July 4th on the Farm….

July 4th on the Farm....

Did you travel out of town for the 4th of July?  We normally don’t.  But before you start to feel sorry for us, I would love to share with you what we did this 4th.

We spent it with my sister and her family on their farm, which is located just 5 minutes from our house.  Their farm is a fun place to visit with dogs, chickens, a pet toad who lives with the chickens, fruit trees, nut trees and a vegetable garden.  I love sharing their farm with you all.


So we started out our evening with an all-American meal of hot dogs, chips and watermelon.  I brought Rice Krispy treats with both milk chocolate and white frosting on top.  After we ate, we went outdoors and watched the kids play.

American meal

we started out our evening with an all-American meal of hot dogs, chips and watermelon

In the distance, we could see a thunderstorm brewing, but it didn’t look like it was going to hit us.

American meal

As I usually do each week when we visit, I decided to check out the fruit trees and vegetable garden see what was growing.

American meal

The green fruit that you see above are grapefruit that will be ripe this winter.  Other then watering deeply (3 ft. deep), there is nothing to be done for citrus trees this month.

American meal

There was a single kumquat hanging in this tree.  Later the tree will be covered with them.

American meal

I love growing gourds and have 4 big ones in my own vegetable garden.  But, there are 3 large ones growing in this vegetable garden.

watermelon

Both the watermelon and gourd plants are growing like crazy.  It is probably not a good idea to plant these plants close to each other.

Effie, Lucy and Flo

The chickens, Effie, Lucy and Flo were out enjoying the early evening along with us.

frost-damaged tree

Do you remember the frost-damaged tree that I wrote about a few weeks ago?  Well, look at how quickly it has grown!

nephew Oliver, my son Kai, my daughter Ruthie, my nephew Finley and my daughter Gracie

My nephew Oliver, my son Kai, my daughter Ruthie, my nephew Finley and my daughter Gracie.

The kids were getting very excited about seeing fireworks.

proud American citizen

Gracie may have been born in China, but she is a proud American citizen 🙂

Notice her shirt?  Gracie just loves Sonic the Hedgehog and couldn’t believe it when we saw this t-shirt at the store the other day.  It didn’t matter to her that it was in the boy’s department.  She used her allowance to buy it.  She wears it everyday until I tell her that I have to wash it 😉

Finally, it was dark enough to set off the fireworks in the front yard.

proud American citizen

I don’t know who was most excited, the kids or my brother and brother-in-law who were going to set them off.

proud American citizen

We started off small, with sparklers.

proud American citizen

My daughter, Rachele, and I were happy to just watch.

proud American citizen

Some of the fireworks were a bit loud for Gracie.

proud American citizen

We had such a fabulous time watching our small firework show that we didn’t even venture into the backyard where our town’s firework display could be seen.

How about you?

What did you do this 4th of July?

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
5 replies
  1. FlowerLady
    FlowerLady says:

    It looks like you had a great time at the farm. Great pics of you and your family.

    We spent a quiet day at home. I made hamburgers, bbq black beans and potato salad, iced tea.

    Fireworks went off all over the neighborhood, scaring our poor indoor/outdoor feline so that she sat huddled next to the freezer in the kitchen. It must have felt like the safest place to her. It all finally quietened down around 11 and we all went to sleep.

    Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

  2. Patricia Tryon
    Patricia Tryon says:

    Watering 3 feet deep! That certainly IS watering deeply!!

    Our Fourth was quiet. We took a daughter to the airport so she could get back to San Francisco in time for their display, we barbecued, and I confess that by 9 PM I was in bed with my ear plugs in. Ah, the excitement of "muddle" age 😉

  3. PJ | Home and Garden Decor
    PJ | Home and Garden Decor says:

    I can tell you guys had a great time at the farm and a Happy 4th of July.

    We had a very relaxing day at home.
    We made a brisket and there were no fireworks around here this year. Our county had banned all sales of fireworks sue to the ongoing extreme drought. Quite honest, I was glad they made this decision. We had 3 times rain since January 25th here in my neighborhood, just north of Houston, TX and everything around here is as dry as a bone. It takes only a small spark and the dry grass or trees would go off in flames. As much as we love watching the fireworks, this year it was better not to shoot them.
    Paula Jo

  4. A Daughter of the King
    A Daughter of the King says:

    I love your sister's farm. What a great place to spend the 4th.

    We spent the weekend on the Rim in the woods, near Clint's Well, where I'm taking care of my mother's garden; we had a nice, drenching rain!

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