Gratitude Sunday

We are grateful for so many things.  Here is what comes to mind from this past week:

~ tomatoes!  Finally, now in full force (reds, oranges, green striped, purple, cherries, pear shaped, pinks, yellows)...

~ freshly harvested and absolutely delicious honeycomb shared with us by our beekeeping friend, tasting of spicy summer blossoms (we did not want to waste a single drop of this knowing how much work of bees has gone into this treat) from a top bar hive

~ pollinators ALL over the property - we noticed 6 kinds of different kinds of bees on site just in one afternoon, not to mention the wasps, moths, butterflies and other insects offering pollination support here.  We usually think of bees when we consider pollination, and bees certainly are good at it due to the hairs on their bodies where pollen can stick and be carried to the next flower, but here are some categories of other important pollinators not to be forgotten:

• Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants)
• Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)
• Diptera (flies)
• Coleoptera (beetles)

~ new friends we have met through hosting them in our bed & breakfast here at Little City Farm

~ momentum developing on our local chicken bylaw campaign - for those of you locally who want to get involved in working to create a pro-hen bylaw for our city please go to the yahoo group for the Kitchener Hen Association here

~ rain this week!  and extremely grateful that the two large trees that were knocked down on our property due to high winds did not fall on any buildings (those of you who know Maya's climbing tree and the cedar with the swings, will be sad to hear they are no longer standing)

~ however, there is firewood for us, and also a huge sunny area of the yard where we can now plant fruit trees, hopefully from our local Whiffletree Nursery which specializes in cold hardy fruit trees

What are you grateful for this week?

This Moment

{A special moment from the week to remember, savour and enjoy!}

Wonders in the garden

The August garden is full and ripening, despite the lack of rain over the past many weeks.  Some things have not grown so well this year (zucchini and sunflowers, for example!) but there are other wonders we discover as we weed our way through the rows and peek under leaves...ripening dragon beans, scarlet runners climbing high, a rainbow of tomatoes everywhere, first cucumbers, first carrots, first edamame...also crickets hiding under every garden pot, and delicate little star-shaped mushrooms (non edible) growing out among the woodchips.  So good to remember the beauty in imperfection and be open to surprises.

Being thankful

A few things we are grateful for at our homestead this week:

1. The two long days of cool refreshing oh-so-needed rain.
2. Our youngest hens are starting to lay eggs!
3. First ripe tomatoes from the garden.
4. Buttons, our 5 year old hen who appeared sick seems to be getting stronger again.
5. A little holiday time away where we got to reconnect with friends and family.