Welcome Summer.

Typically, the first Wednesday of the month is when we write a welcome post, sharing what we’re excited for,reminiscing about previous years, and looking at what’s changing in the natural world. Basically a little bit of looking ahead, looking back, and looking out.

Yesterday I couldn’t come up with the words for a post. We’ve said it before, and we could say it a million times more. We love all seasons, but there’s no doubt that summer is our favorite. And the start of summer is filled with so much anticipation.

  • The gardens will eventually burst, and we’ll be ready. Hopefully most of those meals will be eaten outside, and a good fraction cooked over the grill or open fire.
  • There will be the sunny and salty days at the beach. Hopefully we’ll skip the sunburns, but we won’t skimp on the popsicles.
  • There are going to be so many hikes and jaunts into the woods, followed by plenty of mosquito bites.
  • I won’t be able to take enough deep breaths when we drive past freshly cut grass.
  • I’m ready for a good book on the screen porch. And a cold beer.
  • An afternoon on a boat is good. If it’s a sailboat on the verge of tipping, that’s even more thrilling.
  • I would love a drive-in movie; it’s been too many years since the last one.
  • What about the sight and smell of steamy roads after a thunderstorm? And the rainbows, we didn’t have enough rainbows last year.
  • And the fireflies. I’m hoping they indulge us and let the boys catch a jar-full like last year.

There aren’t enough summers. What will we do.

Welcome May!

Near the beginning of every most months, you can find us checking in with what’s coming up on the calendar, both literally and figuratively.  You can find our archive of previous welcomes here, including May 2018May 2017May 2015, and May 2014.

Happy May! How are you feeling about it?

Usually, the spring weather, flower blossoms, and increasing hours of sunshine is enough to break anyone out of their mid-winter funk. Is it working for you? I’d like to say that it’s working for me, but this week’s snowstorm dragged us back into winter for a few days, and took me right back to 2017 when we got a few inches of snow on May 21st! Hopefully this year we’ll be planting flowers instead of shoveling snow at the end of the month.

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Welcome April!

On the first Wednesday of every most months, you can find us checking in with what’s coming up on the calendar, both literally and figuratively. 

Ahh April. Predictably for this time of year, I’m wondering how we got here. Weren’t we just slogging through the end of January?!

At the same time, I feel that renewed energy and excitement that comes with warmer days, more sunshine, and the smell of wet soil after a good rain snow melt. Let’s not kid ourselves, I live in the mountains, and woke up to four inches of snow on Saturday. Fortunately, most of it had melted by Sunday night.

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If I had to break the month down into a few common themes, it’s eating, getting outside, and observing the changing seasons… Continue reading

Welcome March

On the first Wednesday of each month, we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us.  We’ll highlight some nature and environmental news, give you a bit of inspiration, and ask you to partake in a monthly sustainability initiative with us.

That old “in like a lion” proverb is really ringing true this year! It looks like most of the country was hit by that big winter storm and an arctic blast last weekend… so, what did we do in our house? Stayed inside and ate LAMB!

Please tell me you get how funny that is. In like a LION out like LAMB. {Sarah here: Dude, we get it. Alternately, ‘Mom! You’re embarrassing me!’}
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Welcome February

On the first Wednesday of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us.  We’ll highlight some nature and environmental news, give you a bit of inspiration, and ask you to partake in a monthly sustainability initiative with us.

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In the news

We love nature and we love animals, but we also love humans and we’re commending this 30-something man for fighting off a mountain lion and surviving the ordeal. Mountain lions are a big fear of mine (Sarah) even though I know it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever see one, let alone get attacked or killed by one.

Sometimes rationality doesn’t prevail. I think this is especially true in the case of snakes – did you know that only six people in the U.S. died last year because of snake bites? Six! Meanwhile, 39 people died of dog bites and we’re all like hell yeah, let’s invite them into our beds!

In our homes

This month we’re focused on staying warm and cozy. You could say we’re deep into the Hygge game. We are making plenty of time to bundle up and head outside, but once we come back in, we kick off our boots and promptly put our slippers on. Candles are lit, music is played, and golden milk is warming on the stove. A nice oil diffuser and heating pad also add a little warmth and moisture to my evenings. Curling up with a good book is my favorite way to spend all of February.

Of course, V-day is right around the corner and each year it serves as a reminder to buy organic + sustainably grown flowers. February and May continuously boast the highest flower sales in the United States.  Join us in this month’s sustainability initiative and give your Valentine and your mama flowers free of pesticides. Please buy organic, fair trade blooms, add extra karma points if they’re local. Next week we’ll share the scoop on why buying organic and fair trade is important, even when it comes to flowers. We’re hoping this will shift your (and your partner’s) habit for the rest of this year and your life. 🙂

In our backyards

We tend to agree with the Norwegians when they say, “There is no bad weather, only bad clothes!” Regardless of the weather, we make time to go outside each day. We know this is the only way to burn off our excess angst (and that of our kids and dog) and we feel better each time because of it. If you need a bit of inspiration to #OptOutside, remember that the Great Backyard Bird Count happens this month! This year it is February 15-18 and if you remember, participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as you wish) on one or more days of the four-day event. The most important step is reporting your sightings online at birdcount.org. We are in, are you!?

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In our hearts

February can be a dark month for many of us. When Cupid, love, and heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are everywhere we look, it’s no wonder we feel depressed if things are not going quite right. This month we are focusing on self-nourishment. Some peeps call it self-love or self-care and hell, it’s all the same, but in short, we are looking to things that are necessary to sustain our growth, health, and goodness.

Some days we’re focused on healing our bodies through food, exercise, and beauty routines, while other times we’re focused on personal growth by learning new skills, like how to successfully cook that recipe or knit that sweater, or write that book chapter, and sometimes we’re cultivating our goodness by sharing kind words with our friends, writing love letters to ourselves, and spending a few moments in silent meditation each day.

This month we’re going to share our little remedies and rituals that help keep our blues at bay. If you or anyone you know is suffering, please reach out to them, offer an ear and ask them to seek help, life is hard, but it should feel worth living.

Welcome January!

Well hello there second week of January, didn’t expect you so soon. As usual, we can’t let the holidays go, keeping our decorations up until at least Russian Christmas.
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Even with the tinsel still up, I’ve started my new year reset. To me, there are two times of the year when I feel like we get a fresh start : January and September (that new school year vibe!). And so, I think we’ll spend the rest of the month sharing some of the ways that we start our year on the right foot. Of course, we totally understand if you’re feeling the post-holiday, mid-winter blues; those feelings totally creep up on us too.

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This month look for posts focused on body, mind, home, and family – all the good stuff. I’m particularly excited (EXCITED) to share with you a new monthly routine that’s super environmentally friendly and completely took me by surprise. We have a few food posts that aren’t fancy-dancy, but they are easy ways to help jumpstart healthy eating routines. We’ll talk about cleaning – both your shower and yo’ face. And, you can bet there will be some book posts, because there’s no time like the present to plan your reading list for the year.

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As we’ve mentioned in previous years, we love to set a few resolutions for the coming year. We have a “resolution keeper” in the family. He gets the conversations going around the holidays, encouraging everyone to think about what they’d like to accomplish in the coming year. He also keeps a running list of everyone’s resolutions from previous years and does a good job of cheering us on or chiding us depending upon how we’re doing. As the years have passed, everyone has gotten into the spirit of setting resolutions. Look for Sarah and I to share a few of ours next week, and we’d love to hear yours.

Going to end this with a little shout-out to my favorite planner. So excited to fill you up.

 

Welcome December!

Hey there! I don’t know about you, but I need at least three more weeks of November. I need time to SLOW down. There’s just too much good stuff to pack into one month. Too much eggnog to drink, too many candles to burn, and too many festive events to attend.

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So, I’ve done what any holiday-loving person would do : I started December by jumping in with two feet. This past weekend was spent hanging decorations, walking slowly among the shops downtown and finding the perfect gifts, and evenings on the couch working on holiday photo projects.

Looking Back/Looking Forward

As the year comes to a close, it’s natural to look back at the previous 12 months. For me, much of that reminiscing starts the moment I start compiling our annual family photo album. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed by the thought of a year of photos, putting together a personalized calendar with family photos is a great alternative. I just ordered ours on Shutterfly, and (big surprise) these make great gifts for grandparents! Word is that Sarah’s working on a few photo projects/gifts that she’s going to share on the blog this month.

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The photo projects are always the first on my to-do list because of their early printing deadlines, but once I’m done with those, I have a few other projects up my sleeve. Similar to last year’s coffee mugs, I’m going to work on another project from the boys. This one requires a little bit of work on my part, and I’m excited to see how it turns out. I’m sure I’ll share the results, but it’ll probably be after the new year.

As in previous years, I’m starting to think about my 2019 resolutions. For us, these are part self-improvement, part check-list of things we’d like to accomplish. I’m sure we’ll share our resolutions when January arrives… I just checked my previous resolutions posts, and realized that this year may be a catch-up year, because I have a few unaccomplished goals that are still nagging at me!

Living in the Now

Between the looking back and looking forward, there’s going to be plenty of living in the now this month. For me that involves not over-scheduling our days. I want to enjoy the holidays without getting caught up in having/wanting to do everything. And yet, in the process, our days will feel so full.

There will be plenty of days like today. Our favorite Christmas music will be playing. I’ll set the boys up with a holiday craft or two. I’ll spend a bit of time in the kitchen and a bit on the couch working on gifts. We’ll make sure the bird feeders are filled for our feathered friends. And, if we’re lucky, we’ll take a brisk walk before the sun sets.

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Of course, If you’re starting to feel the angst of being cooped up on these short winter days, the end is near! December’s Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the year, and you can take solace in knowing that by the end of the month, we’ll be creeping our way back towards summer and longer days. And definitely mark your calendars for the Christmas Bird Count. It’s a great reason to get outside. Want to do it with a group? Many parks and wildlife organizations hold group bird counts near the end of the month.

There’s no better time than now to decide how you want to spend these precious and oh-to-short December days. We hope yours contain plenty of joy and nog.

 

Welcome November

Near the beginning of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us and what we’re looking forward to in the month ahead. Here are previous Welcome November posts : 2014, 20152017.

Welcome November!

How are you feeling? There are so many things that can overwhelm us at this time of year. The shorter days and longer nights, the colder and grayer daylight hours, the anxiety of the holiday-packed months ahead. Should I go on?

Yet on the flip-side, there are so many things that have me excited to wake up every day. At this time of year, I anticipate spending more time inside. I look forward to lighting candles, cozy dinners, and longer dark evenings spent being creative.

Knowing the transition to winter can be particularly tough we make a concerted effort to embrace the good and face the challenges head-on.

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Welcome July

Near the beginning of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us, with a particular focus on animal activity, farmers’ fields, and environmental holidays*.
*This month I’m hijacking the welcome! How about a bucket list of everything that makes mid-summer wonderful?

July! I want to pinch your cheeks. I’m so happy you’re here!

I want to watch the fireflies at dusk.

I want to ride roller coasters with my hands in the air.

I can’t wait for your booming thunderstorms.

Let’s light up a box of sparklers!

I want to ride bikes (without helmets!) to the popsicle shop.

I want to dive into the salty waves. And then warm my goosebumps on your warm sand.

I want to eat sweet watermelons. Drink cold beers. Crack crabs on the porch.

Let’s start with a game of pinochle.

 

Interested in creating your own Summer To Do List? Click the link below for a printable list that you can customize yourself.

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Welcome June {2018}

Near the beginning of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us, with a particular focus on animal activity, farmers’ fields, and environmental holidays. You can find our archive of previous welcomes here .

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Welcome June! It’s always with equal parts anticipation and apprehension that I welcome June each year. It’s the start of summer, but for some reason that always signals the beginning of the end type of feelings for me. This doesn’t happen with any other season and that’s how I know that summer is truly my number one.

I’m not prone to anxiety, but I really was feeling it this past week. I had just spent two awesome weekends camping, hiking, surfing, and exploring quaint little towns. Sounds awesome, right? But then my mind starting reeling, what am I going to do the rest of the summer? Will I have time for fun? I better plan it! I can’t waste it! These thought patterns are so unlike me that it caught me off guard. In order to stop the rumination, I sat down and figured my shit out. Continue reading