more of this

The new year has brought some clarity to me. A wise friend of mine reminded me that clarity was something I was looking for as she gave me a handmade gift with "CLARITY" sweetly written on it for Christmas this year. She has a way of tuning in to the truth and I am so grateful for her friendship. Yes, clarity. Since then I have been pondering what that looks like for me.  I realize I will never be completely clear about everything in this shades of grey world, but I can clear up the signal that runs from my gut to my brain. I can tune in to the station a bit more and just do what feels right. And right now, it feels so right to spend more time outside. Even in the middle of winter, the beach can be a great place to be clear. It can be as simple as that. It also feels right to focus on my own children and family more and allow others to create their own lives, fight their own battles, and win or lose on their own. I am feeling the need to be more available to my husband and children's needs and less mentally preoccupied with others. Making choices to be in community with people that lift me up and strengthen me. Yes, clarity is feeling pretty good right now. 

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Thursday Favorite Things

our winter garden - first egg!

Winter is in the air and we are preparing for a cozy few months snuggled by the fire. But there is still lots to do outside and the garden is still a place of excitement and discovery for us. 

With the cold weather upon us, we were prepared not to expect our chickens to start laying eggs until spring yet each day  we check for that mysterious little miracle and what do you know........AN EGG!!!!!! You would have thought we won the lottery we were so excited. Jumping up and down, taking pictures. The neighbors must have had a laugh over us. Since then we have had an egg a day. And they are the best looking and tasting eggs!

And here is the little layer now....Stripy. We are pretty sure she is the one laying the eggs. 

One of the kids jobs is to clean the coop and feed the chickens. They give them yummy salads with all their favorite wild edibles each day. Probably why their eggs are so good. 

These chickens are well loved.

And this is the first egg! We split it five ways.

More new from the garden: We still have lots of Chinese radishes and beets which we make soup from...greens and all. 

The kids are great harvesters. Even Scout gets in the mix washing the veg. 

We harvested the last of the peppers. and put that into our soup as well.

 With these mini hoop houses we should be able to eat from the garden all winter. I have baby collards growing now and some chard and arugula too. Next on the list is to wrap the fig tree a bit to protect it from the cold. Well, that is what is going on in my little piece of earth. I hope you are finding ways to get out and enjoy your garden this winter. No matter what the weather, there is always something to be grateful for. 

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our carolina wren family

A sweet little Carolina Wren set up house in a flower pot under our back deck. There was a tarp covering the empty pot with just a small opening which happened to be the perfect size for the petite wren to fit in to. We have been watching her with her eggs and now new babies each day as she works steadily to find bugs for them to eat. She seems to have gotten used to us being around, although we try and not disturb her too much. That isn't easy with curious kids and adults around. What a lesson in nature. We have been reading all about Carolina wrens since finding the nest. They are simply fascinating birds. One of the funniest facts we learned about them is that the males seek out the nesting locations and build around 10 nests for the female to choose from. After choosing her favorite location, she rebuilds the nest from scratch. I am just so glad that she choose our flower pot this time so we can enjoy watching her babies grow each day and hopefully stay around to have their own babies for us to share the joy of too. I think we are planning to build some suitable bird houses around the property to encourage more of these sweet little birds to stick around for a long time to come.