Nurturing the Wild Heart

Recently, we had a very sudden move out of state and to a very big city. It was a very complicated situation but very necessary for our family. We had to say goodbye to all our friends and family so quickly. I also had to leave behind my wonderful gardens. I hope that who ever moves in will love them just as much as we did. I was able to take quite a few of them with me. A couple didn't make the transition and so I left because I felt like they would be happier there. It was such a whirlwind! I didn't have time to think until we got here and got unpacked a little. Then everything started to sink in. The beautiful Lemon Bergamot I had to leave behind. All of the plants that made the transition. I was doing a little blessing for them. It has taken me some time to adjust to all the traffic, sirens, pollution warnings, and the cockroaches left by the previous tenants, but I am getting there slowly. More and more I am refocusing on the positives to living here and adapti...

Gladiolas from the kids' garden Today was a beautiful solstice day! I love to roll with the seasons so I like to celebrate each of them in some way. So today we all started in the gardens! It has been unusually hot here for the month of June but some nice thunderstorms in the evenings lately have been helping to keep the plants happy! My youngest talking to the bees this morning on the Bee Balm  We had so much fun relaxing together! My husband and I drinking coffee, while laughing at one of our dogs, watching the birds, and doing a little pruning and harvesting. Harvest from the herb garden   The best part of the day was a short hike at Medoc Mountain. One of our favorite places to hike around here. It is always gorgeous out there! A brilliant blue dragonfly who wanted his picture taken!   My oldest, that was recently diagnosed with Crohn's disease, loves to hike but since her flare up she has been very fearful to attempt it. She did...

We have been getting some pretty gnarly winter weather here in NC lately. Last week it was an icy mess. You couldn't even walk across your grassy areas because you might slip and fall. My kids however thought this was the best because they could "ice skate" on grass! It was bitter cold and our heaters never stopped to rest which had me a little nervous with our wallet getting a little too light shelling out money for fuel. Today it isn't as cold but it is snowing. Everyone around here isn't used to this weather and EVERYTHING shuts down. So most people are not happy with this newest development Mother Nature is throwing our way. It is hard because some people, like my husband, dad, and brothers, have to get to work even on the snow covered roads and the county is just not equipped to deal with snow or ice very quickly. This morning when I woke, even though I love snow, I found I was also less than excited to see the white stuff. So as I made a mad dash to the...