Blooming, bubbles, and bliss

I was gone from our homestead for two and a half days, and when I returned, things had dramatically changed: roses were blooming, asparagus had turned into an old growth forest, grass grew two inches, and the garden decided to kick in vigorously.

Wowser! Blink once and miss all the gigantic growth going on this time of year!

I can't keep up with all the photos.  We took the ones below two weeks ago, and I assure you that things have grown much, much more since then.

Everything is blooming.  This time of year finds me blissfully sticking my nose into flowers. One would think I had learned my lesson when I got stung by a bee in the butt last week while mowing the lawn, but - no! I have to get as close as possible to all these blossoms.

I can't tell you how much is blooming, but here's some of it: (My favorites are the girls in the dogwood tree, of course).

There's so much to be done outside, I often get overwhelmed.  That's why I appreciate the times my hubby Steve puts his beautiful muscles to use when he helps me do some heavy lifting.  The other day, we worked together to spread mulch on the flower beds, after I had painstakingly weeded them.

Things now look sooooo gorgeous, I can hardly stand it.

We try to enjoy this beauty and relax on the porch, we really do.  Sometimes, it's hard to sit down when you see a hundred things that need to be accomplished, but the older I get, the more I allow myself the time to just be and enjoy.  

So when Eva and her friend blew bubbles, I joined in the fun. Nothing like blowing bubbles to bring out your inner child!

Two more things:

I finished the sweater that I started as roving. You can follow the process by joining our Patreon membership-only site, where I made movies about the whole process to teach you how to dye wool roving, spin it, knit it, and make a sweater.  

Click here to go to the site <---

And the last thing: Our sons are participating in track, and in the last track meet, Luke qualified for finals at running the mile.  I'm proud of the guy, and so is his hugely smiling brother on the right.

PS: If you want to come to our homestead for a weekend in August and learn homesteading and wilderness skills, you can learn more by clicking here <---

Spring, spring, springeding-ding!!! And our kids' summer camp is filling up!

One reason I'm freaking out is the picture below.  I'm talking about my first-born son, Kai, who went to his first prom last week, looking like a movie star, if you ask me.

Back many, many decades ago, when I was his age, I would have totally fallen for him.  I hope this doesn't sound weird, since I'm his Mom, but honestly?  Look at him!  (Also, I think his lovely date/girl-friend/friend seems to agree with my assessment of his handsome-ness, so it's not all just mother's bias).

I've been feeling nostalgic, I admit it.  Kai will start driver's ed next month.  Do I need to say more?  

My kid behind the wheel, speeding along a highway frequented by drunk drivers, massive elk who hurl themselves into cars, and foul-weathered, winding, slick or flooding roads.

It was not long ago when Kai was a little boy whom I simply could not keep dressed, running around stark naked chasing butterflies in the garden, with me the one and only woman in his life.

Now I have to share him, which I gladly do, because he tends to choose great girls, but still... he's not mine anymore  (Okay, okay, I never technically owned him, but ... you know...)

So now, feeling the passing of teenage-hood breathing down our necks, I'm consciously trying to enjoy all of my children even more than usual.

Below is my youngest child Eva with her best friend, doing what little kids are supposed to do, versus all the silly learning-how-to-drive-cars and taking-girls-to-the-prom business...

Just as my growing kids, spring is moving at a rapid rate, showing off all the fruit tree blossoms, churning out baby goats, and making the grass grow at record speed.

We have a new goat, which we exchanged for the one we had previously due to her psycho screaming loud tendencies.  I loved the loud goat very much, I really did, and I wished I could have kept her. 

This new one is a La Mancha, with an especially sweet, loving disposition.  Above all: she's quiet and comes with two babies who have elfin ears.  It's heaven, especially for Eva's girl-friends, who love to cuddle them.

Talking of Eva's girl-friends: I love, love, love bringing kids into our house and letting them experience a part of our homesteading life.  At a playdate a couple of weeks ago, Eva's friend got to play with goats, make pizza dough, and decorate faces on a nature walk to the creek.

It makes me so very happy to see kids so excited about nature.

~~~~~~ We still have a few spots open for our homesteading and wilderness camp for kids this summer, but they are filling up fast!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check it out by clicking here <-----

If you've read my blog for a while, you know that nature is my church.  Nothing gets me more balanced, centered and happy to spend time outdoors.

Here's a few snapshot of our spring so far, when we've gone kayaking at Chuckanut Bay, bicycled in Skagit Valley's tulip fields, biked up to my favorite lookout at Cascade River Road, and dug in the garden.

As far as the garden goes, it's all planted by now!  In fact, Steve is setting up the greenhouse and planting tomatoes as we speak, since I'm feeling weak after not eating anything for three days with a stomach virus.

Gotta love that man!

I hope your spring is as lovely as ours.  What's up in your world?  

I'll leave you with pictures of fresh, raw milk after morning chores, to be made into Caerphilly cheese in my kitchen. 

And another one of me and the new goat with her babies.  Her name is Meadow.  Meadow in the meadow.  Perfect.

Homesteading in Paradise April 2018 Highlights

You can bet your bootie off that April is super busy at our homestead.  Baby goats, baby chicks, baby plants... gardening... after-school sports for the kids... cheesemaking... I get dizzy just reading this, let alone doing it all.

Good thing I enjoy all this stuff so much!

And good thing I have chocolate to fuel me through the frenzy.

This month's "Homesteading in Paradise" series is jam packed with beauty.  You can see how much our baby chicks grew, watch the progress in the garden, and possibly pick up a trick or two on how to live a healthier, simpler, more sustainable life.

Lots of inspiration in this one!

Click here to watch our short movie

Enjoy, and let us know your favorite part!