because they donated seeds, starter trays, and pots to our school but because they really are the best.  Friendly, informative staff and they even have popcorn to satisfy the munchies.  They also have great selection and good prices.  Hey, maybe not Walmart prices.  But really, wouldn’t you rather support a local store and have your gardening questions answered?

They are the tops and have been my favorite since I first visited.

I am hosting a family portrait party at Barde Park, near Charles Hay Elementary school just north of Downing and Eastman in Englewood, CO. The proceeds from this day will go to the school’s greening effort. Most importantly, and where my interest lies, is with the school garden. This garden won’t be at the school for another year of so, but I still would like to support this program and help get it going any way I can. This fund raiser I hope will raise the funds needed to keep my dream of kids learning nutrition, sustainability, etc. alive.

Please visit this page to view available times: “Family Portrait Party.”
To book a time you may call, email, or even leave a comment here and I will update the schedule. Since I am manually updating this schedule, your name may not appear on the list for a few hours. This is a first come first served event, so act now!

Ok, after all my talk about natural playscapes, we got a climbing gym.  Although I must say that this piece of play equipment has been in the Arapahoe Acres neighborhood since the 60′s so it seems only proper to carry on the tradition.

So far India loves it.  She is able to jump and swing from several bars, like a little gymnast.  She calls it the climbing sculpture.  Zach calls it the rocket ship and is trying to get Ezra to call it that too.   We’ll see which sticks for him.

I’m just glad there is an official kid-thing in the yard that is more like a sculpture, less like a log cabin (as our neighbor, Ron, called the more standard options).  I am so grateful to our neighbors, Ron and Suzanne, for passing this along to us.  This is really how things ought to be acquired, second hand.

Sadly, the branch house was taken down… but it hasn’t been missed.  Once we hear about it again from the kids, we’ll build it up in another spot.  That apple tree wants to live and can’t with all those branches covering it.  Although the little house was much prettier then that crooked tree.

This week has been filled with all sorts of outdoor activities, just what would be expected for Earth Day week. Yesterday we visited the Botanic Garden and saw all the new growth, daffodils, tulips and even a gardener tagging the plants in the kitchen garden. I had a little chat with him and he gave me some good ideas of what to plant in my garden. He said to take green onions, just the root part, and plant them in the soil. Within a week we should have new growth. Sounds like this would be worth trying.
Monday afternoon a friend came to play. While the kids played outside I began pruning our crab-apple tree. While I was high in the branches the girls began to sort the fallen limbs into usable, blossom, and fix-it piles. Each pile getting ready for the fort they wanted to build. Here is what they came up with… with only a little help from me:

If you look carefully you can see our bent apple tree under the tepee, right between the girls. This is what is holding up the branches.

Ezra got into the action too. All the kids tried and tried to knock it down. The wind was blowing strongly too. I even tried to blow it down, as the big bad wolf of course. It isn’t going anywhere.

This is the first year in my life that I feel like our garden is ours. Well, I guess the year in Baltimore I tried to garden is the summer I broke my foot. No gardening after that. Our tomato plants produced 2 tomatoes, but the basil grew like a weed. I think Baltimore is an easier place to garden, though. So much rain, and the trees are HUGE! Here there aren’t as many huge trees. Our neighbor says trees grow very slowly here because of the altitude. Another neighbor told us that most the trees in the city died from some bug or fungus about 15 years ago. And have you heard that all the pines in the mountains of CO are going to die-off within the next 10 years? Crazy. I guess it is in part because fires are not allowed to burn, so an insect is going unchecked. This is all second hand knowledge. I’m sure someone else would be a more reliable source of this kind of information.
In any case, I would like to share with you a few ideas that I have found to make our yard more interesting for the kids… without having a giant, ugly play structure. I found a few awesome sites dedicated to natural playground design. Most the companies do school design. I found one that shows a residence. Oh, you have to check it out… it is so cool.
We aren’t doing anything quite so fancy, but I would like to embed a slide into our little hill out back. In the mean time, as I sell the idea to Zach, I have spent a small amount of dough on other things… the most expensive being the copper chimes. Don’t get me started on that. The kids better play with them! So far, the most popular thing in the yard has been the dirt. But the dirt is our soon to be garden bed. We have already planted the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings, spinach, swiss chard and some mesculin salad seedlings. Oh and seeds for the salad along with chamomile seeds.
Now for some photos:

These are the infamous wind chimes. Although they only make sound when the kids strike them. I think they look pretty great in the landscape. Using vinegar, I was able to patina them a bit. Not yet green, but at least not shiny copper.

These logs will become a balance beam. These thinner ones will be free for the kids to move where they want.

These will eventually have peas growing over them, creating an edible tunnel. We just have to keep Ezra from pulling them out of the ground.

Since the schools are planting right now, I thought we should get our seeds underway. As it stands, we are going to have a ton of thyme and kale. Anyone need some for their garden? We are happy to share.

This container is what the apples from Costco come in. I always think “what a waste of material.” So have never thrown them out. Now I’ve got a use for them. All I had to do was punch a few holes in the bottom with my awl and tape the edges. Not happy about that, as I can’t reuse that stuff. I Jimmy-rigged this fluorescent lamp ($17 at the hardware store) to our bookshelf without drilling anything into it. I think it will work nicely and can be moved up while the plants grow taller. The cover is already off the Kale… it is much taller than the thyme (pictured here)… and has to be watered every day. I want to get some tomatoes and peppers started also but will need a heat pad for that. I keep meaning to get to the thrift store for an electric blanket to use instead of the $30 heat pad. I love that idea.

The last couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to photograph at two schools as they plant their seeds. Once the frost has past, they will be ready to plant. I think both schools have sewn enough seeds to host a plant sale. This will help fund their garden projects. These two weeks are the perfect time to start seeds, especially if you’d like something grown before school ends in May.
just in case you were wondering how this process works, here is the how-to:

Mr. Andy begins with a story about a girl who plants her garden in the spring. This gets the kids thinking about what is needed to help seeds and plants grow.

Then it’s time to see the dirt. The kids are shown how to fill their pots (or 4-packs) properly, keeping air in the dirt. They are reminded not to pack the dirt, they are not making sand castles. The soil needs to be loose, allowing the tiny roots to spread and grow.

Then kids’ and plants’ names are placed on sticks.

It’s time for dirt!

2 seeds in each section of the 4-pack.

Sprinkle the herb seeds in the single pots… for the K classes.

Mr. Andy has fun with the kids. He is a regular fixture at his school.

Time to clean up! A bucket of warm water for the kids to dip their hands in before they wash them in the sink. Keep the pipes clear of dirt.

While the 3 or 4 kids are sowing seeds, the rest of the class works on their plant journal.