peachy past

these photos are from this summer's first peach picking outing-



sunny peaches; samuel walking among the peach trees



eva wore all white and her fairy wings to pick peaches. i love this one with her next to a peach tree- and is that a sunflower next to her as well?

Eva's video on how to make a boat-

galettes

Yesterday was a two tart day- or two galettes, as the case may be. The first was a Gravenstein apple- blackberry galette. The apples were from our own tree out back. I *think* they are Gravensteins, mainly because they are so early each year. This year they are delicious and decidedly more edible than in past years. And some of the apples look {more} suspiciously like Gravensteins {than other apples} or than they ever have before, so I am going with that.

The blackberries were Triple Crown thornless blackberries, picked on Thursday at the upick. There are three varieties of thornless blackberries at this particular upick right now and my favorite changes from year to year. I think last year- if I remember correctly- I picked more Chesters than anything else. I'm hoping to go early next week to get some of their fall raspberries.

The second galette was savory. The filling was sauteed zucchini, onions, green peppers and garlic which I mixed with grated raw mild cheddar (I think the recipe I was originally inspired by called for a stronger cheese...). I put sliced tomatoes on top of this filling and baked it for nearly an hour. I loved it. When I offered it to Eva this morning, she eyed both the galette and me suspiciously and said she didn't like zucchini and she was wary of things that looked like that. Then she said, "I'll have more of the other one, though," with a smile. Indeed. Blackberries and apples with sugar and crust. What more?



What's left of the apple-blackberry galette and the whole savory galette.

sitting outside during {one of} my favorite times of the day at {one of} my favorite times of the year. i've been taking note of the increasing number of signs that autumn is moving in. the transition of a transitional season- autumn takes us from summer to winter and is a season in it's own right, known to me as the season that takes beauty to a new level. i've written before (or at least thought it to myself!) that autumn makes beauty for the hell of it. sure, we know *why* the leaves have their many shades of reds, oranges, yellows... *why* they fall and blow tsk tsk tsk across the patio. not necessarily *why* everything seems to need sleep. rest makes more sense to our minds conditioned to make each moment count. be productive. get something practical done. or at least enjoy! ourselves, for goodness sake. and where does that leave us with sleep? with autumn?

even in warmer climates where autumn is less noticeable, there is still a changing of the flower guard. vegetables in season and out. sometimes. kale, not tomatoes. not all the time. here in the pacific northwest there is autumn- a much longer autumn than i knew growing up in wisconsin where autumn really *is* the transition to winter. a beautiful transition to a steadfast season who comes early and stays late. an uninvited guest who is nonetheless always expected.

it's this time of year that i start to wonder if the remaining tomatoes on the vine will ever be able to ripen with this left over sun. will the sunflowers not-yet-bloomed ever burst open for the bees? will there be bees left flying or will they only groggily stumble from flower to next-burst-open flower, taking one last sip of sweetness before the winds really begin to blow.

but of course. then i remember how long autumn stays. how there is plenty of time for ripening (tomato upicking hasn't even begun, i remind myself) and picking and canning and bursting and blooming. a whole pint of berries is still on the last blueberry bush! there are fall raspberries to be had and pears to be tasted. the transition to the transition, always a harvest friendly time with vegetables from then, finally ripening now.

so i sit in this. this time. and make plans for how quickly i will or will not rake the leaves this year and wonder if the neighbor will care, now that she isn't raking her own leaves. i plan canning days and dismiss other projects, wondering if the kids will need new hats and mittens and fingerless gloves. should i even make mittens? will i ever have the time? i think of framing the ones they won't wear again...

autumn brings a wistfulness, a closing down, a contented beauty. and at other times- a zing! zow! i drive down the street laughing and pointing excitedly- "would you look at that!" trees bursting now, blooming in reds, {no blues, no greens}, but golden! and oranges. of all shades. just because. a few pink flowers linger in the flower box out front, the pots in the back.

but not yet. that's later. right now the flowers bloom pink, purple, bright gold, yellow. the mint blooms peaking, with bees hovering, flying back and forth, mint, no- sunflowers!, no- cardoons! plenty for all while spiders grow in girth, getting fat on fly season, once again upon us. it keeps coming, again and again, each time like the last in flavor and quality of light. but distinct, as it always is, unique and singular in this moment. i love recognizing the signs of what is to come, what is now. in this recognition there is appreciation for this season, for the next, when i never can quite decide which i like best and realize i don't need to. each a beauty of its own, gliding slowly, then quickly, into the next.

eva's shawl

I finished Eva's shawl today. The top part in blue is garter stitch and the bottom purple/pinkish part is a feather and fan. I used 4 skeins of Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran and number hmmm 3 needles for a gauge of roughly 6 stitches/inch in garter stitch. The pattern was the Multnomah shawlette from Hello Knitty. Now I am definitely onto a fall poncho for myself...



Eva posing in her shawl. (I think I need to block it to keep the feather and fan part from curling upward. I don't currently have a good space for blocking, though, so I put it off for now.)



Close-ups.

meteor showers and then some

Eva and I sat outside last night with Maxwell and Magoo, watching the sky for meteors in the Perseid Meteor Shower. We saw a few, although not as many as we had hoped for, but definitely more than last year when it was clouded out. I always forget how meteors are an exercise in fleeting. I want to hold onto them for a split second longer to make sure I really saw what I think I saw. I did. Because they are also an exercise in trust. Yes, I trust that I really did see that flit of light sweeping across the sky, the one that I have been hoping for, sitting-outside-for-the-last-hour-combing-the-sky-with-my-eyes-for...

We played games and said things out loud to one another like, "I want us both to see a magnificent meteor at the same time that leaves no doubt that it is *indeed* a meteor," or "I want to see another bat." And then we would rejoice, "Look, it IS another bat. Right there! Right across the sky."

That part was the best. (Meaning, all of it.) I enjoyed sitting outside, looking up at the sky, searching for meteors and watching stars twinkle into sight. I pointed out a few constellations and remembered when I used to know most of the summer evening sky by heart. By sight. And Eva talked. She talked and told stories and concerns and worries and jokes. She pointed out bats and wished for raccoons and brought us both giant pillows from the living room to rest on. She turned out extra lights. And that part was the best. (The time with Eva.) The talking time. The quiet outside in the summer-time-night-time.

And then we came inside and she was so tired and satisfied with out meteor-time-together that she barely made it to bed before she was {almost} asleep.

unschooly flow

The last few days have been spent at home organizing and cleaning and processing fruit sitting about. The kids and I did a huge garden clean up the day before yesterday which was incredibly thrilling. I cannot wait until the sunflowers bloom now that I will actually be able to see them! And I just noticed that the cosmos are actually almost as tall as me!

So then today, fueled by a few days at home, we went out. As days go, today has been one of those unschooly-in-the-city sorts of days that flows from one learning-while-living situation to another. One of those days that makes me smile from the seeming ease of it all. And it IS easy. Or it can be. At least two hours of this day have been. Mostly. It obviously seems to be easy on days like today. The learning and inspiration come in quickly, hand over fist. Little minds. Big minds. All open and ready for adventure. It all seems to flow more easily if I remember to flow with the day or even get on for the ride, whichever the case may be...(Of course, other days, less *inspired* days [I hesitate to qualify days like that, as though one is necessarily *better* than the other.] are valuable as well. All days, up or down, have their place in the ebb and flow. Were it not for the last few down-time days, this day could have been more about chaos and overload than about flow and ease. You just never really know what kind of day it is until it actually is. And all that.)

So we started off going to the Wednesday Farmer's Market in Downtown Portland {spontaneously!} to pick up tomatoes! and melons! I also picked up an eggplant. Can't wait to roast it later on tonight. Eva tried a handmade key lime chocolate and we all tried samples of Hot Lips' new cherry soda. I really enjoy the smaller size of this market and need to remember it is so easy to pop over here on Wednesday for an hour to pick up produce. (The close proximity of the parking garage makes it even easier.)

We wandered down to check out the music put on by the Portland Center for the Performing Arts (mostly so that I could verify it was indeed happening because no one was interested in sitting and listening to it- at least not today.) There were a few art projects set up for kids and a few booths selling handmade cards and clothing and such.

Next, we went by Finnegans, just to check things out, but ended up coming out with several sciencey type projects including a volcano that turns into a dinosaur, odd squishy cubes (silly squares) that you add to water {and they grow!} and one of those Mystical Gardens that you add water to. All three of these projects are on-going right now as the kids move back and forth between them and the game they are playing together in the back yard. So that's all good.

Then we tried out some tacos and a burrito from the food carts on 10th and Alder in Downtown Portland. Samuel is hooked on those Jarrito sodas, specifically the mango flavor, and we hunted down one of those as well.

And so a full day-out-of-the-house had by all. And now for a little knitting, which is surely {one of} the best ways to finish off a day. Or at least an afternoon. Gotta rest up, after all. All hell could break loose at any moment and I would love to be able to flow with that {as well}...



summer market goodness