~ New~ Harvest Homestead ~

  'New' to me, but certainly not 'new' beans.
These are Fremont Beans.
These are heirloom beans that date back to the Fremont people.
They are a 'new to me' bean that is from a local 'new to me' company: https://heirloomsandmore.com/

Near our new town, there is a great farm that grows wonderful beans, and produce, and herbs, etc. 

They are sold at a farmers market, which is where I bought the beans in bulk.

I made 'refried' beans with these beans and made them in the Instant Pot.
I added onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and a little cilantro. Once they were cooked tender, I blended them with the stick blender and seasoned them to taste with sea salt and pepper.

We had company for dinner Sat. and we served these beans along with chicken street tacos and they were a huge hit!

I'm so happy to have found this great farm and have linked the website above.

New views.

The picture below is overlooking our new backyard.
We are on just over a half an acre. 

About half of the backyard is grass (newly hydro~seeded)

and the other half of the backyard will be a potager style garden. 

My sweet husband has the tiller out and is working the soil.

Our house is located in a newer subdivision that was built on an old farm.

In fact, the folks that owned the farm live just a hop and skip away, and they are very happy and proud to have developed this subdivision.

 One of my favorite things about our new house is the nightly sunset shows. 
Every night, we have the most spectacular sunsets.

 We placed our wood swing on the patio, and it has become our new nightly routine to swing and watch the sunset.

New name for our home: Harvest Homestead

 New:
 ~We've planted 6 new trees. 
~My sweet husband has continued to place the privacy slats into the fence.
~ We have a 'new' clothesline. A friend was moving and offered to let us have their clothesline. It's now installed and I just need to give it a new coat of paint and new line, then it will be perfect.
~New this week: I pulled my car into the garage... hee hee.. finally after weeks of putting things away and emptying boxes out of the garage, I was able to make room for my car... Yay!

Wishing you all a happy week. 
I hope you are all enjoying the last weeks of summer.

All around The Cottage..

 A crooked smile.
Amazing.
She is one of our new hens that we received in June.
When it looked like her beak was growing crooked, we had her beak clipped.
It's supposed to help.
It didn't.
Her beak just keep growing as crooked as can be.

 We decided that perhaps, she might have to be a meat chicken, and become Sunday dinner.
We watched her, and made certain that she was growing at the same rate as the other chicks.
Watched all the chicks to make certain that she wasn't being singled out, and picked on.

In fact.. she's doing terrific.
She's the same size as the other chickens, perhaps just a tad larger.
She has figured out how to deal with her disability just fine.
She eats mash, drinks water, and is able to eat fresh veggies just fine.
The final decision: she'll probably be a great egg layer.
Besides, she adds personality to the barn.
What name would you give her?? Let me know.

Giant pumpkins growing in the pumpkin patch.
This is a variety that is supposed to reach at least 100 pounds.
They are all well on their way to reaching that weight.

Spencer estimates that they are in the 60 pound to 75 pound range at this time.
It seems that we have about four of them. 
Although, with the vines sprawling everywhere, it's a bit hard to tell for sure.

We also have some 'Jack O' Lantern ' pumpkins.
I guess that there are about a dozen or so of them growing.
The nights are getting cooler.. but I think we need a few more weeks of hot weather during the daytime in order for all the pumpkins to reach maturity.

Amazing to me that such a huge pumpkin grows from such a dainty flower.



We've been working on the courtyard.

The area between the garage, granary and barn and patio will be a wonderful courtyard.

We had a smaller patio poured in the courtyard when they poured the front walkway.

It's about 10x10 and we have an old swing that we are renovating to place on that patio.

We have planted all perennials and a drip line will water everything.





We still have a lot to do to finish up the courtyard.
We still need to rototill some of the ground, paint the fence, build a porch on the granary, and re-install the doorway where it was originally...facing the courtyard.
Plant a lot more perennials, and lay down week block cloth and spread more pea gravel.
Also, the swing needs to be completely dismantled, and boards replaced, and the whole swing painted.
Then .. I'm sure that this will be one of our favorite places to be.
Where it's quiet,and we can enjoy the view of the homestead.
A lot of reading and star gazing will be done in the courtyard.
A bit of singing too.

**To see what else we've been up to.. feel free to visit my other blog... "Cottage On Main"

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for a long conversation with a dear friend yesterday.
She is taking care of her husband, while he battles cancer. It was so nice to visit with her, and hear her pour out her emotions. She's really like my sister, and I am so grateful for her.
~I'm grateful that Spencer and my sweet husband were able to go fishing yesterday. They caught some dandy sized fish. Perfect for a late summer meal on the patio. Love grilled trout , with lemon and butter.
~I'm grateful that all of our kids are loving school. They are pursuing their educations and goals.

Medlar

 Medlar.
New to me.
I read about it in this catalog, http://www.treesofantiquity.com/

 According to the catalog, medlar is an old fashioned type of fruit.
Growing in climates that get down to -25 degrees.

 "Taste of yesteryear.... revered for it's ornamental value, delicious unique fruit.
Texture and flavor reminiscent of spiced applesauce and pear".

 "Revered for their ornamental value".

"Medlar fruit is about 2 inches in diameter, soft brown in color, and born from large , beautiful white flowers".

'It can be eaten fresh, cooked, roasted or in pies and jellies".
Upon further research, I found that a lot of people make jelly with Medlar fruit.
Many people commented what an amazing thing it is, that the jelly turns out such a beautiful rosy color, when it is made from brown fruit.

We are striving to grow heirloom varieties of plants on our homestead.
Including , trees, shrubs, flowers and garden plants.
In the Spring, we are putting together and order from this catalog (see above for link), and I would appreciate any opinions on ordering Medlar trees.
Has any one grown Medlar?
Tasted Medlar fruit?
Tasted Medlar jelly?

Thanks so much for your thoughts and opinions about Medlar fruit.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that the landfill is open today, and more grateful that Brooke and Spencer were able to get a truck load of yard debris, and old sidewalk concrete taken to the landfill.
~I'm grateful that my sweet husband and I had a chance to go for an ATV ride last night, and more grateful that we beat the rain storm home.