Weekend Links

:: great tips on rocking parenting

:: a little garden inspiration...and yes we will have one in our yard this summer

:: I can't wait to paint the sky with Reece

:: looking forward to trying this soup

:: a fun craft for this time of year

:: we should all linger just a little longer in nature

:: this tunic is on the sewing to do list

:: turn your life into an abundant garden with these tips

:: imagine the world if we all did this

:: the work of parenting

I hope your weekend is filled with love, laughter and adventure. Enjoy!

{This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soulemama.

Walking Among the Trilliums

After dinner walks become a little magical at this time of the year. Our neighbour's forest floor is a blanket of trilliums and we take time every day, for the short time they bloom, to walk down and see them. It is breathtaking and beautiful.

Nature continues to amaze me, year after year, season after season, day after day. Her simple, quiet beauty fills me with gratitude and makes me smile.

What's blooming in your part of the world?

An Obsession

Indigo bunting

Rose breasted grosbeaks

We, all three of us, have a confession to make...we have been spending far too much time with our eyes behind binoculars and our noses buried in bird books.

We have always had an interest in the birds that make our backyard their home, but this year, for whatever reason, we are noticing so many amazing birds we have not seen in our backyard before. I will admit it is very exciting and has us checking out the back door often to see who is at the feeders.

A few weeks ago I shared a list of some of the birds we had been seeing but this weekend tops that list. On Saturday morning alone 15 different birds stopped by to visit our feeders and hang out for a while. We basically spent the morning glued to the back door.

Here's a little list of what we saw:
~ rose breasted grosbeaks
~ cardinals
~ goldfinches
~ red wing blackbirds
~ chipping sparrows
~ robins, we have been watching them make a nest and now mama robin sits patiently on her eggs
~ cowbirds
~ blue jays, at one point Saturday afternoon about 20 blue jays swooped down on the feeders, it was amazing to watch
~ red breasted nuthatches
~ eastern towhee
~ song sparrows
~ white crowned sparrows
~ chickadees
~ morning doves
~ indigo bunting, this was a special treat. He was beautiful and hung around Saturday and Sunday. We have not seen him since.

I can't really describe how exciting it was to see all this action in our backyard. Watching Reece look up the birds in the book, asking us to read him the information about them and seeing him with binoculars in hand looking at the birds...well, it fills me with so much joy. It is pretty amazing to witness the birds in our backyard, but even more amazing to witness the pure joy Reece exudes as he watches and learns about the birds in our backyard.

*** I wish I had better pictures, these were taken from inside and from quite a distance. It would be okay to assume I have been looking at lenses :)

Mother's Day in the Woods

I don't think any of you will be surprised to hear that my one wish for Mother's day was to spend time in the woods with Justin and Reece. And that is exactly what we did.

After breakfast we packed up the backpacks with food, water, hot tea (it was a little chilly yesterday), field guides, binoculars, a first aid kit and the camera and we hit the road for a new to us nature center.

I am not totally sure if it was the weather (cold, rain, hail and snow) that kept people away, but when we drove into the parking lot we were the only ones there. We gathered our packs and away we went. It was a stunning hike through many different landscapes. There was the pine forest, the cedar forest, the lake view and the meadow. There were swampy areas to get through, and magical forest floors covered in pine needles. We found huge nests of caterpillars, wildflowers, amazing trees, lovely little bridges, signs of beavers and so much more.

As we headed back to the car, wet and cold, we couldn't help but smile. We spent time together, connecting to each other and to nature. We talked, we laughed, we explored. We hid under trees as the rain came down, we ran through the hail, we basked in the sunshine that peeked out from the clouds every so often. We had a wonderful time.

It was the perfect way to spend Mother's Day.

18 Years

"We are a work in progress with a lifetime commitment."   
~ Unknown ~

Happy Anniversary Justin!

{This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. Inspired by Soulemama.

***Last chance to enter this awesome little giveaway.