Up To Our Ears...

In TOMATOES!  The gardens are producing now and I am excited that the sunny garden is producing many tomatoes.  Yummy!  We have them in various sizes, from the little grape sized ones to the "Big Beef" variety.  That big one in the picture is about the size of a softball in circumference.  And what you see is just one day of tomatoes.  They are taking over the refridgerator and lining the kitchen windowsills!  I don't know what to do with them because a person can only eat so many tomatoes!  I eat about 1 per day so there are many in excess!  The onions are also abundant.  I asked our neighbor if he liked any of it and he only said he likes onions but not tomatoes...I intend to ask the other neighbors if I can catch them outside. 

I have also been looking into canning various types of tomato products such as marinara sauce or salsa.  I can't decide, though, if it is more trouble than it is worth.  After all, a jar of Prego is less than $2.00 from the store.  But on the other hand, Prego is not made from organically raised tomatoes that we grew ourselves!

Speaking of organically grown, bugs in the garden gross me out.  I know it is just part of the process and I have alot of experience from growing up on the farm and picking an apple that has a hole filled with bees on the other side or rinsing the mosquitos off of fresh raspberries.  It still disgusts me when I reach into the tangled branches of the tomato plants only to grab a mushy, overripe fruit with bugs oozing out the bottom.  I prefer that the fruits and vegetables I buy at the store to have been doused in chemicals to ensure that these creepy things are nowhere near what I am buying.  Chemicals can be washed off!  Fortunately, the onions and peppers and zucchini seem to be unappetizing to insects. 

Speaking of insects, Justin was out mowing the lawn last night and came in after being attacked by a swarm of wasps that have apparently taken up residence in the ground near a retaining railroad tie separating our yard from the neighbor's.  YUCK!  We discovered one of these ground hives in my parents' yard and I have heard of two other people with one in their yard as well.  Justin blasted ours with spray last night and it seems to be taken care of.  I hope it is because I would hate to have Ben get stung by a wasp.  Also, I would hate to be stung by a wasp! 

When I was uploading the pictures of the vegatables I remebered I had these pictures from the weekend.  We were at the farm so Justin could help my dad combine.  On Friday night (or maybe it was Saturday I can't remember...) Justin's sister and her husband and our nephews came out to the field so the boys could ride in the combine. 

Although I don't have alot of patience for tractor riding it is fun to be in the cab and see the wheat getting sucked up, especially the first time as a kid! 

Ben got to hang out with his Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jason!

Dylan got some fresh wheat to chew and make "gum"!  This is a silly thing kids like to do...if you gnaw on a mouthfull of hard wheat for a long time it turns into a wad of flavorless, in my opinon gross, gum. 

My bro was so excited to see me!  Haha JK...

And of course, a cute picture of Ben, completely unrelated to the rest of the post!