Welcome to Homegrown Bites by Jake's Run!

Tasty food, lamb meat, jams and jellies, fresh produce, and crochet accessories.

Tag Archives: #family


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Oh, hey there! I Forgot About the Blog.

Like anything that goes into our freezer, if it’s not in front of me, it no longer exists…

I literally keep a notebook with me at all times to jot down anything I have to remember to do. It’s the only way I can keep it all straight and get stuff done. Plus, it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I start a new list each week. Sometimes, it’s one page, other times it’s multiple pages. Let’s face it – we’re all busy. I’m not complaining. Don’t get me wrong. I love this life. But, when it gets busy, days kind of blend together in a blur. In the blink of an eye, a few weeks have passed and I’ve neglected my duties. Looks like I need to add this blog to the list. That being said, let’s summarize the past month.

HOLY CRAP!!!!!

The hubs works 4 days on then 4 days off. On his working days, he works 12 hours. Then he comes home to work more. He cooks, he cleans up. He. Is. Driven. I handle the supplies, the books, the sous cheffing (yep I totally made that up), and whatever else I can do to make his life easier. When he works on Saturdays, he drops our market trailer off at the market, then goes to work. I pick up the team and we arrive soon after to get it all set up and start the day.

Last Saturday, our longest break between customers was 8 minutes. We were able to serve and interact with 97 customers. He’s worked a few Tuesdays alone because he was off from work. The two of us have worked a few Thursday markets because he was off from work.

Between shopping for supplies, cooking, prepping, dishes (OMG – the sheer amount of DISHES!), the laundry, working our jobs, mowing, taking care of animals and just plain RUNNING (some days I have to make 6-7 stops before I can just go home), and life, we have very little free time and it’s all GO GO GO! In our free time, we sleep. Not well in this ungodly heat, but we sleep.

Odd flex, we do a lot of recipe testing. A very cool thing. Sometimes they’re hits, sometimes it’s a miss.

The market season is a long one. Mid April-first week of November. June and July are typically the busiest months. It will taper off when schools starts, then trickle down until the EXTRA SUPER INSANELY CRAZY BUSY Holiday Market to end the season. But we’ll make it. We may need to sleep for the entire remainder of November, but we’ll sleep.

In the meantime, we’re testing out a new product – the Kentucky Hot Brown Biscuit. A scratch biscuit topped with shredded turkey, mornay, bacon, and sliced tomatoes. Last night was the first time we offered it and it was a good seller. We’ll see how it does tomorrow at the big market.

The dream is a food truck. Do we know what we’re doing? Nope. Will we learn? Every day. I remind myself often to “do the best you can, with the knowledge you have and with the best of intentions.” Everything is figureoutable.


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Market Days 05.31, 06.05, 06.07, 06.12, 06.14

It’s been a minute, but I have good reason to not write.

I’ve been tired….

5.31:
Morning market AND food truck event that night. My day began at 4am and I got home at 10:30pm. Step count: 16,490. It was a VERY good day. The next day, I slept and pretty much stayed on the couch because I am old and my body was hurting. Thank goodness W took a day off. Grateful for the Helpers, who, although they didn’t expect to be THAT busy, hung in there and did good work. My Stepmom B pitched in and helped.

6.5:
First Thursday market. Normally, we don’t do the Thursday markets because of our work schedules, but we will have 3 Thursdays in a row where we’re available. It was a Taste of the Market event and a few food trucks showed up. For a Thursday, the crowd was great. It’s a real VIBE. A time for people to hang out and relax.

Left work, ran an errand, rushed home, changed clothes, grabbed a few things, rushed to the market, set up, worked the market. Home. Slept. Went to work the next day. Home after to prep, load, nap, go to market. Interviewed by the local news. Surreal.

6.7:
Saturday market. Up at 4am. Another Saturday. Moist day. Everything feels wet. Spilled an ENTIRE container of sausage gravy in the trunk of my car on the way to the market. Good crowd. Good market. Lunch with the helpers. CAR WASH to hose down the trunk liner and the trunk. Errands. Home. Sleep.

6.12:
Thursday of a very busy week. Monday was errands with 6 different stops after work. Tuesday Board Meeting. Wednesday Blues Fest and prep work. Thursday is game time. Errand after work, home, change clothes, grab stuff, rush to market to set up in time for open. Art at the Market tonight. My actual kid taught the class. Super proud of her. Good crowd, good sales. Late night.

6.14:
Up at 4am, pick up the kids, stop for drinks and ice, stop for doughnuts, set up the booth, Wes is back (YAY!). Nice to be able to actually take a quick walk around the market, buy things, and visit with fellow vendors. Car accident in the parking lot that I had to handle. Some grump people, but most were pleasant. RAIN. Tore down 15 minutes early. WET. Everything WET. Lunch. HOME. Sleep

Here I am, on my one day off, writing, to get it all out of my head.

It’s a lot. Job. Shopping for weekly supplies. The errands. The bills. Car issues. Did I mention my trunk suddenly decided it no long wanted to open? Yeah. That. I’ll have to get the car looked at this week or next. Might have to rent a car for that because I’ll have no transportation and that’s not an option for me or my life.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. But it’s been a lot of fun. We’re building something. Not only our personal business, but the market itself. We have a vision for the market and we’re getting there. Baby steps, but it’s happening. I’m proud of the progress. I’ll eventually take a few days off, go camping, and recharge in the quiet of nature, among the trees. But, in this moment, tomorrow is Monday and the list of “Things To Do” begins anew.


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Market Day 05.24.25

Certain days are just so busy, we don’t have a chance to take a breath.

After sleeping 11 hours last night, I think my brain is finally clear enough to process yesterday.

Another day with W at work. A team of 3 – until Helper #2 missed their alarm. Yeah, I texted. I called 27 times with no answer. On the way to the market, Helper #1 and I decided we’d have to adjust the menu and psyched ourselves up on the monumental task of setting up the booth. GIRL POWER!!!

But we did it. We got the entire booth built, the electrical cords ran, the equipment set up, the food to temp, the griddle fired up, the sign updated, etc. We did it! Then the whistle blew and the day began. We had a beautiful day – a little cloudy, a little chilly (nice when you’re set up on asphalt) and a great crowd.

#2 showed up 90 minutes in and the regular menu was back on. We enjoyed the morning of people watching, talking with everyone, seeing the cute kids and dogs, and we made it through the day. We decided where we wanted to eat – always a popular topic. We tore it all down and went to lunch. Cold water, air conditioning, and tasty food while we relaxed. Ice cream after and our day was complete.

I drove each helper home. Once I got home I washed my face, put on comfy clothes, and relaxed. Everything else could wait until tomorrow (today as I write this). We went to bed early and I slept for 11 hours – much needed. I unloaded things today and have been going all day.

I’m thankful to have this day to recover and get things done. I’m thankful for an extra day off tomorrow and for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to make sure we still have our freedom.

Until next week… do your best with the knowledge you have, with the best of intentions and be kind.


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05.19.17

Hello friends!  It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to post. We spent the winter working on off season projects, then in February we started plants.

This year, we started cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs in the greenhouse – all of which have now been planted in the main gardens and are growing happily 🙂

Our chickens seem to be working overtime and we’re getting 5 dozen eggs each day. If you know of anyone who needs any, please call or text me at 270.302.9468.

 

We’ve also planted corn, radishes, beets, spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, peas, green beans and probably a few other things I can’t recall at the moment.

We decided not to offer a CSA this year, focusing more on the farmers market. Delivery times were just too much and was keeping us out of the fields.  It’s just us. No employees, so we have to make the best use of our time.

Anyways, we’re still around. Still having fun and making the most of each day. We’ll be seeing everyone soon at the farmers market!


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Update

After so much rain this summer, we finally got rained out two weeks ago. However, since then Mother Nature has been kind to us and we’ve finally dried out. The Fall crops have been planted and are looking great!  Broccoli, cabbage, yellow squash, zucchini, scalloped squash, kale and beets are all in our future.  Winter squash (butternut, acorn and spaghetti) are ready to be harvested. That will happen within the week. 

The chickens began their late summer molt a couple of weeks ago. This reduces egg production because they’re using most of their protein stores to make new winter feathers. This should end in the next few weeks and egg production will go back up. 

We replaced the second back tire of the summer on the tractor. It’s expensive and not something we financially needed, but it is what it is. The new tires should last a long time. It sure beats doing everything by hand!  

It’s been a long, hot, humid and downright moist summer. I’m ready for cooler nights with the windows open and cheaper electric bills. 


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Little things and high hopes

When we started our seeds this year, there was one tiny little runt that I chose not to plant. I was thinking it was too small. But my better half asked me to plant it, telling me he knew it would grow. So with little faith I planted that little tiny plant.

I was in for a surprise.

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Our little plant was growing! It was 1/2″ tall when we planted it and look at it now! Sure, it’s not as big as the plant beside it but it’s growing.

Now, I see this:

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There’s a little tiny tomato on the little plant that can. I have high hopes for the little plant. We’ll see…


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It’s amazing to watch the garden go from brown, plain dirt to rows of lush green.  Those tiny seeds, so gently planted in the rows, produce such wonderful foods that feed so many.  I’m honored that our produce is gracing the tables of so many families!

All is well in the garden.  With the exception of the final corn field (which will hopefully be planted this coming weekend, depending on the weather), everything is planted and looking great!  Every day there’s something new coming up and something new to see.

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My favorite type of lettuce. I can’t wait to eat this!

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These cabbage heads are beautiful!

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Cayenne pepper plant is looking good!

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Beautiful rows of corn, ready to be thinned.

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Pea pods!!!

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We should have a great crop of potatoes this year.

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Little teeny tiny peppers showed up, seemingly overnight.

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Sweet potatoes 🙂

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I can’t wait to eat a delicious vine-ripened tomato fresh from the garden.

 

 

 


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Thankful

Today, I’m thankful to live in a country where we enjoy such freedoms.  I’m thankful for long days in the sun, planting what remained to be planted:  green beans, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, acorn squash, gourds, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.  I’m thankful the only things left to plant are pumpkins and the final field of corn. 

I’m thankful for the smells that surrounded us this weekend while we worked in the fields – honeysuckle, wild roses, and blackberry blooms. 

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Wild roses are everywhere, along with honeysuckle. Great smells!!!

I’m thankful to live in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky, where it’s green like no other place. 

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This was my view while mowing Saturday. Sure, I was stuck in the mud at the time, but WOW the view was nice!

I’m thankful to see a little tomato on the vine:

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He’s hiding, but he’s in there! Little tomatoes are popping up.

I’m thankful that the garden is doing well and I’m pleased to see the potato plants growing strong:

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The potato plants are looking very good this year.

Every day, I’m thankful for this life.  And on this Memorial Day, I’m extra thankful for the men and women who have served or are currently serving our country.  Their sacrifices allow us the freedom to live this wonderful life.  I am grateful. 


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Everything’s Coming Up… GREEN!

Another busy weekend has come and gone.  This weekend, we worked on the office renovation project, gave the wagon a makeover, tilled a lot of ground, and planted sweet potatoes and red potatoes.  Thus far, everything is looking pretty good!  My biggest problem is that the garden is so big, I can’t get it all in one picture!

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This is the garden view diagonally from the pepper and tomato patch.

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LOTS of tomato plants! I think there are 48 plants and they’re all looking good!

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Broccoli and cabbage, jalapeno and cayenne pepper patch.

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This is the first greens patch. Every few days we pull the weeks and give those to the chickens. Makes them very happy 🙂