Seven Things

Thankful. Smiling. Laughing. Appreciating. Adoring.

 

Loving. Holding. Remembering. Sharing. 

Here are seven little things that I'm loving today.

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:: Summer knitting by the fire, outside

:: How much my little man knows about his food and where it comes from

:: Fresh picked tomatoes on the windowsill

:: Touching the earth and feeling her strength

:: My first batch of homemade kombucha

:: Finding the perfect spot to picnic with my little man on one of our hikes

:: Fireside evenings on the deck

 What simple little things are you loving today?

***I am pleased to be a contributor in the current issue of Green Child Magazine, hop on over and take a little look at page six :)

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Linking up with Lisa at Little Coffee Beans for Seven Things

A Magical Moment

Earlier this summer, as Reece and I explored the forest, we looked for monarch eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves. We were lucky enough to find two eggs, but unfortunately they didn't hatch.  We continued our search with each adventure into the forest, but were not able to find another egg. I told Reece we would try again next year.

But two weeks ago on our evening walk a lovely little monarch caterpillar was making its way across the road right at our feet. I knew by its size and the fact it had left its food source that it was most likely getting ready for its final molt and trasnformation into a chrysalis. We picked it up, brought home some milkweed and created a little home for our caterpillar.

By the next day it was hanging upside down in the shape of a "j" ready to begin the process of becoming a butterfly.

We awoke the next morning to discover the chrysalis, where it would remain for nine days.

On Friday morning last week, we took a little peek at our monarch and it had changed colour, becoming a little darker and you could begin to see its beautiful monarch wings. I knew it would hatch soon. With Reece and I leaving for an overnight visit to see my sister in law and niece the monarch came along too.

Later that afternoon we were all amazed by the magical moment in which this beautiful butterfly emerged. The beauty, the simplicity and the peaceful atmosphere overwhelmed all of us. We watched as she prepared for life as a butterfly. Within in half an hour I gently placed my finger underneath her front legs and she crawled onto my finger.

We each took some time with her. We named her Clara. We watched her, we examined her, we were amazed by her.

As time passed, she began to move her wings, the next step in preparing to fly away. We gently moved her to a lovely blackberry bush in the backyard and watched, anticipating her first attempt at flight.

She sat for a long time gently stretching our her wings and then with a final flutter she flew off.  Good bye Clara!

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Linking up with Heather at Naturally Crafted Mama for {Into Nature}

Linking up with Brooke at Barefoot Five for Touch the Earth

Happy Weekending

 “There are only two ways to live your life. 

One is as though nothing is a miracle. 

The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 

~Albert Einstein~

Wishing you and yours a weekend of fun and adventure!

{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.

Garden Notes

The garden is growing well despite the fact we have had little to no rain at all in the last few weeks. We have drained the rain barrels and have been doing our best to keep everything from drying out without drying out the well. It has not been easy, but so far so good.

We are eating kale, Swiss chard, strawberries, beets, carrots, cucumbers, onions, zucchinis, peppers, tomatoes and herbs. The green beans are almost ready. Reece and I tested a few yesterday, but they need another day or two. The watermelon looks great, but no sign of any melons yet. First year for this, Reece saw it at a garden center we visited and wanted to give it a try. The eggplants are getting ready to blossom and the wild raspberries around our property have provided many wonderful afternoons of picking.

The bugs I mentioned in my last garden update have moved on, yay!! And the good news is the sunflowers won the battle and are standing tall, getting ready to bloom.

So, grab a cup of tea and take a little stroll with me:

Tomatoes!!! Everyday there are new red ones ready to be picked

Yellow pear tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes

Lovely peppers

A butternut squash, one of Reece's favourite winter vegetables

The kale and chard garden...my favourite

Peek

Beet juice is often on the meal plan in the morning...delish!

Green beans...not sure how many of these will make it into the house, we eat them straight up :)

Watermelon

Cucumbers

Zucchinis

First sunflower

Another one almost ready

A bee enjoying my yellow echinacea

Gorgeous lilies...I counted 26 open yesterday and still more to bloom..their scent fills our yard

A lovely little field of goose necks in one of my gardens

Butterfly bush

Hope you enjoyed the walk around our garden. How is your garden growing?

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Linking up with Elisa Loves for Nature Walk

Yarn Along

I am working away on another Milo and enjoying it. I love knitting this little vest, and I am pretty sure it’s because soon it will be on a lovely little bundle of joy. Oh how I love babies.

On the reading front, it has been doula reading all week long, all of it interesting and teaching me so much. So excited to be on this path, and looking forward to sharing in the birth of so many lovely little ones.

What are you knitting and reading this week?

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Linking up with Nicole over at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On

Linking up with Ginny over at Small Things for Yarn Along.

These Moments Make Me Smile

Reece: "Where are you going?"

Me: "Out to the garden to pick some food for lunch. Wanna come?"

Reece: "Sure."

One of the most important lessons my little man has learned in his short time on this wonderful earth...

his food comes from the backyard. 

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Linking up with Barefoot Five for Touch the Earth

Taking Risks

Last week as Reece climbed a large rock at the Brick Works Farmers Market, I sat back and enjoyed his ability to take a risk. I watched as he carefully and cautiously climbed up the rock. I smiled when he looked back at me from the top of the rock with a huge smile, eyes sparkling and a big “I did it!”

Taking risks is part of life. And yes there was the potential that Reece’s little rock climbing adventure could have turned out differently. But I chose to enjoy the moment. I chose not to let my nervousness cloud his judgement. I chose to relax and let him make his own way. I chose to enjoy the moment.

And if the moment had turned out differently I would have offered my hand to help my little man up. I would have held him, maybe nursed him, and I would have told him how proud I was that he took the risk and tried.  And then I would have asked if he wanted my help to try again.

Taking risks, pushing our limits, walking our edge is important in life. If Reece is to learn, grow and change he needs to see how far he can go. And yes, sometimes he will fail. But when he does, he will get back up, on his own or with a helping hand.  This lesson is important. He needs to know that failure is an option. He needs to know it is okay to take a risk and fail. These are not easy lessons for him and certainly not easy lessons for this mama to watch, but if he never experiences these moments, these failures, how on earth will he learn to get back up and try again...

I will be there every step of the way, watching with pride as he accomplishes the next challenge he takes or lending a hand, a hug and a shoulder to cry on when he needs to release the emotions of failing. And I will certainly be there when he tries again, because my little man, this amazing creature who teaches me something each and every day, will try again. He will succeed; it just might take a few tries.

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Linking up with Small Town Simplicity for Mindful Mothering Monday's