the weekend

We had the perfect weekend. County Fair with friends and Deep Creek Lake with family. Beautiful weather, good times and great company. We even rode a camel!

Nothing like a good tractor pull.

the garden

Feeling a little bummed that our tomatoes have succumbed to late blight. Boo. Not all of them are affected though, and we're still getting a good amount. The rest of the garden is in great shape and I'm taking lots of notes for next year. I've learned a lot of important lessons about spacing. Especially with squash and all things viney.

Right now we're picking tons of squash and zucchini, hot peppers, cucumbers, kale, chard, tomatoes, carrots, melons, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, beets, onions, turnips and lots of fresh herbs. We're pickling and canning all of our excess cucumbers, beans and hot peppers. Lots of pickles!

This garden of ours is keeping our bellies full and keeping us busy! We're so grateful.

this moment

We set out for the garden to see what needs to be done. I weed and harvest a few things while you entertain yourself. You make your rounds. First you check to see if there are any ripe tomatoes, even a few unripe ones will do. You don't really eat these, but you sure enjoy playing with them. I ask you to please not pick the green ones and try to give them a chance to ripen, but I take a deep breath and realize that we have plenty. Next, you grab a handful of broccoli and start munching. Then, you stumble upon a surprise, a second coming of raspberries. Just a few, but a miracle in your world nonetheless.

You love to dig in the dirt and search for worms. I periodically pop my head up to see where you are, ever thankful of the fence keeping you in the garden. Are you eating something you shouldn't? Have you discovered the hot peppers? Are you torturing a millipede (your favorite)? I hand you a sugar snap pea as you pass by and you happily snatch it up and start crunching.

After our work is done, we find ourselves in the blueberry patch. You know the drill. You lift the bird netting and slip underneath. You have scores of blueberries right at eye level and you dig in. I move about the bushes, filling a carton. I slip under the netting and sit with you while we both keep picking. Mine go in the box and yours go in your mouth.

Our eyes meet and you sign that you want milk. There we sit, nursing, hidden amongst the blueberry bushes. Just the two of us. I stare at your sweet berry-stained face and remember the days, not so long ago, when I couldn't even leave you to go to the bathroom or take a shower. I notice how big you are, how your long body is quickly outgrowing my lap. I kiss your sweet smelling head and hope that no matter how big you are, you'll always let your mama kiss your head.

I lift my head up, face to the sun, and I'm so grateful. For you, for this moment, this sunshine, these blueberries, this life.

wordless wednesday

baker's man

It was an unseasonably cold Spring evening but Nate was right at home basking in the familiar warmth of a wood-fired oven. Last month he was asked to help bake pizzas for an event at Fort Ligonier in their 18th century-style earth ovens and it was a really fun night. And the past two weekends he was the guest baker at The Compass Inn Museum. He spent the day in the 18th century cookhouse wearing period clothing and baking in the beehive oven while educating visitors. He's been invited back to bake and teach whenever he wants.

It seems that Nate is quickly making a name for himself around these parts.

He and I are both working part time at a cafe in town. We know the owner and it was always one of our favorite places to eat. It's ten minutes from home, it's a great way to connect with people, and it allows one of us to always be home on the farm with Zander. It's perfect for us. Nate bakes nothing but fermented sourdough leavened with wild yeast and over the years his skills have reached a professional level. His famous sourdough Belgian waffles have earned themselves a weekly event as they're served every Saturday at the cafe. Folks just love them and everyone's talking about them. Even people who can't normally tolerate gluten have been able to eat them because of the fermentation process. He's also started baking rolls and buns for a local grass-fed beef farm and the burger events that they host at the cafe and local farmers market.

All of this is slowly beginning to fill an empty space for Nate. I don't think anyone will ever understand the deep sadness he has felt about having to abandon the oven he built at the last farm. Obviously, it means a lot to him because he made it, but it wasn't just something he built. It was a journey of self-discovery as he conquered something he'd never done before. It was a dream of ours to start a business surrounding the oven and it was such an accomplishment to have almost finished it. It was a work of art, and we were almost there. I think it's especially hard now since he's doing so much baking.

It's been almost a year and we are only beginning to heal from that situation. It was heartbreaking for both of us. Now, plans for our wood-fired business are in the works. But the oven. . . Well, that's a wound that may never truly heal for Nate.

But this man of mine? He's baking. And that makes us both happy.

wordless wednesday (on friday)

the beginning

We were at the park the other day and Zander found his way to a tire swing. It's been awhile since he's been on a baby swing and he'd never been on a tire swing before. It was pretty amazing to watch as he first needed Nate to be there to push him and show him how to hold on. Then Nate stepped back once he knew that Z knew not to let go. And then we sat and watched as he totally figured out on his own how to move his body to swing himself.

I couldn't help but think that this is parenting. You watch over them and keep them safe, teaching them how to navigate their way through life. You stand close enough to catch them if they fall and you watch as they go through the process of learning and making mistakes. Maybe you catch them as they do fall a few times. Sometimes it's hard to watch. You brush them off and encourage them to try again. Slowly, you start to step away and then the time comes when they can do it all by themselves.

What a feeling it is to watch him accomplish something and to see the pride in his face. A little bittersweet for this sappy mama.

I know. This is just the beginning.