The Key to Happiness

 A couple months ago, my second son lost our spare house key. We searched in the area where he heard it drop, but no luck. Then recently my third son pulled it out of a bag of compost while we were gardening at our school garden. Of course I couldn't pass up the symbolism. The key to our home was hidden in a bag of old life that had been turned into nutrients for new life. And we only found the key because we chose to add those nutrients to the garden together. I just heard today of a study saying that vegetables not only help your physical health, but your emotional health. To that finding I add my own observation: tilling, planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, cooking and eating our food together builds a foundation for happiness. The key? Using our past--the good and bad--to nourish a healthy today.

 Purple beans from the Children's Garden! Can you spot the hummingbird in our Texas Hummingbird Sage?

A variety of peppers, squash and tomatoes. We are also harvesting corn, melons, cucumbers, herbs, eggplant and more.

Still Growing Strong!

Work began whole hog in mid February and we are still going strong. Here are some recent pictures, including our 2nd annual Pioneer Party, held July 21st

Over 60 guests enjoyed this free event. Fiddle music, by one of our young gardeners, set the perfect tone for the evening. People of all ages enjoyed a variety of activities. We churned butter and sampled it on bread donated by Fiana Bistro. Local volunteers taught how to spin wool, make yarn dolls and save heirloom seeds. We played the clothespin drop and stick wrestling. To top it off we ate hand-churned ice cream, old-fashioned candy and watermelon donated by Smiths and a local candy maker. Of course we included the event that sparked this tradition: planting our pioneer crop. Why? In memory of the Mormon Pioneers who entered Utah in July of 1847, we plant near that date to see if we would have had food to eat, were we in their shoes (for those who still had them--and some eventually had to eat those too!)
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