an apple a day and then some

when has mother nature ever steered you wrong? seriously, she has given us everything that we need to live, to love and to grow. the sun to brighten the world, to help things grow, to provide us with warmth and light. the plants for nourishment, shelter, health and enjoyment. she is always giving us exactly what we need and never skips a beat.

so, how is it that people don't realize that she has provided us with renewable sources of food for centuries and these sources are perfect, whole and tasty? for us vegetarians, fruit, vegetables, greens, nuts and seeds have been a huge part of our diet, but there is a whole other level to this whole being veg thing. over 7 years ago i started checking out raw foods, foods in their purest, uncooked form. it was overwhelming, the recipes were lists and lists of foods that were not always available and don't even mention how time consuming it all was. dehydrating, soaking, mixing, blending, etc. i did love it though and came to a lifestyle that worked for ME. well, now there is more to life than just me, there are two little girls that count on me to feed them the tastiest, most healthiest food, on a daily basis. ahhhhhh, no time for the time consuming. i kept dappling in raw foods over the years and my love of raw has come and gone like the seasons of new england, but i have always been stuck on the idea of green smoothies and eating your greens.

seven years later and here i am, rethinking all of my choices in between. i have always been veg, but not always raw or vegan, nor have my little mamas. those green smoothies, or salad smoothies as one of the girls calls them, have always been high on my list and nagging me to head back to what mother nature put out there for us. it is a bit trickier with little people, they are still growing, still developing, still maturing, me, i am hopefully done with most of that. i am maintaining and repairing at this point in the game. after doing some homework, pulling together my own knowledge of raw foods and varieties of the lifestyle, i came across some amazing resources to aid my journey back to basics.

as i mentioned, raising raw kiddos is a bit more involved, but that shouldn't stop anyone from embarking on the road to raw with your family. check out these links for some great views on raw kids and what their needs are. it may be shocking on so many levels, but it is good to hear it all from someone who is doing it and doing it well.

The Raw Food Family*Ka and Katie Sundance and their beautiful kids

The Raw Mom Blog: a source of wisdom from moms to moms

Shazzie: a beautiful raw mother, her knowledge and wonderful details of raising a raw kid

there are more resources out there, but these hit home with my instincts and concerns.

so, what do we eat? we eat a variety of foods, not all raw and we are transitioning. the girls have always been raised vegetarian and will take some time until the acquire tastes for some things that i may find absolutely divine. creativity is the key when it comes to foods that they may not always want, but is the best for them. i cannot say enough about GREENS! we all need more of them and kids do like them if you make them sweeter and blended. green smoothies are absolutely grand when made well and in our house they are affectionately called 'kermit the frog smoothies', and they do indeed make you jump higher than usual. when we add some strawberries, then we sip on 'miss piggy smoothies'. it is all in the eye of the beholder and in this case they are 4 years old and 20 months and they do indeed slurp this stuff down. besides green smoothies, we do fruit smoothies with added goodies like hemp sides, flax seed oil or udo's oil, bee pollen, and whatever else will up the nutrition and still appeal to the munchkins. we eat a ton of fruit in it's whole state. bananas, apples, pears, avocados, mangos, strawberries, blueberries, melons, you name it, they will eat it and eat a ton of eat some days. a whole pineapple and a quart of strawberries may never see the end of the day in this house. veggies are a bit trickier. they do adore cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, and maybe a few others on occasion, but they aren't huge fans of a large array of veg. it will come with due time, but until then, juicing veggies or throwing them in with smoothies will do. as for the cooked foods that they like, brown rice, tofu, tempeh, cooked grains, hummus, and beans top the list. we have just introduced eggs for the first time and both girls have had a hard time adjusting to the taste, so i need to keep on trying and coming up with new ways to make them.

well, now you can see why it is 'an apple a day and some more'. there is so much out there to eat, to enjoy, to make you feel good, but don't get wrapped up in the all or nothing game of it. find what works best for you and your little ones. if it means eating a salad every night for dinner, then great, right on for taking that step. maybe that is the beginning for your or maybe that is just what you want at the moment, but whatever raw foods you start with, enjoy and know that it is helping you and it is a gift from the mother herself.

there is a reason why animals eat their foods raw. hmmmmm! never thought of that did ya? sure, they don't have stoves, but that's not the point. the strongest animals on earth eat green plant life and fruit and never chop it up, dehydrate it, cook it, stew it, bake it or add sugar to it. take a hint from the mother and go ahead and graze, you'll like it if you try it.

ps (need some recipes and details on eating greens? check out 'green for life' for insight and inspiration.)

it's like riding a bike

phew. time really flies by when you are hibernating. winter is over, spring has sprung and we are out and about as usual, but feeling a bit more alive these days. just because it has been a bit gray, does not mean that the fam has been too inactive. i figured today would be a good day to start anew and get the fam connected and updated. you know, when spring comes, we get up and start all over again, just like riding a bike.

we have been on the move and getting ready for another beautiful growing season. you know, growing kiddos, growing veggies, growing our own abundance of love and life, and sharing it all. the kiddos are really growing beautifully. they flourish even in the darkest days of winter, just add some sunlight and fresh air and viola, they are livelier than ever. we are embarking on new adventures daily and finding that sticking with our intuition will not let us down. our choice to unschool has become a reality with our weekly trips to 'a nest in nature' at harmony woods farm. this has been the best thing for us as a family over the long winter days. it is a regrowth for us and a welcomed addition to our family choices. the girls are just lov aing it and they simply adore the most beautiful woman that hosts it, as do i. we are excited about keepin' the little phytokiddos in our arms and home to learn what is around them. isn't that we do anyway?

since we have headed down that path, IT all seems to follow. IT, can be whatever you like. whatever makes us happy and healthy and yes, it does come when you head in the right direction. things come to us for a purpose and when you are comfortable in your new role, IT is all good. we are so happy that we have what we have and not unhappy about what we don't have. there is so much to come and i am so happy to share it here. keep checkin' in for some great adventures, recipes, inspiration and light.

the simple life ain't so simple

time flies when you are busy tending to two little ones, tending to a home, staying warm and wishing for warmer days. there is much more going on in our lives than i lend myself to see on a daily basis. i often wonder where my days have gone or why it always seems like i have something to do. then i remember a comment from a older fellow simple lifer, "simple livin' ain't so simple. it takes more work to live without than it does to have what others have."

that's it! why didn't i think of this sooner! she was so right on. i might mention that when i met this woman she was cooking tofu in her sweet little 1960's camper. our kind of lady if i must say so. we chatted about LIVING and what we don't aspire to have, the things that we do have that make our lives so unique, the importance of food and a vegetarian diet, feeding our children well and doing what you love to help enrich others lives. after all of that, that one comment imbedded in mind like a audio stamp. now i know where all of my time goes.

we work much like others do, but in addition to being occupied outside of our home, much of our hOMework is spent making sure that we have a clean, happy and healthy home along with healthy food for our fam. as the mama of the house i make sure that i keep up with all of the usual stuff, laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc because i am home all day with the little people. if you haven't picked up on this one yet, i'll let ya in on a little fam secret...food is super important to us. so, i do spend a lot of my free time whipping up goodies for the crew. keeping our food close to home serves many purposes. it allows us to eat well, keep our food bills down and enjoy foods that are made with love and good intentions. making things in batches allows us to store some our favs so we can enjoy them daily.

here is what we make on a daily, weekly and monthly basis

*granola (about one batch a week feeds three of us. it is quick and easy and we eat it for more

than breakfast.)

*veggie burgers (one batch a month, about 40 patties, keeps us going. top off salads, make

sandwiches or just dip them in veganaise and we are good to go.)

*yogurt (a batch every two weeks. we find that small amounts of this suites us well.)

*bread (every other day the peanut and i make up a loaf. keeping it whole grain and easy has

allowed us to totally get away from buying bread)

check out 'healthy bread in 5 minutes a day'

well, that sums up our food stash that we make on a bigger scale, but on top of that, we make sure that we home cook our meals daily, make enough soup to last a few days, cook up beans and freeze them for a myraid of meals and use what we have in house before we go out and buy more stuff. keeping a well stocked pantry and plenty of fresh and frozen fruit and veggies allows us to do 2 major grocery runs a month with some restocking in between for fresh fruit and veg. this in turn keeps us from buying too much and wasting.

in addition to food, there is so much more to this 'simple' life of ours...washing those cloth diapers, gardening in the summer, playing on the beach (this one is a biggie), spending as much time as we can as a family and living. we all find our groove and once you are really IN it, it is like a ride that you have been on a thousand times. eventually you come to expect the twists and turns, the bumps and smooth stretches, and hopefully it all ends well. nature lives with a rythmn and so can we. what may seem like work at first is actually a gift. once you learn to work with good intention what was once a chore becomes a good habit and it keeps on growing from there. so, really embrace what it means to tend to your home, feed your family and live without, because it isn't a fault, but rather a strength. i really feel blessed to have the ability to simplify. in times like these we are able to still live well and keep on keepin' on thanks to knowing how to go without.

"poverty is the gift of purification" -the XIVth dalai lama

baby talk

we come upon this earth with nothing but the body that has been granted to us, then we hopefully spend the next 80 or so years in this body. can one imagine what effect we have upon this earth in that time? the results are staggering for the average american. we are consumers, users, throw AWAYers and then we leave. we leave this earth with all of the 'things' that we thought we needed in our lifetime. i don't mean to be so pesimistic about our impact, but it is the honest truth.

as a mother of two i have come to realize that the first few years of our journey here are spent using vast amounts of resources. a child's impact on the environment is boggling. not that they choose to do so, but their caretakers are the ones to blame. as parents it is our responsiblity to keep our baby's consumerism to a minimum. unfortunately the market gears every effort towards the mommy's need to buy buy buy and have the latest and greatest. they want us to believe that our children are better off with their product, or our lives will be so
much easier with their product, or that you just simply need it.

what does a baby need? well, they obviously need us as parents to provide. to provide love, food and shelter. that really isn't much to ask for. then why do we buy some many things? families fill their homes with bouncers, cribs, a changing table, loads of clothing, paper diapers, toys toys and more toys, car seats and more. something are obviously needed, but the majority is just stuff. if i had to compile a list of what i really use on a day to day basis as a mother, this is what i'd say is absolutely necessary:

• diapers (cloth preferred), wipes (reusable fleece) and covers


• a sling or pack carrier for baby (keeps my hands free and baby safe and warm)


• food (breast for baby and solids for big sister)
  
• a few blankets (for warmth, protection, a place to play)


• clothing (for all obvious reasons, but the reality is that they don't need a million outifts)


• a stroller or wagon (gets us out and about on foot and is great exercise for mama and papa)

well, that's about it. it isn't much, but i would say that it covers the necessities. to start with, we have used the same diapers for baby one as we have for baby two. a $400 investment covered us for about 2 years with baby one and now baby two is using the same setup. any parent will tell you that the cost of diapers is excessive. however, tell these same parents that you use cloth diapers and they we go on and on about the mess, the bother and the clean-up, all of which isn't true. once you go with cloth, the routine is easy, clean and cheap. plus, healthy for your baby's bum and for the environment. we even use reusable fleece wipes with homemade wipe solution. check out vermont diaper company for the lowdown on cloth diapering. just remember, a newborn blows through about 10-12 diapers a day for the first few months. add that one up!

next on the list is a sling. we have three different carriers for the kids and can even use one of them with our 2 1/2 year old. these are great for keeping hands free, keeping kiddos up on your level, and keeping them safe and content. we use our ergo baby carrier the most and i'd say that it is the most versitile and durable. they're a great company out of hawaii and they're perspective on baby wearing is just up our ally. anytime we run into other folks using it, they feel the same way we do about the ergo. it goes without saying that once a parent finds something that works, they are always willing to share the love with others. it is a definite must have for families who enjoy being on the go with kiddos!

some things go without saying, but i have to mention food. yes, we do feed our little monsters. one gets the boob and the other eats pretty much what we eat. no microwaved meals, no prepackaged entrees, rarely anything out of a box and just good ole fashioned food. i truely feel bad for kids who chow down on nothing but processed food. i know that we are a rarity and i do understand that some families don't have the time or means to provide what we feel is good food. however, i don't hesitate to share my ideals with anyone who asks about our diets. food is a huge part of our lives and i am proud of the fact that we do what we do. one other thing that i should mention is our habit of eating meals together. as a kid my mom had dinner on the table at 5:30 and was dead set against eating anywhere, but the kitchen table. i thank her for that and i hope that we can say the same thing when our peanuts are old enough to understand the importance of food and family.

keeping our children safe, well feed, clean and warm are just a few of things that are expected of us as parents. clothing is an enormous financial and environmental burden when it comes to kids. in the first year of life, a child's growth is tremendous and along with that comes everchanging wardrobes. from then on, it is a constant cycle of buy more clothes, pack them away and then so on and so forth. one must wonder, how much clothing does my child need? not much! we love getting bags of hand-me-downs from the neighbor and handing down our stuff to my sister and then back again. why not? have you ever seen an infant wear out a pair of pajamas? never! so, if you keep clothing in good shape, stain free when possible and share with others, it can be a constant flow of 'new' clothes. we also hit up our local salvation army on half price family day and frequent the local consignment shops. it doesn't mean that your kiddos have to be wearing duds from the 80's and be out of style. it just means that you are merely reusing what someone else has already worn. not a big deal and your little ones can still be in style. plus, you don't feel bad if your peanuts totally trash an outfit that only cost a buck!

i cannot think of a better way to get fresh air and excerise than walking with my little ones. from the time my oldest was a few weeks old, i had her out in the fresh air every decent day that i could. it was good for both of us. i'd bundle her up in our favorite patagonia baby bunting, pack her in the sling and a stroller when she was a bit bigger, and off we'd go. we took her everywhere, the beach, hiking, festivals, around town, and anywhere that we could. now, she is in a jog stroller and the youngest one is in the ergo baby carrier. we feel limitless and they feel less confined when we 'travel' outdoors. our recent addition of a wagon is great for shorter walks and when we need to bring some goodies along. you know, stuffed animals, beach toys, a dish for the neighborhood potluck and even a friend. there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a designer stroller, but do get a feel for what you need and then try a few out. our local consignment shop always has strollers for sale and they would suffice for almost any family. i can honestly say that our jog stroller has been everywhere with us, from florida to maine and it is still holding up.

the key to reusing kids' gear and clothing is care. if you take care of what you have, it will take care of you. appreciate your goods and you will reap more from them. when you realize how much 'stuff' your little people use, then you may realize the importance of reusing, recycling and consciously raising them can have on your surroundings. here are a few facts about what our kids do to our mother earth:

in 1988, nearly $300 million dollars were spent annually just to discard disposable diapers, whereas cotton diapers are reused 50 to 200 times before being turned into rags.

no one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.

disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste.

the manufacture and use of disposable diapers amounts to 2.3 times more water wasted than cloth.

over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR.

it is estimated that each baby will need about 6,000 diapers during the first two years of life.

these facts don't even take into consideration everything that a child consumes in the first few years, but it gives you a good idea of what their potty habits do to our land

so, that's that! just remember that every little bit counts. if you practice healthy and constructive habits in your home, then hopefully your peanuts will grow up and do the same. it is contagious! your job as a parent goes far deeper than providing food, love and shelter. it makes an impression that is so deep, that future generations deal with the choices you have made. if you want your great great grandchildren to live amoung your rubbish, then go ahead and keep on consuming without consciousness. if you want them to live in paradise, then start now and do the right thing.

not your average american idol

ICON

function: a noun
etymology: latin, from greek eikon, from eikenai to resemble

definition: an object of uncritical devotion: an idol

let me paint you a picture, a very vivid and wrinkly one at that. imagine a woman in her mid 70's, with eyes so blue that she makes the sky blush, with a smile as wide as the sea that she calls home, with dedication so deep you can see it pulsating from her every cell and a naked, wrinkled body that she is not remotely modest about hiding. well there, pretty nuts, huh? i kind of thought so too, until i read on.

i picked up the latest issue of 'Surfer's Journal' and thumbed through the countless pages of crystal blue waters strewn with young tan bodies gliding across foreign waves and there she was: a naked wrinkled woman that made be shiver and giggle like a child. what is she doing in here? and of course, curiosity sets in and one must dive right into the article. Carol Schuldt is her name and she calls San Francisco her home. she is 75 years old and i must say, she is kick ass. her zest for life, her minimalist mindset and the fact that she bodysurfs almost everyday in the 50 degree waters of northern california naked or minimally clad is enough said.

you can take a peek at the 'queen of ocean beach' in an excerpt in 'Surfer's Journal'

not your average icon by no means, but what does it take to be of that standing these days? money, money and more money? perhaps. fame and fortune? most likely. your face on the cover of 'People' magazine a few times a year? yup! but why? what is it that these folks have or do that makes them so important? not a darn thing, but luck. what do people like Carol Schuldt, Gypsy Boots and others have? they have heart and soul, love, passion, compassion, dedication to the pure and minimal recognition. that is what makes a true icon.

i would rather have my child look up to a 75 year old naked bohemian woman than brittney spears. why not? Carol leads her life with a heart of gold and a peaceful mind. i can dig that. why not look up to a woman that sleeps in her kitchen, rarely buys anything new and rides her rusty old bike for miles to bask in the cold waters of the pacific for wave after wave with no gear, but the body that god gave her? hell with money, that woman found 'IT' and i admire her for sharing the light with all that cross paths with her. she shares her home and her heart with others and looks for nothing in return.

so, next time you think about an icon or an idol, think a bit deeper. i had a boss that used to always say, 'do the right thing', and with that said, does your idol follow in those foot steps? the 'right thing' is so simple that most folk step right over it along with the debris and complexity that is strewn across our paths. slow down, look in front of you and you'll see that 'IT' is all right there. just ask Carol!

dedicated to bob pollard. an icon of his short time on this earth with a spirit larger than life. may he always be remembered by all that he touched. we miss you bob.

what's without is within

huh, you may say. what on earth do you mean. oh, i am trying to say that what you use on your body ultimately ends up in your body. oh! and, better to be without than with all the junk. there you go. so, what are you slathering, lathering and scrubbing yourself with these days?

those isles and isles of fruity, smelly and oh so alluring body care items can really suck you in. go into your local drug store and just step back. is it really necessary to have big of a selection. i guess so, other wise it wouldn't be there or would it? all considering who owns all of these brands, i would assume that that is reason enough for the mass marketing of these items. you can't live without them!

sure you can! break away and get real. that stuff is laden with some seriously scary ingredients. you really don't need 35 ingredients in your shampoo. why does it need to be bright green and smell like guava pineapple on a summer morning. what they hell does that have to do with shiny, clean hair. NADA. so, i say dis the chemicals and go for the real deal.

i can go into detail about parabens, artificial color, fragrance, etc., but i really believe that there is enough info out there on that junk and why bore you with it. what i will bore you with is how to get back to your roots, how to be clean, smell clean and look good without the 'stuff' that eventually leaches into your body and ultimately makes you toxic, not to mention supports some really unethical companies.

first things first, i must mention deodorant and antiperspirant before all else. it is one of the most toxic things that people choose to smear onto their skin. the later is even more toxic, especially for us lady folk. think about it...you are smearing aluminum, a heavy metal, under your arms on skin that is generally shaved. maybe most women don't realize that their breasts are super close to their armpits. linking this together yet? so, where does all of that aluminum go? into your breasts...oh, breast cancer. now you see what i am getting at. creepy stuff! no thanks. by the way, we are supposed to sweat. it is natural. the smelly end of it can be controlled without the conventional goods. check out lafe's natural and organic deodorant selection. complete with mineral salts, natural oils (including hemp) and plant extracts, available in spray and roll on. good stuff! plus, there is a man behind this company. a person with compassion and ethics. can't say that about most things.

next up is soap. in the keepin' it simple mode of things, we still use and probably will always use dr. bronner's magic soaps. their rep says it all and the fact that they have been whipping up this stuff for 60 years is a good sign. plus, they are fair trade and a super hip family run company. who needs body wash to match your shampoo, and your body spray and your lotion. soon you start smelling like a walking perfume bottle. i wonder if people can actually smell themselves or did they burn their noses out? anyway, just a thought. what does matter is that you are clean when you get out of the shower. dr. bronner's castile soaps are the bomb. they have been rockin' the scene way longer than any of that other junk and they have managed to do so without adding the junk. plus, dr. bronner's magic all-one soaps double as a bunch of stuff...you can brush your teeth with it, wash your dishes and clean the toilet. damn that stuff is tricky!

i am assuming that most of us have hair, but not all, so if you do, shampoo and conditioner is probably another item in the bathroom lineup. once again, i could ramble off all of the junk in this stuff, but why bother. i'll get right down to it. look for plant extracts, natural oils and plant based surfactants. it isn't necessary to 'attempt' to smell like what some chemist thinks that a spring dew smells like. all you ultimately need is a healthy scalp and shiny and clean hair. the rest will follow. natural products naturally smell good. like coconuts, and flowers and the dew on a orange blossom. no really, they do. so, check out john masters organics for a huge selection of salon quality hair care products. they have it all and yes, they know what they are doing with it. he even owns and operates a 'clean air salon' in nyc. i dig his shampoo, detangler, sea mist and the dry hair defrizzer (a great herbal oil for keeping sun and salt laden hair happy). for those of you who want to opt for the less salon type products, i'd suggest aubrey organics. they have kept it real for over 40 years, before going green was in, and they have something for everyone. once again, two companies with faces, oddly enough male faces, behind some awesome goods.

that leaves us with lotions and oils and anything else that you may slather on your body's largest organ, your skin. yes, your skin is a pretty complex organ that absorbs and releases the good and the bad. so, you better think about what you are coating yourself with on a daily basis. when treated right, your skin will balance itself out and take care of business. yes, it needs our help to maintain, but that's because we are the ones that take advantage of it. we tend to get too much sun at times, go swimming, play on the beach and unfortunately smear junk on it that isn't what it needs. time to give it what it needs. OIL! yes, good healthy natural oil. be it coconut, jojoba, hemp, calendula, etc., as long as it comes from a plant and is maintained in a pure form, it will make your skin vibrate with happiness. one of my favorites is based on the edgar cayce's studies, heritage brand aura glow. i love the feel and smell of it and it truly makes you feel good. plus, it is great for preggy bellies. regardless of what i enjoy, you will find a ton of products out there in oil form that will make you feel like you are glowing. keep it simple though.

well, there you have it. the basics. it is simple and basic if you let it roll that way. your whole family can use these products if you so choose. we do use pretty much the same brands on the peanut, with the addition of some weleda baby products. it is so vital to treat that baby skin like you do the baby within. nurture and nourish, not add fragrance and chemicals just because you want that new clean baby smell. really folks, babes don't naturally smell like that 'stuff'. they need pure and simple things that don't get their beginning in a laboratory owned by some huge chem company.

the same goes for what you use for yourself. treat yourself well and yourself will treat you well. remember within and without. love that body, it is merely a rental.

what's growing on?

phew, it's been awhile. i feel like we have been mia for months. lots going on and with those longer days and warm spells, we've been recharging our batteries and on the move. so, where have we been? outside of course. every spare minute...mowing grass, playing, keeping the plants happy, growing a baby and filling up our yard with tons of organic goodies.

we got our organic blueberry bushes from backyard berry plants, thanks to keith uridel and his fam, and mrs. chanticleer and ms. aurora, as we so affectionately call our early variety and late variety high bush plants, are abiding in our front yard as we speak. the early variety, chanticleer, already has some berries on there and we can't wait to do some taste testing. kudos to backyard berry plants and keith. he is a great guy to deal with, super helpful, honest and packs up some great organic berry plants along with brambles. and they just had a mention in mother earth news this issue. not bad for a family farm in indiana. we need more of these guys.

the new fruit trees are in the ground and doing alright. we lost one of the apricots, but i can honestly say that i think that it was shipped out in that condition. it looks sad and will luckily be replaced in the fall with another. other than that, the new plum whip and the other apricot whip are doing fine. good news on the ole mrs. rosa front. our older, only about 4 years old, santa rosa plum tree set a great amount of fruit this year. we are happy to say that it looks like we'll be getting more than one plum this year.

as far as the rest of the yard goes, we have tons of greens growing on (mizuna, spinach, collards, kale, chard and mesclun), the tomato plants are in and looking good, the snap peas grew a foot since last week and we are already munching on some young ones, and we have green, well purple, green beans growing all over the place along with some kentucky wonders just poking their heads out. oh, almost forgot the cucs...thanks to a friend we have some lemon cucs and we couldn't resist the pickling cucs that we grew last year, so they will be taking up residence next to our outdoor shower this year. they loved it! those were the best cucs that we have ever had and thanks to our bathing habits, they were as happy as could be climbing up the side of our shower while getting a good daily drink. we are also trying to do some trellising cucs in hanging baskets. worth a try and nothing to lose. we have some great sunny spots that could be utilized and so we shall give it a shot. off the ground, means less fungus and plenty of sun, so why not? it's all about trying to find that balance and it could be found anywhere, even in our backyard.

hard to believe that it is june already, and it feels so good to be barefoot, dirty and weeding and planting already. there will be more to plant, more to eat and more to do as the next few weeks roll on, but for now we are loving this time of awakening. there have been challenges and on the other hand, there have been gains, so it is ALL GOOD. we are battling the neighborhood cats and their choice of our gardens as their toilets, but we can fix it with a few more wire fences, and we also have a 3 foot tall garden monkey, aka our daughter, who loves to remove soil from the gardens at all costs, water everything in site and give the plant hugs, but thanks to some one and a half foot tall picket fences, from the local hardware store, we have successfully kept the little monkey out of the gardens for over a week. gotta love her affection for our food though. she thinks that all plants are babies and that they need hugs and water to grow. i think that she is on to something.

well, that's where the fam is for now. in the yard with grass stained toes, dirt under the nails, naked at times (the garden monkey, not us) and roaming around in the ole camper when the waves are calling or the sun is shining.

get out and roam! and don't forget to grow and glow.