Grace in the Garden . . . .

I look at how incredibly different these 3 flowers are in size, color, style.  Rose of Sharon the top, Cone flower in the middle and Bronze Fennel all delicate at the bottom.  We as humans share those differences with the plant world.  Some of us are bright and forward some are quiet and delicate, some fit  in the background, some are showy and center stage.   I am a background girl myself.  Where do you fit in the garden of life?

" Everything that slows us down and forces

 patience, everything that sets us back

 into the slow circles of nature is a help.  

Gardening is an instrument of grace" 

  ~ May Sarton

Cinnamon Pizza

I guess you could say this is a Chestnut Hill Original.  After a variety of trails it all comes down to this very simple thing.   Pizza dough- store-bought or homemade.  The King Arthur Cinnamon Filling from King Arthur online.   Lastly Cinnamon Sugar.    My kids love this and requested it special this week.. It is vacation week this week and due to circumstances beyond our control we could not travel any where so spent the week at home.  For me it was a lot of cooking, cleaning and laundry as always. I keep thinking I will get those moments to paint, sew, quilt of read but then another crisis  needing to be put out arises. I have however made some of the kids favorite things.

             Cinnamon pizza being one of them.   I spread the dough out in a prepared pan- ( olive oil and some corn meal to prevent sticking)  Then I usually mix 1/2 cup of the cinnamon filling dry with 2 Tablespoons of water and spread it all over the dough.  Them simply top it with cinnamon sugar - like you would put on toast.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15 min, cut, serve and watch it disappear.
         

        So no this is not garden related but we did eat it outside.  Yes I have missed posting but we did cut through the internet cable to the house on a Pond project so we were off the grid so to speak for several days.  Get out and enjoy the remaining Summer days - they are fleeting.

Growing Food . . . .

When we grow our food, we participate

 more fully in nature's cycles and form a 

closer bond with Mother Earth.  Knowing 

how to grow your own food allows for a 

sense of freedom and pride that you can 

feed and provide for yourself, one of the

 most basic necessities.

~Author Unkown

What do you grow for yourself?  We joined a CSA and go to the farm weekly to pick up our share, do pick your own  . . . We also have both tomatoes and green beans planted here at Chestnut Hill. It definitely keeps you closer to your food source and to the growing cycle of life.  The lack of rain or abundance of rain influences what we get on our share.  Cheers!  Head on out to your local farmers market.  

This is a Blog that I enjoy  Six Burner Sue  She is Author to several fantastic cookbooks for vegetables and lives and raises those Veggies on Marthas Vineyard in the great Atlantic!

Peace in the Garden

  I have decided to  try and post pictures from the current garden or meadow with Quotes in August.

       There is peace within a garden

             a peace so deep and calm,

That when the heart is troubled,

it's like a soothing balm.

There's life within a garden,

a life that still goes on,

Filling empty places when older

plants have gone.

There's glory in the garden at every

time of year.

Spring,summer, autumn, winter,

to fill the heart with cheer.

So ever tend your garden, its beauty

to increase.

For in it you'll find solace.  And in it

You'll find peace.

~~Lady Rosamund Langham

Absence makes the Heart grow fonder . . .

Well I know they say absence makes the heart grow fonder and in a 1:1 relationship- this probably is true, but in a blogging world It alienates I am told.  I blog for my enjoyment , for a way to preserve memories or my thoughts and pondering's  so I will have times when there are more posts and then where there are not.  Believe it or not after 11 months I still do not feel settled into my new job.  Healthcare is not what it used to be, you work harder, longer for less pay, spend more time on paperwork than with the people, you are at the mercy of a computer and just when you get time to catch up - you will lose wifi or such and be able to access nothing at all.   The actual space i work in is beautiful, there are big windows that look outside to large trees and grassy places,  Of course my back is to them much of the day but it still beats a windowless room.

       This is Oren having a little Cat nap in the Catnip - he knows just how to relax!  Cheers everyone- will try to make August a banner month in the blogging world.

Early Summer Blooms

This is a really lovely time of year in the yard, every thing is fresh and green and oh so colorful.  The birds are chirping and singing away everywhere  and the first clutches of baby birds are out and about.   We have had an exceptional amount of rain this year and

Late Spring at Chesnut Hill, . . .in the garden

      This time of year is so lovely, everything is green and growing, the hot days that never end are still a distant thought.  All the plants and plantings still look fresh and un touched by heat or bugs,