up with the sun and summer morning picnics

These three chickadees were up with the sun and had a full-blown morning picnic set up on the back lawn as I made my way out to find them.  I do love finding these sweet sibling moments to start our summer days.

"Yes," this summer...

After reading an article in a mothering publication about saying "yes" more, I am vowing to do the same this summer.

Often I say "no" because a "yes" would require a mess, disruption, more effort or just rock our steady boat.  Steadiness keeps me balanced and calm.  Too much disruption makes me feel like things are out of my control.

I vow to say "yes" more this summer to enjoy the precious moments with my growing children. Saying "yes" gives me a great glimpse into their little lives and personalities, a glimpse I wouldn't normally see.  

What will you be saying "yes" to this summer?

Yes to a spontaneous trip...

Yes to piñata making...

Yes to making lots of yummy sweet treats in the kitchen...

Yes to lots of carefree swimming...

Yes to all her little experiments and creations...

Yes to lots of pretending...

Yes to long summer mornings in pjs with no agenda...

Yes to long hikes in the woods...

Yes to lots of farmers market trips...

The peach orchard

As we walked along the rows assigned for picking, the branches hung low with the weight of the heavy ripening fruit.

The low weighted branches with bright peach fruit lured my girls close.

At the suggestion of the farmer, they picked and ate, picked and ate and ate some more.  It is true that the sweet fruit tastes best right from the tree and warmed perfectly by the sun.

She found the best peaches high up in the branches and closest to the sun.

She begged for a lift upward to reach her desired peach that was carefully spotted from below.

Without individual baskets, they filled their arms with as many peaches as they 

could carry.

This one kept tasting. I think she tasted every peach she picked.

When the farmer cranked up his large old tractor for a hay ride, these kids went running down the rows to find him.  They were delighted when he pulled up with his trailer full of hay. We hopped on for a fun ride around the orchard.

Of course we had to bake something with our abundance of peaches.

This year we made peach crumble. It was incredibly easy and quite tasty too.

Not much was left after it hit the table.

Happy peach season to you!

Peach Crumble

6 cups fresh peaches, sliced (we left the skin on our peaches)

3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 cup + 3 Tbsp. flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes 

Preheat oven to 350

Grease a 9x13 casserole dish

In large bowl combine peaches with cinnamon, vanilla, 3 tablespoons sugar and 3 tablespoons flour.

Pour peaches into the casserole dish.

In separate bowl, combine 1 cup flour, with oats and brown sugar. Cut in cold butter until you have a crumbly texture.

Pour crumbly topping on peaches.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes uncovered.

Enjoy!

We use a standard pie dish and split the recipe in half. It was perfect!

the rain

The rain here has been constant and most certainly welcome.  Unfortunately this past weekend, the abundant rain that fell made common streams and rivers quite dangerous in our area.  We are ever-hopeful that families will find the loved ones they are missing and homes can begin to dry out and rebuild.  It has been heart-breaking to see such damage and devastation.

Water is such a magical element with children.  It draws them near and beckons them to splash and play.  Even the tiniest puddle or stream can occupy their minds with creative and imaginative play for hours.  Such was the case a few days before the torrential rains hit our area. We splashed and played for hours one evening in the small creek that runs down the woods in our neighborhood.

They played "family" in the small creek bed and made little rooms in the smallest nook by the bank of rocks that lines the creek.

She "washed" her hair with the cool water as she thought about how The Boxcar Children might have made use of this water.

They searched for the tiniest clam shells and unique rocks at the bottom of the
"waterfall."

They drug "walking sticks" out from the brush alongside the creek which helped them navigate the uneven, rocky floor.

We are so grateful for the extra water in our area today.  It is sad to know that it came with such force.  We look forward to enjoying more creek trips this summer when our lazy days begin.

Keeping up

Ever since she was born, she has been running to keep up with her sisters.  I had to laugh yesterday when I found her going over flash cards with her baby on my back doorstep.  Age-appriopriate activities are of little interest to this one, especially with 2 older sisters to keep up with.

First harvest

I found our first tomato harvest neatly piled at the bottom of our robust tomato bush this morning.  These perfectly green and unripe tomatoes were harvested by my no.3 and very lovingly placed in a little pile.  When I asked her if she picked them, she said, "yes, I got those!"  Clearly, she didn't realize that they needed to be red, not green.  Oh well!

Thank goodness for the rain and all the flowers and buds on our tomato bush.  Hopefully we will have a true red tomato harvest soon!

the bouquets and clippings

As cliche as it may sound, I do love flowers and especially bringing fresh flowers into my home.  There is something about their living presence that seems to bring such warmth and comfort to any space.  This week, my Mother's Day bouquet, that was thrust into an old mason jar and set on the tray in the middle of the table by my sweet husband and children, sprung to life midweek as the roses opened up to show their rich and contrasting colors. 

I do love taking care of bouquets the way my grandmother taught me.  Doting on bouquets of flowers was something she loved to do and something she got quite good at being the mother of 5 boys spread out all over the world.  Each holiday and birthday brought lots of flowers her way.  

She would change the water daily and make a fresh cut to their stems as she carefully pulled out any stems that began to show even the tiniest bit of brown.  This simple magic seemed to make her bouquets last for many more days than the average bouquet someone gets and does nothing with.

By the end of a week or two, the original bouquet might be half it's original size but just as beautiful as the day it was received.  

To my delight, our dear piano teacher met me with some fresh gardenia clippings from her garden today.  Their delicate and fresh scent is utter delight and my preferred floral scent.  I adore the gift of fresh clippings from a garden.  To me, it is worth so much knowing someone nurtured those blossoms and took the time to clip them for me.  When I taught school, one student always brought me roses from her grandmother's garden wrapped in a wet towel and foil.  They were the most thoughtful gift that I remember so fondly many years later.  Next time you are in need of a little gift, head out to the garden and clip some flowers.  Even wrapped in a wet paper towel and foil, they are the easiest and most considerate gift.