~~~Gratitude~~~ a question?

Summer is in full swing here...which doesn't leave much time for swinging on my swing....

Anyways, I have been a bit remiss when it has come to blogging.  I hope this post will bring things up to date...a bit.  But, first I would like to share some thoughts I have been having.  Recently, my son asked me if I have always wanted to live in the country?  He has the desire for a city life...he thinks the life of his folks is filled with simply too much work!  So I have been thinking about that question and the answer is....YES!  I grew up on the edge of suburbia.  We had a big yard with a variety of trees, there was a big vacant lot across the busy street for most of my childhood.  Houses pretty much filled up every speck of land around me by the time I was 18.  But, I spent my childhood out of doors being with nature.  I was the only one in my family who tried to grow vegetables.   I would go into the vacant lot woods and sit by a tree all day and just watch the insects trundle by.  It is what I love!  As far as the work goes, I told my son that it is all a choice.  No one has asked me to grow food or build trails.  I do it because I want to do it.  My husband and I have been questioning our lifestyle, with our son in college we could consider something else.  We have been wondering if we have enough fun and relaxation.  We guess work is "fun", it feels good to accomplish "stuff".  We do relax...it might not be noticeable to our son since he has a different idea about how fun and relaxation look.  I am grateful for his question. It has been a good thing to contemplate during this crazy, busy time called summer.  The reflection has given me a lot of peace and more awareness towards my actual enjoyment of my chosen lifestyle.

So here is some of the fun that has been going on~~~

Summer potatoes and Garlic Garden...see the little shed way over there...?  I have a barrel of compost tea over there.  I decided the garlic could use some of that juice...so 10 trips with 2 water cans back and forth was my workout for that day...who needs a gym!?

Some years ago I got 3 mulberry trees for joining the National Arbor Day Foundation.  They have berries this year for the first time!  A bit sweet...I think I will share them with the birds but it is FUN to have a nibble every time I walk by!

Beetle time...so each morning I enjoy walking through all my gardens checking and plucking beetles.  Those little critters allow me to see things I might have missed if I wasn't out and about during those times.

Happy to report NO stinky squash bugs...so far...they are my least favorite insect!

So fun to pretend I am in California by growing Artichokes!

Rye cut down by my DH so I could mulch the winter potatoes...straw is like gold to me!

Speaking of gold...a very early pepper!

Cukes are getting a grip!

Can barely wait for the first ripe tomato!

In the meantime, enjoying the first ripe blueberries!

I AM surrounded by beauty and wonder...life is very good!

There maybe a time when a metamorphosis will need to happen in my life but, for NOW I am content.  Hard work..yes...but the rewards are priceless...like an evening with the "Super Moon" and fireflies~~~~~~

~~~

It is my intention, each week, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

~~~Gratitude~~~

This past weekend we took a day off and got off the work farm!  It was a glorious day with dramatic skies and summer heat.  Nothing too fancy just a drive, a picnic, and a walk.  We have a standard transmission Kia Rio which we can get about 45 mpg so our little jaunt cost us about $8.00 in fuel.  We both have been working very hard on all of our projects, together & apart.  It was so nice to just be together without a task.  Here are some of the views from our little Maine road trip.  

Camden, Maine ~ a bit of a tourist town.

Beautiful Houses one minute...

...the next will be something else.

Lincolnville Beach

Our picnic spot in Belfast, Maine

Walking on the docks in Belfast

I could NOT resist a bit of wading in the ocean!

Selfie of me and my BFF!  The DH him SELF!

Very Grateful for a day off....NOW BACK TO WORK!

~~~

It is my intention, each week, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

~~~Gratitude~~~

Well the first week of College has passed.  All is Well!  That is what I am grateful for this week.  All the messages I have received from my boy speak to the awesome-ness of college.  He wrote that everything is great even the classes!  What more could a mother wish for?

Last Friday was the big moving in day.  We got there early enough so we were before the big crowds.  We (his grandparents came too...Dad couldn't get off work) had a leisure time of watching him unpack. It was a beautiful day so we took an enjoyable walk around the campus.

I had thought I would be leaving pretty quickly after getting him settled but, he seemed to want me to stay.  So stay I did.  His Grandparents left but I stayed and waited for his roommate to arrive...a very nice young man and a great match for my boyo...happiness.  After that we had dinner together   During our meal my son received a text from a High school chum that had just arrived.  Suddenly, my kid no longer "needed" me!  I could feel him become restless...so I offered to leave.  After a private hug in the dorm room I left with an arm load of stuff not staying....including me!  As we parted ways I set down my burdens and took out my camera to shot a picture of my son off in the distance...symbolic I thought...

I zoomed in for the next picture.  He turned towards me just as I snapped the photo!  

PERFECT!  I let out a little yelp and did a little happy dance (far enough away as not to embarrass the boy) It was just the perfect end to a perfect day!

I spent a lot of time last night trying to find a poem that expressed how I am feeling.  I AM feeling.  But not in the "traditional" empty nest way.  I have moments of crying but there is NO Story...I have moments of unease still NO story attached to those feelings...I am just feeling.  But, mostly, I am feeling content and happy that the day of transition has come.  We were both over ripe for this change.  So a good day, a good turn down the path of life.

So I will share a poem I wrote in the 12th grade when I was 18.  It was for an assignment in English Class.  We were asked to write about Maturity.  So here it is in my original hand on notebook paper!

Maturity

You start with a seed

it begins to grow.

struggle, struggle

through the dirt.

reaching, grasping

for the sun

roots go deeper

and the seed is now a tree

tall and straight

changing less

...yet some how

still changing

continually growing

the roots go deeper

(it's very hard to move a tree)

But, remember, the tree always 

reaches

for the 

sun

by 

18 year-old self

It is my intention, each Sunday, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

~~~Gratitude~~~

WINTER!

I am hearing a longing for spring from many folks in my life and out in the blogosphere.  There is seems to be a general fatigue out and about.  A real tiredness of the short days and long nights.  Not for me, I LOVE winter! This time of year I become a bit anxious that winter will be ending.  I start missing the long nights as the daylight increases. I become fretful over winter projects that have not found there end.  Don't get me wrong I love the other seasons but, winter is my favorite.  It may be because I grew up in the PNW where winters are truly dark with drizzle.  I never cease to be  dazzled by the brightness of a snow covered sunny day in Maine!  I love the shift in energy towards creative endeavors without all the distractions of garden chores.  I feel energized by the cold vs. spring dampness and summer humidity.  Winter is the reward after the autumn push to "get ready".  It is the quiet after the holiday hoopla. I am so grateful to be living in a place that has winter, winter.  So relishing the winter still to come and preparing for the changes that are beginning to emerge.

Some  Beauty from this Winter

BLINDING WILD SNOW

BLOWS, WHIRLS & DRIFTS ABOUT ME...

IN THIS WORLD ALONE

Chora

Pussy WIllows

Close your eyes
And do not peek
And I’ll rub Spring
Across your cheek...

Aileen Fisher

It is my intention, each Sunday, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

~~~Gratitude~~~

Right Out My Back Door

I am very grateful that I can snow shoe right out my back door.  It is one of my favorite winter activities.  I have a great snow shoe set up from LL Beans.  With the special boots I can just step into the snow shoes and go!  Runa loves how quick I am ready.  It is such a great activity.  Low cost, no lift lines, and right out the door.

I had my first snow shoe experience on my 12th birthday in the Cascades Mountains of Washington State.  My dad and 3 sisters went on a organized snow shoe hike.  After the hike my dad gave me a pair of wooden beaver-tail gut snow shoes.  Best gift ever!  When we would go skiing as a family I would often take off into the woods on my snow shoes.  I loved the solitude and the closeness to nature.  I often wandered pretty far off but just followed my tracks back.  I have always felt most comfortable in the woods alone.

Now I don't need to wait until the weekend ski trip to head out into the woods.  Just have to wait for snow!  I try to snow shoe everyday that conditions allow.  Happy Winter!!!

Let's Get Going~~~Put that Camera Away~~~says Runa

View from my Back Door

It is my intention, each Sunday, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~