Beavers

I am not sure what it is about beavers, but every time I came across their handy work I am amazed. On Sunday, after enjoying brunch at my parents place, we went for a walk in the woods, the same woods I used to play in as a child. My dad was eager to show Reece the work of the beavers. It was fascinating to see these trees, to look at the beaver tracks, and to see dams that have been removed by the city, only to be built up again.

I can only imagine the strength of their teeth, the determination required to gnaw away on the trees until they fall, and then the work required to build the dam. They are very persistent creatures, and pretty darn resilient. We enjoyed our time exploring this area where they are trying to build a new dam, and hoped one might just pop up to say hello, but, no luck...maybe next time.

Joining Chrisy

Morning, Noon and Night

Morning, noon and night...three little peeks into my day yesterday.

Morning, 10:15am

Noon, 12:30pm

Night, 9pm

 ***If you would like to play along leave your link in the comments section so I can stop by and visit.*** 

Autumn Beauty

We have a tradition in our little family that dates back 22 years. Every Thanksgiving Monday since Justin and I met, we have hiked. For the longest time we visited the same trail, taking pictures of each other at the same places every year. When Reece came along we continued the tradition, and then a few years ago we switched it up by hiking at different spots each year. With the weather man forecasting rain for today, we decided to move our family hike to Saturday. We hit a spot not far from our home, and enjoyed a few hours on the trail.

Hiking together as a family is one of those things that makes me so very happy. To watch Reece in nature running free makes my heart sing. And as he runs ahead, Justin and I have time to think about years past, time to talk about the little things, and time to linger in the present. I stop to take pictures, Justin stops to look at trees, and Reece stops to pick up leaves, acorns, and rocks, all treasures that will bring back memories of this day, and this hike.

We have our fingers crossed that the weather reports will be wrong, it has been known to happen, and today will bring clear skies, and the chance for more time in nature, together.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!!!

41/52

"A photo of my little man, once a week, every week, in 2014"

 

Reece, your dad and I enjoyed watching you run on our hike today. You ran, and ran, free and wild.

Joining Jodi for the 52 Project

Rhythm vs Schedule

I have been having an interesting email conversation over the last week or so with a mom interested in homeschooling, and more so, in our days here at our home. I shared some of my thoughts about homeschooling, and our daily rhythm. As our conversation grew there was difficulty in understanding how I keep to a rhythm. In her mind our day to day rhythm was set out in what I call a schedule format, with specific times for everything. This is in fact very far from the truth.

We follow a very specific rhythm in our home, but it is not a schedule. For us, rhythm refers to the flow of our days. And really, it is not only our days that have a rhythm, but we also have weekly, monthly and yearly rhythms. So just how does it work. We have "anchors" in our day, these include our morning routine, our meal times, and our evening bedtime routine. These happen at pretty much the same times each day, and anchor our days. They are the foundation of our days, and from these each day flows.

Our homeschool days include lots of free play, a circle and story time, a nature walk, reading, sometimes handwork, baking or water colour painting, outdoor play, and of course meals and snacks. There might be a craft worked in somewhere, or some letter writing/drawing to penpals, and there is always time spent drawing, playing games, and tidying our home. What there isn't is a set time for all of this to occur. After breakfast, once Reece and his little friend have helped clear the table, they run off for a little free play time while I tidy up and do the dishes. Once I am done, I check in on them. If they are playing well, I let them keep playing, if for whatever reason they are not playing well, I start to sing our song to let them know circle time is starting. I have not set a time that circle time must start, we just go with the flow, and I observe the kids and follow their lead. Our nature walk is the same. Some days we are out for half an hour, other days we could be out there for over an hour. I usually throw a little something in my pocket for them to eat, a banana or something simple, so if we get delayed, we have a snack to eat, before heading home for a bigger snack. The rest of our day together continues in the same way, flowing from one activity to another. There is a definite plan for each day, but I am not a slave to the clock, although based on our meal and snack times, which are eaten around the same time each day, I do have an idea of when I want certain things to happen.

For us, rhythm is a guide, helping us move through the day with ease, and for the most part, calm and peace. There is predictability for the kids in that they can trust what each day will bring, and with that trust they can fully sink into their imaginative play and activities.

We chatted a bit about what our non-homeschool days look like, the weekends for example, and the truth is the anchors in our day...mornings, meal times and evening bedtimes help make our weekends flow as well. The morning and evening anchors bookend our days, starting and finishing our days as we normally do, and our mealtime anchors create times for us to gather during the day to check in with each other and chill. These anchors give us freedom to do things together as a family, and also to be a little more spontaneous when things come up that we might like to do, while still offering the predictability that is so important, not only for Reece, but for us too.

For me, rhythm and schedule are two very different things, but for some it can be hard to understand the difference. I think if we look to Mother Nature, we can really see how rhythm and schedule differ. The schedule would say that fall should be here on September 21, but the rhythm of Mother Nature is often different. She flows between fall like days, and summer like days as she slowly shifts from summer to fall. The calender may say fall, but we were having summer like days here last week. This week we are definitely experiencing fall in all its beauty, with a bit of chill on the side. Nothing is set in stone with Mother Nature, she just flows, with grace and beauty through the year. My hope is that our days flow in much the same way.

Three Years and a Giveaway

It is hard to believe it has been three years since I hit publish on my first post in this little space. This space has become a special spot for me. It is a place I come to regularly to share bits and pieces of our days....moments that I want to remember, moments in our days that make me happy, and moments that fill me with gratitude. This space is for me, and always has been, but over the last three years it has also become a community. A community of wonderful people, most of whom I have never met, but feel connected to. Comments are exchanged through our blogs, emails are sent, and handwritten letters and little packages mailed. I have gotten to know many of you, and your families, some of us share similar lifestyles, some of us don't, yet there is a common thread that unites us all....motherhood (or maybe I should say parenthood, there are a few dads out there reading too). That common thread is strong, and has brought us together, "meeting" regularly to share our days.

So, with three years down, and I have no idea how many more ahead, today I want to say thank you. Thank you for coming here to read when I post. Thank you for sharing your life with me. Thank you for commenting, emailing, and connecting. Thank you for the last three years which have showed me that no matter how different we are, becoming a parent connects us all.

To celebrate, let's do giveaway. For one winner we have created the following: a lovely little wooden owl, made by Justin, a God's eye, made by Reece, and a body butter and healing salve, made by me. All of that to one winner! To enter, simply leave a comment. Even if you have never commented before, just say hi today, and be entered to win. Giveaway is open worldwide. Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you, should you win. I will close comments on Sunday October 12 at 7pm, and announce the winner within this post.

Much love and hugs to all of you for a wonderful three years in this space. Thank you. xo

******************************************************************

Thank you for all the lovely comments, they mean the world to me, and made me smile. 

The winner is:

Tracey 

"Happy blog birthday Kim and for hosting such a wonderful giveaway. 

I would love to have my name entered if you are accepting names from the US"

Congratulations Tracey!

Around the Fall Garden

Life is good in the fall garden. Things are growing, we are harvesting food, and we survived our first frost. Work has been slow since I last updated you on our garden. First, there was some glorious fall weather which begged to be enjoyed, we played and hiked a lot, and then the rain came, lots of it. Between storms on the weekend, I headed out to pick the last strawberries, clean out the strawberry bed, and cover two of the front beds with leaves. The last bed, in the very front, is for garlic, which will get planted sometime next week, and then covered with straw. The back beds, no picture this week, they look the same as my last update, still need a layer of leaves. That will hopefully get done this weekend, if enough leaves have fallen.

I am so happy with the tunnels, everything is growing well, and there are no bugs. The first tunnel is lush, and we are harvesting a little bit from it each day. The second tunnel is slowing catching up to the first, and I have started to harvest just a bit from it here and there. They still need a layer of plastic for the cold winter, but for now, the row covers offer enough protection, and don't require us to be careful of temperature changes, as the plastic would.

The cold frame is working well, some slugs are enjoying my pak choi, but they seem to be leaving everything else alone. I have been hand picking them when I harvest, but truth be told, I just don't spend as much time in the garden at this time of year. As we move into this season of fall/winter gardening, our first, there is a definite difference in how we go about gardening. The energy with which I go about summer gardening has faded, the shift from our summer rhythm to our homeschool rhythm changes things, and we have begun the movement indoors to enjoy activities in the warmth and coziness of our home. All of this means the garden has moved down the priority list. And I am okay with that. I am happy to peek out the window at the tunnels, I enjoy heading out before our meals to pick food to eat, and I am still excited about the prospect of eating fresh food from the garden when snow is falling, and old man winter has arrived, but I don't have the desire to be in the garden every day, like I do in the summer. Fall/winter gardening is a new experience, one I am enjoying, but it is different.

How are things around your garden?