Monday, July 25, 2011

garden morning

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Most days in recent months find us very busy in the garden. And not just one garden, but two. This year, in addition to the smaller garden we have in our backyard, we are also gardening over at the ranch were we keep our horses.

We started the garden over there in early spring. There was an area already fenced in up near the barn, originally meant for animals, ready and waiting for us to start digging. We made 21 long beds, and lots of big plans for all the good food we would grow. Funny how quickly you can run out of room in a 2,000 square foot garden. You might think it would be plenty of space, but apparently for us it is not. You might think that since we have this big new garden we wouldn't have to dig up half of the remaining space in the backyard. But we did. Cleared space for a greenhouse too. There is just no way we can start another season here without a greenhouse, definitely a necessity when living and gardening above 7,000 feet.

Yes, needless to say, our gardens have been keeping us oh so busy. Sometimes I take a few pictures. Mostly I plant, water, weed.

The other morning the girls and I went very early to do our garden chores. But before getting to work I wandered about with the camera for a while.

I am so in love with our cabbage. (Oh gosh, I know that sounds weird.) It is just so pretty.

For a while our cabbage was looking kind of strange, our broccoli was doing much better. Then our broccoli started forming little round heads, our cabbages sending up tall center stalks.. That's when I realized I mixed up the cabbage and broccoli while transplanting our little seedlings! Well, at least now I know all is well.



The land around the ranch, even though it's just 10 minutes away, is very different from the forested land around our home.

And the soil is so much better! Not nearly as heavy with clay as our backyard garden, and hardly a single rock! We have never experienced anything like it, so so great (say the people who have dug many gardens in these rocky mountains)...

Well actually, our very first garden, in 1998 or 99, was in Ohio, so that was some pretty nice soil too.

We grew corn that year in Ohio. We haven't grown it since then, until now.

Yes, lots of pictures of the corn, cause I love it also. We have it planted amongst the winter squash, with pole beans planted to climb the corn stalks.

Lots of carrots. Two beds of beets planted a week or two ago. (I should be keeping better garden notes..) Seven beds of potatoes, but we kind of accidentally planted fingerling potatoes. Please don't ask how we could have accidentally planted them, they were given to us, we didn't put much thought into it, we just planted them...

As always we are just so very grateful that this family is willing to share so much of their land with us. It is definitely hard though, tending to a garden that is not at our home. I do love to be out in the garden, but I also really really really like to be at home.

We have developed a pretty nice rhythm with it, and I am just trying to embrace the busyness as part of what summer is. Lots of outward activity. I am also being mindful that the girls get enough rest and home time.

They sure are having a great summer.

Soon enough it will be time to turn inward again.

We intend to keep making the best of every beautiful summer day we have!


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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

yarn along - cardigans and vintage book love

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I am always happy to join Ginny for her Yarn Along... And this week I am especially happy that I have finally started knitting my very first sweater! I am making the Knitting Pure and Simple Children's Neckdown Cardigan for Chloe, to be followed by one for Chessa of course, though I do realize it could be quite a while before I get that far.

I have wanted to knit sweaters almost forever it seems. When I was about 20 I had a favorite thrifted orange sweater, and I always wished it had a hood, so I decided that someday I would definitely have to make myself an orange hooded cardigan. But first a red cardigan for Chloe, and then a green one for Chessa, and Jason has requested a brown sweater.

There is something else extra special about this sweater... my dear friend Melanie and I are knitting these cardigans together for our sweet little (big) girls. We wish they could play together, we wish we could knit together, now we kind of are...

And here is an extra special book, one that was included in the books Chloe received for her birthday. A wonderful vintage book full of fairy tales from around the world, with a print date of 1910. I find it amazing to hold a book in my hands and imagine who held the very same book more than 100 years !

I never did get to share what I made Chloe for her birthday, besides the pinafore, so I took a couple quick picture this afternoon, though you can't see her completely.

A summer maiden, traveling through the countryside perhaps...


Oh dear friends, there is so much more I would like to be sharing with you. This summer has been keeping us so busy, I guess summer is just like that sometimes. We are certainly enjoying it though, and I hope you all are too!


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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

pinafore love ~ my storybook girl

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My oldest child has just turned 11. Oh my goodness, my dear sweet girl.

And this sweet girl of mine surely needed a pinafore...

So I made one for her.

It just so happened that there was some "storybook apron" sewing going on, and as I finished up this pinafore I realized I could contribute...

Our beautiful children's books are always inspiring me.

When Chloe received the pinafore she exclaimed, "You made me a Five Little Peppers pinafore!"

Vintage fairy tale illustrations always offer inspiration...



Elsa Beskow books are adored around here...




Tasha Tudor inspires us in so very many ways!

Vintage green linen..

all kinds of pleats..

And a little hand embroidery.

For this beautiful person who inspires me so much every single day!


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