Monday, October 26, 2015

Catching Dreams







Last week, on yet another beautiful autumn day, I loaded the car up with snacks, colouring pencils and paper, audio books, and two kids, Reece, and his little homeschooling friend, and we traveled to Little City Farm for another gathering of like minded families. This time the workshop involved making dream catchers. Little hands worked carefully to shape dogwood branches into a circle, and then string was used to create intricate designs. Later beads and feathers were added. Our instructor shared with everyone the best place to hang them, and explained that bad dreams will get caught in the dream catcher, and good dreams will be allowed to float right on through.

It was, as always, a very enjoyable afternoon, filled with fun, crafting, and a little play to finish the afternoon. I can't tell you how much I enjoy our trips to Little City Farm, they fill me up in ways I can't explain, and make me feel connected to a wonderful community of people.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

43/52

  "A photo of my little man, once a week, every week, in 2015"
 
Reece, sweet boy, you light up my life, and make me feel like the luckiest mama alive. I love you little man.

Joining Jodi for the 52 Project

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Leaves and Beeswax





Living a life close to Mother Nature and her seasons is important to me. Recognizing the shift in seasons, exploring and fully connecting to each season, really sinking into the magic each season offers brings a certain comfort to my year. With each season there are rituals that appear year after year, little things we do to celebrate the beauty of nature, and this week we turned to one of those rituals. Reece and I collected a lot of beautiful leaves on our weekend hike in the woods, and knew exactly what we were going to do with them. With them pressed, and the house smelling of beeswax, we set ourselves up to wax our leaves yesterday morning. It is something we have done for the last few years, enjoying the calm, repetitive action of dipping, letting drip, and then setting to dry, before starting again with a new leaf. As we dip, favourite leaves are picked out and put aside, others are left to dry, and later strung to make a garland, and others are bagged up to share with friends. It's a ritual we have both come to love over the years, and one I know we will continue for many autumn seasons to come.

Monday, October 19, 2015

An Autumn Walk








We woke to a chill in the air, and frost on the ground. The woods called, and we heeded the call. As we stepped on the trail the leaves crunched beneath our feet, and the wind whispered gently through the trees. As leaves slowly floated to the ground, little hands tried to catch them, laughing the whole time. As we walked we filled our hands with colourful leaves, and filled our souls with the power and strength of nature. We walked hand in hand, we talked, we laughed, we stopped and listened. The birds sang for us, the squirrels chattered, and all around us nature shared so much. There is nothing quite as glorious as the woods in autumn, and yesterday, my little man and I soaked it up, together.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

42/52

  "A photo of my little man, once a week, every week, in 2015"
 
Reece, I looked at you this week, from afar, as you climbed and played in a tree, and I noticed just how much you have grown. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but observing you in that moment, I was. It is hard to believe that next month you will celebrate your 7th birthday, 7!!! Seven years of mothering you, of walking with you on your path, of learning and growing alongside you. You are the most amazing little man, and being your mama is the greatest gift.

Joining Jodi for the 52 Project

Friday, October 16, 2015

Around the Fall Garden










The fall garden clean up has begun. We were blessed with beautiful weather last weekend, and I spent one entire day in the garden. Most of that time was spent cleaning up, removing plants, harvesting the last tomatoes (yes, I harvested tomatoes on Thanksgiving weekend), adding compost and manure to the beds, and tending to the fall/winter garden. By the end of the day, I was dirty and tired, but goodness I got a lot done.

Still growing in the raised beds are carrots, strawberries, and raspberries. We are expecting a frost and snow this weekend, so this will be the last few days of harvesting berries. The carrots get sweeter with a frost, so we are really looking forward to harvesting those as we need them over the next few weeks.

The tunnels and cold frame are doing really well. The cold frame has spinach and salad mix in it, and the tunnel has bush beans, Swiss chard, kale, beets, and carrots. The tunnels are hinged which makes getting into them so much easier than our experience last year.

Next up on the gardening to do list is to cover all the beds in leaves. I think by next week there should be enough on the ground to start raking them up, and piling them on the beds. Also next week, the garlic will go in the ground, and get a thick cover of straw for the winter. The strawberry bed will also get covered in straw, and the blueberry and raspberry bushes all need a little tending before winter fully arrives. And then the last thing I need to do is get covers on the tunnel frames on one of the other raised beds, so it is ready for an early spring planting.

Still lots to do in the garden before it gets covered in snow, but all of it connects me to this land, and to the food I eat, and it truly is work I love to do.

How are things around your garden?

Monday, October 12, 2015

Gratitude


~ for the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet

~ for the beauty and glory of autumn


~ for the healing power of nature

~ for the love and support of friends and family


~ for my little man, and the joy he brings to my life

~ for creating the time and space to do the things that make me happy


~ for slow and simple days

~ for the courage to dream

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!!! What are you most grateful for today?

Saturday, October 10, 2015

41/52

"A photo of my little man, once a week, every week, in 2015"
 
Reece, I have spent a lot of time this week following you, more specifically, following you on your scooter. You ride every day, sometimes just up the road, other times we head to a paved trail where you can really let loose, and give it your all. I love it when you ride ahead, the wind in your hair, your laughter echoing back to me. You will often stop once you feel you are far enough ahead, and then turn and look back for me. I wave, and then watch as you ride towards me, with a smile so bright it lights up my world. These are the moments, little man, the small, simple moments that bring so much joy to my days.

Joining Jodi for the 52 Project

Monday, October 5, 2015

Morning on the Homestead









Saturday morning dawned in full autumn glory with a chill in the air and cool winds, perfect for my first Morning on the Homestead workshop. The workshop was full, six kiddos ready to enjoy a morning here, enjoying our land and connecting with nature.

We started with a song, introduced ourselves, and then headed straight for the blue spruce tree. We looked at it, touched it, smelled it, and carefully collected a few branches of needles. From there we headed to a Jack pine tree, and did the same thing, before heading over to our table to pick the needles off the stems, chop them, and put them to infuse in mason jars with hot water.

While our teas were infusing we all worked together to get a fire going in the fire pit. Then we mixed up some gluten free bannock, wrapped the dough around sticks, and cooked them over the fire. This was a lesson in patience for most of them, and at times I was left holding more than one stick, trying to cook them. Once they were all cooked it was time to eat, and enjoy our pine needle tea, and blue spruce needle tea. We topped the bannock with some homemade strawberry jam, and I brought out two platters, one with apples and cinnamon, and the other with oranges. The teas had a little maple syrup added to them, and then we gave them a taste.

As I stood around that table, with six kids, not one of them said no to trying the tea or the bannock. They didn't all enjoy it, but they all tasted everything, and that for me, was huge. By far the Jack pine tea was preferred over the blue spruce tea, and the bannock was either a really bit hit or a really big miss. Three of the kiddos ate most of the bannock, and three only had a taste. The apples and oranges were devoured.

While I made sure our fire was slowly fading, and got set up for our craft, the kids played for a bit. Then we sat on the front porch and wet felt some balls, later gluing them to acorn tops to make felted acorns. This was a big hit, and each child went home with a few acorns to decorate their nature tables with.

A little more free play to end the morning, and then everyone went home. It was a busy morning, and I am pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves, and had fun. I know I sure did!

Saturday, October 3, 2015

40/52

"A photo of my little man, once a week, every week, in 2015"
 
Reece, I know I posted this photo of you on the blog already this week, but I really wanted it to be a part of this project, it captures so much of who you are right now. You, my little man, are so full of life, and you exude pure joy in everything you do. Your eyes sparkle, and through them I catch glimpses of the beautiful soul inside you. You get up each morning ready to take on the world, and each night you drift off to sleep with a smile on your face, content. Every day is an adventure for us, filled with ups and downs, but together we are making our way, and enjoying every moment.

Joining Jodi for the 52 Project

Friday, October 2, 2015

His First Project



My little man has taken to knitting in a way I never expected. He gets up in the morning asking to knit, he sits in the afternoon knitting quietly, and before he goes to bed he wants to knit a row or two. It has been an absolute pleasure to watch him, to see the excitement in his eyes, and to sit beside him, both of us with needles in hand, knitting.

He completed his first project on Tuesday, a chicken. I did the casting on for this project, he knit a square, and then I did the casting off. I then set him up with a yarn needle, we folded the square corner to corner to make a triangle, and he stitched up the sides. Near the end, he left a little spot open, stuffed it, and then sewed it up. Together we pulled the left over yarn through the center, to create the body of the chicken, and then tied it off. Reece then finger knit a yellow comb for his chicken and I attached it for him.

To say he was a little excited to see the finished product would be an understatement. That chicken has gone pretty much everywhere with him, and he quickly decided that a baby chick was necessary, and once I cast on for him, he was busy, knitting away, making his baby chick.