May 27, 2014

My Happy Place

It's hard to believe that yesterday was the unofficial start of Summer! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day. I'm still embracing Spring around here, I'm not ready for summer yet. Time is flying way too fast. As the title of this post states I'm going to share with you my happy place. You might already be able to guess it but I'm happiest when in nature. Moving from a place in the middle of nowhere surrounded by forest was bound to be an adjustment. On any given day we could go for a walk on our very own property and enjoy the lush forest and babbling creek. It really was idyllic and I still can't believe I lived there. Now I live in a neighborhood with a typical yard but we were able to find a neighborhood that backs up to an open space called Green Mountain. It's a short walk down the street and then your on the trails. I've referred to this place as my mountain. It truly feels like an extension of our back yard. 
I don't know what I would do without this place to go and walk. It refreshes my soul to be among God's amazing creation. Nature is where I'm inspired, find peace and refuge. 
So far we've see the mountain go through two seasons, Winter and Spring. Both have been beautiful in their own way. The hills right now are bursting with wild flowers. 
Everyday that I take a walk I see more and more flowers in bloom. 
It can be a sensory overload. The fragrance in the air is magnificent and the sound 
of the insects and birds is a divine symphony. 
It seems like this place is always changing. I'm in awe every time I go for a walk on the mountain.
It's a place where we go to sit, dream
and run free. 
The dogs are always full of smiles when we walk together on the mountain. 
Many people enjoy this place but I still feel like it's all mine. 
Can you see the people riding horses in the picture above? 
The setting sun is magical up there. 

This is my happy place. 

May 21, 2014

Spring So Far

I have a hard time picking favorites but I sure do love Spring. A time when the days our longer and we go on a walk just about every evening after dinner outside on the patio, when the flowers are in bloom, the birds are singing and dirt is frequently under my nails. Hence the reason why I haven't spent much time blogging but I sure have missed you all.

I haven't accomplished all that I want to with my yard this year but we get a little done at a time. We've planted a few Aspen trees and some pepper and tomato plants. The most spectacular Spring I've ever experienced was at my farmhouse in PA. That yard was was like a jungle and something new was always blooming all the way until late summer. I sure miss that place but I'm thankful to experience something new. This is our first Spring at our new home in Colorado and it sure has kept us on our toes. It's always a waiting game to see what will pop up and where.


Tulips have been the main flower popping up in our yard. They've even been coming up in the rocks. I'm going to have to figure out how to separate them. Any advice? I wasn't sure if this should be done in the fall and how I would remember where they all were. We've had a few other surprise flowers make appearances too.

And we've got some lovely blooming trees, including one crab apple. 

Much to our surprise we also have an established strawberry patch. Unfortunately it's not filling out and I'm not sure if it's because the dogs keep walking over it or because it might need some more filler plants. It's so exciting to see the plants bloom!
Just when things were really starting to bloom and had almost reached peek this happened.


On Mother's Day of all days. The day they say in Colorado is finally safe to starting planting.
I felt like this Spring snow was worse than any snow we had gotten all Winter long.
I was really worried about the birds. They couldn't even get to the food if they wanted to.
I couldn't help but wonder if Spring would survive. Would we enjoy any more blooms? What about the trees? The branches were bending and breaking all over the place due to the weight.

The next post I'll share what's been happening since the snow. I'll share my favorite place that I get out in nature regularly. This place helps me stay sane living in a neighborhood and city.