sunday afternoon walk

checking on the apple tree on my lazy sunday afternoon walk

It turned out to be a very warm day today, but thanks to our trees we're staying nice and cool inside. I'm not sure I enjoyed them very much this past Fall, but I do now appreciate all the leaves that provide shade around our house. I love walking around outside, stopping to see our newest blooms. Yesterday I said 'goodbye' to June's peonies on the north side of the house, and 'hello' to our new day lilies  facing south.

And this honeysuckle vine growing right outside the mudroom door is glorious! Its scent comes alive in the warm evenings and makes its way up through our bedroom windows. As I lay in bed last night, I could smell the sweet scent of honeysuckle and hear crickets chirping, frogs croaking and our little creek moving along.

the creek and a new favorite

Phil removed a ton of blackberry brambles so the kids could have access to the creek. A few weeks ago we finished reading On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder, so my kids decided to name our little creek Blackberry Creek, or Berry Creek, for short. I love watching them splash and wade around in the water.

I think I've discovered a new favorite. It's up there with reading to my kids and baking. Are you ready for this? It's spreading fresh, clean straw in the sheep's newly-cleaned stall. The work is gruesome - the pitchfork, the stench of manure and urine. That part is not so fun. But I love the sweet smell of fresh straw and its crackly sound underfoot. Spreading it around a clean stall for the sheep gives me the same kind of feeling that I get when I tuck my kids into bed after they've had a nice, warm bath. I love it that much. I didn't at first. I remember muttering words to the pitchfork like, "This isn't me. This just isn't me." But it is. It's becoming me.

our little garden

Things are coming along in the garden! It's so fun to see new little sprouts pop up every day.

our before picture

morning at the farmer's market