bee house hives

hello from the hives

2012-01-14T22:00:00.001-07:00

just popping in to say i will continue to keep a journal here about the bees. as we get closer to spring and there is more to report on i will post more often. right now the bees are in their cluster and hunkered down for the winter with each and every crack sealed tight with propolis.

the other day i put my ear to the hive and gave a little knock and they gave a good strong hum right back. they sounded good. i am sure looking forward to spring to crack the hives and see how they wintered.

-s

bless + sings

2012-01-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

for the blog, {bless + sings}

click *here*

bless+sings

2012-01-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

happy new year!

i started a second blog. a blog to journal my blessings.

the name?

bless + sings

simply because blessings make my heart sing.

{bless + sings}

is a collection of some of the daily blessings in my life.

may it be a photo a simple sentence or a list. who knows but this is where i will be for the next year...

cheers!

-sarah

BLESS + SINGS

{this moment}

2011-12-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

excerpt from page 5 of my nephew Sutter's Christmas party spy journal.
i just have one question: Uncle chee-chee (aka Paul) .. is his head really a size 2/4?

making

2011-12-19T16:07:00.001-07:00

i just have three bibs to finish. using my my moms old singer, i get to my sewing. ava is out of sorts with a little cold and laying on the table singing. my singer singing and my baby singing.. like a sweet little bluegrass song minus the banjo.

as i am slowly stitching these bibs together i remember and wonder out loud about all of the clothes my mom used to make us kids and how every christmas i would open these beautifully wrapped boxes to find, o me o my!! that my that dolls would be now wearing the same dresses/p.j's as me!!

my mom outfitted the entire family and my dollbabies too. how. in the world. did she get all of that *making* made? finished and wrapped, tied with a handmade bow.. all before christmas morning. on top of that she handmade gifts for my dads 12 brothers and sisters and their families, made and baked for both sets of grandparents and created wondrous family gifts for my aunt (her only sibling) and my cousins.

this is where i wonder out loud how in the hell she got it done. o add that *smallish* list the various cookie/gingerbread house/ornament making extravaganza's we were part of every day after school in the month of december. she would throw some wood on the fire and we would gather around the circle table in the kitchen and make make make. my heart would sing.

three bibs. no big deal.

but when i am done i feel like i just built a small timber frame house. by hand. and although i my girls dollies will be going naked this christmas, my heart is still singing a song.

***

making around the house: paper stars above the kitchen table

these have been made by all who stop in for a visit. people get curious and before you know it mae has disappeared up to the loft. a few seconds later she is back down in the kitchen with paper, scissors, tape and an offer to teach them how to make their own.

(tut here)

the *timber frame* bibs minus their snaps

beeswax ornaments for mae's classroom christmas exchange

time to play!

then back to making

wool hat/coat flower pins for friends and cousins

(tut found here)

a merry christmas (above) Yukon Cornelious style ..and merry making.. even if it is just a mess or three bibs or a timber frame house.

***

P.S

i have sure been slow at answering e-mail, especially one about our kitchen counters. thanks for being patient, and thanks for saying hello too!

and Anne Marie Yonder, i keep trying to reach you and can't seem to. could you please pass along your email. i have a very,very late thank you to deliver.

-sarah

Oh! to play!

2011-12-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

It is a happy talent to know how to play.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

American writer

1803-1882

******

{this moment}

2011-12-16T08:43:00.003-07:00

A Friday ritual. A single photo - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

things i like lately

2011-12-14T22:26:00.001-07:00

- watching my husband and my cousin tame their new adventure; a three year old mule they named Hoke. actually, i love this. they are amazing. i am constantly impressed with what those boys know.
me - i went out to the field with a couple of tricks up my sleeve. Hoke completely ignored me and my tricks. so after a while i did jumping jacks, skipped from one end of the field to the other, nearly stood on my head to get his attention, went back to the jumping jacks and then starting laughing. and loud. at myself. then i turned to find him next to me, his longears reaching to the moon. he was curious! i would be too i suppose. ten minutes later i tried my tricks again and a then a few minutes more and he was eating "cake" as the boys call it, out of my pocket. (thanks grandpa for those tricks you put up my sleeve)

- red lipstick

- strawberry cake (the song)

- running and the ground is still bare. like and also dislike

- any amount of snow

- elk stew for dinner

- Christmas lights instead of porch lights to light our way to the door

- my new winter muck boots (!)

- thinking about my grandma Elizabeth in her cabin and the way her kitchen gathered all the family

- baking goodies with spelt flour

- beeswax candles, warm wintertime drinks, fires and funny conversations

- dancing in the kitchen. love. always

- callie hulslander cooper jewelry. o yum

i like this pace

2011-12-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

sleep when it is dark

wake when it is light

flapjacks

card games

walks

braided hair

lanterns in the evening

dishes

wool pants

boots

sweater

long kisses

stars. brilliant brilliant stars.

glass of wine

dinner in the oven

more stars

knitting

puzzles

a.m radio

rocking just waking pink cheeked baby in the chair by the fire

gathering

hand ground coffee

window to the fox

bouncy beds

memories

pencil and paper

laughter

mittens

fires

just a million things

but the pace is quick today in town and so i write this in one minute!

sometimes that is the best way.

right now i long to connect to the pace waiting up north

...mountains and mornings waiting to be enjoyed,

stars waiting to be counted

creek water waiting to splash my face

...we will be there soon!

we ran out of soap

2011-12-08T20:22:00.001-07:00

and there was no time to run to the grocery for more

so we made our own.

recipe:

laundry soap{makes around 5 cups}

2 cups finely grated castile soap
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1 cup washing soda

mix together and use 1/8 cup per load

keeps well but i think we will fly through this batch. with the bout of the flu that hit this week, there are literally mountains of laundry to wash.

2011-12-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

Start Close In
-David Whyte, "River Flow"

Start close in
Don’t take the second step or the third
Start with the first thing,
Close in,
The step you don’t want to take.
Start with the ground you know
The pale ground beneath your feet
Your own way to begin the conversation.
Start with your own question
Give up on other peoples questions
Don’t let them smother something simple.
To hear another’s voice
Follow your own voice,
But wait until that voice becomes a private ear
Listening to another.
Start right now.
Take a small step you can call your own.
Don’t follow someone else’s heroics
Be humble and focused.
Start close in.
Don’t mistake that other
For your own.
Start close in.
Don’t take the second step or the third
Start with the first thing,
close in,
The step you don’t want to take.

{photo by cory}

two winters ago

2011-11-30T13:54:00.001-07:00

mae painted santa's sleigh

she was 6 years old.

:::

oh!

whoops.

{smile}

he.

2011-11-29T14:00:00.001-07:00

the simplicities in a marriage are what cement it together.

he lit the porch light for me.

this is why i love him.

he also got up in the night to load the wood stove and take the chill off of the cabin.

love.

mouse hunt

2011-11-27T15:50:00.001-07:00

the last i saw her was Thanksgiving morning. she woke from her den and peeked out, half an hour after sunrise. she likes to sleep in!

she trotted to the porch and slipped under. i think for a morning mouse hunt. i told her to eat all the mice she wants, it helps keep them out of the cabin.

i find her fascinating. she even escaped a mountain lion leaping after her.

{friday}

2011-11-18T14:51:00.001-07:00

watching papa load the horses into the horse trailer.

changing the view

2011-11-10T13:28:00.001-07:00

on the hunt up the mountain looking for snow, we found snowberries instead. that's what we call them at least. as kids, my brothers and i would pick the bushes clean and take our loot out to the road. we would make trips back and forth until the road was well covered, then we would argue who would get to ride their bike over them first. they make the best popping noises... and the more berries the better! after a few trips through, our bikes were thrown to the ditch and we were out stomping the snowberries with our boots. i still can't resist. i picked this bush clean and covered the trail for my three.

i really love hikes like this one. three kids loaded in the car, one crying because she wanted to be home reading instead. one yelling about needing milk, and one demanding for his window to be down -and also happened to be sitting right next to the owly one who wanted to be reading and was now fretting about being ice cold. then they all turned on each other and the car was filled with crying and mad kids.

i continued down the road. a little fresh mountain air and to breathe hard was just what they needed. we all needed to get away.. or at least i did. we made it to the trail head, got out of the car and started up the mountain. my older two still arguing about the window, but now racing each other up the trail soon ran out of breath and words. i watched their mood change, their wonder burst open, and their curiosity flow. i saw frowns and frets turn to smiles. by the time we reached the waterfall, we were well settled into the same happy, curious & peaceful feelings. and a few hundred feet further i watched the kids become friends again.

the focus was no longer the struggle, but the trees and water and the amazing view below us. how can you keep arguing in the woods? this is the best time-out for my kids.

we searched for our house below as we worked our way up the mountain. we stayed until the sun started to sink.. until the peace was fully and completely in us.

until all the valley air was out of our lungs

and all the mountain air was in.

and then back down the mountain we went.

home. with a whole new view.

this moment

2011-11-04T12:49:00.000-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

h to the at

2011-11-02T22:40:00.001-06:00

these mountains

this sky

color inspiration

ta-da!

almost done!

{this moment friday}

2011-10-28T07:44:00.002-06:00

ava loves the "neigh's" more than anything right now

happy friday

a happy weekend too!

thankful he's home this morning

thankful the kitchen is clean

so i can make crepes with lemon curd & sour cream

without having to do all those dinner dishes from last night first

thankful for good friends

and family too

thankful that i still have a few potatoes to dig up in the garden

thankful that he is playful

and spent the evening playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark

in the field with the kids

and me.

thankful for plans to gather firewood this weekend

and to visit with a cousin from 100 miles away

thankful for a list of hats to knit for those i love

that my bff thinks i am funny

and thankful that she is flipping hilarious, too

because not much is better than laughing in my opinion

thankful for a wise and grace-filled, easy to laugh, older brother

and a clever & witty, trickster-like younger brother

thankful that they are forever young, to me.

thankful for all my niece's and nephews, too!

they make me feel rich, more rich than if i had a gazillion dollars in each pocket.

i am thankful for a lot, but this morning these are at the top of my list.

his hunting hat

2011-10-27T10:05:00.000-06:00

pattern: lusekofte cap.

page 51, Hats On! by charlene schurch

yarn: cascade 220

and yes, they did get an Elk.

with snow dusting the mountain top

2011-10-24T17:05:00.000-06:00

it's extremely rare that i get a minute to myself in the house. today this rare thing happened! two children napping at once? magic.

i didn't feel like digging the rest of the potatoes or sewing some new bibs for ava, didn't feel like folding laundry or raking, dishes or any chores really. i felt like curling up around the woodstove like a dog and getting so warm my cheeks turned pink. bright pink.

i felt like putting tea on and hunkering down. i felt like braiding my hair and reading a book. so that is what i did.

tea

hunker

braid

read

after knotting my fingers through a fishtail (gotta love you tube for instructions on such things) and recovering from arm cramp, i sat down to finish the last chapter in what is now my most favorite book..

The River Why

candy time.yarn time.

2011-10-23T20:26:00.001-06:00

we went to town for supplies. we came home with candy and yarn.

a passion of his

2011-10-21T15:43:00.003-06:00

{friday}

a hunting hat, or more appropriate; a hat for hunting.

i am in love with my hub, so girl in love stayed up late and finished his hat. it was 10:30 he was packing for another hunting trip (this time elk). he looked over my shoulder and asked is this my hat!? i smiled yep. he went back to packing and in between talking about the boys and the horses he casually mentioned just how much he would love to wear his hat on this trip.

it might snow and all, he smiled. i was about a third done, maybe even a quarter. no way. they were leaving in the morning.

doubting that i could finish an entire hat in one day considering that my contacts were starting to feel like round sheets of sandpaper (80 grit) on my eyeballs, i threw sleep to the wind got the tea pot going and gave it a shot anyhow.

late in the night, the last zipper on his pack zipped closed- a hunters hat was finished and lovingly tucked inside.

i finally understand hunting season. honestly it took me a while, like forever. a way that helped me see it clearly was to take it away from him. not literally. but i had to look at my husband and mentally subtract hunting from his person because i really wanted to understand.

when i subtracted hunting from him, the individual unique passion created just for him was gone. the something that made him special in his own way, the extra something that made him so uniquely attractive and wild to me, the something that fueled his authenticity, poof.. gone.

i believe that God gives each of us a unique individual passion for something. i believe within that kind of passion is a sort of a compass for life. within that individual passion is a constant conversation and guidance from God if we want to talk and listen. a purpose. i believe passion is the way God shines through us, the way He befriends us. does this make sense? sort of a meeting place where God gets us free from life's constraints and burdens. a place where we can strengthen where we are and where we are going.

as i type i have three children on the porch whittling away on sticks, one baby napping and an urge to get this post out before someone needs me. so forgive me for not writing sometimes as clear as i can. sometimes i feel as if i am not making any sense. sometimes i know i am making great sense and i shock myself.

anyhow.

passion.

i know my husband finds God in the way the foggy roar rolls out of an Elks mouth. he finds God at the top of a mountain when all of the cells in his body are tired from the climb and the sun is just starting to warm the wickedly frosted world below him. he is in awe of all of creation. his awe is fed when he is out in the wilderness. he goes deep with God in the wilderness, literally and spiritually. i understand. he finds God within his passion. he is a smart man because he figured it out long ago. i think as a child - he figured it out when he didn't even have it figured out. he listen to the call and went. the wilderness has always whispered to him by name.

so to take away from him his passion i am left with a man without a compass, a tame man. i add his passion back to him and i am standing next to a man with a purpose, a man with desire and reason, a man with a wild and free heart. i am standing next to one hot babe. a man that i would pick to marry a million times over. i love his unique individual passion. i thank God that he found it. i believe that it is knitted into each and every soul and we all have something we are authentically, individually, and uniquely passionate about.

so ...

for me,

passion = God

God = love.

1 John 4:8

take a man's individual passion away from him and you drain what fuels his authenticity

i hope this makes sense. coming off the limb i just went out on and going to check on the whittlers out on the porch.

happy weekend and

cheers to hunting?

did i just really say that?

-s

how to paint the kitchen & keep everyone happy

2011-10-18T14:52:00.003-06:00

turn this song on

make pot of coffee in the french press

put on old running pants and t-shirt

hair in a bun

let baby entertain herself

just nod yep when she starts smashing tomatoes

smish

smash

cause we will use them later for grilled tomato and cheddar sandwiches, right?

give 8 year old a paint brush and a wall

paint quickly

wash little hands that stopped smashing tomatoes and dipped into the paint pail instead

get out the checkers

scratch that

open the entire game cupboard

paint even faster while baby is busy

try and not notice the game of Life being opened and all the tiny pieces scattering

stop for a barn dance

listen to my heart that tells me to

lead conga line around the dance floor

dance

go home

tuck babies in bed

watch Far and Away

sigh that i was born too late

wake early

allow 8 year old to start an apple pie while baby naps and mama finishes the kitchen

promise a bike ride when it is all done

a long bike ride

really long

pick up all the tiny pieces of Life (the game) scattered around the house

welcome boys home from antelope hunting

watch him smile when he sees the freshly painted & so clean kitchen

surprise!

smile back

pale grey

love

{this moment}

2011-10-14T11:43:00.002-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

{thankful for}

2011-09-29T07:11:00.000-06:00

last minute baby bangs that frame her chocolate almond eyes

a strong husband

pictures that don't turn out

a thrift store, $3 and a smart shopper

the approximate age of 1 and one half

that my oldest is just like her great grandpa & there's no gettin her off those horses until she's darn ready

children, who upon finding dead birds, fish, dragonflies, frogs .... plan a proper burial with pot luck included

for my 7th and 8th grade shop teacher who taught me to use a hammer

and a skill saw

so very thankful each day that i am married to him

and that our love made this + 2 more

i've been dancing around

2011-09-28T20:48:00.002-06:00

to this song

because

MYLITTLEBROTHERISGETTINGMARRIED

wild at heart's son

2011-09-19T14:18:00.001-06:00

curiosity &

fierceness

determination

mud &

adventure

protecting &

rescuing

fighting

wildness &

pushing boundaries

feeling fear

forts &

fishing

pretend wars

teams

discovering

running

sticks &

looking back to see if dad is watching

frogs

rocks

imagination

crying &

wiping tears with dirty hands

building fires

climbing &

falling

bleeding

loving

folded hands in prayers at night &

being a warrior in more ways than one

i watch my boy practice

to be like his dad..

like his grandpas.

wild at heart

2011-09-15T22:15:00.003-06:00

i love the way he scurries around in the loft and opens the small cedar door to pull out his hunting packs, arrows, his handmade bow.
he opens maps and lays them across the kitchen table.
he tickles his horses nose. he whispers something about the mountains and cold crisp mornings.
with a headlamp on he goes out to the horse trailer and then back up to the loft to open the cedar door and pulls out something more.
his cousin calls and they really don't even need to discuss, they know all of this by heart. they have footprints all over these mountains and they share a brotherhood that is matched for the wilderness.
he talks about the stars and the frosty mornings. he tells me how he likes to be cold. he explains to me how it feels to walk up to an elk after an arrow has pierced it's heart. i listen.
he organizes and packs and checks and writes more on the list... checks the trailer lights just one more time. lays his saddle out.
he describes how it feels to get out of his warm sleeping bag when it is still dark and frost is covering the mountain grasses. how it is to get the coffee going and then get lost on the mountain.

i have heard it all before but i listen like it is the first time because his passion makes me smile and laugh and love that he cannot, for anything in the world, be tamed.

he climbs into bed late after packing, and wakes early.
i kiss him goodbye and he goes.
i wait for him to return from the mountains with pangs of wishing i could go with.
i wait to see his bearded face and smell the pine and smoke in his clothes.
i wait to peek into the back of the truck or see the look on his face.
i wait.
we wait.

this is what we do

2011-09-15T20:51:00.000-06:00

when i go out to take photos of bees and bugs the kids seem to be always with me. i'd like them to have eyes for the small world around them as well as the large. most times it is a quick throw my camera in my apron pocket and snap a few shots while i'm out in the garden grabbing an onion for dinner, like tonight.

ava makes bzzzzzzzzz noises and tries to touch the fuzzy bees, then screams if she really does touch one. otto runs like the other way and swears madly that, one! tried! TObitehim! mae does what the bees do. she was shaking pollen from the sunflowers into a little tea cup.

as i take my photos my eyes are on them.

and then back to the bees.

then to my favorite flowers.

and back to my kids.

snap

trip and fall.
o pretty!
snap

i found this gargantuan bee in the echinacea, and while i got caught up in capturing how large it was

wow. it's seriously like Falcore in the Never Ending Story.

i feel someone getting closer and closer to my face

and i slowly turn my camera to him... it's my nephew, sutter. he's in the garden with us. he lives right next door. he can't even believe how big this bee is either so we sit and talk about this airplane-sized fuzzy buzzer. bee nerds. he touches it and yells.

we all watch the bees together. mae, otto, ava, and sutter.

from flower to flower they go.

and so do we.
ava under me as i snap away - she is like a brown bear in the current bush..

munch munch munch.

then i get called across the garden to this..

then i remember dinner needs stirring and the phone is ringing and i am the mom that needs to get the phone and stir the pot.

i throw my camera back into my apron pocket with the onion, lift my brown bear to my shoulders and we go to the house to take care of mom business while the older kids stay in the garden discovering more of the small world till dinner.

and that is what we did.

great northern toothfairy

2011-09-13T09:02:00.051-06:00

i don't know how she managed, but the toothfairy found otto at the cabin. we were all COMPLETELY surprised. the trickster!

under his pillow in the loft sat a long letter and two dollars in trade for his baby tooth.

she wrote to him and told him how she flew up and down the river, all through the mountains and finally saw the smoke from the chimney. out of all the beds in the loft she found his and hid the coins before it was even bedtime.

we have appropriately named her the great northern toothfairy. for dinner i made corn on the cob to go with the brats hubby and brother-in-law cooked outside over the fire. otto didn't even ask for it to be cut from the cob like i did when i was 5 and missing front teeth.

ava enjoying the slam of the screen door and the threat to touch the stove while i got dinner ready. she was laughing. this is the age of ornery stinker and so darn cute i could kiss your cheeks off all at the same time. then she reached for the mouse trap behind the stove. yikes! i was a quick mama. then i sent her out to see dad.

up north, fall was in the air.
a crisp morning (27 degrees crisp) made the coffee and french toast taste even that much better. we sat and sat around the table. mornings like this are meant for lingering. then it was slowly getting up to pump water for dishes.

my most favorite mornings in the entire year i think. but i say this with any good summer morning and also a snowy winter morning - a rainy spring one too i suppose.
it's all good, but right now this,
this...

i could kiss this field. this is what gets me ready for fall and woodstove fires made with fat wood, sewing, knitting, bow season, elk stew and homemade bread, sweaters, down comforters, bonfires, soccer & football games.

and this too. the light in the river that is saying hello to autumn.

but still, believe me even with this cool air and soup on the woodstove talk we are swimming and basking in the sun as much as we can.

the hello's and goodbye's that come with with each seasons arriving and leaving. - o me o my, it get's us all mixed up on where to go and what to pack.

i love to

2011-09-05T16:25:00.000-06:00

roll big rocks

down big hills

and laugh and clap like a child.

we know how to have fun.

Bbis for beehive

2011-09-04T13:52:00.001-06:00

i won't be taking any honey this season from the bees. my hope was to simply get the hives strong, packed with honey and bees, and ready for a montana winter - and that is just what they are doing.

i peeked inside and knew everything was well and healthy so i chose keep them intact and not pull a single frame. they had a good strong and happy hum and they were sealed tight as a drum. as i peeled the top off with my hive tool the sound reminded me of of kindling being split by an ax. when i finally got it opened, a draft of warm honey swirled up to my nose and i was instantly hungry for a spoonful.

they are in a good spot for winter, working busy sealing drafts with propolis (chinking), ripening nectar into honey and in general preparing for the cold season. i most likely won't bother them again after seeing all is well, although deep down i want to peek in there isn't much i can do but observe from here on out. i just manage them - the less i bug them the better. this is where i remind myself that we humans still have not figured out how to make honey. so i will sit back and let them do what they do.

i did sneak a little honey -and oh, yum! so light and clear, sweet with notes of the season.

they tried to sneak it back, even followed me all the way to the end of the field swirling and buzzing around my veil... a sign of strong-willed bees is what i think. i brushed them off and away they went.

back to the hive and back to blooming borage and sunflowers

back to the trees to gather more resin

filling their wax cupboards and working to re-chink the hive where i broke their tight seal...

as our montana summer makes the slow turn to a golden autumn.

i sure love my bees.

good medicine

2011-09-01T21:34:00.024-06:00

i run
tonight with coyotes howling, crickets singing, bats flying, and the earth cooling as the sun sank low
i run fast and slow and hard and soft
i run to think and pray and to feel my heart beating
i run sometimes early in the morning or sometimes late with a headlamp for light,
a light that i turn off once i am comfortable in the dark

i run past fox hunting in the field and buffalo staring at me as i pass
i run with a herd of elk and then watch them cross the road before me
i run past bobcat and skunk, mama deer and farm cats

i run under eagles and stars, airplanes, canadian geese, once even a pelican
i run with owls and the moon
i run under cotton clouds and dark stormy big montana skies
past hawks and pheasants looking for their mates, alongside a spray of birds moving like fish in the sea, i run
i run with a single bright blue bird flying with me from post to post for a stretch
i run with little mice scurrying in the ditch to find shelter from which to peek out
i run with the wind at my back pushing me along

i run when i am lost and spinning, the air in my lungs like prayers to my soul
i run when i am happy and my feet skip down the trail
alongside the mountain i run and i feel light like a fiddle's song
i run when i am sad and my heart needs clearing out by just witnessing the simplicity of a wheat field turning
with tears rolling and mixing with the sweat on my cheeks, i run
i run when i am anxious and jumbled and need settling and straightened out

i run in the snow, sometimes my tracks gone as i make my way back home
i run with frozen hair in the winter and sun kissed cheeks in the summer
i run with cold hands in the fall and wet eyelashes in the spring
i run in the rain and throw my arms out to feel more
i run and perfectly perfect snowflakes gather on my mittens
i run in the heat and slow down for shade under a huge ponderosa

i run to the river and to the next town over
i run to the feed store and to the end of the road
i run to the mountain and back again
i run in a big circle or in a long straight line
i ran after the births of each of my children when running just a mile took all that i had... and swearing i would never ever run again after that, i ran.
i ran after i broke my back and the doc shook his head from left to right about me running

past a field of flax
wheat
hay bales
rivers
ponds
the grocery store
hills and flat stretches
dirt, pine needles, pavement,
mud, snow and ice under foot, i run

there is something in it for me
i am always up for it, even when i am most tired
i run to be a part of it all. i run to be strong.
so i tie my shoes and make my way out the door
if i never go
i will never return
and sometimes that is the best part,
turning back onto the dirt road...
i'm home

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

what is it that you do?
fill in the blank: I ______ .

run. read. walk. sing. make. search for heart shaped rocks. meditate. garden. swim. hunt. knit. hike. fish. create. build. pray. spin. whittle. bake. bike. roller skate. hunt for gold. watch the stars or skinny dip or both at the same time, it is important that you do it.. and keep doing it.

what is your good medicine?

an ordinary day

2011-08-29T12:39:00.002-06:00

a cold washcloth waking me to the morning

the song of crickets still in my head from last evenings run

flipping pancakes for my three sweet babes while still in my nightgown, hair unbrushed

dishes by hand today rather than the dishwasher because i like the sound of water and the pile of plates and cups drying beside the sink
morning call to my cousin to catch up

hanging sheets out on the line
jeans and a tee shirt, hair in an untidy bun

noticing what i am passing and who is peeking out

a filled heart with news of being an aunt again
gathering from the garden for a sit down dinner and prayers of thanks
planning a sleepover for mae
chicken thawing in the sink
walking down the drive to get the mail
my nephew washing his hands and laughing at me as i take a photo of it

noticing the season changing, geese flying here and there in the evening.. soon will be flying south
evening falls early and the sweaters come out
feeling like a book and tea and filling up the cupboards with the harvest and fingers crossed, the freezer with meat
elk season and maps, horses and sharpened arrows
fire season, smoke over the mountain and suddenly crispy fields of grass poking my bare feet
kids ( and me) running to the porch for hugs and kisses as dad drives up from work
around the dinner table all together plus one enjoying a meal from goods we gathered earlier in the day

settling in for the night, The Sound Of Music and sweet popcorn made in the whirly pop
a friend in town and plans to swim at the river tomorrow
these are the days i love the most
the ordinary ones... but really to me they are the extra ordinary ones

do guinea pigs need seatbelted in?

2011-08-23T22:47:00.000-06:00

i guess so. mae was a little worried that on the way to the mailbox, mosey might leap out... hence the 5 point baby harness. did you know a snug strap should not allow any slack or push the "child" into any unnatural position. after walking out to the porch seeing this interesting duo, i am thinking maybe mae's final decision teetered to rear-facing since mosey is only 1 1/2?

august 11?

2011-08-11T20:17:00.000-06:00

o man the montana summers fly by. i know we are having fun when the feedstore dash calendar in our car is still on july, our beach towels, cooler and life jackets haven't been put away, and there is sand in our bed.

but july we hardly knew ye.

moth-ez

2011-08-08T09:05:00.000-06:00

out huckleberry picking we found these "moth-ez" (as otto calls them) discovering them reminded me of this quote below because of the way, by just seeing them and their beauty, it made my family curious and happy.

as we were laying on our bellies on the forest floor quietly watching the moths, many little conversations and questions unfolded.. particularly how babies are made and if the "moth-ez" were in love.

well if you ask me, i think these moth-ez are in love.

::::

those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never along or weary of life.... those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

-rachel carson, the sense of wonder (1965)

essence of montana

2011-07-31T13:35:00.000-06:00

huckleberry pancakes

huckleberry jam

fat big hucks

so happy i am

huckleberry slump

huckleberry pie

sweet round goodness

o me o my

love

2011-07-21T06:05:00.000-06:00

the sound this screen door makes when it slams

that life really is just a bowl of cherries

midsummer rain storms

shooting off fireworks although the 4th has passed

that to me, lupine smell like pepper

catching this wee one in the berry patch

all of my neighbors

sunsets

seeing my kids riding

cutting weeds for the dinner table vase

horses

gathering around the fire in the evening

berry season

walks with my camera

katie rose has a hat

2011-07-20T14:11:00.000-06:00

{my cousin's birthday hat}
book: hat's on! by charlene schurch
pattern: fana cap, page 46
yarn: cascade 220

dolce miele

2011-07-17T12:57:00.000-06:00

{maisy & her hive}

sweet honey! look at those golden bellies.

just one

2011-07-16T05:06:00.000-06:00

of the thrills of living in our neighborhood.

picture of the week

2011-07-15T17:13:00.000-06:00

remember these?

restore.

2011-07-13T22:30:00.000-06:00

for my husband it is the mountains that are good for his soul.

for me, it is the water.

time to gather hay

2011-07-09T22:50:00.000-06:00

it's that time of year once again. lumbering up and down the field putting up hay for the winter. this field is where mae first learned to drive - or simply steer. cory and i had to put up some hay one july and didn't have help, so we put mae in the truck, put the truck in low and let it idle down the field. she kept her straight while we quickly loaded the truck with bales. when it came time to turn the corner and come back up the field one of us had to jump in and get it turned around. she was just shy of six years old.

the field is where i learned to drive too. after knocking a few of my uncles off of the back of the hay wagon i got the clutch figured out real quick.

this year we had even a younger driver. ava took the wheel... little farm girl starting early.

{this moment}

2011-07-08T07:34:00.000-06:00

every time we hit this spot i roll down the window and start taking photos. we are on our way to the cabin. our little town faded in the rearview mirror. a good song is swirling around the car. another fourth of july celebration in the mountains. my heart is swelling and my thoughts are mellowing. snap. snap. zoom. click. i love this spot. more heart swelling. my hub laughs and keeps driving us up the dirt road. in my head i start a beauty of a poem then forget it round the next corner. something about how the rivers hips are like my own. maybe i will remember next trip up. happy friday!

summer knitting continued

2011-07-05T14:56:00.000-06:00

katie's hat. taking it with me wherever we go. knitting as we drive into the mountains for a hike and knitting on the way back home. up the dirt road to the cabin and then back down.

knit. knit. knit.

almost done!

summer knits

2011-06-26T14:55:00.000-06:00

katie's birthday hat & sarah's sweater.

do you see them?

there.

oh yes and ava got into the paint by numbers so we had to give her sweater a long soak in the tub.

it worked!

happy summer knitting.

blasted skunks

2011-06-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

i really couldn't post this photo unless i accompanied it with this song.

happy friday!

mmmmmm.

2011-06-21T21:27:00.000-06:00

little strawbebby juice. little dirt. must be summer.

cheers to the looooongest day of the year! cheers to stayin' up late!

hip hip . . . . . .

the library

2011-06-20T00:49:00.000-06:00

why am i up at so very late? i had a cup of celebration coffee.

note to self - do not celebrate with coffee unless the sun is rising.

see we had an awesome day that started out with the kids bathing their dad with love while i cooked breakfast. then it was diving into this bookshelf project in my father-in-law's shop so, after almost 13 years of being married, my husband could put his books all in one place. then it was dinner with our family and back out to the shop to finish up - then driving the bookshelf home and getting it in place in the house...

heave-ho.

after kissing three little heads goodnight, we gathered books from every cupboard, basket, drawer, ledge, closet, bedside, nook, cranny and desk . then we filled the shelves.

that little book needs to get back into bed. but she saw me climb it and she had to try too.

welcome to our very stout library.

books all together in one spot = happy papa.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

p.s. the photo above was his father's day card. he had to unscramble the letters.

Happy Father's Day!

mr. sun

2011-06-18T06:42:00.000-06:00

ava is waking up around 5 a.m these days. yaaawn. we head to the kitchen, clank around, make coffee & breakfast and wait for the sun to rise over the mountain and the rest of the family to wake. these warm sun filled mornings (photos above) with breakfast out on the deck are rare this june. but it is the "rainy" month.

this very minute we have a fire in the wood stove, it is drizzly out and our mountain tops still have snow. good time to get the inside stuff done.

(is what i tell myself)

happy "rainy" month wherever you may be!

thankful for:

2011-06-17T17:14:00.000-06:00

making skirts on the same sewing machine my mom used to make my clothes

a rainy cold week = two skirts finished and starting on a third

my great grandmothers silver cup to hold my things

stroopwafels from my bff astrid -and they arrived in the mailbox right at tea time - the only thing missing was astrid. this photo refuses to cooperate - so sideways it is.

bookworms & watching mae sign her first library card

a fresh batch of books

finishing ava's sweater for chilly nights at the cabin

mae's first pie and her little 7 year old fingers pinching around the edge.

watching her pick the rhubarb, flour the butcher block, roll out the dough...

"all. by. herself."

warm days and my baby on my back in the garden

chives on baked potatoes

inspiration from the amish auction

tiny toes

visitors in the field

thankful

you? one thing that you are thankful for..

little friend

2011-06-14T06:06:00.000-06:00

i've been watching a mother bird fly back and forth back and forth - gathering this and that building her nest. my curiosity got the best of me and i climbed to the top of the woodshed. in a skirt.

checking the bees

2011-06-13T13:05:00.000-06:00

we moved the horses to the same field as the bees & boy are they curious!

to my friend in yonder...

2011-06-11T06:41:00.000-06:00

thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you

{this moment}first swim of the summer!

2011-06-10T06:38:00.000-06:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment.

Have a lovely weekend!

inspired by soulemama

wonky

2011-06-08T08:58:00.000-06:00

i have a few of my favorite quotes taped to a cupboard in our bathroom. i put them there to inspire the kids - to inspire me really. i was wondering if anyone other than me was reading them and i found out yesterday the answer is yes. i was out sweeping birdseed/bird poop off of the porch, doing morning chores - watering the garden -feeding the horses their buckets of oats, and mae ran past me singing:

"beyourself.
thereissomethingthatyoucandobetterthananyother!
listentotheinwardvoice,andbravelyobeythat.authorunknown."

then she ran/skipped past again headed the other direction with a bucket full of something:

"thebestthingsinlifearenearest:
breathinyournostrils!
lightinyoureyes!
flowersatyourfeet!
dutiesatyourhand.

-duties at your hand? hmmmn?

thepathofrightjustbeforeyou!
then do! not! graspatthestars,but do life's plain common work asitcomes,
certainthatdailydutiesanddailybread
arethe
sweetest things in life!momwhowrotethatoneagain!?"

love it mae.

so today i put up another quote in the bathroom... this one inspires me to work harder to send out those sunbeams and love my wonky whatevers.

"a person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly, you can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely."
-roald dahl

i just was thinking about the people in this world who i think are lovely. to me they are the ones with passion. the ones with heart... such big hearts that it makes the other hearts around them beat in rhythm. the ones with hearts that are a bit tattered and worn, the hearts that are comfortable with who they are and are willing to embrace it all..

cheers to your lovely hearts.

a little magic

2011-06-06T21:55:00.000-06:00

before i ever became a mama i had this vision in my head. it was of children walking ahead of me on a trail. i had other visions of course - like a wee fat baby in my bubble filled kitchen sink, me braiding my girls hair at the breakfast table, teaching my children how to start their first campfires, how to can berries, carrying my babes on my shoulders into the water for a first dip, hearing first laughs, watching them eat their first snowflakes and seeing tiny pink jellybean toes for the first time ... okay alright and i could obviously go on for hours here. my point- i was a mama daydreamer. i never knew what motherhood would really be like until i tried it.

everyday i am amazed at what my babies teach me. they stretch my brain to say the least. some days my brain is left empty. most days really.

otto calls me sweetheart and mae gets my p.j's out at night, ava hugs my body tight as she peers out into the world. they make me laugh -and cry, and frustrated and tired, do cartwheels and run through puddles and breathe deep and sometimes they make me want to growl. they don't even know it, but they have created a garden rich with soil and in it my authentic mothering self blooms.

they make me see the world in a whole new way. the child inside me comes out to play and splash and sing and hear my own echo in the woods, climb trees and race and make faces, put on a super hero cape and pretend that i am wonder woman - i try, but that is one hot lady, hold spiders and hide in the grass. they are my slow river of wonder.

before we get caught up in all that lovey jazz let me just say once again: it is hard and refining work. some days i feel i am holding a yoga pose and trying not to cuss - trying to just breathe through and feel peaceful - then i tip over.

some days i am spent. just waiting for a minute when i can get a shower, put a bra on, brush my teeth/hair and maybe a little lipstick, have a full conversation from hello to goodbye with an adult.

it is always on those days that i am shown something new if i choose to have the eyes to see it. truthfully there is always a little magic in each day if we open the eyes to our hearts.

this (above) is my most favorite smell in the whole world besides the red sticky buds of a cottonwood.
this is the bark of a ponderosa pine and on this day i am coming up the trail catching up with my family after retrieving ava's lost sandal i swear a mile back, my hair is stuck to my forehead and there are mosquitoes buzzing about, i am wondering how much further the flipping "waterfall" is and i come around the corner to this:

mom, this tree smells like
pause. sniff
pause. sniff sniff
pause pause.
vanilla!! come and smeeeell it! have you ever smelled this before? is this where vanilla comes from?

we sat and sniffed the tree, our noses buried deep in the cracks, our arms hugging the tree.
i love that my world is shared. i love that my nostrils are filled with vanilla and my girl is at my hip. i love that she smells one of my most favorite smells and it makes her heart sing too.

see? a little magic.

june!

2011-06-01T20:30:00.000-06:00

sometimes i struggle with having a blog because i feel the reader doesn't and won't ever get an accurate picture of my life. of course not, and that is not my point here. i want it to be clear that i keep a blog because it is an artful outlet for me. i choose to put up things i am thankful for. i choose to capture the beauty i see whether it is ava's toes or fresh peas in the garden, trips to the cabin, swimming in may, a spider web, the muddy rushing river and how we can see all the way into canada when we stand on the bridge, a rhubarb pie or a heart rock to add to my collection. i choose the art in my life. i LOVE life and i feel this is a good place for me to share what i capture.

all. those. fleeting. moments that make my heart sing...

p.s i'm not sure why i haven't written about the bees yet. maybe because when i have gone out to check them i have been leaving my camera behind and grabbing my girl instead. mae and i have been checking the hives together. we search for the queens like a game of where's waldo, then we sit and watch the bees bring in all colors of pollen - orange, red, yellow. we watch the bees come and go and mae asks questions and we feel the sun on our cheeks. there is something magic in the rhythms and ways of nature.

photoshoot

2011-05-23T07:03:00.000-06:00

i got a call from a friend one day a while back, she was looking for someone to take photos of her work to get her started with an Etsy shop online.

she had a computer-

but it was still in the box.

i laughed and thought o crap and then said sure.

me and my pocket camera-

i'll see what i can do.

she gave me free reins and this is what i came up with...

after she dropped her jewelry by, i set up the kitchen got the lighting situated and took photos while drooling

..then she went home to unpack her new computer and plug it in.

and away she went and opened her doors for business...

Etsy shop: Callie Hulslander Cooper

simple

sweet

dainty

so pretty

so pretty you almost don't want to wear anything else with it! but i wouldn't recommend that.

i was honored with the opportunity to take a few photos.

she is a wonderful person

and it is so fun to check her shop and see what she is up to.

these are just a few of the many pieces she has handmade

it was a good challenge and fun to take photos of something that stood still for a minute (unlike my kiddos)

fun, yet challenging

other places you can find her work:
(click on the links to get there)
The Stone Chair: Kalispell, Montana
Silver Fish Gallery: Eureka, Montana
Persimmon Gallery: Bigfork, Montana
The Farm Chicks Show: Spokane, Washington -upcoming show June 4 & 5.
make sure you stop and say hello to here if you are there!

::
enjoy

spring

2011-05-21T08:37:00.000-06:00

Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment.

Ellis Peters

good stuff

2011-05-13T17:33:00.000-06:00

calling the school

taking the day off

blueberry pancakes

digging for

sunhats

swimsuits

sandals

picking up cousins along the way

heading to the beach

a race to the water

clothes scattered

sunshine
warm wind

blue sky!
wild kids

naked babies!

freedom from coats and boots

laughter

stretching

breathing in deep

hugging the warm earth

feeling the sun kiss our bare shoulders

squeals

toes

eating sand, yuck!

my cousin & i

ever since were small we have ran and played on this very same beach- the beach is only bare in the spring before the mountain snow melts down and hides it for the summer

so you have to be brave and swim

because it is only here for a short time!

cartwheels

handstands

chasing my children

sticks

heart rocks

sticks

good stuff i'd say

{this moment}

2011-04-29T10:14:00.000-06:00

otto: mama is it summer yet?

mama: no comment.

love

2011-04-16T23:26:00.000-06:00

spells love.

what do i love about today?

my children discovering that canadian geese know about the alphabet too.

spring fever

2011-04-11T22:48:00.000-06:00

the sun was out all day and we were out in it

but at the end of the day mae, otto and i just weren't ready to head in for the evening

we stood out on the porch looking out, the three of us

to the north, a neighbor had a bonfire lighting the night sky

to the south, dogs barking and laughter

there were canadian geese still in the sky

and birdbands in the trees

not a soul around was ready for bed.

after a few games of soccer

the kids decided it was time to till the garden

so we did

with one in winter boots and another in shorts we turned the dirt

then we ran and rolled in the deep dark soil

until we were ready to say goodbye to the sun

and hello to the moon

the world was quiet as we walked up to the house

we left our mud boots scattered about the porch

and headed in for the night

i believe it was a good cure for our spring fever

{this moment}

2011-04-08T20:20:00.000-06:00

this moment friday: capturing a moment from the week.

a simple, special, extraordinary moment and a photo of mr. handsomekitty to boot.

p.s. ava jane is now 1 year old!

:::::

this moment inspired by soulemama

{this moment}

2011-03-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

it appears that i have abandoned my blog! i would do no such thing.

it is just that life is so filled with moments. many moments lately where i find myself saying -shoot! my camera is at HOME!

tonight i would have taken a photo of my cousin wayhayhay up above me in the tree we were climbing.

but who climbs a tree with a camera? it appears that i do not. i had my mud boots on - but no camera.

note to self: mud boots are not good tree climbing boots.

that was my moment. but this is a good one too...

have a lovely weekend.

just a girl and a boy.

2011-02-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

when the girl and the boy first met, they would linger under the pines.

when the girl and the boy first met there was nowhere to have to be.

when the girl and the boy first met there wasn't much that had to get done.

when the girl and the boy first met they would head to the mountains.

sometimes the girl would be way behind.

sometimes she would be far ahead.

sometimes the boy would lose her, only to find her floating on her back in the lake - arms stretched out, toes paddling her in a circle.

sometimes she would be sunbathing on the warm sand at the edge of the water.

sometimes the boy would sit on a rock and close his eyes to the sun.

sometimes he would climb like a mountain goat to the top of the rocks.

sometimes he would stop and cast a line across the river.

sometimes he would climb a tree.

sometimes she would catch his eye.

sometimes he would catch hers.

most times her heart flipped and she would look the other way.

the girl and the boy fell in love.

now the girl and the boy have three little ones who need to be tucked into bed around 8.

now the girl and the boy lay in the grass in their yard and count stars.

sometimes they take pictures of the full moon. he has his camera. she has hers. they compare photos.

sometimes they bundle up and take winter walks to the end of the driveway and back.

sometimes they search youtube for new music.

sometimes they grab sleeping bags and sleep on the porch with the baby monitor next to them.

sometimes they start a bonfire outside and decide to have a party.

sometimes they say to hell with the eight o'clock bedtime.

a lot of times they make tea and sit next to the woodstove and laugh about their three little ones.

every time she is happy.

{this moment}

2011-02-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

winding yarn

singing

life

2011-02-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

something on my heart and mind just needs to spill over.

only God knows if i will be brave enough to hit publish at the end.

::::::::

see that glimmer

that smile

that beautiful woman holding her child

this is my beloved childhood friend.

we are in her parents kitchen.

we are gathered around the table

holding babies, eating brownies, drinking tea,

taking it slow.

it is cold outside

-11 degrees

the woodstove is rumbling

and the children have slippers on

my cousin (who is really like my sister) is there too.

of course.

it is always like that.

we are never apart and i love that.

best friends

they are like gold in your pocket

we gather because it is hard to be apart.

that beautiful woman

my beloved friend

lost her sister a handful of days ago

behind me are all of the funeral flowers

my heart is so sad.

i never thought i would stand in this kitchen feeling like this

this is where we would unload after a climb

or watch the funny trick of the dog pretending to bite the cats head

or stand in swimsuits and towels eating nectarine's after a dip in the lake

maybe it is not a good time to write

but i look at it as the best time to write

it is part of my life today

it is heartbreakingly hard

and not one of us is immune to heartache

i feel i want to stand in front of my friend

as a shield

as she grieves

kneel down so she can unload her burdens on my back

because the world seems to want to give only a few minutes

to mend that heart

and carry on the trail

when my friends hurt

i hurt.

their heart breaks

so does mine.

so we gather and hold hands and stand and cry

and take as long as it takes

to feel like a tear won't fall

to feel normal again

to get your belly laugh back

to drive past her grave and not feel like you left something

knowing that she isn't there

but somewhere better.

much better.

somewhere where the bees don't sting...

Heaven.

if i can say anything here in my little space..

sloooooow down

have grace

turn the other cheek

if your child wants to show you something,

kneel down and see what they see.

smile

hold the door

breathe all the way deep down into your belly.

fill your lungs.

take all that air now and make a laugh

make it LOUD

remember the recipe

give up your seat

have patience

and love

when you want to honk

and be first

tuck your children in.. all the way in

with a cup of water

and a kiss

and a blanket up to their sweet chin

listen to that whisper in your heart to do good

and believe in that something you should

always say I. LOVE. YOU. you be first.

follow through.

keep your word.

be thankful - and remember it takes a lot of awareness to truly be thankful

look

and ask

and really mean it

when you wonder how someone is

those things on your list

do them.

start them.

that person you love

let them know

right now.

send them a letter if you think they are sleeping or busy or gone.

smile and hang on to who you are

most of all be proud of who you are.

you are fearfully and wonderfully made

don't be afraid

..go on!

2011-02-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

a sweater for mae and loved it so much i have another on the needles for ava... loved it so much i took photos before sewing the buttons on...

{tiny tea leaves cardi}

it's not too often that i knit a sweater so i am happy!

so. now a little about the bees.
i find these tiny watercolors around the house. this one with a honeybee. mae is loving painting tiny scenes.

very tiny.

and tucking them here and there for someone to find. i love the things children leave around.

funny little things around the house.

maybe only funny to me?

:::

anyhow. in the last post i had questions about wintering bees in the commets and e-mails. i do over-winter my bees but sometimes they just don't make it. this will be the first year that i order bees since the whole journey started. yesterday i placed my orders. three hives of italian honeybees will be buzzing in on their Vespa's in may!

2011-02-02T06:28:00.000-07:00

alright. i lied. this post has nothing to do with bees.

one winter long ago - back when mae was small enough to still fit in the kitchen sink for a bath, we lived in a cabin in the woods.

cory would go to work and mae and i would watch the woodpeckers. all day long they would fly in for a visit - and i am sure it had nothing at all to do with the fact that i slathered each and every ponderosa pine in our yard with peanut butter, lard and birdseed - pretty sure anyway.

i call it our woodpecker winter. she was 6 months old.

i swear mae notices every bird in our montana sky now.

today was one of those watch the woodpeckers fly in and take things slow kind of day.

how is your day?

bee daythis is what it looks like

2011-01-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

i hope to write of the bees more often. somewhere along the way of keeping a blog i got side tracked with posts about knitting and the mountains and everything else in between. don't get me wrong.. i am sure i will still write a little about all of that.. but just turning back to the original idea of why i started this blog in the first place: my bee journal. so with that said, here is a post on bee day so long ago. i am thinking of bee day because February is the time to get bee orders in.
....

photos of "bee day"

enjoy!

bzzzz.bzzzz.

in may we drive to a small town an hour away to pick up our bees. they arrive on a big truck-

packed together like this:

they have just been driven from from california.

i hand a beekeeper my receipt and he hands me my hives.

then we drive home with our bees in the back of our truck.

in this last photo {taken may 2009} my first 5 hives... around 60,000 italian honeybees waiting to explore the fields and mountains of montana.

january jam

2011-01-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

outside:

the sun was kissing the mountains goodnight. i grabbed my camera and ran out on the porch to capture the love fest. it has been raining for the better part of the week, so this little bit of sunshine warranted it's own photo shoot.

kiss away...

inside:

us.

while the rain came down, we spent our time in the kitchen...

Aussie Bites

great for taking to the woods, lunches, a ski trip ... anything where you need some healthy fuel. in a pinch (like when you are at the doctor's office for over two hours) you can have them for lunch.

why not.

i changed some things in the original recipe (*notes in orange)

*note that the notes are from girl who rarely measures anything. thank goodness for cartographers and recipe book writers. if those tasks were left to me we all would be lost and hungry, for i am an eyeballer.

2 cups oats ( a mix of spelt, oatmeal and barley)

2 cups whole wheat flour (1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup white instead)

2/3 cup brown sugar (took this out and increased the honey. beekeeper style.)

1 (3 1/2 ounce) unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup sunflower seed

1 cup dried fruit (raisins, dates, figs, cranberries, etc)

1/4 cup honey

1 cup unsalted butter (used a almond and peanut butter along with coconut oil instead of butter)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons hot water

added ground flax seeds, golden raisins

preheat oven to 350 degrees.

combine first six ingredients in a large bowl.

cream honey & butters together. set aside.

mix baking soda with hot water and add to butter mixture.

pour butter mixture into dry ingredients and mix well.

place tablespoons of mixture into non-stick mini-muffin cups (no need to grease) and flatten mixture slightly. bake 10 minutes or until golden. cool on wire racks.

january jam.

last summer i tucked away most of our berries in the freezer knowing i would get to making jam later on in the fall when i had a little more time. we still had jam. no rush.

last week cory (my husband who has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his lunch every. single. day.) went to the grocery and came back with a sad look and a jar of western family mixed berry.

time to make jam.

strawberry freezer jam sweetened with our honey using Pomona's Universal Pectin.

the freezer is stocked once again.

summer in a jar.

this lead to me to bake bread.

which lead to an excellent pb&j sandwich.

which lead to one happy husband.

which lead to a kiss...

much like the one on the mountains :)

{this moment}

2011-01-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

{my cousin is now a wife}

♥

from the flowerto the wedding

2011-01-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

i read an article about a local woman who spent the better part of her year preparing for her daughters wedding. she along with friends and family, gathered, made, grew, stitched, cooked and prepared for the special day.

i was inspired.

for my cousins wedding (my friesin), we gave from our harvest.

our assembly line:

i bottled the honey.

mae tied the *tags on.

*gotta love those Moo cards... made HERE.

see mae's dress? it used to be mine. when i was her age my mama sewed it for me for my uncles wedding. my mom just recently pulled it out of the trunk and mae is now in love with it. she might just wear it everyday if i let her. looks as if i need to pull the singer out and get moms help so i can sew her a couple more!

..otto played harmonica with one hand and boxed the honey with the other.

multitasker.

our gift: honey for the guests at the wedding.

because love is sweeeeet.
awwww!

my deary cousin is now a ranchers wife.

cheers to the new couple as they embark on one of the sweetest journeys in life..
aren't they cute!

..welcome to the family C!

.....
{just for fun: a simple photo journal rewind of the season}
.....
life is a flower

of which love is the honey

-victor hugo

you can read more on my cousins blog: HERE.

cheers!

{this moment}winter afternoons

2011-01-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

somewhere between 3 and 4 or so
most days
we stop what we are working on
i make tea or coffee
or sometimes chai
i grab us a treat,
a huckleberry macaroon from the bakery
an apple with peanut butter
a left-over biscuit with honey
something easy
but something sort of sweet.
we sit on the porch in the sunshine
or on the river rocks with our backs to the woodstove
or take a blanket outside

i don't answer the phone
i don't answer anyone, but my child
we rest
the animals rest
sister sleeps or sometimes is in my lap
other sister has just come home from school

moments.

contagious

2010-12-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

there are so many millions of things i could write about my friend camilla. i could tell you about her strength, about how fair she is with people. i could tell you she is a pioneer - a Norwegian coming to Montana all on her own. i could tell you how MUCH she loves her family and her husband, her big black dog, gardening, taking walks, giving gifts, just plain giving, mountains, winter, rocks, swimming, water ballet (kidding) ice cream, picnics, good cheese, sunshine, taking photographs, ... taking time. i could tell you about how she speaks of her grandfather and how her face lights up when she does. all of these things i could tell you because they all are passions of hers.

...

when i see someone smile, it always makes me smile.

it is contagious i suppose. i believe passion works the same way.

camilla's passion began when she was a little little girl

it began with wool and knitting...

she was wondering one day what she could do to make ends meet because her husband had just been laid-off. sometimes the answer is right in front of our faces, or in this case - - in our hands.

It clicked!

Magnolia Handspun

SHOP OPEN

wool

.....

dyed

spun

by. hand.

camilla has a passion for making a great many things..

all by hand

one of my most favorite things she has made is this wool blanket..

(yup.. she built the fence too)

and this sweater.. just one of the MANY she has knit

when a person finds their passion in life, they shine

it just works

it's fun and easy and the heart sings

that passion.. like a smile, makes you want to smile back. contagious. you are inspired to do, to make, to create something -- not to copy anothers passion, but find your own way... your own style.

camilla's passion inspires me.

each skein is unique

and inspired by something or another..

Honeybee single ply handspun

of course a favorite here :)

there is only one honeybee left, so hurry quick and don't fret if it is already gone. just make sure to check in her shop often because there is always something new and always something lovely.

she makes a lot of people smile.

like i said, passion is contagious and i thank her for hers.

to my dear best friend (just across the road) i just want to send many blessings and tell the world about your wonderful wool,
so go and check it out...

(CLICK BELOW)

Magnolia Handspun (shop)
you can also find her at:
Bloom
Magnolia Handspun (blog)
Station 8
homeschool. style. bytes
Artful Blogging

merry making around the house

2010-12-23T10:09:00.000-07:00

glitter

beeswax

ribbons and bows

cookies baking

wrapping paper

whispering and lots of secrets

candles glowing on the mantle

plays (good luck on stage tonight Katie Rose!)

Christmas stories read by Dad

family

neighbors

on the telephone with friends from afar

john denver and the muppet's

Christmas classics

last minute preparations

to celebrate the most special birthday of our year

wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas...

{this moment}

2010-12-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

on the road

almost there

sledding

cheering

wine

dinner

pie

great friends

tons of laughs

and some trivia too..

did you know that a Smurf is 3 apples tall?

(i thought my friend, P in the Netherlands would like to know this)

and just simply relaxing

driving home the next morning

moments in my week

o Christmas tree

2010-12-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

some days (should be everyday) i walk in my front door so very thankful

...

after a day of being with good friends

my heart is still singing

my babies are tired

from a good day of playing

my husband smells like the trees (my favorite cologne)

and there is snow still on the top of my hat

i am smiling and humming and filled with the spirit of the season

and thankful for such great friends sharing their land and letting us roam around for the perfect tree to celebrate the most special day of the year.

just simply happy for days like these

now it is time to decorate the house and get ready for Christmas morning

...

i don't know how they find them in all that snow.

boys gathering sticks. sticks and rocks and boys, i tell you.

hoping you are filled with the Spirit of Christmas...

all in a day.

2010-12-14T09:01:00.000-07:00

our honey had been sitting in the kitchen for simply too long waiting to be spun. finally a quiet day came and i got started extracting. cory loaded up the wood stove and while he worked on getting the house nice and toasty -- because warm honey spins from the comb much better (and faster) than cold honey, i set up the kitchen and prepared for one sticky and sweet day of spinning.

i start by cutting the wax tops off of the cells with an uncapping knife.
alright. truthfully i start by tasting the honey and watching how it drips from my finger... the slower the drip, the less moisture in the honey and the better the "cure". the professionals might use a refractometer. i myself use my finger and my taste buds.

after checking the honey and cutting the wax caps off, i load the combs into the extractor. our extractor holds four combs -- and i thank my wonderful neighbors once again for passing this amazing spinning machine to me!

i flip the switch, and the extractor starts whirling round and round (kind of like a washing machine) and the sweet smell of warm honey starts to fill the house.

photo below: inside the extractor
the honey gets pulled from the little beeswax "cupboards"..

the honey then hits the side of the extractor, slides down and gathers in a pool at the bottom of the barrel.

(i love that there isn't a wwwdot on this machine)

as we wait for the honey to spin, we keep ourselves busy with

card games, loading more wood in the stove,

finishing up the Hardscrabble hat, taste testing my neighbors cooking,

and making pots of tea to go with our honey - or is it honey to go with our tea? :)

until it's finally time to stop the machine, check the frames, unload and flip them over to spin the honey from the other side if they are ready.

yep, they are ready..

this is what the comb looks like after the honey has been spun out of it:

and this is the other side, still full of honey getting ready to be spun:

next season i will put these empty frames back on the hives and the bees will clean and make repairs to the wax cells in preparation for another season.

we found a beautiful chunk of burr comb in one of the supers (honey boxes). i carefully pried it off so mae could take it to school for show and tell.

the architect of the honeycomb is such a testimony to God's amazing design. i never thought much of geometry class until i held my first piece of honeycomb. you can read more{here} about this awesome structure.

we spin and spin until the bottom of the extractor is so full of honey the whirling begins to slow.

then the best part comes-- time to open the honey gate.
this is when we get the spoons out and my helpers have a taste.
all but this little one, she can't have a taste just yet!

the kids love to play in the honey and so i let them. if there is a sticky floor at the end of the day then that means we learned something. although the floor tends to stay clean because of winnie. she makes sure every drop is licked right up.
maybe this is why she is such a sweet dog (har har)

at the end of the day the hat is done,

the honey is spun, the floors need a good mopping, we need some fresh mountain air to sweep through the house, and not a single one of us wants another taste of honey!

as far as selling honey this year.. i decided to do something else. instead of selling it, i am bottling it for something very special {that post coming soon}

.........

p.s. this wouldn't be an accurate post without telling about the disasters.

we can't get through a day without atleast one around here! it is hard to spin honey in a small and toasty hot kitchen with three children, one dog, and a cat that sticks his tail in the honey. i didn't take time to photograph the honey extractor as it flew off of the stand (mid-spin) because it wasn't balanced. nor did i write about how i left the honey gate open and we had a honey river in the kitchen -- or did i write and tell about how winnie had a feast of beeswax cappings in the middle of the night --and i will leave the rest of that story right there.

{this moment}

2010-12-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

i don't have a photo for this one. just a story. and i will make it a quick one. it's not about bees or knitting or the mountains. not about montana or sewing or how we have an elk in the freezer. it is about the heart. it is about faith. it is about the Maker - not the Made.

last sunday i was sitting in church and Pastor Jeff was talking about angels. he told a story about how he believed an angel helped him pull a girl out of a pond. she had wrecked her car and it crashed down the bank below, then into the pond it went. he had a hard time getting her up the steep bank and as he was pulling her up, someone came along side to help out. when they reached the top of the steep bank and finally the road, he looked up to thank the man who had helped him. the road was empty. there was not a soul in sight besides his wife. she didn't see anyone help him. simply, he believed it was an angel.

hmmn.

i got in the car after church and looked to my hub. i still don't know what i think about angels is what said. i do believe in God and i believe in angels as well, but which does what? then we were interrupted by one of our little people in the backseat.

i got home, put ava down for a nap and headed out the door for a run. the roads were.. well.. typical montana roads. icy. snowy. just fine for a run in december. i took off out the door. i was about a half of a mile from the house running against the traffic on a road with steep ditches when i saw the toyota fj4. it was completely out of control. all over the road it spun. and fast. i stopped and quickly moved to the middle, then the other side of the road trying fast to figure out what way to go. closer and closer it came to me. then it was sideways.
i yelled out O GOD! because i knew i was about to be hit by this car. just then the car went off of the road, down into the ditch and then it flipped up onto it's side. it was as if something had pushed it off... like a strong wind.

everything was still except for the snow dripping on to the hot engine. i started shaking. the car was so close to me at this point that i had to back up to see into his windshield. the driver was fine and smiling and still in his seat belt. he was happy to see my face in his windshield and not underneath it. he said it was in four wheel drive and he just lost control after hitting a rut in the road. he got out and we just stood there stunned and hardly believing what just happened.

i walked away from that humbled and shaken. after some time passed i went back to take a look at my foot tracks and the indentation from where his car sat in the snowy ditch -- and how close it all was. i stood there and thanked God - for that strong wind? no. i thanked Him for that angel.

{this moment} is about faith, not wind. sometimes i need reminders. sometimes i don't understand it all... but simply, that is faith.

{that moment}

2010-12-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

{~~this~~ that moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

This photo was sent to me this week. In the photo stands my great, great Grandfather. He is standing next to the cabin he built by hand. O how I want to jump into that photo for just one minute.

Hope your Friday is a good one!

{this moment}

2010-11-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Ava stands!

by the way . . . pay no attention to Buttons our cat, he is just practicing for his part in the upcoming opera.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Happy Friday!

elk & snow & honey

2010-11-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

(Fall)ing

into

{beaver chewed trees along the creek}

winter!

i think old man winter heard me on that last post. today's high here in Montana is -4 °F.

although it is bitter cold out Cory went hunting anyway and just (now) called from the mountains to tell me he is packing out an Elk! we will be busy around here this weekend cutting and wrapping this gift and filling the freezer. this is such a blessing and comes with such great timing after we lost everything in our freezer a month ago due to a faulty breaker.

i praise the good Lord above for this successful hunt!

Happy Thanksgiving!

..........

p.s.

the honey has been spun and there will be a post coming soon..

.........

"Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk..."

-Fred Bear

and more bits of Fall

2010-11-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

you can find previous bits of Fall here and here.

old man winter is holding out on us. he has been sitting at the top of the peak with his arms crossed refusing to unfold and settle in the lowlands for a few months.
he has been down to visit a few times but it was short lived.
more than a month ago, he snuck halfway down the mountain side, and just a few nights ago he quietly covered the entire valley floor with his white winter quilt -only to fold it up and disappear into the trees the very next afternoon. maybe the winter quilt isn't ready yet.. just a few more stitches on the snowflakes? maybe he needs to add a couple layers of batting before he displays his work?

i am anxious for it to really snow, otto too. he has been eating his oatmeal with his snowshoes and pajamas on. i keep telling him soon the sky will be filled with snowflakes and the field will be white. soon he will be sledding and skiing and making snowballs. we are on the cusp of winter.
until then, more bits of Fall along with a poem about a tree...

i think that i shall never see

a poem as lovely as a tree

a tree whose hungry mouth is prest

against the earths sweet flowing breast

a tree that looks at God all day

and lifts her leafy arms to pray

a tree that may in summer wear

a nest of robins in her hair

upon whose bosom snow has lain

who intimately lives with the rain

poems are made by fools like me

but only God can make a tree

-joyce kilmer

happy monday!

{this moment}

2010-11-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

meeting my girlfriends (the fabulous 5) for breakfast
we 5 have been friends forever

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - ~~no words~~ - capturing a moment from the week.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.