Summer Landscapes

Sometimes, in the early morning hours, i sit on our porch and watch the dawn turn to daylight.

The light opens up to expose what darkness left behind.

The world wakes

I watch and listen.

This life is full of curiosity and so many unknowns.

This summer has been a gift.  It has gone by so fast, yet full of so many adventures and memories.

This summer i began taking my photography to new levels.  My business is picking up, and I'm hopeful  that one day it will be my full time gig.

I love looking at the world with a camera in hand.  The little details that i never noticed before are so beautiful and heart stopping.

And sometimes, when you have writers block, you just need to chill out and give yourself a break.  

To grasp the beauty of this life, you must look at it in multiple perspectives.

This summer, i felt the warmth of the sun on my face.

I felt the cool, soft grass beneath my feet.

I tasted the first cucumber out of the garden.

I held my husbands hand and heart as we said goodbye to our Papa.

I held so many babies in my arms, thankful for their sweet smiles and laughter.

I smiled at how perfectly this life works out, even when you think it won't.

I love this ride we're on, it's only getting better <3

Summer Eats

This poor, neglected blog of mine.  I can't believe it's been a month since my last post.

I have so much to tell, so much to share, so I'll start with some delicious food we have enjoyed this season...

Homemade pizza has been a pretty constant thing around here.  This one was dressed with caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, homemade tomato sauce with goat cheese & mozzarella.

Fresh Garden salads w/ flat bread pizza for a quick Friday night dinner.

We tried out the local cupcake shop, holy moly.  We enjoyed tasting grasshopper, pineapple & tiramisu flavors.

Blueberries from our own bushes have been few & far between this year, with the Japanese beetle invasion.

I made my own vanilla extract a few months back.  So super easy and will be so much more cost effective than buying in the store.  I used the recipe from The Homemade Pantry.  LOVE this cookbook!

Luckily the Japanese beetles did not find our strawberry patch.  I was so, so surprised with the amount of strawberries we got this year out of our own patch.  A total of 15 quarts, which allowed me to freeze a bunch and make 23 jars of Jam.

Oh and a strawberry rhubarb pie from A Year of Pies by Ashley English.  I cannot recommend this book enough.  My pie dough comes out flawless every time i follow her recipe.  The savory & sweet pies i have tried have blown us away.  Such a valuable cookbook to have on your shelf :)

And that's it for a sampling of the good eats we have tried this summer!

Rainy Summer Days

We have been going through a bit of a rainy period these past couple of weeks.  With a few sunny days mixed it, we truly soak them up.

Some things I'm loving right now : :

Sunny evening dinners, loving the new Taproot Issue!!

The Peach blossoms that are now teeny tiny peaches.....peaches that we have to pick off.  Until next year, when the trees will have roots enough to support the growth.

The garden - which looks soooo different now then when this photo was taken.  What a difference a few weeks make!  Peas on the left, Beans on the right.

Our Strawberry patch, which i am super excited about.  I picked our first ripe berries on Wednesday morning, it felt like summer is finally here!  While i was busy searching through the bushes to find the ripe berries, i looked up and saw charlie, right.in.the.patch, smacking away at the fruit.  Boy loves his berries.  Looks like we'll have to keep a close eye on him!

The various farm/tractor tools and equipment we have acquired over the past two years....we certainly need a barn next.  But wait, we are building a sugar house now....i guess that will have to wait!

An evening thunderstorm rolling in.

Our colorful tomato cages we purchased this year.  Makes me smile every time i see them :)

My first stargazer lily opened up.  Bliss.

My boy, my lovie.

In the spring of 2012, a mama bird built a nest on our front porch rafters.  Little baby birds woke us up every morning with their sweet songs, then evacuated the nest as they were ready.  Hubs and i wondered if she would be back again this spring, and sure enough, she has three little babies up there.  I was able to capture them a little this year.  I have noticed over the past couple of days that they are getting their little wings ready for flight....Its interesting because everything will be still, and then one will violently flap their wings for a good 10 seconds before settling down again.  The cycle of life is truly beautiful.

Have a great weekend friends!