Kids, Lakes, Loons and Pines

Happy New Year!

The winter holidays have come and gone. For us they were an opportunity to gather again with grandparents and cousins.  We also have been enjoying time together as a family on the kids' winter break from school. We have been spending time both nordic and alpine skiing and snowboarding. I have been enjoying the local trails on my fat tire bike too. We have been spending some time indoors together too, watching movies, playing games and putting together a puzzle. We've had a lot of great moments and I am looking for more in the new year ahead! I wish you all who happen upon this digital space who follow along with my occasional ramblings the best too! May 2022 be a blessing to us all.

 

Winter (weather) is here...

The snow and cold have arrived and it is time to enjoy our winter fun activities (and cozy, caffeinated beverages)!

This is what we've been up to in my neck of the woods:

I have been out snowboarding with these two a couple of times already. We learned this sport several seasons ago and have now all developed the skills and confidence to make the experience super FUN! There is something special about snowboarding with your kids.  I am looking forward to many more opportunities as the season progresses.

Fat tire biking is another fun winter activity that I have come to enjoy.  My bike is all set with winter studded tires. We have a newly developed trail system close by, which is a whole additional playground for this fun thing to do.  Frozen lakes and packed-down dogsled trails are also great places I take my fat-tire bike in the winter to get out and explore.

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago before our big snow, but running and hiking are also in my rhythms of outdoor exercise.  I enjoy getting out with my canine hiking/running companion every season of the year on the trails.

And then there are the skinny skis! We have enough snow now for our local trails to be groomed. The kids and I have all been out on our skis, our oldest two will be competing in their first nordic ski race of the season tomorrow.

Needless to say, we have a lot of avenues of winter fun!

 

Around Here...

Around Here...

I spent some time in our backwoods collecting greens to make some evergreen wreaths. Some of these will adorn our homestead and some, spoiler alert, will soon be sent out to family, as gifts they can enjoy throughout the holiday season.  It was a full afternoon of creating, and I enjoyed getting into the holiday spirit by making these while watching the Thanksgiving Food Network shows. It was a perfect day to complete this creative task.

Around Here...

Darkness comes early, which is a great opportunity to observe the night sky on clear days.  We recently checked out a high-powered telescope from our local library and we have been enjoying the moon sightings in a magnified way! 

Around Here...

Winter weather is trying to make its mark. Snow and ice are returning, but at this point, it is still snowing, freezing, and thawing. Soon we will be skiing and on ice, but not quite yet. This morning on a trail run I came across both a frozen pond and open water. 

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This act of sharing photographs and ramblings of our daily life is a practice in gratitude that brings me joy.

I encourage you to reflect on the good in your life.

What are you grateful for today?

First Snow

We were blanketed with our first cumulative snowfall today. It is sticking now, but likely to melt away before it stays for the winter season. This year's first snowfall was a couple of weeks after last year's first snow, which is interesting and fun to compare from year to year. 

I have everything ready. A couple of weeks ago I inventoried and organized hats, mitts, boots, and jackets to make sure that everyone had the sizes they needed. We're all eager and excited for the winter snow sports season. We have fun skiing, snowboarding, skating and fat-tire biking. Those experiences are on our horizon!

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This act of sharing photographs and ramblings of our daily life is a practice in gratitude that brings me joy.

I encourage you to reflect on the good in your life.

What are you grateful for today?

Fall!

Fall colors are in full swing. I have been enjoying opportunities to get out and enjoy the autumn with all of my senses ranging from the sights and smells of the fall leaves to the taste of the first soup of the season indoors. I am enjoying the beauty in each day.

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This act of sharing photographs and ramblings of our daily life is a practice in gratitude that brings me joy.

I encourage you to reflect on the good in your life.

What are you grateful for today?

 

Around Here...

I am enjoying this beautiful time of year by spending time outdoors whenever I can. The gift of flexibility and time during the day is something I appreciate and value. Now in mid-September we have four kids back at school, three kids participating in cross-country, a dad who is home from a successful elk hunting trip, changing leaves, cooler weather, and a blooming garden. Life is good.

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This act of sharing photographs and ramblings of our daily life is a practice in gratitude that brings me joy.

I encourage you to reflect on the good in your life.

What are you grateful for today?

Around Here...

September is here and already the weather has started to shift. Thankfully we have been getting some precipitation that has helped tame the wildfires that have been consuming the attention of our community and keeping hard-working firefighters and all those supporting their efforts in our nearby wilderness areas busy.
August has been a month of wildfire action. There have been clear days with smokey plumes on the horizon from both the wildfires in Canada and a large fire southeast of town.  There have also been a few very smokey days with limited visibility and poor air quality. On my phenology wheel, I was not only was also tracking the expanded acreage of the nearby Greenwood Fire, which forced both road closures and evacuations. Thankfully firefighters are making good progress on containment and it is no longer an imminent threat to homes and cabins. August has also brought garden abundance. And, I must say. I am in a better place with my feelings about my garden space than I was last time I posted. Maybe I just don't enjoy canning pickles as much as I used to. Harvesting and canning garden tomatoes and salsa has been more enjoyable.  I have also been enjoying my flower garden. I am happy to be providing food for pollinators too! 




These last few weeks of August and the start of September felt good. I am where I need and want to be with my family and I am grateful for that with a new beginning to the school year and I look forward to a few more weeks of the season of summer before the fall equinox. 

This act of sharing photographs and ramblings of our daily life is a practice in gratitude that brings me joy.

I encourage you to reflect on the good in your life.

What are you grateful for today?

 

This garden...

This garden...

It is the time of year where I am starting to incorporate canning and preserving into my daily rhythms (along with work, free time, and the activities of my four busy children).

My zone 3 garden is starting to provide much homegrown goodness, which is additional work, but also a gift. Sometimes it can be overwhelming.

It seems like we do nothing in our family in a small way and the size and abundance of our garden seem to be following suit. 

So far I have "put up" salsa, dill and sweet pickles, and grapes (juice). I have also been drying chives (for fall and winter soups) and varieties of calendula flowers (that I will be using in homemade soaps).  I am also enjoying the flowers I have planted and enjoying cut bouquets of zinnias and dahlias indoors.

 

All of these still images reflect the beauty, but if I am totally honest sometimes I just want to throw in the towel. The garden seems too big and all of the work seems like too much. But, then I get in my "groove" and it all works out.  

 

It is all about perspective and timing.

 

So, this is this garden, something that continues both to challenge and ground me this abundant season of the year.

 

Around Here...

Around Here...

Our garden is taking shape. We have zinnias, snapdragons, hollyhocks, marigolds, and dahlia's blooming. In my garden, I am also growing chives, kale, pickling cucumbers, dill, raspberries, grapes, and lavender. 

Around Here...

We're still raising a flock of hens and enjoying the gifts of eggs that they provide each day. Our girls get time out of their coop each day to free range in our yard and are living a good life here at the end of the road.

Around Here...

It is time to say farewell to July. This month we've had blueberries, hot and dry weather, wildfires, and lightning storms.  My phenology wheel practice continues to be something that I enjoy that helps me pay attention and track and appreciate the changes and subtle changes in the natural world. It is time to get set up for the month of August!

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This act of sharing photographs and ramblings of our daily life is a practice in gratitude that brings me joy.

I encourage you to reflect on the good in your life.

What are you grateful for today?

Snapshots from Voyageur's National Park

We are just settling back at home after 5 days of camping in Voyageurs National Park.  We have been doing this for several years now and have been making wonderful memories.  

Enjoy these snapshots from our trip and be delighted by the beauty and bounty of this beautiful area of Northern Minnesota: