It's A Sprint To The Finish

 Tortuga Thursday

In 2012, on the plains of Northern Arizona, two families joined forces and began the trials and tribulations of building a small family farm with nothing in the bank but love.

Thought I'd start off with a granddaughter picture. Always a high note. When Mommy is helping GrandPaPa pickle, Grandma finds ways to occupy her or no telling how the pickles would turn out. She likes to visit the Eagle (our RV) and play with some necklaces I keep there.

Speaking of pickling, we're in our final week. The cucumbers are about done producing. I'm not sure how long he plans to pickle peppers. I'm guessing we have close to enough.

Tractor woes are still with us. Lance has replaced several faulty parts and it seems to be narrowed down to

one part he's waiting on. Meanwhile, our great neighbor, Dave, brought his tractor over and ripped the area we'll be planting garlic in come October. Good thing because the fields are now muddy again after last night's rain. By the time it dries out again, Lance should have the tractor running and can do the next step in preparation. Lance is becoming quite the tractor mechanic. I think that makes his farm internship complete.

Today marks the sprint - the last two weeks of our expansion campaign on Indiegogo. If you've been meaning to get those pickles or that pirate shirt, now is the time to jump in! Please spread the word and make the last two weeks a grand finale! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/set-sail-with-pirate-pickles/x/8465750

I've been asked for recipes now and then. Here's one that's actually mine (you know I'm not big on cooking). I wish we could keep our beautiful bells all year long, but since we can't, I made up a double batch of stuffed bell peppers and froze them.

2 packages of organic ground beef (2-2/3 pounds)
1-1/3 cups rice
2 small cans organic tomato paste
1 jar of our canned tomatoes from last year
1 onion from our garden, chopped
Mix it all together and stuff the peppers. Bake at 350 for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.