GardenMama

. : Organic Play : .

My summer has been spent living in the natural thrall of the river, the lakes, the mountains and in the 

lush world of the gardens...Walking barefoot along the fields will quickly transition to heavier and 

warmer forms of footwear!  I have noticed a natural shift in my children and I in these recent days.  They 

have been asking to read extra books at night as the cool breeze floats through our windows.  The new 

air has triggered my own new season of nesting.  I washed my collection of aprons today and took joy in 

hanging them on the line. I sewed a holder for the clothespins that once belonged to my grandmother.  I 

love to smell the fresh crisp air on my linens and on my aprons that helped me bring in the harvest this 

summer. Now they will be seeing lots of bread, soup and applesauce being made in September. This 

nesting also takes the form of moving furniture around, making seasonal baskets of books in the living 

room, and freshly re-organizing their toys in baskets to make them easier to bring alongside me as I do

my daily work.  

I meditate with the comforting whirring of the sewing machine. Other moments my knitting needles click 

as I watch my children play and learn alongside me.  I am dreaming of flower bouquets 

filled with warm-hued flowers and berries, of apple orchards, home pressed cider and the magic of 

carving pumpkins and drying their seeds for a snack.  I will enjoy these last summer days and love them 

with all that I have--thankful for each moment and being present with the time my family is enjoying 

together!

.: As my children play next to me I enjoy looking for new bread recipes.  In this journal I have written my 

best loved recipes from my family and friends.  My eye glasses have a new spot in the case that I sewed 

for them on this day.

.: I love to set up beautiful and inspiring play spaces for my children and I.  What better a space than 

under the shelter of a beautiful old tree.  This tree provided a tent for us to play under the dappled 

sunlight made leafy cutout shadows on our blanket making it known that we were playing in a very 

special place. 

.: Imaginative play being nurtured by this magical old tree.  Golden fields set out behind us and 

mountains set out before us inspiring our hearts and infusing play with the beauty found in nature.

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.: My daughter is busy sewing, this wooden sewing machine is brought to life in the hands of children. 

She carefully follows the stitches that she watched me sew as I made this bag on my sewing machine 

earlier in the day.

.: This rainbow of color adds the beauty of color into our day.  It's arches also serve as bridges for little

wool dolls and shelters for our wooden animals.

.: Our wool-felted family receives a special ride through the sunlit grass and over the trails on our

blanket.  Deep in play my son imagines the paths this horse will travel.

.: We enjoy a time for making art in this open air studio.  I have sewn three types of holders that will hold 

our beeswax block crayons, twig pencils, and hand made crayons with care.  

.: This tree extends her limbs down to us offering more opportunities for our play...

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... and becoming part of our play.

.: Our days are even more special when Daddy is home to nurture us as he offers his open arms and 

special thoughts about the day.

.: While my children are enjoying their time of play in their nearby tent made of the tree I enjoy hanging 

my vintage aprons on the line, to look at them blowing in the breeze makes me smile. 

.: Colorful flags signaling a friendly hello!

. : These aprons hold many memories both old and new, they hold a special place in our home life.

.: As I hang my aprons on the clothesline, I look back to my children and am warmed by their presence 

and feel happy on this day. 

                                                              

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.: The Root Children :.

{Carrying in some of what she and her siblings had harvested!}

.: The process of growing vegetables is one that involves our whole family from garden to table.  It seems like so long ago that we began this incredible process,  but today as we harvest our carrots, potatoes, onions, and garlic, we come full circle.  I feel thankful for the earth and feel good about the effort that went into these perfect gifts.  As the summer wanes, our efforts are made manifest in the form of gorgeous whole foods that were grown with love. We are mindful of these things as we harvest on this day...

 

{Every new carrot harvested from the ground was more exciting to him than the last!}

.: This wooden box  holds special meaning for me. My Grandfather invested much time in nature and in farming. He modeled respect and appreciation for the intricacies found everywhere around us in nature.  He made these wooden boxes for his wood shop. They once held the things that helped him in his work and in the organization of his shop.  It was in one of these wooden boxes and under his gentle guidance that my first seedlings grew.  

After his passing  I collected each wooden box that he made and brought them into our home. They now hold some of our wooden toys, art supplies, and teas in our kitchen. His memory lives on in our home through gentle reminders of things he made and of the sparrows sitting outside of my window.  I feel his presence as I garden and I like to think that he would be proud to see my children carrying in the harvest in one of his handmade wooden boxes.

.: It is an incredible feeling pulling edible treasures out of the ground that were previously obscured by  deep rich soil.  Seeing only a peek of orange my family and I are excited to pull up many vitamin-packed carrots! We picked only some of the carrots and potatoes today as it is still a bit early.  Our tummies were certainly ready as we enjoyed an unforgettable medley of home-grown root vegetables for dinner!

.: Digging into this earth to harvest these golden treasures helps me to feel connected and grounded. The children are running happily around the raised beds as though at an easter egg hunt. They dig into the rich soil and scoop up small handfuls of earth, eagerly anticipating the cool smooth stones buried below.

 

.:  If you have ever sown a seed or transplanted a plant you have acted as surrogates for the plants. We make ourselves sensitive to their struggles, we amend, we water. We bear witness to the flowering and the birth of brilliant illuminated green geometries of wonder. We also watch it all wither and fade to compost. Time means different things for different people. When it unfolds as a rhythmic, dynamic, and creative transfiguration of energy into living matter, then we can begin to see how powerful raising our own food can be.

 

.: I am increasingly convinced that food is something to be engaged with at all stages. A family garden plot is (one) of the places where food is not a shrink-wrapped abstraction, but something that we contribute to in a small way to nurture into being. We all invested personal energy into the cultivation of these vegetables. To the degree that we understood the plants and attended to their needs during all phases of their growth was the portion of benefit imparted by the harvest in return. 

.: The River Walkers :.

  

This place that I am about to share with you is one of our favorite magical spots in the woods! We walk along a dirt road counting out trees to remember just where this other world hides. One, two, three trees to the left and down into the wooded trail we go. A canopy of trees shelter us as we emerge into a natural paradise...

 

We slip off our shoes and feel the soft cool carpet of emerald green moss that lines the edge of the river. Ancient trees stretch upwards above us, rooted deep in clefts in the rock faces that enclose the riverbed. The crystalline water is fresh enough to drink, and sometimes we catch the glint of a rainbow trout darting up from the smooth mosaic of river stones that line the riverbed. 

 

Gentle waterfalls endlessly pour over enormous smooth stones formed millenia ago. We sit in these waters and playfully allow the flow of the river to guide us down a natural stone slide into a deeper swimming spot. We notice jeweled seemingly prehistoric dragonflies hovering overhead, mixing with the butterflies that silently weave through the trees and across the water.

The only other sounds are the sounds of our laughter and the splashes of the waterfalls.  It truly is super-natural here. My words and photos truly could never capture the magic of this place, but I hope to share with you the essence of the freedom felt here.  My husband and I wade in the waters with our children and enjoy watching their creativity soar in this dreamlike space. 

We smile while watching my oldest son fulfill a self-directed challenge to himself. He wants to cross over the river on the natural stepping stones with no help.  He has come to an age where he is navigating his world even more independently, and this truly warms our attachment parenting hearts!

I try to be mindful of honoring my children's indepence and their leadings when it comes to life and learning.  He learned so much about himself on this day. So much of it intangible and not seen by others, but known deeply to himself. I learn so much about myself here as well alongside my family and in the quiet bliss of feeling the energy of these cool mountain waters. 

To swim in these waters amidst this untouched natural beauty is what inspires my creative spirit. These special places make me think and breathe and dream about the beauty that is abounding all around and within us. 

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I spend some time making cairns out of river stones that I carefully choose along my watery paths. We wonder how many of them will last into our next visit.  It is enjoyable to see cairns stacked here and there in remote spots on the river. They bring me right back to the day that I made them.

My children also get right to work making artwork of their own-- a bridge for the fairies, boats made of leaves dropped into the water to sail downstream, and a tent made of towels and sticks along the edge of the sandy banks.

In this post I shared a photo of some of our mica collection. This river contains vast mica deposits that shimmer under the water. We refer to these gorgeous gems as 'fairy mirrors'. There is a certain spot where we hike downhill and when we descend into this particular rocky outcropping, the air is instantly cooler. It feels like natural air conditioning. The mountain water rolls off the side of the mountain and drips off the green moss that clings to sparkling mica laden rocks. As the water trickles over we let our hands delight in this amazing outdoor fountain.  There are certain places so magical it is hard to believe that fairies wouldn't dwell there. These mossy spots along this river must be their deluxe suites! The fairies needs are taken care of here without our human assistance this time! 

It is easier for me to honor our families' mantra "Be here now" on these days of exquisite beauty but in every day I aspire to be present in the moment.  This seems to be something that most young children already know.