meanwhile, back at the ranch

I picked a tiny jalapeno from our garden the other day.......the saddest little harvest.

Last summer was the year of the vegetable......by this point in summer we were feasting on all types of veggies--lettuce, tomatillos, carrots. Tomatoes still warm from the sun and so much zucchini we were eating it three meals a day. 

I could go out and pick our dinner right off the vine.

This year due to this and that, I planted late.......and boy has it just been hot for those poor little plants. 

We have green tomatoes that we check every day to see if they are starting to turn.....and we are celebrating our zucchini blossoms that finally decided to show up.

Maybe someday, (like right before it frosts) we will have a little garden.

I start to get discouraged, but then I remember.....

our little chickies are big girls now and we are hoping to be seeing eggs maybe as early as next month!

While the kitten doesn't provide us with anything to eat......I just know she's going to take care of the mouse I just saw run across my bathroom floor. And come on, she's just cute. 

So in replace of a flourishing garden, we have just continued to acquire animals that really make it feel like we are living on a farm sometimes (don't be surprised if we end up with goats and turkeys one day). I'm kidding, and I'm not.

(pictured: fanny, hermione, wilma)

And while it wasn't OUR cow, we have been enjoying beef we purchased from a local farmer--with cows so close I can almost hear them from my house--now THAT's the kind of burger you want to be eating. 

Blue Cheese Bacon Burger

-good grass fed beef (it REALLY makes a difference, I promise) seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled to perfection

-bacon

-a big heap of blue cheese

-mayo

-greens

-tomato

-toasted bun

I'm hoping next year we can really get it together and have our garden and our farm animals producing all at once....how great would that be?!

What's your thing--garden, farm animals, or both?