Jessica's farm

Visiting our daughter Jessica is a real cultural experience. She has done so much to improve the "ancestral" family home that people who have visited in the past would not recognize it now. We can only do so because we've seen the steps she has taken.

First of all she (and Jon who helped when he was able and available) eliminated all grass from the "courtyard", replacing it with flag stone. The raised part of the patio is still raised as you can see.

There are steps with a nice handrail leading up to the patio extension which faces out to the larger back yard and the lawn that Jessica went to great pains to level.

Here's the actual view from the patio extension better showing that part of the back yard that is still used primarily for play activities with a swing set and trampoline.

One of her newest additions to the back yard and sitting next to the patio extension is the earthen oven which is not only decorative but practical, too. While there this time we had personal sized home made pizza's backed in this oven.


Jessica has put a lot of work into her raised flower beds which truly are raised. They are high enough that she can work them almost without bending over. That doesn't eliminate all the work but does make things easier.

Part of Jessica's success, of course, is that she has involved the children. Here is Jill picking mature "purple" beans which look and taste like green beans when cooked but are a pretty purple on the vine.

Michael and Ben are showing off the newest hens in the coop. They haven't been "tamed" yet but the boys are quite used to handling uncooperative hens.

Before she showed off her latest acquisition, Jessica suited up in a proper beekeeper's outfil. Yes, her latest addition to the "farm" is a swarm of bees that she saw advertised in Craig's List. She got it for the cost of removing it and bringing the swarm home.

Here we see Jessica inside her greenhouse pulling up the wooden slats which are attached to the honeycombs in the hive. You can also see a white tube that extends into the hive and out through the greenhouse wall. This tube allows the bees free access from their hive to the outside work. I think Jessica said it took the better part of a day for her to train the bees to use the tube.

Jessica is showing us a piece of honeycomb which is growing at an angle to the board so that it won't be able to be harvested properly.

Here's another angle showing how many slots in the hive that Jessica had to remove to get at that hunk of honeycomb.

I am very impressed with the vision Jessica has had of the ancestral family home. It is so different from what Carolyn and I had but it works for Jessica and her family and that is what counts.