A Gift

Mother Nature gave us a gift yesterday, and we accepted it with every part of our being. It began with the most glorious sunrise, and finished with a beautiful sun setting slowly behind the trees. And in between, the sun hung high in the sky, warming our faces and our souls....18 degrees Celsius, my friends, 18 degrees!

We shared a lovely brunch with friends around our table....homemade granola with coconut milk yogurt, gluten free pancakes with our maple syrup and fresh fruit. We then made our way to the backyard where the adults drank tea in the sunshine and the kids ran free, slowly shedding layers of clothing as the morning passed by.

By mid afternoon, we said good bye to our friends, and my bare feet connected with the earth. Gosh it felt so good to feel the earth beneath my feet. I worked in the garden, planting a second sowing of seeds....a variety of lettuces, spinach, and kale, and the first peas, while my little man soaked up the freedom of the first "real" spring day, running around and playing in the yard, in short sleeves. Justin busied himself with tidying the back deck, cleaning our outdoor table, and bringing the cushions out from storage, all so we could enjoy dinner on the back deck. Yes, dinner outside! We lingered over our meal, still in awe over the day we experienced. It was truly a gift, one I didn't want to end. I know, though, that this is just the beginning of so many more beautiful days to come.

15/52

"A photo of my little man, once a week, every week, in 2015"

 

Reece, we stopped at the frog pond earlier this week, to check for frog eggs. You settled down beside the water to look for some, and when I looked over you seemed lost in your own thoughts. You were gazing out over the water, meditating, in your own way. I stood back, watching, breathing deeply, and thanking my lucky stars to be mothering you.

Joining Jodi for the 52 Project

Gratitude for the Past

Life is never one, happy, straight journey, it is a series of bumps in the road, curves that turn you around, and traffic jams that find you stuck on your path. Our life has definitely had its fair share of setbacks and struggles, tough days, that when we were stuck in them, we didn't quite know how we would get through. But we did. Looking back now, I realize that although those days are far behind us, they have played a very significant role in the life we lead today. You see had we not experienced the bumps, curves, and traffic jams in the days past, life would be very different right now, so very different.

Justin, Reece, and I spend our days here, on our small bit of earth. We homeschool, we tend chickens, we grow food, we make medicine, we create, we dream, we do things that make us happy. We wake when we want, we eat three meals a day around our table, together, and we enjoy quiet evenings at home, unfazed by the rush of the world outside our front door. It's a good life, a simple life, a life we have chosen, and crafted over the years because of things that happened 16 years ago. None of it has come without struggle and sacrifice, but what I realize now is that the struggle and sacrifice was worth it. Every setback, every moment that I asked "why us", all of those moments have brought us here.

If you told me 16 years ago, when our little world the way we knew it changed, that I would look back on those days with gratitude, I would not have believed it. But now, I do believe, and I am ever so grateful for the bumps along our path, they have been part of creating a life we are so very happy and content to be living. 

I Spy With My Little Eye...Something That is Green

A few days of beautiful, spring sunshine, combined with some evening rain showers, mean most of our snow is gone. There are still a few patches of snow here and there, but nothing a few warmer days won't melt away. Over the weekend I spent time in the garden, planting seeds in the cold frame, amending soil in the tunnels, and raking leaves away from some of the garden beds.

Every spring I am amazed at the little bits of green I spy peeking out from under last fall's leaves. All of the green in the photos above are perennial herbs....motherwort, comfrey, peppermint, nettles, lemon balm and catnip. To see these plants, the ones I use to heal my family, makes me smile, a deep, satisfying smile. I cherish these plants, I tend and nurture them with care and love, and as I harvest them, I offer gratitude with each snip of the scissors for the power each of them provides.

Gardening, for me, is more than just providing food for my family. Yes, that is a big part of it, but for me it is also about the journey, not just from seed to plate, but from seed to medicine, medicine that keeps us healthy and heals us. These plants, and the ones that will continue to push through the earth in the next month, are powerful in so many ways. I welcome them back as they awake, ready for another season of growth, and healing.

14/52

 "A photo of my little man, once a week, every week, in 2015"

 

Reece, slowly Lady Spring is making herself known, and we have been soaking it up the best we can. A few days this week tipped the scales of more time outside than inside, and after the long, cold winter we had, that made all of us so very happy. Here's to more of those days ahead.

Joining Jodi for the 52 Project

A Morning by The Lake

A lovely, spring like day.

A walk along the path, 

through the forest, and by the meadow, 

ending at the lake.

Kiddos, water and rocks.

Mamas sitting on a log, 

enjoying the sun, and chatting.

A slow meander back to the car, 

cardinals singing, red winged blackbirds calling. 

Soul filled, heart happy, 

thanks to a wonderful morning by the lake.

At the Pace of Nature

 Photos from a hike on March 20

Photos from a hike March 27

We are a family of nature lovers, and we love living life at the pace of nature. Mother Nature provides us with a slow, simple rhythm, and it is that rhythm which has always helped guide our year. From our early years of dating, to our now almost 20 years of marriage, Justin and I have always enjoyed our time in nature, and slowly over the years have become more entwined and rooted in her rhythm. While pregnant with Reece, I felt a pull to connect more deeply to nature, to the Mother of this earth, and found myself many times in the woods, or by the water, letting the sounds of nature sooth me and the little one growing inside me. After we welcomed Reece, the pull I felt in pregnancy was stronger, and I turned to the woods...to nature, to sooth both myself and Reece, and to tune into a deeper part of myself. During those early mothering years nature reminded me to move slowly, to look for the beauty around me, and to take time to connect to something bigger than me. In essence, to be mindful.

It was a powerful lesson in those early years, when around me the world was moving at a dizzying pace, trying to entice me into more of this and more of that. But Mother Nature had my back, she was a constant reminder to stay the course, to stick to my path, and be true to who I was. I have never forgotten those little reminders, and hold them close, even today.

As Mother Nature shifts from one season to the next, I feel the deep need to ground myself in her presence, to take in all she has to offer, and to connect with it all, through my senses. Whether we are moving from spring to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter or winter to spring, as we are now, I find my senses heightened, tuning into the changes, feeling the shift deep inside. On our last few hikes I have found myself in a space of full and deep gratitude for the simple pleasure of time in the woods, and I have noticed with every part of my being the shift we are experiencing. The smell of the earth waking from its winter nap, the electrifying sound of the male red winged blackbirds filling the woods, and sending the most amazing tingle through my entire being, the buds swelling on bare branches, the trumpeter and mute swans stopping over on our waterways on their travels further north, the mud squishing underfoot, the sighting of our first robin flitting through the trees, the warmth of the sun on my face, and so much more.

The earth is alive right now, with hope, and so much magic, and every day it calls to me, in a gentle whisper to come, come and feel the magic. And every day I give myself the time and space to listen to her call, to accept the invitation, and to live at her pace.