my view from the pot

our bathroom has the best view of the house for peaking out on all of our summer bounty.  several times a day i find myself peaking out of the blinds.  i can't help myself. 

here's my view from this morning, shortly after rolling out of bed. 

here let me pull up the blinds for a better peak...

all those vines you see trellising their way to the sky (seriously, will they ever stop?!) is this year's container garden experiment.  we have to do almost all of our sun loving plants in containers since the sunny side of our postage stamp property is the driveway.  i decided i wanted to do sugar pumpkins and winter squash this year so i bought the seeds went ahead with planting some seedlings.  i told myself as i bought the seeds, and then again as i planted them in the seedling pots, that i would figure out just what in the world i would be doing with these crazy vined plants.  after they desperately needed transplanting to a permanent spot i did a little research and decided to do a trellis experiment.  i read that smaller vine fruits do well being trellised.  once the fruit begins to get heavy i will make slings for the fruit to prevent damage to the plant.  so far, so good :)  now i'm just hoping that all of that growing energy goes into pumpkin production so i don't end up having to trellis them up onto the roof or something!

looking straight down from the window is our small back patio area and the garden bed pat made for me.  the box container is where the carrots were and the beets still are.  the round metal container is the bush beans the the reamains of a few sugar snap pea plants that really need to be taken down.  way over in the back right corner behind the fence is a little peak into a long wood box that was the home of my spinach before it bolted.  looking straight ahead is my perennial flower and herb bed and beyond that are my potted zucchini, peppers, a few bush pickling cucumbers, and an eggplant.  just barely in the shot, back where the morning sun is blasting away already,  is one of my tomatoes (in the hideous orange bucket).

looking over just beyond the trellis system is one of my newest addtions, a blueberry bush that is awaiting a bigger container.  next to that is a peak at another tomato in a slightly nicer pot than the orange buckets the rest of them are in.  out of sight in front of the trellis is another blueberry bush, a few more peppers, and a buch of herbs along the front of the pumpkin box.  i'll show those another day :)

there's the rest of the tomatoes and a zucchini haphazardly strewn around the driveway (along with the riding toys and the evidence of pat's painting the garage... which happens to come in handy for reaching the top of my vines).  after planting 9 tomatoes i realized we're probably going to lose use of part of the driveway for the cars, but that's cool :)  now that we've settled that, it's probably time to go organize the plants out there a bit. 

and then looking to right from the window is the back of the patio where it meets a small enclosed porch.  there's one of our rain barrels that pat made (on the cheap- a garbage can that he cut a hole in the top for the gutter and at the bottom for a spicket).  just barley peaking in from the right is my grandma's 30+ year old peonies that i temporarily have in a pot awaiting transfer to our front yard project.  peaking over the top of the fece next to the barrel is my grape vine- probably my next project for back here, making some sort of trellis system for it.  and way there in the back is another make-shift rain barrel for the garage gutters.

everytime i'm out there, with the bees and butterflies buzzing around, i can't help but to smile thinking that despite how tiny it may be, it is now a place for them to visit often.  they no longer have to pass this house by.

hi there pumpkin, nice of you to join us this summer :)

{into nature}

{into nature} is a weekly Monday post inspiring the exploration of nature. It is a grassroots effort to combat the nature deficit disorder in our current generations. Please join me in this movement back into nature by sharing your own nature inspiration, whether shared through photographs, words, poetry…. leave a link here in the day's comments for all to enjoy.

“For children, nature comes in many forms. A newborn calf; a pet that lives and dies; a worn path through the woods; a fort nested in stinging nettles; a damp, mysterious edge of a vacant lot- whatever shape nature takes, it offers each child an older, larger world… nature does not steal time; it amplifies it.” -Richard Louv

*****



we've still been celebrating the evening with strolls through nature a few times a week.  this picture is one of our regular stomping grounds along the state forest road.  this moment is one of my favorites every time we go for our evening walk on that road- it's where the thick woods open up to the sky.  in the evening the lighting is magical there. 

my new favorite coming of evening activity has been exploring nature in our own yard.  checking on all of our growing plants, making sure everyone has drinks for the night.  talking about what fruit we may wake up to in the morning.  saying goodnight to the bees. 

what is your favorite evening activity now that the summer has arrived?

ps- i'm thinking a giveaway is in order towards the end of the week- i'm cleaning out the shop, making way for life as i now know it.  new adventures. 

simple things- summertime lulls and busyness

we've officially entered the season of heat induced lulls and sun filled bliss.  it's going to be a good one :)

taken last night at the ryan montbleau band... oh my i do love those boys

oh, clearwater

we couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend for the clearwater festival.  mother nature blessed us with the most beautiful weather possible.  the always beautiful festival grounds along the bank of the hudson river.  the beautiful people.  the amazing music.  the huge array of opinion bumper stickers to help pass the walk back to camp (it is after all an environmental festival!). the kind customers.  friends.  camping.  running among thousands.  dancing among thousands.  and those never ending smiles on my boys. 

this was my fifth or sixth (i seem to have lost count) year in a row at clearwater.  pat's fourth.  tanner's fourth (at the ages of 5 weeks, one year, 2 years, and 3 years) and noah's second (at 7 months and 1 1/2 years).  i remember chatting with a young girl at my first clearwater.  she told me she was 8 and this was her ninth year at clearwater.  at first i thought she was confused.  but then this weekend i was thinking about how many times tanner had gone, thinking it was only 3.  after all he is three years old.  but then i remembered that first time, just weeks after greeting this earth from my womb.  and then i got it. 

that's one of the things i love most about clearwater.  from the 2 week old babe that i spotted this year to the 90 year old man, all ages, shapes, sizes, colors.  if you are ever blessed with the chance to attend clearwater i cannot urge you enough to go!  you will not be disappointed by its beauty. 

these are just a sampling of the pictures i took, if you would like a bigger peak visit my flickr!

ps- happy summer solstice! 

{into nature}

{into nature} is a weekly Monday post inspiring the exploration of nature. It is a grassroots effort to combat the nature deficit disorder in our current generations. Please join me in this movement back into nature by sharing your own nature inspiration, whether shared through photographs, words, poetry…. leave a link here in the day's comments for all to enjoy.

“For children, nature comes in many forms. A newborn calf; a pet that lives and dies; a worn path through the woods; a fort nested in stinging nettles; a damp, mysterious edge of a vacant lot- whatever shape nature takes, it offers each child an older, larger world… nature does not steal time; it amplifies it.” -Richard Louv

*****

now that the spring tick invasion has died down a bit we have been able to get back on the trails again.  last week we found ourselves traveling a new trail at the white memorial conservation center in litchfield connecticut.  pat and i had our wedding there several years ago... it is such a beautiful place.  it is a bit of a drive for us so we usually only head up there several times a year.

our trail started out as a broad well defined path through the woods, but we eventually found ourselves meandering along side the river.  stream vegetation up to our shoulders and a path so narrow we had to bush whack a bit in some spots.  but it was worth worrying about ticks (which happily this is the fourth outing in a row with no ticks found on any of us, including duke!).  as we wandered along we kept hearing a huge splash in the stream.  after watching for a bit we realized we were hanging out with the beavers.  i snapped a few pictures of them, with accidental perfect timing on one shot as the beaver smacked down his tail and dove beneath the water.

we find ourselves so often in the woods-  it was a really nice change to find ourselves exploring a completely different kind of nature spot this time around!

beavers!

oh the beautiful weather we have been having!

the splash of a beaver

our own brown water lover, slightly resembling an oversized beaver :)

hmmm which trail should we take back to the car?

this is how we bid spring goodbye

for the past five years i have had the pleasure of bidding spring goodbye in the grandest of ways.  if you bid spring goodbye at the Clearwater Festival too, please do stop by our booth under the big tent and say hello!

the carrot sessions

and we have carrots!  like the beets, the third time is a charm.  i was curious how they were doing, kind of assuming they weren't doing anything at all as in past years.  so i was quite surprised when a bright orange gem popped up. 

these carrots of ours won't last past the weekend.  every time i turn my back tanner is yanking up another one to eat.  the first evening he ate at least ten.  that's cool though.  it's the first vegetable he will eat raw.  he won't even eat the store bought carrots raw.  but these, the ones he helped me sow from seeds his tiny fingers dropped into holes, he gobbles up.  noah too.  and the neighborhood friend.

and for that, these orange gems of mine are most certainly the most smile worthy crop i've reaped to date. 

{into nature} guest post by kim of mothering with mindfulness

{into nature} is a weekly Monday post inspiring the exploration of nature. It is a grassroots effort to combat the nature deficit disorder in our current generations. Please join me in this movement back into nature by sharing your own nature inspiration, whether shared through photographs, words, poetry…. leave a link here in the day's comments for all to enjoy.

“For children, nature comes in many forms. A newborn calf; a pet that lives and dies; a worn path through the woods; a fort nested in stinging nettles; a damp, mysterious edge of a vacant lot- whatever shape nature takes, it offers each child an older, larger world… nature does not steal time; it amplifies it.” -Richard Louv

*****

this week i welcome guest blogger kim of mothering with mindfulness.  kim is mama of reece, a holistic nutritionist, and author of raising happy healthy babies.  she has inspired me in many ways, especially her writings about the amazing nature-based community she has found and helped develop.  enjoy, i hope you are inspired by her beautiful words as well!

Finding My Community through Nature Connection by Kim Corrigan-Oliver

I have always had a deep love of nature. I have felt it pull me and I have let myself surrender to its tug. But in 2008, the year of my first pregnancy and the year my son was born, that love of nature became more. I began searching for more...I loved nature, but now I wanted to connect with her, on a different level, a deeper more intuitive level. And so began a quest to find what it was I was looking for.

It took time and a few things lining up serendipitously for it to all come together but finally it did and I couldn’t be happier.

In January of this year I opened an email from a friend inviting me to a gathering called Oaks and Acorns. It was a nature connection group for baby’s birth to age 5 with their caregivers. This was right up my alley and without a second thought Reece and I headed up the next day to check it out. Have you ever had those moments when you know right away that something is good, really good? That is exactly how I felt. Oaks and Acorns is lead by three mamas with babes. For two hours on Friday mornings we gather, sing a few welcome songs, follow the kids through the woods as they venture into parts unknown and finish with a few more songs and moments of gratitude. I left this first gathering with a happy heart and a spring in my step. I knew from the first welcome song that I had found what so many people had talked about; I had found community...like minded mamas wanting to develop a love of nature in their children. I felt at home, finally.

We continued to meet on Friday mornings, and each week the strength of the community grew and the adventures the children lead us on were amazing. We found porcupines sleeping in trees, and then we searched for quills on the ground. We have built fires, sitting around then in the snow enjoying our snacks. We have discovered parts of the forest we never would have ventured into if the children hadn’t lead the way. It has been a truly amazing experience.

This community has hosted a few community potlucks which have allowed us to grow a deeper connection to each other and to nature. Our potlucks are held in nature, we hike, we explore, we pick dandelions and fry them up, we play games, we talk, we laugh, we share good food and we have become a community.

At one of these potlucks I had the honour of winning a lovely book called The Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature. I had no idea what I was in for when I won this book, but to say it has changed my connection with nature would be an understatement, it has deepened my connection and taken it to a new level. This book is about nature connection, but it is about so much more as well. There are thirteen core routines that help me, as an individual develop a deeper, more authentic connection to nature, and at the same time helps me as a parent/mentor to guide my little man to connect on a deeper level with nature. I am only skimming the surface of what this book involves, and really only touching lightly on what it has meant to me. It has had a profound influence on how I look at and live my life. Pretty amazing!

This book and the privilege of listening to a wonderful speaker in April, Mark Morey, has lead me to heading up a Coyote Guide Club. This club is for adults interested in deepening their connection with nature. We meet once a week and explore the thirteen core principles of the Coyote’s Guide. We share nature stories, we play games (yes adults can play games to, and actually part of the Coyote’s Guide is channeling your inner child to deepen your nature connection), we walk our own edge and each week take ourselves to a new level of understanding and connection with nature. It is a very inspiring evening each week and while I am new to the Coyote’s way and still learning and growing on this journey I am on, I enjoy sharing what I am learning with others and watching as they learn and grow along with me.

Mother Nature continues to amaze me every day. I offer gratitude to this earth each morning when I awake. I try to live lightly on this earth, showing her respect and love for all that she offers. I want to strengthen my connection with her and understand her ways. I want to help guide Reece to a deeper understanding of nature and its strength, although more than once it has been him who has guided me.

This community I have found, these like minded families that also want to strengthen their connection with nature, has offered me so much, and has allowed me to create a nature awareness that deepens every day.

“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet

and the winds long to play with your hair.”

~Khalil Gibran~

thank you kim for sharing a bit of your amazing journey into nature!