My very favorite way to end the day is by being in the garden with my family. It’s funny how in the house I can feel so stressed and then when I go outside it magically lifts, even when I look around and am surrounded by so much that needs to be done. Indoors there’s always so much to do and surely there’s plenty to do outside, but it feels different somehow. My mood can change in a matter of moments, the garden fills me with peace. Even when large areas need to be weeded so badly or there’s more watering to do than time to do it, I still feel a sense of peace out there. Lately our clutter indoors has been driving me nuts. We’re constantly working to get more organized and we’re making progress, but it still feels like we have too much stuff. When I go outside, though, I can be a bit stressed or overwhelmed when I first head out and then suddenly things shift. Perhaps it’s forgoing the roof above me and looking up to see an open sky. Maybe it makes things feel less limiting or more possible. Or maybe it’s just that being outside in nature is just so good for the soul. Being outside changes me. I feel more like myself. 

Recently our evenings in the garden included lots of watering, but now that’s changed. It’s gotten too cold at nights to water in the evenings, really. Just when you get into a rhythm, the season changes. That’s what makes each season something to savor. You know those warm evenings are going to change so you soak them up all you can.

Last week while I watered, Jeff and Bracken harvested the peaches from our peach tree. They are white peaches and bruise the moment you barely touch them. Some had already fallen and most of them were bruised. They looked like a gnarly batch of peaches, but they tasted incredibly divine. You can’t eat them without the sweet juice dripping all down your arms and covering you in sticky peach goodness. They had to be dealt with right away so they went in the freezer. The next night we harvested some plums. (We have a long picker sort of like this, but not as nice.) Even with that, we couldn’t reach many. Our peach and plum tree are in need of some major pruning. The plums that were too high to reach are falling into the chicken yard and are being very much enjoyed. The chickens play plum football and chase each other around each time one drops. 

Little Mr. Calendula eyes (and toes) helped Jeff with another project last week. They inoculated some tree stumps with more mushrooms and Bracken loved to help put the plug spawn in each spot after Jeff had drilled the holes. We didn’t have ideal stumps or spots to do it, but we gave it a go anyway, you never know. Something I really love about this time of year is bringing in the garden harvests and then looking at our kitchen table all covered in food. One evening there were some white elm mushrooms, green beans, eggs, zucchini, and garlic in the process of being peeled. It was such a beautiful sight to me.

Before, Jeff watered a part of the garden in the morning and I watered another part of the garden in the evenings. The last few days I’ve been watering that part of the garden during the day instead of at night. The sweat pours down into my eyes and I do my best to water the roots and not get too much water on the leaves. I’m grateful for the warmth right now and for the summer heat, I know when it’s gone I’ll miss it. But for me, time spent in the garden during the day is not the same as in the evenings. During the day I’m much more in a rush, with to-do lists going through my head. It gets hot and at some point I start gravitating towards the shade. The early mornings are fresh and the sunlight looks more beautiful than ever and the garden looks it’s best, but the end of the day is when I get the chance to enjoy things out there. The evenings are not my favorite time to take pictures, the sun goes behind the trees and then behind the mountain, and there’s not much light for it. But still, there’s something special about that time of day. It has become my favorite time to be in the garden. The world feels quieter to me. In the evening, even with things to wrap up before the end of the day, I just slow down more. I listen to the river more. I notice the birds more. I take the time to go barefoot more. Yes, there’s something really magic about evenings in the garden. One of the best ways to end the day I do believe.