The sun is starting to set a little earlier in the evening. I welcome the relief it brings from the summer heat but a small part of me wishes the earth would stand still in its orbit, just for a little while longer. It's such an unrealistic wish and not truly one that...
Tante Alice and her brother.Tante Alice is very special to us. Even though we aren't biologically related, she is still very much part of our family. We first met when I was very young. My parents brought me to her french daycare, and while that was long ago I still...
My eldest recently decided that he didn't need his training wheels anymore. The defining moment occurred when he crashed his bike into the lake and had to ride home with only one training wheel. I think he might have learned how to ride without training wheel sooner...
Lettuce going to seed.Last week while we were camping on Salt Spring Island the Okanagan was hot, hot, hot! When we returned our grass was crispy yellow but the tomatoes and peppers were in heaven. The plants are loaded and I am waiting patiently to pluck off the...
We have returned from our Jam Camp adventure on Salt Spring Island. We camped for five nights at Ruckle Provincial Park, a walk-in campground that sits on the south east end of the island. It was our first visit to one of the Gulf Islands. Every morning we ate...
We have been the happy recipients of cherries! Lots of cherries! We have processed at least 50kg (110lbs) of cherries in the last few days. My fingers are an awful shade of brown-red from all the pitting and chopping. Pitting cherries is messy business and everything...
Cherry-apple fruit leather is easy to make. This recipe, if you can call it that, has two ingredients: cherries and unsweetened apple sauce. Apple sauce add sweetness and pectin to the puree which helps with the flavour and texture of this fruit leather. Apple-Cherry...
Prestige.Last weekend, when people were coming to the Okanagan to celebrate Canada Day we were going west to visit family. I always feel a little strange leaving home during the summer because it is so nice here in the summer months. On the plus side we were going...
July has begun and so have our hot summer days. Last week I pulled up my peas, much to my husband's dismay. He couldn't quite understand why I would pull up perfectly happy peas plants to plant beans. What can I say, I really wanted to plant my heritage beans and that...
Earlier this week we picked about 10 lbs of strawberries and 20 lbs of cherries from local u-pick farms. What did we do with all of it? We ate quite a bit of it fresh because it was just so delicious but I did manage to preserve some of it for the coming winter. I...
Today was our first u-pick day of the year. We started up at Covert Farms and picked their sweet organic strawberries ($2.50/lb). The picking was easy so it didn't take long to fill our cardboard box. Teddy wasn't too keen on standing between the rows of strawberry...
For the past while I have been pouring out my energy in a way that has left me feeling vulnerable. Very vulnerable. On one hand I want to share my time and talents with others but on the other hand there is great risk in being vulnerable. Right now I'm fighting this...
It has been raining off and on throughout the last few days. When the rain subsided yesterday afternoon I went out with my daughter to prune and tie the tomatoes. The tomatoes are growing well and some of the first flowers are opening. The pepper are also starting to...
When you live in a place that has a low annual precipitation, a full day of rain feels special. I wouldn't have thought that while I lived in Vancouver but it's different here. At the sound of steady rain this morning I curled under the blankets with my little ones. I...
God' Gift - 14 Daysimage source: crazy9drama.wordpress.comYou're All Surrounded image source: www.koreandrama.orgWhat is a Backwoods Mama doing making kimchi, learning 한국 (Korean) and watching Korean dramas? Well it all started four years ago when a young...
For those of you that are unaware, our Learning Circle, a group that meets twice a week to provide group learning opportunities for home learning families, has made the decision to start a Learning Centre this coming fall. The Learning Centre will be a space for home...