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We had a hot and happy Independence Day at the farm.  Here, Jen goes off to gather lettuce for a July 4 salad.  Later we climbed Burger Hill to watch fireworks from the towns near the Hudson River.

Sarah read about a book a day.

It’s berry season.  We do not appear to have a great crop of black raspberries, but there will be lots of blackberries and we even found a few red raspberries — which possibly we’d previously overlooked, believing them to be unripe black raspberries.  One way or another, there will be jam.

Sarah sat with her friend Lucy (she calls all chipmunks Lucy).

We had a scorcher of a weekend, but at least it was sunny so we could get the hay in.

On Friday night we had a beautiful sunset as Sarah caught fireflies in a jelly jar.

On Saturday, Sarah had a sleepover at her friend Michaela’s house.  Jen and I stayed up late and showed a movie on the side of the barn.

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Here’s the view through the window screen, which is all the view of the farm we have.  We’ll be back next weekend.

Jen put in a heroic effort in the garden this weekend.  Everything is ship-shape, and we should have a splendid summer, veggie-wise.  To the right of Jen (her left) you can see Sarah’s little rose bush in full bloom.

Grandpa and B.J. visited the farm and indulged Sarah in a game of the aptly named Aggravation.

I planted some Foxlove — Digitalis — which is not merely deer resistant but is in fact poisonous.  Deer: stay away, or else!

Jen and Sarah made good progress planting the garden today.  If the produce gods cooperate, we will have tomatoes (Brandywine (red and black), Paul Robeson (a brandywine variant with a very deep voice), Pineapple Hawaiian, Green Zebra and Aunt Ruby’s German Green, plus Sungold and Sweet 100 cherries), peppers (poblano and red), broccoli, brussel sprouts, cantaloupe, strawberries, cucumbers, pumpkins, lettuce (oak leaf, red sail and baby bibb crunch), rainbow Swiss chard, basil (Italian and opal), parsley, rosemary and lemon verbena.  Next week we hope to put in some soybeans, kale, cilantro, and maybe a few more tomatoes.

By virtue of her membership in the Rhinebeck Soccer League, Sarah marched today in the Memorial Day parade.  She spent most of the time collecting candy thrown from parade floats and fire engines.

At the parade, Jen took this picture of William Sanchez, the town judge, who married us in 2000.

Everyone enjoyed the long weekend.  Here is Sarah at soccer practice with her friend Sophie.

On Sunday we installed the two peach trees that were Jen’s Mother’s Day present.  Jen’s dad inspected our handiwork.

Before we left we cut lots of peonies.

On Saturday, Sarah and her friend Sophie debunked the myth that you can’t use your hands in Soccer.

Here is our first peony of the season — a pink one.  By Sunday, a dozen of them had opened.

Mother’s Day began with breakfast in bed for Jen.  Sarah presented the collage she has been working on, which features pictures of animals and their offspring.

Sarah had a particularly special weekend because her babysitter, Lauren, visited.  She watched Sarah play lots of soccer and went for a ride in the rowboat.

If Sarah looks a little odd in the picture, it’s because after soccer she went to Apple Blossom Day in Red Hook, where she was face-painted as a dog.

It’s probably a little early in the Spring to start gardening, but on Saturday afternoon we visited the Northern Dutchess Botanical Gardens to see what they had.  Sarah seemed skeptical.

She prefers the simpler flowers.

We do have some fancier flora blooming, such as these Allium.

On Sunday, these tire-kicking bluebirds attended our open house, but they have not moved in.

We took a walk this morning.  Here are Jen and Sarah resting in front of the swamp.

A Red Admiral enjoyed the lilacs on Saturday.  They are just starting to bloom.  Unfortunately, the temperature on Saturday night plunged to 23 degrees, and it is forecast to do so again tonight.

We have a bumper crop of herons this spring — there are at least four nests in the swamp.  Here is one heron coming in for a landing.

The bullfrogs will not be happy!