how does your garden grow?

We've been so fortunate this summer to be able to use the community greenhouse and garden here in Beaver Creek. It is a space where everyone is welcome, and they have one employee who has been helping to make the space beautiful, accessible and welcoming.
On Mother's Day, we went in and planted out little seedlings. Almost one month later, we have a huge box bursting with green plants and good smells (the basil is so fragrant!).
The greenhouse holds special memories for me and  as I have said before provides me with a quiet place to be when I need it. It is where we met Ryder, and is also a very family friendly place for the kids to go to.
Steve, the young man who works there, invited myself and the kids to come over and do some planting. He had started some seedlings inside the greenhouse and wanted to transplant them outside into the garden beds. Noah and Katia enjoyed doing their work and had lots of questions for Steve about spiders, blankets over the garden beds and different veggies.
This evening we enjoyed a few peas and radishes from our box. Fresh peas right off of the vine are the best. It wasn't a lot ( I am most excited for the zucchinis and basil) but it was still exciting.
It just feels like summer when we are growing our own food, and I really wanted the kids to get excited about the idea of growing and eating our own food. I wanted that connection made for them.
xox

this is a pallet that says, rethink your use of garbage 

summer dreamin'

Around here we are dreaming of summer and all the beautiful parts of it. This past week Noah and I did some planting of tomatoes, beans, zucchini and carrots and now they are sitting in our window sill waiting to grow.

Gardening is one thing that I have wanted to do for a very long time but have been afraid to do so. I come from a family of expert gardeners. My mom has always had the most beautiful gardens with tons of herbs, wild flowers and vegetables. And my sisters tell me that our Italian Grandma had magical gardening powers, growing fruit and vegetables all summer long.

So it would seem that I should be able to carry on the torch right? You would think so, but something has been scaring me off. I think it's fear of failure. But I put that fear aside so that Noah and I could do something together, grow our own food.

I've heard it said many many times. If you want your children to appreciate healthy food, get them involved in preparing it, and what better way than to grow your own food? I have fond memories of eating just picked, home grown, sun warmed tomatoes on my back porch with a shaker of salt. I want that for Noah. I want that for us.

So well see how it goes. I'm not putting any pressure on our gardening project ( we have a few things against us already, like the climate for instance) , but I plan on sticking it through and having Noah help take care of our little garden.

And how about you? Do you plan on growing any particular foods this year? Are you a seasoned gardener or a newbie like me? I'd love to hear about your experience.

xox

top of the day to ya'

Happy St.Patty's Day dear friends!

Just popping in to wish you all a very happy day. I hope the luck of the Irish comes your way.

Today we are celebrating by wearing our shamrock pins ( I swear I am obsessed with making pins for Noah) and some green. And I thought I'd try to make some green food for lunch, so spinach squares it is!

Hope you have a lovely day!

xox

ps. here we were last year, green beer and all! Look how much Noah has grown!

camping 101 with a lil one

notice the rock going into his mouth? I then dropped the camera and ran over to remove it

As promised here are a few tips I learned along the way about camping with a little one.

01. The biggest mistake we made was not bringing some kind of play pen type thing to keep Noah safe at time when one of us couldn't watch him. This resulted in me having to keep my eyes on him 100% of the time and/or wear him in the sling the whole time. Do yourself a favour and bring something so that you can put them down safely and turn your back without worrying.

02. Expect your child to want to put many things in their mouths. I can't tell you how many times I said, "no sweetie, we don't put rocks in our mouths". This is why a play pen would be a great idea.

03. Bring along a sling or carrier. If your little one is still too small to do things like hikes then bring them along in the carrier. Noah was in the sling for much of our trip and you know what, it made him happy. Our stroller hardly made any appearances

04. Definitely bring a camp stove so that you can have hot food, drinks and warm water to wash up with. Such a comfort especially on cold evenings/mornings.

05. Go with convenience and use disposable diapers....I just don't see how we could've done cloth.

06. Also on the root of convenience....canned soup and canned beans made a great meal a couple of times for us.

07. Bring extra warm clothes especially for night time. Even though the days reached mid 20s, the nights got quite cold where we were. I was so happy that I had packed lots of sweatshirts and a warm fleecy bathrobe with a hood for Noah.

08. Think about camping with others.
We didn't do this, but I think it would've made the trip much easier to have an extra set of eyes on Noah.
Just when we were starting to relax a bit and I thought about putting Noah down on the ground, I started to hear some grunting and rummaging sounds. I looked over at the dumpster not 20 feet from us and there was a black bear looking for some lunch. Luckily I HAD NOT put Noah down on the ground. I quickly but calmly walked away from the site.
It was hard to have to be 100% of the time "all eyes on Noah" but really I had no other choice. I think that if we had had traveled with some friends or family, it would've been easier on us. That way one of us could've had a break or we could've had a bit of couple time and let someone else watch Noah for a bit.
Being in the outdoors is a fun but serious activity to do. Think about safety at all times. Think about animals, even bunny rabbits and raccoons can be dangerous. Think about water safety and poisonous plants or a small child wandering off.....just make sure someone is always watching the little ones.

09. Be adventurous but be realistic.
We had a great time doing some day tripping around but for the most part we were mindful or what Noah's limits were in terms of long car rides and the types of places that we took him to.
We were able to find some great parks and even a fun petting zoo in Victoria. Look for things that are age appropriate and remember to keep in mind long distance car rides.

10. Make it memorable.
Do at least one very special thing all together that each person can be proud of and remember. For us it was a hike that we took down to Botany Beach. I felt ever so accomplished having carried Noah all the way down (using our trusty sling) and we got to do some beach combing together as a family. It was fun to collect rocks together and have a little picnic on the beach. This is one memory that I will always cherish and keep in my heart.

Hope these little facts helped, even if it just gives you an idea of what camping with a little one under the age of one is like.
In the end, I am really happy and proud that we actually camped with our little Noah. It was something that I never tought twice about, I just knew that I wanted to start doing these kinds of things with our family, even with a small child.
We are learning about camping and still have a ways to go but we plan to continue to learn about the great outdoors and hopefully instill a love for nature in Noah by giving him memories to look back on.

inspiration, nature and treasures

After being here for a few days and having the chance to do a bit of exploring, I have come more and more entranced with the beautiful landscape that the Yukon has. It would be accurate to say that I am inspired and the beauty of the land has captivated me. I have dreams and ambitions to create art once again, maybe and hopefully to pick up my paint brushes and create some art based on the beautiful landscapes that I have seen and that I will be seeing more and more of.

I am drawn to the abundance of nature here and hope to find, collect and learn about the many treasures that I will find on my walks. I look forward to having Noah get acquainted with the great outdoors. I want him to feel, touch, smell, hear all that nature has to offer.

If not for any other reason than this, I think that this move to a part of the country that is so close to the wilderness will do a wealth of good for us on so many levels.

I am truly inspired in so many ways.

How about you? What does nature do for your soul? What kind of role does it play in your life?

xox

park, evening stroll, happy weekend!

It feels good to get outside after the rainy week that we just had. After dinner we went for a little walk down to the park and played a bit before bath and bed time.

Hoping that your weekend is full of good quality time with your loved ones.

xox

it's a colourful week...green! Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day dear friends and also today's colour is green.....hmmmm coincidence? Well thought out Kerry!
Today I made sure that we got to spend some time outdoors, enjoying and taking in the beautiful natural world that is around us. I just love seeing Noah play outside. I love seeing him feel and sometimes taste the grass. I love watching him experience the nature that is around him,
And a little side note...I am writing this post as we are sitting out in the backyard.
Hope you have enjoyed this beautiful day.Happy Earth Day!

can you believe...

Can you believe that I saw all of these beautiful flowers just yesterday on our walk? As Winslow and I pushed Noah along in his stroller I had to keep stopping because everywhere I looked I saw beautiful flowers and beautiful colours! And I was more than happy to snap some pictures with my camera. Oh and look at this cute bird house that our neighbour put up in our tree. Isn't it sweet? Already we have a pair that have moved in, you can see one of them (I think the female) perched outside. Oh how I am loving spring!

I am also excited to announce that I have created a Facebook Fan Page for my photography and I would be honoured if you became a fan, that's if you use Facebook ;o)

On another note, I am especially happy this week because Winslow is off work until next Tuesday. This means lot's of family funtimes, including a few roadtrips! Yay!

How has your week been thus far? Hope it has been filled with beautiful moments.

earth hour

Bad pictures? I blame it on the dark. And not having a tripod set up. But sometimes I like the blurry hard to make out photos, sometimes I find them interesting.

So Earth Hour at our house was pretty uneventful. It was quiet, peaceful and restful- not exciting but nice. We had our little lanterns lit and a nice family cuddle.

Last year Winslow and I went to a cafe (Bridgehead in Ottawa) with my sister and mom and listened to a duet sing and play the guitar. It was so nice. That's when I was pregnant and was still able to go out at night and do fun things like that.

I always say this but it hasn't happened, one of these years I want to have an Earth Hour party. Something small and intimate with lots of good food, maybe some acoustic guitar and lot's of candles. Sigh, someday. Someday we'll get back to our parties and socializing and things like that. But for now it's family time and that's just fine for me. I do enjoy a nice family cuddle.

How about you? Did you celebrate Earth Hour?

a day in the sun

What a beautiful glorious day it was on Tuesday! It was the kind of day where it would be a crime to stay indoors. So we packed our selves up and went for a lovely walk along the pathway by Lake Ontario. What a gorgeous lake I tell you, and as much as it is great and grand we must remember that it is fragile and not dispensable.

So many things to look at. So many sights to take in. Beautiful colours, textures, and sounds. A perfect day in the sun with the family and of course Noah slept through the whole walk.