a week of living

this past week. . .

i planted some seedlings in the shade-garden-in-progress, and worked on making a path for the toddler to tramp on



i potted a few flowers



it's amazing how much magic a few whimsical flowers (and a couple of cool kids) can bring to a deck







this past week. . .

i managed to spend a few hours alone with dan, drinking some wine and having a picnic at a lovely nearby winery









i had the opportunity to support some dear friends while they labored on their land (really, i just hung around and took photos while they did an awesome job together)



and then i got to spend the night in their beautiful blue ridge yurt



and wake up with their sweet daughter who was quite anxious to go to the hospital and meet her new little brother (he had a fabulous birth, by the way)







this week i got to eat fresh nasturtiums picked from our garden-in-progress



i shared in tristan's wonder, spying on a couple of toads who like to hang out in the crawl space under our house. see them?



and this past week we received an awesome (and incredibly generous) gift of toadstools from a friend



most of all, this past week i got to appreciate life, love, and the beautiful place we call home

better late than never

while it is already late in the season, i've been determined to plant some things this spring/summer. we have a scrappy area in front of our house full of periwinkle, violets, a multiplying stand of heleborus and some ailing azalea. i would so love to have a tall cottage garden there, but alas, it is quite shady. i would like at least to have some woodland flowers and edibles, and am determined to experiment. today provided a break in the recent monsoon, and i finally managed to plant a few seedlings i picked up at last weekend's farmer's market. tristan got to dig in the dirt, wonder at worms and place the young plants in the earth. i can't wait for more of this, though i do hope the plants survive!

stawberry (shortcake) fields forever

i had a lovely mother's day. it seems red was the theme with red roses, red wine, red earrings and red strawberries. we drove off in the lovely afternoon to pick strawberries at a nearby u-pick farm and came home with 9 pounds of juicy goodness. the last thing i need is strawberry shortcake every day, but. . .









there was also a little boy in a red shirt who was really into a red tractor.




he did not want to share it with his sister one single bit!



i think mother's day is a good opportunity to celebrate the goddess in every woman. we are all mothers of something, whether it be art, business, the earth or our children. and within each woman lies the sacred source of all creation. let's honor that each and every day!