Falling in Love~

Have you ever fallen in love?  Have you been so simply struck by the beauty of someone or something that you see them in a new light and fall madly in love with them all over again?   

For me that someone is Raine.  She is this magickal little being of light and love that never fails to surprise me with her depths.

She is a beautiful beating heart that just when I think I've seen all of her and know every part, she shows me something new, something more, and I fall again.

She is grace and flow defined, so very much deserving of her name.  A part of this world and yet so far beyond it.  She feels everything and understands that it is a gift yet selflessly accepts the heartache that can come with.

  I love that I cannot hide from her, that she sees me as no other ever has.  That we speak a language all our own.

She is not like any other that I have ever come across and yet a kindred spirit to so many.  She sees the things that lie within, the very potential in all the people she meets.

When left to her own devices she can bring about that potential before your very eyes, though you may not notice it happening until until you have forgotten what it even was before.

To watch from afar as she works is like seeing a field of fireflies dance across the twilight only to realise that they are faeries at the last second.  Breath taking. Spiritual. Magick.

I am so blessed to be her mother and a guardian of her light.  She makes me smile everyday and remember who I am, what I am here to do, and to never allow that sense of self to fade...

What a beautiful gift she has given me by being exactly who she is~My Love.

Strawberry Pickin~

A few weeks ago Raine and I headed up to Bohringer's Farm to do some strawberry pickin.  It was a beautiful (and hot) day out and we just felt like getting the heck out of dodge for awhile.

Every year we go to Bohringer's to pick blueberries in July/August, but this is the first year that we went for strawberries.

We spent about an hour in the fields before heading back to the little fruit stand that they have at the entrance to pick up a few extra goodies to bring home with us.  All in all we ended up with a little over 10 quarts, enough to freeze for winter and to can a few jars of homemade strawberry shortcake sauce!

Can You Coop? We can!!!

Well as some of you may know we are now the proud owners of 12 beautiful chickens!!  We have done a lot of research over the years and finally decided that this was going to be the year to do it!  One of the biggest decisions we had to make was all about the Coop.  Which kind was right for us?  What one would be able to house our precious girls in the heat of summer while keeping them cool, and still offer them enough space to be warm and happy come winter?  We also had to think about cost or how to get the best bang for our buck while not breaking moms bank!  With all of this in mind we shopped around and decided to go with a Lancaster.  This company makes em tough and the model we went with boasts a coop with nesting boxes 72x54x74in. Red siding, white trim, and black shingles. Quality Amish wood construction direct from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Duratemp plywood siding. Sturdy plywood panels surfaced with tempered hardboard resist damage and weather degradation. 25-year asphalt shingles.  Now don't get me wrong this little beauty was still a bit on  the pricey side at 1352.00 plus tax, but overall it had everything we were looking for to keep our new editions safe and happy! 

(She's is such a good chicken mama)

Well now that the decision making was over and with the not so little anymore chicks living in the house! it was well past time to go and pick up our coop!  My lovely and always truck willing friend Laura drove us down to the local Agway and with a forklift and a little patience it was loaded up.

(Wow it just fit and I mean just!)

I got the pleasure of driving it home and let me tell you that potholes and chicken coops don't mix!  It was a fun slow ride with a a lot of funny looks, but hey that just made it all the better.  Half an hour or so later we made it home safe and sound and it was time to unload.  Now let's take a  pause here in remembrance.  This coop is SOLIDLY built.  What it weighs I may never know, but if it takes a forklift and three guys 45 minutes to get it into the truck, why did I think Laura, myself, and Raine would have no problem getting it back out!  (insert forehead smack here)  I will admit that I sometimes have a bit of a superman complex and am simply baffled when I can't do something by myself.  So when I say that it took us 2 hours, a car jack, several sturdy pieces of wood for leverage, and girl power (both brains and brawn) of the likes you've never seen to get this bad boy on the ground, listen to me when I say, "do not try this at home!"  Get help people!  Don't let that independent stubborn streak of yours put you through something like this!  I will always remember this because now it's funny, but at the time I almost threw in the towel!!!  I am sore just thinking about it :)

After we got it on the ground, I fed Laura cupcakes (so much for the promised fancy dinner) and bid her farewell with a huge I owe you one.  Raine and I then retired for the night to "recoop" until tomorrow! 

As the next morning rolled around we got straight to work laying out landscaping cloth and beauty bark from a local nursery, and with the gracious help of our neighbors were able to get it situated on it's plot (Thanks Joe & Val!!).  And finally a fairy rose, an artemesia plant, and a few stones were put in place to give it a whimsical homey look! 

Raine and I through in the pine bedding, feeder, and watering jug for the girls and welcomed them home.  They were seemed to be thrilled with their new digs if all the happy chirping they were making was any indication. 

We spent most of the day out there with them, just enjoying their company and all the excited exploration of our curious chicks.  We also put up a temporary chicken run while we save enough to build a proper one later in the summer.

All in all it has been a wonderful experience and we are both madly in love with our first foray into being farmers.

Solstice Twilight~

Soltice~

During Summer Solstice, on what seems to be a day of endless glorious light, it is important that you take that light into yourself and illuminate who you really are. Emerge from this day "lighter" and with a deep knowing of that true self, and allow him/her to be present from here forth. I hope each of you takes the time today to immerse yourself fully in the sun and draw upon the strength and joy that comes from just being you...