be more garden

gardening is all of life lessons in one space.the growth that matters is slow. the growth that comes too quickly is most often toxic to deep growth.

we are all growing at different paces, with different values and ways to contribute.

asparagus can takes years to produce what we harvest. at times the big frilly asparagus fern drew attention and space away from other aspects. but with patience and years – I am watching my first harvest come. I will carefully harvest and chew slowly.grow from seed. move slow.one year, little cute yellow birds kept eating my kale. pecking little holes all over it. struggle with methods to keep this from happening – my sister offered the advice, “have some kale meant for the birds, and some placed somewhere else meant for you.”

when I feel certain aspects of society or culture is pecking little holes in me, I use this analogy for my own self. have some space for the world, and guard other parts of you away from the world.

bright colorful flowers pop up in the garden all over. from years past. from the birds dropping seeds.

 

“To an optimist every weed is a flower; to a pessimist every flower is a weed.” – Finnish proverb


live into your strengths. what you were meant to do and be.

this kitty is a fierce protector of my garden from voles – little rodents larger than a mouse, smaller than a rat – that eat gardens and vegetation. this girl and her brother get them all the time, all day.

by just being who they are meant to be, they bless me. and of no extra effort out them.

live into who you are meant to be – we will bless others simply by that.

currently cultivating: chives, basil, mint, lavender, chamomile, thyme, oregano, fennel, cilantro, blackberries, strawberries, various kale varieties, tomatoes, tomatillo, Brussel sprouts, cilantro, zucchini, asparagus, pepper, cauliflower, broccoli, parsley, snap peas, cabbage, lettuce, blueberries, chard, edible flowers, various beans, lime, 2 fig, kumquat, apple, lemon, 2 avocado, lava beans, loquat, tangelo, tangerine (recently harvested : leeks, beets)

last years mammoth sunflowers – saved and started planting…big harvest to give to neighbors and friends, and make a large kale pesto when I was little my mom made sun-tea. wanted to see if I could make my own fresh mint, camomile, lemon iced tea…when making tea from fresh mint – rub it in your palms to release the oils and flavorsunny spot in the yard for the day and looking forward to sipping on tea, with a dollop of honey, later this afternoonbe more garden.

be more alive. slowly. growing at whatever pace if meant for you.

no comments

visit

almost two years since grandma visited. covid has been hard.

we ate food from our garden and she was full of praise.

we watched frozen. her first time. 

made cookies and Swedish pancakes. the boys showed off their golf improvements.

she helped organized clothes. and fold unending laundry.

the quiet ache for family visiting and having patience is hard.

the slow lift and returning of life is nourishing.

1 comment

COVID ANNIVERSARY

it’s been a year since we felt such a dramatic change in our lives. there have been so many losses, so many lessons. beautiful moments of forced simplicity and challenging moments of confusing complexity. I think of time often in what is growing in my garden. and on the hills around us. and it’s crazy to see pictures from quarantine and it is the plants and flowers blossoming again. these are just a small snapshot of our year. but just the good or sweet moments. and hopefully will help us remember the good lessons we all can take… and that like most of life, there’s isn’t a clean closure. we are learning as we go.

3 comments

finding the simple beauties when everything feels anything but simple

no one really blogs anymore. it’s quite a thing of the past.

but blogging is what helped me for years… to somehow recognize, focus on, and cherish all the simple beauties when things felt overwhelming, challenging, busy and noisy.

I like the quiet of blogging. it’s slow. there is no instant recognition (often none ever). 

each day feels like a marathon to overcome lately.

I spent the last hour scrolling through memories and felt a little longing for how simple and beautiful and full of heart the last years used to be.

then I realized – in those days and years, I felt similarly to how I feel now. different of course.

instead of washing and hang drying cloth diapers… we are navigating middle school online. instead of preparing special meals for friends and family to gather in our yard, I am teaching a homeschool second grader and cultivating his love to work in the kitchen. instead of a crawling and sweetly sleeping baby, we are singing the alphabet and practicing letters.

it’s still beautiful. it’s still messy. it’s still chaotic. it’s still peaceful. it’s still a work in progress. just different.

the practice of blogging is an intentional practice. a discipline for me, in finding simple beautiful moments in the midst of a busy, full, anything-but-simple life.

3 comments

ten on ten : october 2019

it’s been so long since I’ve done ten on ten. for years, I learned the art of seeing life in simple beauties through the ten on ten challenge – started by my dear friend Rebekah Gough. a photo, every hour – over ten hours… once a month, on the 10th.

the practice shaped my photography style. and as I wonder how my photography is emerging or evolving – it was special to come back to the beginning of it all. with ten on ten.

 

3 comments

no comments

home sweet home

1 comment

merry & bright

no comments

end of October & walnut kale pesto from my garden

last week I harvested lots of kale from my little garden and made walnut-kale pesto. no recipe, but here what’s in it if you want to try : kale (that has been blanched in boiling water for 2-3 minutes), basil, parmesan, raw walnuts, lots of garlic, salt, lemon & olive oil. try it – it’s amazing!
…save some of this beautiful green water filled with so many vitamins and add it to left over roasted veggies and some herbs and make a soup for lunch…
and now onto November.

no comments

remember when I used to blog?

I’m trying to as well…

no comments

f a c e b o o k