of the school year that is.
With just 2 weeks and 2 days left in the school year, things have really been busy. That isn't to say that things on the homefront are being totally ignored, because the lean-to is looking rather spiffy these days, or at least on the way to looking spiffy. The garden is growing lettuces, turnips, rutabaga, carrots, beans and lots and lots of sunflowers. We also have some volunteer mystery squash and tomatoes from last year coming in nicely. The grapes and apricot are also doing well. Our guerrilla garden missed out on a good watering during fruiting, so we won't have cherries this season. The peach also got attacked by aphids and won't be producing much fruit. The plum didn't flower at all and the apple's one flower produced one sad fruit that has already been eaten by pests. I'm trying to look on the bright side-at least these trees will put their energy into becoming established.
In the kitchen I added to the gadget arsenal with a SoyaJoy soymilk/raw nut milk maker. We were consuming about a gallon of soymilk a week and that was starting to add up both financially and in terms of packaging waste. I picked up a 25 lb bag of organic soybeans from the co-op and now we're having homemade soymilk daily. I've also made raw almond milk which was really good. With almonds at at least $11 per pound and soybeans at $1.29/lb we'll primarily be sticking with soymilk.
At school my outdoor ed students have really enjoyed solar cooking. They've been working on a blog and I'll post the link soon. Last Friday we made 16 batches of brownies for our school's Spring Festival. They were a success and some families learned about the ease, joy and deliciousness of solar cooking.
In the yard we have some other additions--a chicken-proof fence has been added to the garden so Chipper is roaming free yet again. Lane has also built a porch so we can have some shade in the summer. It will be a storage spot for the commuter bikes, an outdoor dining area and a spot for some tool storage. I'm so excited to be able to sit outside to read or enjoy an iced tea when the mercury rises!
Next week we have an adventure awaiting us in Arizona. For our next Westfalia project we need to pick up an engine in Flagstaff. Since we have to be there anyway we''re going to do some mountain biking in the area, which will be really great. Hopefully I'll remember to snap some pics and I can post them.
Summer break is just around the corner!
