What Ever It Takes (REALLY RANDOM!!)

So, I have been thinking about the school recently and how we, as parents, send our kids to school every day and entrust the eduction & well being to teachers. Once a year on teacher appreciation day, they are given some token to show our gratitude. What about the rest of the year? They play one of the most important roles in our childrens lives & throughout the year how do we support them?
And then our church stewardship season began. As I sat each day praying about the time, talent, and treasure that we give to the church something came to me. I am willing to outwardly admit that last year I think I said I would give 1-2 hours a week to the church.
Now my random ramblings are going somewhere....
1-2 hours a week, ha! After receiving one of the most amazing gifts in the form of a grant for a garden, the thought of only 'giving' 1-2 hours a weeks seems almost humourous. There were weeks this summer when the kids and I spent 20 hours a week there! So, it came to me as I was thinking about the church stewardship that maybe I shouldn't think about it so defined by a specific hour, instead this year I plan to write..."what ever it takes". That is what I plan to give to the church, not just an hour or two, but what ever it takes. I also came to the decision that we should be thinking about schools in a similar way. The school asks parents to give 3 hours of volunteer time a year! That's it. That is all they ask that we as parents give back to the school to assist in the education and growth of our children. That is almost mind boggling to me. Last year I thought I could give 1-2 hours A WEEK to the church, and the school was only asking for 3 hours during the entire year. Now, I am clearly an admitted obsessive parent so I was at the school more than 3 hours!
But I feel that this all tied together in my mind, so I will do "what ever it takes". To me the phrase, "Pay It Forward" comes to mind. So, whether it is your church, your kids school, or some other community based project that is important to your heart.... what can you give this year???

Growing in Greatness

"Growing in Greatness" is the title I used for the bulletin board at Frederick Elementary School. On Sept 8th & 9th, the school sent over classes of kids to help learn about gardening, harvesting, participate in community service projects, and get some hands-on education. I think all goals were achieved. They picked over 600 tomatoes! We had over 100 kids each day walk from the school to the garden. Almost 3 weeks later and these kids are still talking about the garden. I walked into the school the other day and a child said, "hey, you are the garden lady". That isn't a name I thought I would ever be called! What an amazing experience we were able to provide for these kids....starting this young, these kids will be growing in greatness as they learn to give back to the community how ever they can!

This picture is blurry, but gives you an idea as the kids walked down the road!

Helping harvest & cleaning the vegetables for the foodbank...

Hidden Valley Goal Achieved

I wanted to post quickly to share that tonight the goal of Hidden Valley Ranch was achieved! The hope was with the grant that children's would learn more about gardening and vegetables and in turn...they would eat more. Well, tonight, my very picky child ate.....Kohlrabi:) He helped me pick up the small plants from the garden store in July, dug the holes, planted them into the garden...and tonight he ate them. Not only did he eat them, but he enjoyed them!! He was proud that he had helped to plant them & now he was eating them. So, thank you Hidden Valley Ranch. Not only did I get an amazing learning adventure to Chicago, money to start a garden, the opportunity to learn & grow a wonderful garden, but the biggest gift yet is to watch my children eat things that they didn't even know existed a month ago.

Sorry so long....lots of good news to share in the upcoming days!!

I am sorry I haven't written in over a month. Apparently adults too can get mono....sleeping all day & just being generally tired doesn't fit into my lifestyle! So, a lot has happened in the past month & I hope to post a lot in the next week to get us back up to date.
Also:
- a man from Longmont who is starting an urban garden contacted me in July....I have lost his number (sorry!!) If you are reading this, please call me again because I really do want to help.

Check back in the next couple days for some great updates & photos!

Everything Grows

The boys and I spent a couple hours at the garden this morning. I have discovered a few things:

1. I really enjoy being at the garden

2. I think about really random things while I am working at the garden

3. We are good at growing vegetables.

4. We are really good at growing weeds:)

Vegetables: The boys and I picked so many zuchinni, summer squash, gourds (didn't even know we planted those!), cucumber, cauliflower, a small number of peas, and beets. Need to still pick more beets, cucumbers, carrots, and basil. Also learned about the growing and harvesting of cauliflower. Unfortunately, all the cauliflower that we have grown have gone bad! Ugh. So, should we plant more and try again??

On to my random thought for the day:

I was thinking that maybe some scientist or engineer or other genious type person would be reading this tonight and get some inspiration. Ha, I know, I also laughed thinking about someone like that reading my blog about a little garden! Anyways, if you are reading this and concerned about fuel sources I have an idea. I think that someone should create a way to turn bind weed into fuels! I have enough bind week to supply a million people so if there was a way we could change it into fuel the world could be saved:) I warned you ahead of time that it was a random thought!!

More Plants...

Just when I thought the garden was 'doing its thing' and we were done planting....

So, last week I had a discussion with some other fellow gardeners about the lettuce, spinich, etc that was already starting to get bitter. We talked about pulling it out & maybe planting another round later in the summer/early fall. I left for a week and on my drive home I received a call from Cimarron Garden Center & Nursery in Firestone offering to donate some more plants. And so, the "old" plants have been removed and the new plants put in (various types of peppers, bunch onions, cabbage, eggplant, and kohlrabi). Lucas and Colter had a great time today. They helped me pick any remainder lettuce, pull the plants, and plant the new ones. Of course they had to stop to find a few ladybugs too!

Share the Wealth...

The garden seems to me to be in "full bloom", but when I consider that we are only harvesting from a few number of the plants I am almost scared of what is yet to come! I think we are in trouble when the tomotos are ready....anyone know a good canner?! Look at what we have accomplished already this summer...
We have two local winners, Libby in Dacono & George in Firestone, who won free vegetables for their families for the summer. Congratulations Libby & George! We had a contest at the local fairs in June & July where they had to guess the number of black-eyed peas in the very large jug. They were the winners from the fairs and have already started to receive their vegetables.

We have also been able to provide the local food bank with the first round of vegetables. A lot of lettuce, arugula, spinich, summer squash, and zuchinni were given out.

We have been able to provide vegetables to many inidivuals/families through the local Senior Center.

We have been able to provide Children's House of Weld with a location to garden, a location to teach the children, and many vegetables for the children to try!

We have been able to eat many vegetables ourselves:)

Life is good at Brigit's Bounty!

What Kind of Impact is this Going to Have?

I wonder, what kind of impact is this garden going to have? When I began planning, dreaming, envisioning this garden I had two fears...

1. $5,000 wasn't going to be enough

2. Nothing or little was going to grow so all the time & energy wouldn't be worth the result

Well, I can now say that both fears have subsided. We have had enough money to build an amazing garden with the many blessings of assistance and donations that we have received. Not only do we have a garden that is approximately 50x80 feet of growing space, we also have a children's play area, children's raised beds, and this week a gazebo & shed are being put up. The second fear was blown away this Sunday when I went to see the garden after being away for three weeks. When I left on June 12th, we had a beautiful field of dirt. It had been plants, but nothing really showed for our efforts. We had to keep after the kids because they couldn't tell where they should be walking because nothing was sprouting to show the paths yet. Well, in three weeks time we have gone from dirt to a full PRODUCING garden! What a sight to see. The lettuce and spinach are almost finished and have been harvested many many times during the past two weeks. The summer squash and zuchinni are producing and have also started to be harvested. Everything is in full growth... including the weeds:) I wonder if St. Brigit had a green thumb? And so now I sit here thinking about all the families, children, community members who are going to know the love that has been put into this garden. I feel truly blessed to be a part of this experience. After spending 3 hours weeding on Sunday, I felt renewed. We are meant to get our hands dirty. We are meant to care for the land. We are meant to eat fresh vegetables...and this year MANY people in the Tri-Town area will do just that!

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And what else does the garden have? Bugs...especially lady bugs. Lucas spent hours finding them in the plants, checking them out, learning about their appearance at different stages of growth. Nothing like a garden to provide hands-on learning fun for the kids!!

Stepping Stone

Sorry for the lag in posts. I took an extended vacation from reality, but am back to the real world now. That means...back to the garden. I only have two more things to share right now and will post again soon about all the exciting changes in the garden over the past three weeks. In May, I spent a morning at the Children's House of Weld County Montessori School making stepping stones with the kids. What an amazing experience! There is nothing like the excitement of little kids:) Each of the children were given the opportunity to make their own stepping stone. Then the stones were taken over to Brigit's Bounty & 'planted' in a path fashion in the children's area. The kids love to be able to see their own stones and have a place that they can run on them!

And...in May we had our first "Bounty"! Yeah, let the yummy veggies begin:)

Let's Plant

Months of planning, moving dirt & cinder blocks has all led to this....Let's Plant! It is very rewarding to watch as the day progresses and the plants are being put into the ground. We were fortunate to get 43 packets of seeds and 49 tomato plants donated by the local nursery store Cimarron (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ei=WCUtSovtCI_0tAOppJy1Cw&resnum=0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=cimarron+nursery&near=Colorado+80504&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&view=text&latlng=7012064673175643823)
We also purchased many more plants to add to the donated plants and seeds. The result.... a very full garden that is about 80x70 feet in size. I can't even imagine the bounty that this garden is going to provide for our friends and families in the Tri-Town area.

Children's House of Weld County

As I remember the conversation that morning at the Children's House of Weld County Montessori School (http://www.childrenshousewc.com/), Susan the director, stopped me as I was dropping off my youngest son. She said that she had heard something about a person in the Frederick area going to start a community garden. When she heard about it, Susan decided that she should ask me if I knew anything....apparently she knows me well:) And so began the connection between Brigit's Bounty & the Children's House of Weld.

For those of you that aren't familiar with this school...if you have young children you should become familiar with it. I admit to being one of the most obsessive, controlling, freak parents when it comes to the care of my children. I love this school. The boys love this school. I think you would be hard pressed to find any child who goes there to say that they didn't want to go back tomorrow.

Anyways, I met with Susan and Sherry about how we could make this work so that the kids at the school could be involved and a plan was created.

This is the plan:

The children would start seeds in the class & watch them grow.

The children would participate in a special lesson from a staff member at the "Children's Peace Garden" out of Boulder, the lesson was "Edible Parts of the Plant" http://www.growinggardens.org/english/programs/youth/peace/classroomvisits.html

The school will be provided with two raised beds at Brigit's Bounty that they can grow what ever they want in.

The children will come to the garden weekly throughout the summer to take care of their garden & watch the process from seed.

The children will harvest all of their own vegetables & take them back to school to prepare & eat them.

I am so excited about having the kids involved. As this has further developed, the kids are also going to assist with feeding the birds, watering some of the sunflowers, etc.

Children's House put the first plants into the ground! Yeah:)

Let's Build

April 25th was the day...the day the field began its transformation into a garden. Well, it wasn't really a 'garden' by the end of the day but the transformation was amazing. We began the day at 9am & found Bill already tilling the land! We began by building two raised beds in the children's area. Bill completed tilling the large vegetable garden & began tilling the children's garden area. We built two more raised beds in the vegetable garden. Julie mixed in the manure & tilled it in. At the end of the day we had clearly defined areas and could finally see the garden coming a reality. Thanks to all those who helped out. My motivations are re-juvinated by seeing this come to life:)

The First Bed in the Children's Garden Area:

How many other churches can say that their priest/minister can drive a tractor? Go Felicia:)

Moving cinder blocks for the vegetable garden:

Trying to make the beds even...good luck!

Lyle trying to make a raised bed with the assistance of my boys, they are being great helpers I am sure!!

Love Your Veggies Mom Retreat

April 28th & 29th I participated in a Mom's Retreat for the 10 mothers who won the Love Your Veggies contest(http://www.loveyourveggies.com/expert_corner.php). I flew out to Chicago on Monday afternoon and from the first moment it was nothing but first class. We stayed at the 4 Seasons Hotel. I think I could have spent the four days in that hotel room and been happy:) Here is what I was able to do for 2 days:

Tuesday:

Uncommon Ground Restaurant: http://www.uncommonground.com/

We had breakfast here & were able to get a tour of Chicago's first certified organic roof top garden. A lot of the foods from the garden are used in the creation of the menu.

Jodie Shield: Childhood Nutrition Specialist http://www.loveyourveggies.com/expert_shield.php

Check out this link for great handouts about vegetable nutrition & lunch packing ideas.

Jewel-Osco: http://www.jewelosco.com/eCommerceWeb/PlanAction.do?action=getPlanContents

We were able to tour this grocery store. The store had a dietician on-staff that was able to help customers pick out foods, learn about nutrition needs, assist with any special diet needs etc.

Kristen Stevens: http://www.loveyourveggies.com/expert_pbh.php

Hand-outs for meal planning & grocery shopping activities for children

Wednesday:

Comer Center: http://www.gcychome.org/

This is an amazing youth center! We were able to see & participate in some planting on their roof top garden.

Jeanne Pinsof Nolan: http://www.loveyourveggies.com/expert_nolan.php

Handouts & Information about what & when to plant various plants, basic gardening information

Art Smith: http://www.loveyourveggies.com/expert_smith.php

Cooking with children

Common Threads: http://www.commonthreads.org/index.html

Cooking demonstration from some kids in the common threads program.

It was a busy, amazing trip. Here is information about all the winners:

http://www.loveyourveggies.com/veggiechamp_winners.php

Here is a link to games that young children can play...

http://www.loveyourveggies.com/activities.php

Here are a few pictures from the adventure:

Work & Kids

It is amazing how much time manual labor takes! I guess after living in a world of cell phones, computers, and instant messaging I have dramatically under-estimated the amount of time and effort required when doing actual physical labor! We have spent many Saturdays, some Sundays, and quite a few nights after work preparing the area for the garden. We haven't even started with the actual garden, just getting the land and area ready. I have been humbled by thinking of the men shoveling dirt on the side of the highway in Mexico when it was 100F outside. My mear shoveling & work in 70F doesn't seem to compare:)

Fortunately for me, my boys have loved coming to the garden to work. They always seem to find something fun to be able to do and have become good 'helpers'. It has proven to me that if you give kids big room to run, freedom to roll & play in the dirt, and no rules, it is amazing how much fun they can have....no playgrounds included:)

Inspired

Have you ever had one of those moments when the world is going so fast, cars honking at you as they cut you off, person infront of you doesn't hold the door & then it all comes to a screaching halt when one person makes that extra effort? Well, when we moved to Colorado we were completely shocked at how nice everyone was. The grocery clerk would hold up the line just to talk to you & nobody in line seemed to care. Cars on the mountain passes would pull off to the side to let the faster drivers pass them. Everyone held the door for others. After almost two years, this has just become the norm so when I had one of those 'screaching' moments even among all this amazing kindness I was left speechless (and for those of you who know me well know that speechless isn't part of my vocabulary!!)

Searching craigslist one night for a "deal" on aged manure for the garden, I came across an ad from someone living in my town offering FREE manure. I like free:) So, I emailed to request some of the manure. That was how I met Julie & Bill Daigle. Thank you craigslist!! Julie had posted the ad and was more than happy to let me come and get some of the manure. After one trip with my pickup truck & a pinched nerve in my back I realized that shoveling wasn't going to be a reality for me (a decision that my husband was very greatful for!) So, I started looking to rent a small bobcat or tractor. When I approached Julie, explained what I needed the manure for, how much I needed, and requested that I bring in a bobcat the true gift began. First she offered to use her tractor to load our trucks. Wow I thought. Then, she offered to fill her very large dump trailer & help haul the manure to the garden area for us. Wow and thank you. Then, Bill & his son joined us one Sunday afternoon to take "a few loads". Two pickup trucks & their dump trailer headed to the land where the garden is being built. It had been raining off and on for the past two weeks so the land was more than just wet! The trucks made it across without difficulty but the large pickup truck pulling a full dump trailer was stuck right at the entry area. After help from a neighbor with a tractor, the truck was freed & we continued across the land. After many minor 'stuck' moments the trailer & trucks were empty. Bill went to pull out & realized that the land in the back was softer yet and decised to unhook the trailer. As he tried to pull away the truck become more than just stuck....the front bumper was sitting on the ground! This would have been a great picture for some 4x4 magazine! I drove Bill, his son, & their two dogs home and I still smile thinking of the conversation that must have occured when he got home and had to describe the events that led to him not having the truck or the trailer! The next morning Julie calls to get the address to pull out her truck. After all that, she said, "So are you coming to get some more next weekend?" REALLY?!! Many Saturdays and probably around 40 cubic yards of manure later we were ready to start getting the land ready. In true fashion, Bill offered to come over with his tractor & tiller to help out. He was already tilling and scraping when I got there at 9am. In the afternoon Julie came over to help too, moving the remainder or the manure & tilling it into the freshly tilled ground. It was around 4pm when they left the garden that day. They scraped, tilled, moved cinder blocks, raked & other numerous things. By now, thank you just doesn't seem enough. I am past the point of appreciation & into the realm of completely inspired. Who gives of themselves, their time, their talent in such a way to help others? Who helps this much to a group that they do not already have membership or connection to? Julie & Bill Daigle.

So, whose life did you touch today? Did your actions inspire anyone? Don't let the world fog your eyes to the point where you can't see the amazing giving nature of others. I am inspired & hope that I can someday pay this forward!

Cinder Blocks

We were able to find a man in the Denver Metro area who was selling cinder blocks. Many, MANY, MANY trips later we were able to get 1000 cinder blocks for creating raised beds. The first attempt had three church members (Andrew, Alechia, & Eric) meeting a man with a moving truck. This first trip was very successful in getting 500 of the cinder blocks! It took a few more days and many trucks driving to & from the lot to get the remaining 500 blocks. Helpers included: Mike, Maureen, Dominic, Lyle, Rachel, Eileen, Eric, & Alechia (as I said, I am going back & trying to recall all these steps, so I greatly apologize if I have forgot someone!) I wish that I had pictures of the first few trips, but wasn't that on-top of the picture taking part of the project yet! Thanks to Jeff for lending us the trailer, it was a huge help! Here are a few from the last trip...