Life on the Farm

We're at home in Birmingham again - we got back on Wednesday night. Yesterday I basically did nothing - just a quick run to the grocery store.

First of all ... we just found out that Mark's 15-year-old brother, Thomas, has mono. He's been sick for like 2 weeks, and they've gone through a frustrating amount of possible diagnoses - mastoiditis, viral meningitis, Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever (along with all those other awful tick-related coinfections...) We're thankful that he has a diagnosis, and that it isn't as serious as any of those other diagnoses, but it will unfortunately knock him off his feet for at least a month, probably more. This is the first year that he's talked about getting serious about school too - I'm praying he doesn't get behind. Pray for him, will you guys? He's miserable, he sounds awful, he's lost 9 pounds (and he's not got a whole lot more to lose ... in his words, "I worked HARD for those 9 pounds!"), he won't eat, and he's just generally pitiful. Pray that he gets better as fast as possible. And pray for Mark's parents too, that they can be empathetic and handle things well and help him with school while he's at home.

Anyway, while we were in Chattanooga, I did get pictures developed from my time at Hannah's farm. And cause you're all so great, I'll share them with you! (All shot on film.)

looking out over the Gordon farm (or part of it...)

They had 2 gorgeous zinnia gardens - the butterflies absolutely loved those flowers.

According to my sister, this is an Eastern swallowtail. (not an African swallowtail like I called it, in error, before.)

Zinnias! I went home and asked Mark if we could plant some RIGHT NOW. They also look really beautiful in a vase - Hannah let me cut some and take them home for my kitchen table. We had fresh flowers for 4 days!

The lone eggplant. They weren't doing so well this summer.

Concord grapes. They tasted WONDERFUL. And because Hannah's parents farm organically, you can literally pick everything right off the plant and eat it. No pesticides to worry about - only a little dirt sometimes :)

The best raspberries I've ever eaten. They're called Caroline raspberries, and they're an heirloom variety, and they are so, so sweet. And not too many seeds, either!

Apples in Mr. Gordon's orchard

I really love this shot of the barn. My photog skills are getting better!

Swing

Some of the animals - sheep and chickens. The cows were already out in the field - their animals are all quite friendly :)

The friendly-looking tree with a face :)

This is my favorite picture of the bunch - I call it "These boots are made for workin'" I'm so witty, har har :)

Back inside, we wash the fruits of the Gordons' labor. These are Hannah's mom's squash tomatoes.

Beets, beans, and onions - I helped pick all of these!

Squash and some more of Hannah's mom's tomatoes

Beautiful heirloom tomatoes (which I also helped pick) - some of them are sitting in my freezer right now, waiting to be put into tomato sauce and soup!

The view from the kitchen window.

Visiting that farm and seeing all those pretty veggies and happy animals made me so, so delighted :) Hopefully I can have a vegetable garden one day - maybe not quite of those epic proportions, and I'm not sure I want cows, but it was so fun to visit!

P.S. Remember to keep poor Thomas in your prayers! He's pretty pitiful at the moment.