Thursday, July 1, 2010

Ahhh...summer

These photos are a couple weeks old...need to take new ones! Things have grown at least 2 feet since then! Above is one of the raised beds with peppers, wax beans, basil , potatoes and carrots.

The chicken tractor before the chickens moved in. Again...need to update photos!

To the right are tomatoes and potatoes, to the left are tomatilloes, patty pan squash, pole beans and sweet potatoes.



The 4th of July is this weekend and we are soaking up every moment of this beautiful summer. I love how the lazy days unfold around here for the kids and I. On these quiet, peaceful days I so, so appreciate that we are crafting a life centered around our home and garden and the sacrifices that we make in order to have that life seem worth so worth it.


In the mornings we roll out of bed whenever our bodies tell us it's time. No schedule orders us to move out at a specific time. But when we do get up we are eager to begin the day. Birch runs outside as soon as he wakes up to feed and water the chickens, and Veda usually accompanies him. I fix a breakfast of fresh eggs and whatever else we have on hand. Then we usually all end up down in the garden to give it some love...squashing the squash bugs (sorry, squash bugs...not much love for you!), pulling weeds and harvesting whatever is ripe.

Sometimes we have errands to run or bread to bake or other busy things to do. But some days we go to a park or the library or just hang out being lazy, taking walks or playing until Veda's naptime rolls around after lunch.
I'll never forget all our summers. Even before I met Scott, even before I had Veda and moved to Asheville, once I went freelance and gave up the Rat Race, Birch and I have had these lazy, gorgeous garden and porch summers that seem to amble on on like a good slow song.

I am grateful to Scott for supporting this aspect of our lives...for getting up in the dark and going to a job he doesn't like every single day so Veda can spend her afternoons running naked in the backyard and playing with butterflies. So I can spend summer days canning salsa from our tomatoes and making pickles from our cucumbers. And I'm grateful that he is willing to never have any money and live so close to the bone so life can be so rich for us in other ways.

We are fortunate indeed.