I then carved a bunch of smaller pumpkins before I tackled another large one. For this last one, I wanted to do something a little different. I used the stem as the nose and carved out round eyeballs. The mouth had tons of teeth. Surprisingly, I didn’t knock out any of the teeth while carving them all out individually!

Saturday, Jennifer and  I went to the Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast near Port Townsend, Washington to learn how to pickle cucumbers. This is just one of the classes that Linda teaches at the farm.

When we arrived, Linda already had everything in the kitchen that we needed to start pickling. She had grape leaves, garlic, dill, and about 20 pounds of cucumbers all grown right there on her farm.

As soon as we walked into the house, Jennifer and I both could smell the fresh  dill!

I learned so much from Linda. She took the time to answer all of our questions. Here she explained to us what to look for when choosing dill for pickling. Getting dill in a supermarket is definitely not the same as growing your own.

First Jennifer washed the cucumbers and I chopped them up. I was surprised they let me handle the sharp knife! I was a little slow on the chopping, so Jennifer ending up helping me with that. Someone had to take all the photos and videos!

In each jar we put a grape leaf, a clove of garlic and a clump of dill. Then we packed it full of “thousands” of tasty cucumbers.

Next we filled the jar up with the warm brine, put the lid on, and tightened the band down. The jars sat until cool.

The whole process was much easier than I thought. Of course Linda was a great teacher and made it seem so simple! She also gave us her recipe for brine, but you’ll have to take her class to get that!

There is one really bad part to the whole process though. I have to wait for at least two weeks for those cucumbers to become delicious pickles!

If your in the area, definitely give the Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast a call to see what classes might be coming up. Linda is such a wonderful teacher. I think she needs her own show on the Food Network!

Jennifer and I have been on a quest to find a farm near us where we can buy fresh organic produce. Well, today our search has officially ended!

We discovered the Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast. Such a great name! It is located in the beautiful Beaver Valley near Chimacum, Washington just south of Port Townsend. It’s owned and operated by Linda, Jim and thier dog Megan. They are all so friendly, including Megan!

Linda gave us a tour of the farm and house. As we walked around, we tried some of the Lacinato Kale. Linda even showed us a nifty way to prepare the kale. We liked it so much we picked over 3 pounds of it!

Linda introduced us to their sheep and chickens. The chickens are truly free range. There are only two areas on the entire farm where they are not allowed to go. We will definitely be trying some of their eggs.

As we left the barn, Linda pulled some of her Interlaken grapes right off the vine and gave them to us. Now I haven’t really been too much of a grape person before this, but these were unbelievable! I could eat these by the bucketful! So sweet and tasty with no seeds.

We tried some of their Gravenstein apples. They were some of the best tasting apples I ever had. We ended up getting 20 pounds of them for only $17! After we got home, Jennifer made some yummy apple crisp with some of them.

We also tried their peas and plums. Everything was just so delicious. The best part of it all is that I know exactly where it’s all coming from. I feel so much better knowing that my money is going to some great people!

If your near the area, definitely stop here and check it out. Right now their produce stand is open on Sundays and Thursdays from noon to 6pm.

Linda also teaches a few classes. Jennifer and I will be taking her pickling class soon.

View Solstice Farm Bed and Breakfast in a larger map

Yesterday Jennifer and I went to the Port Townsend Farmers Market in downtown Port Townsend, Washington to pick up some fresh produce. Out of all the farmers markets near us, this is definitely my favorite!

Now it wasn’t the biggest farmers market I have ever been to, but it definitely had the best selection of fresh locally grown organic fruits and vegetables. The prices were fantastic! For example, we purchased about 10 pounds of organic locally grown tomatoes for about $2 cheaper than what they are in the grocery store.

It’s every Wednesday and Saturday starting in June and running through September. If your in the area, definitely check it out.

View Port Townsend Farmers Market in a larger map

Yesterday, I went to back Graysmarsh Farm to pick more loganberries and blueberries. On the edges of the field I could see beehives. Even though I was many yards away, I could still hear the buzzing sounds coming from them.

So I decided to take a break from picking berries and wander over to one of the beehives. I walked slowly and sat down right next to it. The bees were flying and buzzing all around me!

There is a weekly show on King5 here in Seattle called “Gardening with Ciscoe”. On one of the episodes, Ciscoe talks about how to get rid of moles without using chemicals. He talked about his recipe for something he called “Mint Mole Blaster”. Here’s an excerpt from Ciscoe’s website about moles:

Make up some “Mint Mole Blaster” as follows: Begin by running a couple of big handfuls of mint stems and leaves through the blender with just enough water to make slurry. Then mix the blended concoction into a large soup pot full of water and simmer for about 30 minutes. This will make a concentrate that can be diluted to make about 6 gallons of mole blaster. Whenever you detect mole activity, pour the diluted mixture into mole holes and around the surrounding area. Irrigate lightly after application if the soil is dry. The key to success seems to be persistence. The moles evidently hate the smell of mint and if all goes well, the varmints will pack their bags and set up shop in your neighbors’ gardens.

I started growing mint just for this purpose. Since a mint plant can take over a garden, I chose to keep the plants in large pots. This way I always have a fresh and free supply.

This stuff definitely works! It may take a couple of days, but I can watch the mole hills get farther and farther away until they are completely out of the yard.

Ciscoe’s “Mint Mole Blaster” is really easy to make. Plus when it’s simmering on the stove, the whole house ends up smelling like fresh cut mint.

Ciscoe Morris by Greg McGonagill

You can watch some of Ciscoe’s television segments on the King5 website. Or just check out the Mole Be Gone segment to see Ciscoe making his “Mint Mole Blaster”.

Here we have Ray on the left and Kurt on the right. Each one has mastered their very own distinct style of sword fighting. They meet in an epic battle at Kurt’s house. Who will win?

I came across this smoothie stand at the Great Peninsula Future Festival in Port Gamble, Washington. The festival was all about building a sustainable future. So this fit right in.

This has to be one of the coolest ways to make a smoothie I have ever seen! The bike is called a Fender Blender and is made by the people over at Rock the Bike. This is definitely going on my wish list!

Jennifer and I planned on visiting Port Gamble, Washington this weekend. It’s a cute little town on the Kitsap Peninsula. We found out just a day before going that this weekend is also when the Great Peninsula Future Festival is held there. The festival is all about “building a sustainable future”.

At one of the booths, I met author Michael Sterns. He’s writes books for children. He told us a little about himself and gave us a brief summary of his first book called Kokopella and The Butterfly.

Michael put a lot of thought into this book, from the size of the book to alternating the pages that the pictures are on. He told us he chose artwork that is very descriptive to make it easy for young children to “picture read”.

During the summer, Michael gets to travel the country selling his books. How awesome it that!

If you can’t find him at a festival or event near you, his books are also available online at Grasshopper Dreams.

Yesterday Jennifer and I went to the annual Lavender Festival in Sequim, Washington. This year we went to 5 of the 8 farms participating in the event. Out of all the farms, I had the most fun at the Olympic Lavender Farm and the Purple Haze Lavender Farm.

The Purple Haze Lavender Farm is probably my favorite. This place is just HUGE! They serve alcohol, have tons of vendors, and have live music that echoes through the fields.

You can’t leave the Purple Haze Lavender Farm without trying some of their lavender ice creams. My favorite flavor is the “lavender lemon custard”. Just the right amount of lavender. Tasty!

The Olympic Lavender Farm may be smaller but they had some really neat vendors. Jennifer and I learned all about guard llamas and how to distill oil from the lavender flowers.

While at the farm, I met a guy named Sam who builds some awesome potting sheds. Jennifer and I have been looking at sheds for awhile, but haven’t found any as nice as his. Check out his website called Sam’s Workshop to see some of his work.

Also at the Olympic Lavender Farm, there was a booth that was selling lavender honey. Their honey came from the beehives that we walked by on the way in. This honey was actual lavender honey. Some manufacturers will take regular honey and then add lavender oil to it and call it lavender honey. Not these guys! Their bees visit the lavender plants right there on the farm.

Another thing I found interesting was these spinning wheels that are used for making yarn. I saw them at a couple different farms. They are wooden, handmade and human powered by means of two foot pedals. The contraption folds up and even has a little handle on top making it easy to carry.