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So funny the rainy days and sunny days right next to each other, when you’ll find us in wool sweaters one day and then back in t-shirts the next. These past fews days have been rainy ones. The rain has been watering the garden for us, which has been nice. We go outside and sometimes we get a break in the rain. Sometimes we walk around when it’s sprinkling, but when it begins to pour, we return indoors. I’ve been realizing, as I do again and again, how much Bracken (and all of us) need the outdoor time. Sometimes I’ll see Bracken’s behavior getting unsettled and realize the best thing we can do in that moment is to go outside. And suddenly things transform. I’m sure you’ve witnessed that magic too. The shift that only nature can bring. 

Bringing in more peas every day.

Jeff brought in a giant bowl of lettuce. Yesterday for lunch we had a salad with homegrown lettuce, cilantro, and arugula. It was so succulent, fresh, and delicious.

I wasn’t expecting to harvest, so I didn’t have a colander or a basket or anything to carry it in, but the cilantro was calling out to be harvested in that moment, so the bottom of my shirt worked. Cilantro doesn’t last long in our garden, it always bolts so quickly. It’s such a treat when we have it.

We saw all this kale popping up in this bed and Jeff said “oh, I must have sprinkled some kale seed there.”    Now it’s time to do some thinning.

I discovered a small broccoli that came up on it’s own. I love surprises in the garden.

Some branches are getting pretty heavy with plums.

 And what do you do when you find these green caterpillars eating up your cabbage plants?

 Bring them over to the chickens!

Instead of bringing them into their yard, Jeff just put his hand through the fence and we watched while they ate them out of his hand. The chickens moved so fast it was hard to get a picture.

See what I mean?

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We’ve been eating so many strawberries this week, but you’ll notice they’re missing from these pictures. During the next sunny stretch, we have a lot of plants that need to go in the ground. The garden is just the most wonderful place.