Around the Garden

Do you see those empty beds in the first photo? Yup, they have been completely harvested. One has actually been empty for a while, that was the garlic bed. The other one we have been slowly harvesting the beets from and getting them put up for the winter ahead. The last batch came out of the ground on the weekend along with the onions that were planted in there too.

The bed has been worked over, compost and manure added and will be seeded tomorrow with kale, Swiss chard, arugula, mesclun mix and beets. If all goes well we will have a lovely fall harvest.

We have been lucky this year in that the bugs have not been too bad, but after a few busy days away from the garden some of the squash and zucchini got hit with powdery mildew. We have been treating it naturally, but I think I can safely say most of the squash is gone. There are four plants that seem to have fought through so we are keeping a close eye on them and hoping we can get a few squashes from them. The zucchini was caught in time and didn't suffer too much damage. And truth be told we have harvested so much zucchini already this summer, I wouldn't have been too upset if it had been struck. 

Other than that the garden is doing great. The strawberry plants are still giving us lovely juicy berries. We planted some alpine strawberries this year and they are super sweet, almost like a dehydrated strawberry. Different, but good. The tomatoes are slowly ripening and cucumbers, green beans, zucchini, kale and Swiss chard are on our dinner plates regularly. I have been patiently waiting for the potato greens to die back and couldn't wait any longer, I dug around on Sunday to take a look and harvested our first potatoes. We promptly ate them for dinner. This was our first year using the no dig method for growing potatoes and it seems to have worked very well. Definitely will do it again next year.

The herb garden is growing well and I have been harvesting herbs daily for both cooking and infusing. Comfrey, yarrow and lavender are being infused on my kitchen windowsill right now and calendula flowers are harvested as they bloom and drying. As soon as I have enough they too will be infused in oil and later made into healing salves.

It has been a great year in the garden, and I am feeling so very grateful for the food it is providing for us.

How are things around your garden?

Wildflowers and Water

An afternoon in the woods with my little man searching for wildflowers, looking them up in our wildflower guide, taking photos and then heading for the creek to dip our feet and cool off.

It's a good way to spend a few hours.

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I was guest posting over at So Fawned yesterday, sharing a little about our decision to homeschool.

His Own Way

Last spring Reece was gifted a bicycle from my parents. He was excited to move up from his tricycle to a "big boy" bike, training wheels and all. Shortly after receiving it he was out riding with my dad and had a little fall, not a bad one, but enough to shake his confidence. The rest of the summer was spent on his scooter with a little bit of time here and there on his tricycle. I would ask occasionally if he wanted to ride his "red" bike, the answer was always, "not today."

This spring, once the snow had cleared, Reece was back on his scooter and also spending time on his tricycle. Again, I asked occasionally if he wanted to ride his red bike, but I was still met with "not today."

Throughout the summer the scooter has seen the most use and he as moved up from a three wheeled scooter to a two wheeled scooter. He has been happy flying up and down our walkway or the bike path on his scooter. Then last week he switched focus, he wanted to ride the red bike. He has been riding it up and down the walkway, on the bike path and on our quiet country roads.

Friday night Justin brought out his bike after dinner and the two of them rode up the road together while I walked behind with the dog. Upon arriving home I heard a little voice say, "can we take the extra wheels off?" I was already making my way into the house and continued to do so, not wanting to put too much pressure on him. Inside I could hear the chatter as Justin took the training wheels off. Then the call "don't let go". I watched quietly from a window as pure joy swept across his face.

I waited patiently for him to call, and finally after thirty minutes he came running inside asking me to come and watch.

There are no words to describe this moment. His pride shining through. His smile filling his face. I stood watching, in silence, wiping away a few tears and then ran over and gave him a high five. He was beaming, and so was I.

This little man of mine is growing up. I watch as each day he wakes up a little more confident and independent than the day before. He is testing himself, trying out new things and succeeding. Succeeding in his own way and in his own time, no pressure from me, or Justin. Instead we sit back and watch his journey unfold, walking with him, holding his hand when he wants us to and letting go when he wants to move ahead on his own.

Reece is carving out his own path in this world and I am so very happy and grateful to be along for the ride.

{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.

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I am sharing a little piece over at Anchor and Plume Press today, stop by and say hi.

Visiting the Butterflies

It was around this time last year that we watched a butterfly emerge from her chrysalis. It was a magical moment which left quite the impression on my little man. This summer his love for all things butterfly and moth continues which lead Justin and I to plan a little day trip to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory.

We packed up a picnic lunch and hit the road by 8am on Tuesday morning. Our first stop was Niagara Falls. A little walk along the falls, feeling the mist on our faces and enjoying a few stops to take in the view was the perfect way to start our little day trip. We then took a little walk through some of the lovely green spaces along the falls and came across a pond. Reece spent a good deal of time trying to catch some frogs and we just sat back with fingers crossed that he wouldn't end up in the pond. 

We found a shady spot under an old tree and enjoyed a picnic before driving to the butterfly conservatory. The excitement from a certain little man in the back seat was hard to contain.  I think the moment he stepped into the conservatory all his dreams came true, well at least the dreams he has about butterflies.

The experience of the conservatory was amazing for all of us, but for Reece it was so much more. He was in his element watching them, looking at them, holding them and just taking it all in. We walked past the exit at least three times, opting to take yet another walk around the conservatory. 

When he had finally had enough we followed the path to the exit and said good bye to all the butterflies. Reece was beaming, full of so much joy over spending time in the conservatory and getting up close and personal with some many butterflies.

We then took a little walk through the botanical gardens before driving on to Niagara-on-the-Lake where we strolled the charming streets and enjoyed dinner before the long drive home.

A wonderful day all around and one I am sure we will be hearing about a lot.

A Little Day Trip

We took a little day trip yesterday, Niagara Falls and back. There was a little stop at the falls, a picnic, a lovely visit at the Butterfly Conservatory and a stroll and dinner at Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was a long day, but was filled with lots of smiles, laughter and joy.

I will be back tomorrow to share more about our day and photos...oh my, so many photos to go through.

Solar Printing

A little something caught my eye at a local bookstore last week, a Solar Printing Kit. While Reece was busy looking at some puppets, I picked it up and purchased it, hoping the perfect afternoon would present itself for some solar printing.

Sunday was it. The sun was shining, I had spent the morning on the trails with my nature journal and camera and Justin and Reece had been playing at home. After lunch I brought out the kit and the three of us tried it out.

We started by collecting some things from the garden to make our prints. We carefully removed the solar paper from its dark packaging and gently placed everything within the frame. Outside to the sun we went. It only took about three minutes for the dark blue paper to turn white, signaling the print was complete.

We came inside and proceeded with the next step, soaking the print in a little bit of water for one minute and then laying it on a towel to dry.

Ninety minutes later we had the most beautiful prints created with a few nature treasures from the garden, some solar paper and the sun. Amazing!

Lucky for us there are ten more sheets of solar paper...so many prints to be made.