Completely Distracted

The weather is beautiful, the flowers are in bloom, we have chicks, goldfish in the pond, corn is knee-high... There is so much outside that it's difficult to focus on the stuff inside. Unfinished projects, unread books, neglected blog... but I just cannot help myself, I'd rather be witnessing nature.

These hostas ring the garden area under the enormous walnut tree on the north side of our house. Hostas are terrific and these are among my favorites. Both varieties were splits from friends' gardens and as they are of the yellow green persuasion tolerate moderate sun. We have so many that this fall I may be stopping people driving down the road to share ;-)

Storms and Stepping Out

My goodness but it stormed here this morning. Thunder, lightning, pouring rain. It was something to behold. I love a good storm, so I threw open the windows, shut down the computers and stood on the porch, until the wind drove me inside to shut windows, wipe down sills and marvel and the amount of water rushing out of every downspout. Mother Nature was definately putting on a show and I'm happy to say that all is well.

Our chicks, three weeks old today, are looking a little rough as the fluff makes way for the feathers. Yesterday was a big day for them as they ventured outside of their coop for the first time. Not all made it out, but most did, if only for a minute.

"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become." ~uncertain

The Casual Garden

This is really the first place I've lived where I've had the chance to explore my inner gardner. I'm what you might kindly refer to as a casual gardner... I don't like weeding, I don't like fussy plants and I don't really have a plan. What I do have is an amazing husband who could 'poo-poo' my crazy ideas, but instead brings his own ideas and sense of adventure and jumps in with both feet.

Most of our gardens look the way they do because we chanced into something wonderful by saying, lets just try this. Mind you, it's not always sunshine and roses, but we've been married long enough that a cross word exchanged in the heat of rock wall building or dirt hauling is easily forgiven.

This year is our first without a major garden project, which is just a little bit odd, but really, really ok. I'm proud of the work we've done and am planning to spend time this year documenting some of the projects, perhaps thinking about next years adventure.

This picture is of our smaller pond, which is my husbands pride. The man hours required for hauling rocks is best not thought about, but the result is pretty awesome. The pond has two small waterfalls, which are not 'on' in this picture, and five goldfish, that survived the winter!

Here is my short list of gardening tru-isms:

Gardening is not for sissies... Even the casual sort must be willing to get dirty and sweat.

Not everything will survive... Hard, but true. Think 'Circle of Life'.

Be willing to fail... When you are willing to fail, there is great joy in the process. Even when you are moving something that you already moved once, or twice, or...

The Voice
Shel Silverstein ~ from the book "Falling Up" (1996)

There is a voice inside of you
that whispers all day long,
"I feel that this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong."
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
or wise man can decide
what's right for you - just listen to
the voice that speaks inside.

We love this poem in our house. If you haven't discovered Shel Silverstein or if it's been a while, pick up a book. You will never regret it.

It's raining!

I love the rain.

If you've read my previous posts, you might be thinking to yourself 'this woman loves everything'. Which is mostly true, I do tend to love more and dislike less.

This morning has become increasingly gloomy, as the storm covered the sun with clouds. Now the rain has started and I hope will stick around a while. I hear rumblings, but Mother Nature has her own plans... So we'll see.

Even the birds, which are chirping wildly just now, are enjoying this rain. We've had several warm clear days, so the rain is very welcome indeed.

I hope your day includes something you love :-)

Last Day of School!

YES! Much like my children, I'm thrilled by the last day of school. Much anticipated and well deserved!

~ come summer, come summer, come quickly do...

A Baker's Dozen

Our hens sat on about 30 eggs. Of those 14 hatched. One chick just wasn't strong enough for this world and passed yesterday. Of the remaining eggs, many were not fertilized, but some were that just didn't hatch. As we are not farmers, this was an interesting unfolding for my family. Knowing things can happen and witnessing them are sometimes very different. It was a blessing for me to watch my beautiful children experience the joy and sorrow of the hatching process. Hard, yes, but joyful, too.

A bakers dozen of fluffy tan wonders peeping, hopping, pecking, and scooting around the coop. It's just chicks becoming chickens, but my oh my, it's among the best things I've ever witnessed.