summer bounty

These last couple of weeks have been full and bountiful.  

green beans and nasturtium from the garden

our first sunflower of the summer

Hopi red dye amaranth

From working in the garden to playing with friends of all ages, from hanging laundry to hula hooping, each little moment whispers summertime.

strawberry picking with the field all to ourselves

sisters sharing a fort in the midday heat

sunset signals time to start chasing fireflies and dodging mosquitoes

the cute culprit that has been nibbling my broccoli plants

fun with friends and shapes

a special friend to entertain her when she has an earache

braving the weed-jungles on our property to reach the wild raspberries

Camille's most beloved dolly, Ella, will be 7 years old this month when Camille turns 10.  She needed surgery to reattach her arms and Camille was so happy to have her back in good health.  

Camille cut her own bangs.  They'll grow :).  

We have been harvesting sour cherries from our tree.

The chickens like to mill around hoping for a bruised cherry to be thrown their way.

*picture by Camille

On top of all of our fruit harvesting, I bought a bushel of ripe peaches.  Time for peach crisp with cherries and black raspberries!

"Mama, Grandma and I picked these for you!"

This morning, as Camille and Sylvia left to spend a week with each set of grandparents, Ayla and I joined our friends to ride on a float in a local parade.

waving and playing a maraca

I know my big girls are going to be having tons of fun with their grandparents, fishing and boating, diving and playing games, crafting and snuggling and I am oh-so-going to miss them, but I am hoping to embrace this time with just my littlest.  I want to slow to the speed of just a three year old, because to be honest, I'm kind of exhausted.  With all of this abundance of goodness and fun and friendship and sunshine, also comes mosquitoes and sweaty irritation, sister squabbles and thorny scratches and dirty dishes and plain old hard work.  It's all a part of this life.

The bumpy bits don't diminish the goodness, but they do call for more mindfulness at times.