Archive for the ‘nature’ Category
A simple summer salad made from the bounty of our garden. Well, it may not be a huge bounty, but it sure does taste good. There is something so incredibly satisfying about being able to walk out into the garden and pluck peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers right off the plants. In less than five minutes you can be sitting down to a wonderfully simple salad that is still warm from the sun.
This was the first year we grew peppers and cucumbers and they will definitely be back next year. I’m also looking forward to growing some different veg as well. Slowly but surely our garden is expanding and it is so much fun. The kids love being able to pick veg, but they are really excited about the cantaloupe. Right now it’s about the size of a softball and growing a bit every day.
What bounty are you enjoying from the garden (or the shops)?
food, gardening, green, nature • Monday, August 30th, 2010 • 4 Comments »
Such beautiful colours. The flower was one picked out of the garden by my daughter, and it matches perfectly with a gorgeous fresh peach.
Things are going pretty well here. Time is flying by and much is being accomplished. I am finally seeing some progress on the decluttering front. I keep gathering bags of items for the thrift store, and some more items to sell, and after many weeks of doing so, I am beginning to think there is light at the end of the tunnel. Now instead of stacks of clutter in front of more stacks of clutter, there are only small stacks to deal with. I am beginning to feel my head slowly unclutter as well.
Our littlest one is now officially potty trained. Yipee! I can’t say that I’m sad to see diapers go (she is still in diapers at night), though now none of her little pants fit her cute little tushie. Those cloth diapers sure do add some bulk. I guess it’s a good thing that it’s summer and wearing nothing but sundresses and new undies will do just fine.
Oh, and she turned two, where does the time go?
This is what that fresh peach turned into, a scrumptious peach blueberry crumble. Yum! Sometimes there is nothing you need more than digging a spoon into a bowl of steaming, fruity crumble to make you feel better. Especially when there is some yummy ice cream melting into the crevices of fruit.
Hope everyone is doing well. I will be doing my best to post several times a week and see how that works out for now. It feels good to be back.
family, food, gifts, nature • Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 • 10 Comments »
Well, we’re off for a weekend in the mountains. We’re heading out early in the morning, so I’ll see you all on Monday.
I haven’t forgotten the rest of the questions, I’m still trying to track down a few photos, but I should be able to answer the last couple of questions at the beginning of the week.
Have a great weekend!
nature, travelling • Friday, July 2nd, 2010 • 1 Comment »
This is Wyoming, at least our part of it. Pretty much everywhere you look, it will be just like this. It is flat, goes on forever, and the sky is gorgeous.
Throw in some antelope, there are always plenty of those.
Add some more prairie and sky,
and a few bison, and there you have it. Wyoming. Not a tree to see, not many hills. The prairie and sky just go on forever. The perfect setting for an old fashioned western.
In our part of Wyoming, this truly is what you see, everywhere. It’s no exaggeration, you can see for miles (we can see the rockies on a clear day, and that is 100 miles away). The scenery doesn’t change much at all, but it is gorgeous and the sky, well, it just doesn’t get any prettier than out here.
nature • Wednesday, June 30th, 2010 • 5 Comments »
Our two weeks at the shore were full of adventures for the babe. When you are used to the plains and emptiness of the west, seeing the ocean was amazing for her.
Feeling the sand squidging between her toes and the freezing ocean water run over her little feet…
the ocean breeze blowing through her hair and for as far as she can see, nothing but water.
Running along the beach….
and exploring on her own (with Daddy a few paces behind her).
Helping build sand castles…
finding new treasures, and discovering that sand doesn’t taste that great.
Of course, keeping up with the big kids is no easy task for such little legs,
but what better way to rest, than taking a long nap on our picnic blanket with the sound of the water in your ears and the ocean air in your lungs.
Every couple of days she still says “ocean…back”. We will definitely be making this trip every year.
family, nature, travelling • Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 • 6 Comments »
We arrived on the east coast just in time for the spawning season of the horseshoe crab. It was a pretty amazing sight. The first night that we were at this little beach there were only one or two crabs, but a couple of nights later they were there in droves.
Here is a male horseshoe crab (the small one) hitching a ride on the female up to the shore. The males have a small hook like claw that they can attach to her shell and basically be pulled to shore. Sometimes multiple males will hang on for a ride.
They are beautiful creatures, quite prehistoric looking. We didn’t get to see the underside of the crabs except for when they were climbing up over the other crabs, or when the waves would flip one upside down.
They use their tails like rudders to flip themselves back over if they get stuck. I was absolutely mesmerized by the crabs, as were the children. It truly was an amazing sight.
We laughed when we saw several horseshoe crabs with little seaweed toupes.
Here’s another one.
We had never seen horseshoe crabs in person before, so we were extra pleased with this unexpected treat on our trip.
Here are some seagulls waiting to eat the horseshoe crab eggs that were laid in the sand. As the horseshoe crab population goes down (from people harming and taking them), the seagulls which feed off of the eggs also begin to have problems.
Here is some more info on horseshoe crabs if you are interested. They are amazing creatures with lots of fun facts to learn.
nature, travelling • Monday, June 14th, 2010 • 8 Comments »
Last week we had a major hailstorm. These babies were the size of a quarter and they came down so hard and fast that they tore leaves and branches off of just about anything that had any to start out with.
Within a matter of minutes the entire yard was covered in rather large hailstones. We all had fun watching the hail, but I was so thankful that I didn’t have any tomatoes planted in the ground yet, there is no way they would have survived.
Even the street was flooded. It certainly makes me think of farmers and their dependence on the weather for their crops. The hailstorm was pretty isolated, nobody else in town got it, so I don’t think there was much damage, which is good.
Just thought I’d share our weird and wacky Wyoming weather with you, back to more holiday pics on Monday. Have a great weekend!
nature • Saturday, June 12th, 2010 • 4 Comments »
One of our day trips while we were at the shore was to the Barnegat lighthouse on Long Beach Island. It was a gorgeous place and the boys had great fun climbing to the top. My fear of heights prevented me from going up, but that’s ok, I kept the girls with me and they had fun finding shells in the sand.
After the boys got back down, we walked along the walkway right next to the water. I love the sound of waves crashing on the rocks, so peaceful.
I do think the best place to clear your head is by the sea, with the waves so loud you can hardly hear yourself think, with the spray splashing up and getting you just a bit wet.
Boy, I can’t believe how fast my kiddos are growing up, the years are just flying by. They have their moments, but overall, they are best buds.
There were such gorgeous views, and it was a beautiful day. We all got a good dose of fresh air and sea spray.
One of the guides that was at the lighthouse and I got talking and he told me that the day before a class of school children was visiting. One of the little boys was complaining that only half of the class could go up at once. The guide told him that they had let a whole class of school children up the day before but the lighthouse tipped over and they had to stand it back up. The little boy wasn’t quite sure whether to believe him or not.
family, nature, travelling • Thursday, June 10th, 2010 • 4 Comments »
The day after we arrived to the shore house, we headed on down to the beach, not the proper ocean, but a pretty beach nonetheless. See those poles sticking out of the water? Those are where different people have marked clam beds.
It felt so good to have our feet on the sand, though the water was still a tad chilly (read, absolutely freezing).
There was lots of sand castle making (more pictures to come) and digging in the sand.
Searching for treasures, and finding a few.
Over the two weeks we were at the shore we ended up going to several different beaches and had a blast at each one. This little one was the closest so we were able to go there more and the kids especially loved heading out after supper for a quick jaunt to the water. The babe learned to say “ocean” really quickly and she is still talking about it.
We don’t have much water out here in Wyoming, and even fewer beaches, so it was really, really great to be able to be by the ocean. I do love the prairie, but I think I might need the sound of the ocean to feel truly calm. It brought back so many wonderful memories, especially of vacationing in Cornwall as a girl. I really do miss it, it was such fun to be there.
Here’s to many more vacations to come, filled with oceany goodness.
family, nature, travelling • Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 • 5 Comments »
