Sneak Peaks From the Summer Break

Hello? Anyone still here? I’m almost back from my summer break, and I’m gearing up to return to the online world. That is, if anyone is still around! 😉

My time away has been absolutely amazing! Just the other day I told my man I might step away from blogging every summer. I’ve had time to sit back, think, to soak in life and look at my world through new eyes. It’s been good. So very good!

And now that I’m almost ready to return to “normal” life, I can’t believe I was reluctant to take this break! Why? Is it because I don’t like change? Because I failed to meet my own expectations? Perhaps I didn’t want to acknowledge my limitations?

This summer I learned I’m not very good at embracing change. Several weeks passed before I felt comfortable with my choice, before I felt free to fully embrace my decision. As the summer unfolded, I realized it’s a weakness of mine. I’m prone to hang onto the past, missing opportunities and moments in the present!

I also realized I don’t want to keep living this way! Instead of always fighting change, I want to learn to affectionately kiss the past goodbye, to turn and embrace the future with open arms, ready to give of myself and to accept all it has for me.

Yes, my summer break has been wonderful! I’ve learned lots and I’m so glad I took it! Soon, I’ll be blogging my heart out once again. But until that happens, I want to share a few sneak peaks from the summer!

Please pardon the low-quality photos. One day I’ll get myself a good camera, but until it fits the budget and our priorities, you’ll just have to bear with me!

My happy place. I’ve been fishing creeks and rivers since before I could remember, and I made a point of doing lots this summer! Fresh trout is always a favorite! Wanna learn how to clean one? Here’s how I do it!

The beauty of this valley still gets me, and this is my 5th summer living here! Like my visiting friend said? It’s a fairyland of a place!

Yes, one of my favorite people? persons? visited this summer and I enjoyed our time immensely! We had some good, heart-to-heart chats, harvested fruit and did some preserving too! 

I’ve already spent hours putting food by this summer! Among my efforts were 70+ lbs of peaches from a local grower. My first shelf in the cold room is filled up, and I’m starting on the second!

Now that we’re in the Mountain Cottage and will be heating with firewood, we actually have to take time to cut, split and put it up for winter! Cottonwood isn’t a very desirable for burning, and I’m grateful we have lots of pine in the mix!

This summer I (very happily) babysat for a friend who was being induced at the local hospital. She has two of the cutest boys and also happens to live on a sheep farm! Dunno why, but I have a thing for these woolly mammals. Cows? Goats? Not so much! But sheep? There’s something so…appealing about them. One day, I’ll raise lambs again and maybe even look into getting a dairy breed!

The hugelkultar kitchen gardens did produce food for us (and no, the Mountain Cottage still doesn’t have siding)! Tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbages, lettuce and kale, basil, dill, cilantro, chamomile, parsley and peas…! It’s starting to die back now, but I do believe these beds were worth the time and effort it took!

If you haven’t noticed, my life story always comes back to quality food! Our home has been overflowing with apples. Starting with the early-ripening, red Gravenstein, it’ll carry on until winter has settled over our home. And then? We’ll eat home preserved apples all winter long!

I have over 35 quarts of applesauce sitting pretty on the shelf, and I’m just waiting for some later apple varieties to ripen before I start making apple butter, apple vinegar and apple pie filling!

 

 

Oh wait? What’s this?! Just my new blog logo, one you’ll soon see when you visit my online space! Yep, I’ve been leisurely working on a blog makeover during this break! Stay tuned, because changes are coming your way!

And yes, I know the word “traditional” is missing an “i”…the designer fixed that on the real deal!

Hoping you had a wonderful summer,

Autumn