End of August Beginning of September

 The last two weeks have been full, as usual. Look at this beautiful collection of spices! My neighbor who grew up in India has been teaching me some of her recipes and these were the spices (some of them) needed to make Biryani this past week. 

I took Michael's mom over to visit my mom for lunch this week. All this outdoor entertaining is wonderful and it was the perfect weather.

My mom's flowers are just stunning, and they went with the tea cozy!

David and Laura picked out pumpkins from the patch they helped Grandma plant. Earlier in the summer they spent quite a few days helping with garden work. 

The pumpkin patch grows in a big field. 

Of course we had to say hello to Job the donkey and his attentive care-giver.

Mom keeps busy taking care of her people and bringing them lots of joy and love and good food! 

I took care of myself this week by scheduling a kayak time to my secret point. I enjoyed studying, planning, reading, and painting, not to mention watching all the wildlife and doing some plain old thinking.

I spent some time creating flat lay pictures for my nature blog -- do you know about that? It's where I blog about nature! And soon I'll be sharing some of my favorite nature books!

It's dahlia season and on the weekends my sister orders lots to put up for sale. They are just too pretty!

Sometimes my morning walk is extra special. What a gift.

Since I last wrote we had a son turn 18! Congrats Drew! We decorated by finding a whole bunch of things one can legally do when one is 18 and hanging those ideas from the bunting. Finally Drew can buy spray paint and actually get a job without having to get a work permit.

I've worked at the flower shop quite a bit lately -- lots of weddings and extra orders. This was an anniversary bouquet made to look similar to the original wedding bouquet. Those types of orders are fun to fulfill.

One Sunday afternoon we met at the park to celebrate Drew and cousin John's birthdays. 

The cousins enjoyed seeing each other -- we all enjoyed being in nature!

One weekend we had a lot of social engagements and I made A LOT of pies. 

This one was rhubarb:

This was a peach tart:

Once in awhile I get a chance to paint the flowers at work.

My online nature journaling classes started this week! I am very excited about them -- can't wait to "meet" everyone I don't know in person. My mind is bursting with ideas for the next five weeks.

One last picture of flowers.

Our Labor Day fun plan was cancelled due to rain so we are now working on house organization and the to-do list. Wondering if our evening meal will be rained out too! 

School Begins

Another Monday of flower therapy.  It's always a challenge to take the flowers I've ordered ahead of time and find things to add to them at the wholesaler and keep it in budget! Never a dull moment.

I managed two five-mile walks with my neighbors this week. One walk was on a very beautiful foggy morning.

The reservoir looked like a July morning in Maine. 

I've been putting a lot of time and effort into creating my Intro to Nature Journaling mini course which will be sent out free to my newsletter subscribers within the next week! (If you want to subscribe, check out the form on the sidebar - be sure you are signing up for the newsletter and not just to follow the blog by email.) 

Creating the course involved a lot of videoing! 

Laura headed back to school on Thursday to begin fifth grade. She's excited to be back.

Thursday found me back at the flower shop to make 40 market bouquets and 16 bouquets/arrangements for a wedding.

The bride's color choice was stunning!

We hatched two monarch butterflies this week! Such excitement!

 Everyone wants a turn being the one to release the butterfly.

The garden is bringing so much joy right now, especially when we have magnificent skies to go with it!

Happy Monday! I hope you have a good week!

Last Week of July

July is just a busy month! In some ways it's nice to reach the end of a busy season, but July also spells high summer to me and August points toward fall and a new season and new seasons always bring a little bittersweet with them.

As usual, my week began at the flower shop.

Tuesday found me in my front yard enjoying a visit from my friend Christy who came all the way from NYC! Incidentally, I was to have been there this weekend but of course covid changed all that. Instead Christy was at my house.

Wednesday we got together with extended family to celebrate my mom's birthday. Chocolate cake was in order!

Yay for cousin time!

The chocolate cake was quite a treat!

We said hello to Job the donkey.

And we checked out the gardens at Grandma's house.

And we even got a safe selfie.

Thursday I was back at flowers.

And Friday David turned 14!

Two of my monarchs went into chrysalis (and as of today I have 5 in chrysalis!).

Friday evening Drew finally had the chance to graduate high school! Way to go Drew! We are so proud of you!

Drew begins at IUPUI for Business and Education next month!

By Saturday I needed a little alone time and took myself off to Eagle Creek for a hike and some painting.

David had a friend over to celebrate his birthday.

And I took some pictures of my garden, which is finally getting back to capacity after many years of fighting voles.

The side garden looks so pretty right now with all the hydrangeas and the purple phlox and hostas.

And now we are waiting to find out if the kids will go to school this week as planned or if the start of school will be pushed back. Such is life.

July 4th!

My week began as usual with flowers! These were some of the "red, white, and blue" bouquets. 

I took the rest of the week "off" of my art business work and focused on house projects and more time for resting. I was so excited to finally finish of my back closet which has been a several-month long project. It's all rearranged, sorted, and reorganized! (In case you are wondering, that is fabric, not my clothing!)

I took one morning to paint my hollyhocks with oils -- oils are new to me and there's a big learning curve! Laura decided she wanted to join me with acrylics.

Michael's dad has been gone for more than two years now but we wanted to celebrate his life on his birthday. We had Michaels' mom over for a special dinner: the kind of meal one would get at a steak house, complete with iceberg wedges with bacon and blue cheese. Yum!

Michael's siblings all called in on zoom and we sang. One of Michael's brothers had even driven up to Dad's gravesite which was extra special for everyone to be able to see what it is looking like right now.

All this 90+ degree weather isn't putting us off the outside socializing! Where there's a will there's a way! Laura and her friend followed a painting tutorial all by themselves!

I made it back to the art museum gardens with a friend (in the heat! iced drinks in tow). I guess the cheery rudbeckia and the creeping jenny below them were my favorite finds of the day.

On July 4th we had cousin Olivia and my sister, Emily, over to enjoy some time in our local creek and then lunch under the front tree. It proceeded to rain and the kids loved it.

 In the evening our two moms came over for a back patio barbecue. I made some delicious salads and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs.

We all sat around and enjoyed chatting.

And we even made s'mores for dessert!

One special part of my week was sorting photos from my January England trip. It brought a lot joy and good memories for which I was thankful.

And now we are into another HOT week!