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!

earthy eggs

tristan had his first bit of egg dying experience this year. we used turmeric, coffee, cabbage and beets to make natural dyes. the following morning we had a little egg hunt in our yard. tristan seems to like the chocolate in his basket better than the hard boiled eggs, but of course!

easter hike

on easter sunday we had to drive to dulles airport to pick up tashi. she spent nine days in belize with two of her aunts, her uncle and two cousins! this was a first for all of us. as you can imagine, we were pretty excited to pick her up. she wasn't due back until nighttime, so we made the most of the drive, enjoying the rappahannock valley, and stopping off at white oak canyon in the shenandoah wilderness for hike. it was quite lovely there. i look forward to exploring it some more.












tashi's flight was a couple of hours late. we were so thrilled to see her on the other side of customs at last. she filled our ears with great stories on the drive home. we are still studying the photos and hearing tidbits of her adventures. we're proud of her and feel fortunate that she was offered such an amazing travel opportunity.

old plastic

we try to keep the plastic to a minimum around here, but my nostalgia meter rises when i see vintage fisher price toys. i found these two gems today.




tristan had a lot of fun working the controls of the little record player music box, a little spin master in action!

the glory of the greening

yesterday was the kind of spring day you wait all winter for. the temperature was perfect, and the day was spent meeting up with friends, inside and out.

there was playground fun:









after lunch we spent some time on my friends' blue ridge property, where they recently completed work on a stunning yurt. the old house on the property will eventually be replaced with a new one; in the mean time they have the lovely yurt to cozy up in. the views up there are astonishing, and it was lovely to bask in the sun and bathe in a fresh mountain wind.











today it is cold and raining. but the dogwoods have tiny fluorescent leaves, the red bud is pinking up and the pastures have a verdant irish glow. bring on the festival of colors!