Our summer in pictures and a surprise!

 Avery with her cousins at the Botanical Gardens. And with our friend's daughter Juniper, above.

 We have had a wonderful summer. And if I sound past tense at all, it is because the end of July does mark the end of our hot days and the beginning of our cooler days and dark growing nights. I have not been making the time to download pictures let alone take the time to write anything cohesive. Instead we have been on the go catching up on doctor and dentist appointments, spending time with friends and family, scrambling to catch up on house chores on the rainy days and occasionally I manage to eek out a fee precious hours in the garden.

Most of these pictures are from June. Avery had a wonderful first week at Wild Rose Summer camp.

 

 In June my brother and his wife had their third child, a daughter named Petra Rose. Below the kids are holding her for the first time. Above is a little sweater vest I made for her. It is a free pattern on ravelry called "Louise". I had some issues with the pattern, so if anyone tries making and runs into trouble you can email me :) 

Avery and I made it out one day shortly after summer solstice to "bark" our Birch trees. I hope I got enough bark for all the winter crafts I am hoping to make. I meant to get out one more time and find a few bigger trees but I'm pretty sure I've missed the window by now.

 

 We were invited to pick Honey Berries with friends. That is Avery's haul. She made a pie, mixing them with some peaches and cherries. I picked maybe a gallon and a half. Put most in the freezer. In case you've never heard of Honey Berries, they grow on a hardy shrub that is cold tolerant. They produce fruit early. I think we picked at the end of June or early July. Right about when the strawberries first came on. They look like an oblong blueberry but have a different and distinct flavor. The Botanical gardens here in town has several varieties growing. The bushes we were picking off of were probably four or five feet in diameter and about six feet tall. I was impressed with their yield and earliness.

 Avery picking Arnica flowers to make a fresh infused oil.

This perennial spot is one of my favorite areas in my garden. The bees love it so much I have a hard time working in it. I have to watch before I grab and be careful where I step.

And yes, that is my pee stick! We are expecting our third child! 

I am guessing that this won't come as a surprise to some of my long time readers. We have been making gradual steps towards this outcome for a couple years now; everything from teeth mineralizing diets and cleanses to downsizing on our animal diversity and numbers. We wanted to be in a better financial position so that we would not be overwhelmed by financial stresses. We also wanted to simplify our life so that we can really just savor each day with our children and the one to come. We had hopes to sell this home and move before having another child but the house that we want to buy isn't available until next summer, and we just couldn't wait any longer. As you can imagine the kids are very excited - especially Avery. She says things like, "I can't believe you are building a baby for me! and Noah and Dad and you." I myself am so excited I have trouble falling asleep at night sometimes despite how tired I am all day. And there have been some nights I wake up and remember and then can't fall back to sleep, because of how thrilled I am.

So, we will be having an early March baby. I am about eight weeks along and thankfully have already wrapped up a couple weeks of queasiness (during which we butchered chickens and processed salmon) and am just tired now and don't feel like cooking with all the amazing produce we should be enjoying. 

We've had a few rainy days. This morning was foggy. I made gluten free zucchini bread and my first batch of feta in a couple years. But the sun has just come out and is calling to me. I will share pictures of my beautiful garden soon. 

Best wishes to you!