Fresh From the Farm Blog

It used to be that Labor Day signaled the official end of summer, and most schools started classes after Labor Day. Not so today, some schools started the first of August and many schools have year-round classes. However, I do think that Labor Day picnics and cookouts are still a thing, at least in our area they are. So…what to fix for a crowd of friends and family…I’m thinking sticky ribs, grilled corn on the cob, tomato and watermelon salad, with pickled red onions, lots of iced tea or your favorite brews, and homemade ice cream! That should just about...

It’s time for the 135th Gillespie County Fair here in Fredericksburg! It is the oldest continuous county fair in Texas and it’s a big deal! The kids get a Friday off from school to attend the fair parade that travels slowly down Main Street with queens waving from floats, bands, drill teams, antique cars, tractors, and local business people smiling and waving from their service trucks. Folks of all ages are readying their jams, jellies, pies, crafts, needlework for entry into the fair, along with their prize garden produce, eggs, hay, and pecans. Each is hoping to win a blue...

Our local stores are stocked with “Back to School Supplies,” and even though it still seems like summer, schools are starting back in the next week or so. I can still remember the smell of new school supplies as I unpacked them and placed them in my desk on the first day of school each year. Big Chief tablets, crayons, pencils, scissors, a ruler, the all-important pencil box, and a jar of white paste. I still remember the smell of that paste and remember that some kids in my class ate it. Most kids were excited for the first day...

Have you ever been to a splash pad? Fredericksburg has a new one right by the city pool and man oh man, would we have had fun as kids with something like that! Our grandkids love it and are used to such things. We had to get by with the sprinkler and a “Water Wiggle” spraying us down in the back yard on those hot summer afternoons. I can still smell the scent of water from a garden hose hitting the hot sidewalk. Splash pad or sprinkler, the main aim is to get wet and cool off on a hot...

Happy Anniversary to us! We said, “I do,” 43 years ago today on a hot Saturday morning in Houston. It was August 1980 in Houston, mind you. What were we thinking? After a morning service we headed out on our honeymoon driving to San Antonio to stay at the St. Anthony hotel. After checking in we strolled along the Riverwalk scratching our shiny gold bands on the limestone walls. It was 103 degrees in the shade when we finally found the restaurant we decided on for dinner. We have made many trips since and often we will scratch up those...