JL English 91st Birthday Party At The English Farm in Alpharetta Georgia

JL English 91st Birthday Party At The English Farm

What do you give a man who has everything he wants in life?  My father-in-law had his 91st birthday yesterday.  He is 91 years old.  There are no material wants in his life….period.  He has everything he wants and lives a fairly austere life.  So, we got together and gave him something he loves….help in the garden.

 

J.L. English started farming this land in 1954 when he purchased 40 acres in Alpharetta Georgia.  When he moved from Atlanta to Alpharetta it was rural farming country.  His wife, Helen English, cried for a year because she could not see a neighbor without walking half a mile.

Mr. English raised corn and black Angus cattle.  He also tried raising chickens commercially and pigs.  But cattle and corn were his mainstays.

O yeah, he also had a full time job so farming was done “on the side”.

 

 

Mr. English had asked us to mulch and stake the 55 tomatoes he had planted.  Yes, Mr. English had already planted 55 tomato plants.  By the time we arrived he had already mulched and staked 40 of them!  It is hard work.  The man is 91 years old.

In the photo I am applying mulch to a plant, my father Bill Bryant (white T shirt) is spreading mulch around a plant and my daughter Ellie English is unloading the mulch from the truck.

 

Notice the garden in the back ground.  Mr. English has corn coming up, okra, yellow squash, many varieties of peppers, beans, cucumbers, eggplant and more!  He is a master gardener.

After gardening, Mr and Mrs English had a rest in the back yard.

While we were gardening, my husband Tim grilled a whole prime rib.

We had a lovely dinner as Tim’s brother Paul English and family joined us for dinner as did my mother Martha Bryant.

Check out the dinner menu:

14 pounds of slow roasted / grilled prime rib.

Green beans from Mr. English’s 2009 garden.  Mrs. English has a fabulous recipe I can not duplicate!

Sally’s famous twice stuffed potatoes.  A favorite with the English men.

Martha Bryant chopped salad with home made salad dressing.

Savannah Jo English (Paul and Dani’s daughter, my niece) Mac and Cheese.

Ellie English (middle daughter who will be a senior at Vanderbilt this fall!) blueberry crumble made from JL English 2009 blueberries that Ellie picked and froze.

Dani English (Paul’s wife, my sister in law) home made vanilla ice cream.  This was a killer as no one left room for dessert.  We ate it anyway.

Jake English, my nephew, said an incredibly nice blessing for us (along with others at the table).  I was touched when he said he was thankful for ‘grand daddy” teaching him how to play baseball.

So, what do you give a man who has everything……food, fellowship and fun.  We had a great evening.  Everybody was worn out but well satisfied.

More photos……

 

 

My English Springer Spaniel, Millie, wrestles with her country cousin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah English arrived direct from school.  She will be a senior at The Lovett School next fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ellie English applying newspaper mulch to the tomatoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helen English relaxing after the green beans were prepared.