Winter is truly here with icy winds and frosty mornings. I love it.
Until this weekend I was still wearing flip-flops and sundresses, but now it’s time to truly bundle up and luxuriate in all things cozy and warm.
It’s been a busy time on the farm as we welcome 8 new chickens to our farmyard brood – 5 White Sussex and 3 glossy black Australorps. They’re all beautiful and good-natured and have already started laying! Atta girls! Our goat mamas are bagging up and should be delivering adorable kids any day now. I cannot wait to cuddle them. And my incubator experiment looks like we may be getting some baby chicks within the week. I do hope so! I’d love to have fluffy little babies in the house for a couple of weeks.
I’ve been making homemade apple cider vinegar, a big crock of sauerkraut, jars of apple butter, and bottles of ketchup (tomato sauce to my Aussies). I’ve dried boxes of apples and tomatoes, juiced pears, and planted the last of my winter veg: snow peas, sugar snap peas, shelling peas, celeriac, onions, and ruby Brussels sprouts. It’s so great to wander through my gardens each afternoon and see so many green things shooting up through the hay mulch.
With all this busyness, my goat-herding treks into the bush have become my down time to relax and enjoy the beauty around me.
The drops of dew glistening on fallen leaves never fail to delight me.
The twists and whorls of old wood look especially marvelous topped with crispy brown leaves.
After a good rain this weekend, all sorts of lichens and mosses are flourishing, bringing their feathery beauty to fallen logs.
Gum leaves in sage and magenta carpet the forest floor and our goats happily gobble them up.
Isn’t that lichen amazing?! Looking like the tiniest of wrinkly cabbages and curling lettuces.
I’m charmed by these pale green gum leaves rimmed with deepest pink.
When I was a little girl playing in the woods near my grandparents house in northern British Columbia, I would always search for beds of moss to lay down on. As long as they weren’t soggy from rain, they made the squishiest, softest mattress, wonderful for stretching out on and gazing up through the pine trees to the sky.
I haven’t found beds of moss here in Oz, so these gorgeous clumps of lichen will have to do. Not so handy for sitting on, but they are every bit as intricate and magical.
What’s your favorite thing to find in the woods? xo
Good stuff, K. I like to hike and run in the woods…or find that perfect spot near a stream or river to get some good reading done.
Hiking, running, reading – they all sound fantastic, @UlyssesSRant:disqus 🙂
You certainly have been very busy Krista. We’ve had some fabulous winter weather here…just right for walks in the bush. I really must get out with the camera and see what I can find too!
I’m so glad your winter has been gorgeous too, @jenny_atasteoftravel:disqus 🙂 I’d really love to visit your part of the country one day.
Woods exploring means mushroom hunting to me. What a great idea to make your own apple cider vinegar 🙂
I dream of going mushroom hunting one day, @tandysinclair:disqus 🙂 I was surprised how easy it is to make my own vinegar – and it smells and tastes so good! 🙂
Oh what a lovely display of those wonderful small things in life that add up to big beauty! Happy week ahead, Krista. Stay bundled and warm
Such beautiful things all around if we just take the time to look. It’s so interesting to hear you talk about the opposing season… we are enjoying a fabulous spring this year. Last year we were shrouded in fog and marine layer for nearly 8 weeks, this year has been much better with perfect temps. Today is our first day of summer vacation from school and I’m ready!!
gorgeous pics as always! your farm news is very exciting!
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Even though we’re heading into full summer here, you make me want the cooler days for tramps and cozy afternoons. =) We just spent a week on Vancouver Island and I loved all the moss and delicate details on the trees, so pretty!
These macro shots are stunning. 🙂
Oh wow, you’ve been busy! Part of me wishes I could spend so much time cultivating the outdoors, but the bigger part of me is a total black thumb. I’m amazed every time a plant at my house lasts more than a month. 😀 Those pictures are beautiful, by the way. That lichen!
Trade lives anytime soon? 🙂 Of course, not sure how long I can go without my daily dose of California sunshine! And thank you, you just reminded me to add sauerkraut to my grocery list! Wish I could be making it at home from my garden like you. Perhaps one day.
So many beautiful things in your neck of the woods Krista! Does your winter get very cold?
Krista have you ever read Tove Jansson’s “The Summer House”. Your eye for detail here so reminded me of the joy of a little girl and her grandmother on a tiny island off the coast of Finland. One summer. Different season. But similar essence. Tell me what’s your secret for drying apples and tomatoes on mass? Lovely post.
Beautiful photos, Krista!
You’ve been busy in the garden and the kitchen both. I’m afraid I can’t remember the last tie I was in a wood!!! I’m such a city girl.
Love those giant raindrops!
What? No way, sundresses and thongs until just last week. I’ve been wearing about 17 layers for going on 6 weeks now. Lucky you. 🙂 Not big on the bush, maybe because I don’t make the time to get amongst it, I should, it’d prob go a long way to making my brain functions clearer. 🙂