Our Own Journey

End of Summer....

 
Today it rained, yesterday it poured.....Literally the clouds just dropped down on our heads and drenched us with a half inch of rain in five minutes.  It hailed too.....We were given a sign....that summer is at it's end.  Our black locust trees, latest to bloom in the spring, seem to be earliest to change colors this fall.  Their yellow leaves litter our desert home like flower petals in the sand.  What else is yellow?  Our once glorious gardens, now withered and pecked to death by our free ranging chickens..The eggs however, are divine, though with the cold weather moving in the laying will be sparse. 

This summer flew by like no other has before, at least to me.  Of course it's been since Spring that I've blogged, so I wanted to share some of my favorite shots from this Summer. 

I have great news.  Today I followed a schedule for the first time in years.  It was a wonderful day.

Peace and love to you all,

Laura

Some pictures from around the farm..

This is a dryland melon! My nephew literally just threw some seeds on the ground and never watered them! 

We've enjoyed summer storms and beautiful sunsets....

Hosanna has really taken responsibility of the chickens.  She loves to give them "flying lessons", throwing them up into the air...

 

This is our alpine billy goat 'Rufus".  He has a hilarious personality, a beautiful coat, but unfortunately is very stinky. 

Purple amaranth, in all it's glory....Wesley experimented with a lot of different grains this year....

Spot is by far the friendliest of all the chickens.....

A healthy hive!  We were blessed to get a local hive from our friends and Rhyan is pointing out the queen here...

We had a lovely family reunion up in Northern Utah, stayed in a gorgeous cabin and had a wonderful time seeing family that we haven't seen in years.  These moose were outside our cabin in the morning!

Orion and his cousin Abbi..

  Lane and David...My favorite quote from Lane...When David was acting scared of the thunder during a storm.  "It's not the thunder you should be scared of, it's the lightning that'll kill ya!"

 

Wesley with his mom and brother and sister Becky Boo and Charlie...

Skipping rocks on the pond...

It's so hard to get a decent family picture these days!

I finally made it up the mountain behind my house...It was amazing!  Any of you friends that want to come and visit I will take you up there and you will love it!

Making fire roasted salsa with heirloom tomatoes fresh out of the garden!  Summer goodness! 

 I hope to be back more this fall my friends!

Mornings in our new home....

My friends!  We've finally settled down into our new home.  It is such a joy and blessing to be where we are. There is such a feeling of peace and connection with nature here.  In the mornings I have been enjoying running to the sounds of spring and the sights of our desert habitat.  Before I lacked motivation to run, as all it was always so ordinary, jogging down the road.  This is so different.  The first view I see in the morning as I start my run is this....Incredible!

I head through the gate on the side of our home and head off into the desert, straight up into this canyon.  Our dog bubba goes with me every time..

It's uphill all the way, tough but invigorating.  The surroundings fill my soul with peace and love that last throughout the day.  I am so grateful..

The way down is even more breathtaking...Such a treat to go downhill after that workout!

 

And I return home, refreshed and renewed.  We are so blessed!

Dunes

We took an afternoon jaunt to one of the many state and national parks that surround our home yesterday.  The Coral Pink Sand Dunes are a paradise for people of all ages.  Rolling arcs of salmon colored dunes stretch out over the desert landscape dotted with juniper trees.   It's a very popular spot for campers and atv enthusiasts, but we kept it simple and just enjoyed sticking our toes in the sand!

The wind has been blowing fiercely for the past couple weeks and was evident in the endless maze of patterns in the sand.

The First thing Orion did was dive in and squiggle around on his belly like a snake, bubbling with laughter....

He was in absolute bliss, flipping from his tummy to his back and pushing his feet down into the cool below the surface.

Off to explore!

  Then the sand art began...Russel made this giant peace sign..........

 

then moved on to writing the names of everyone in our family with his feet!

 

This gorgeous dune was our favorite spot for most of the time...

As we dug our hands into the cool sand and began climbing the top layer of the dune would slip down in trickling waves that mesmerized us.

We went up and down and back up again...

 

Some of us leaped into the air.......

 

and landed like hammered stakes into the side of the dune...

 

How many people get to say they've been buried up to their neck?  I'm so pround of my little girl for fighting the urge to escape and letting me take this fun picture..

 

And getting out was even more fun as you can see!

And finally some fun portraits...I told him..."Say cheese!"  and this sort of double salute is what he gave me...I think it's adorable...

 

And my gorgeous daughter against a gorgeous backdrop...

A rare picture of me....

 

Sand dunes are wonderful!  Our beautiful and blessed earth is a miracle at every turn and I thank my Creator for the opportunity to experience it...

The way things ought to be.....

I know it's been a while....Sometimes every aspect of life seems more important than getting my thoughts out.... I forget how good it feels when I finally sit down to write.

Yesterday we took had an exciting adventure!  Our neighboring community had their annual fair.  What made this event so special is that the idea set forth every year is a focus on using what you have (something I am very much into).  There were no ferris wheels, no booth games with cheap plastic toys for kids to waste their money trying to win, no commercialism.  It was centered around a Pirate themed playground constructed entirely of things people had sitting around. The community spent hardly any money, only time and creative energy, and therefore were able to offer admission at a very low cost: free. 

Here are some of the pictures, and I'll have to say we had the most fun we've ever had at a fair.

Here's the map of the playground (Found on the ship near the captain's wheel)

The pirate ship was the size of a yacht!  It was build from plywood, railroad ties, and other used materials residents had sitting around.  There was a deck above with a dining room, captains wheel, slide and stairs leading to below deck where there was a hoard of treasure (Again, most everything was pooled together by residents, very little was bought new)

Here's where the young pirates boarded...

My little pirate...

The ship's mast...

Orion at the Captain's wheel..(Probably one of the only things they actually purchased)

The Captain of the Ship...

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And some of the other Amazing...totally creative things that they thought of to really make it a perfect place for kids to play and explore..

Here they fenced off an area for the kids to plant a garden all for themselves. 

They provided the tools, plants, and water, and the kids loved it!

The "Little Maiden's Tiki Huts".  These were so cute...

One was filled with cushions to be a living area, and the other was the kitchen that was stocked with pots, pans and utensils.  Of course it didn't take the kids long to figure out they could make an endless variety of dishes with dirt and the plants from the garden..=)

The kids were running this little store selling pirate swords, hats, and other goodies.

The work they put into this was incredible!  This was the entrance...Yes, that's made of stone with a real drawbridge!

This was one of my favorite parts of the whole fair, the Royal Crest.  This was actually HAND KNIT and sewn onto a felt backing, and made into this flag.  Just for this fair and this community.  I was impressed with it....

The kids enjoyed an old fashioned pony ride...and yes, it was also for free....

The thing that I enjoyed most about everything was the down home, old fashioned feel of everything.  There were no police, no security guards. Everything was built by hand.  The kids had so much fun and there wasn't any of the usual I want this or that...I wanna ride on that one..I want cotton candy..I want to play a video game...I want I want...what is usually what fairs these days have become all about.  SO much self gratification and focus on consumption.  It was such a pleasure to watch so many children just play and use their imaginations to transform their world.  I feel blessed that my children can grow up in such a place. 

I hope you all enjoyed sharing in our adventure!