A couple of weeks ago I got to spend some time at my

friend Maggie's farm again. it was just as great as I'd remembered it

from my first visit right after they'd moved.

on my first trip to the farm i was so enamored with the 9 outbuildings and

the silos and the windmill...that i barely took any photos inside

their fabulous farmhouse, so this time i did...

i love the reflection of the cosmos on the counter.

this is sprinkles, or sparkles, or sequins... i can't really remember,

but here's a sad story: remember the first two kitties the hubblings got when

they moved to the farm? well while maggie was gone for

a few days on a camping trip something happened!

they're not really sure what, but they got home and the kitties were gone.

i'd like to think they joined the circus or something exotic like that.

although they were sad, the same family that had given them the 

first two kittens had another batch and so guess what?

this time they took all 4!

josie is beside herself with happiness.

girlfriend has spent about half the day outside with the 4 amigos since they

found their forever home.

"do not run away little kittens! you don't even know how lucky

you were to be adopted by the hubblings!"

and then there's the beloved bailey.

bailey the yellow lab gets to live in the house and lay on the bed and

wear t-shirts and dance.

it's good to be a dog here too i tell ya~

we watched a lot of olympics and there was dancing and a little shopping and then because our whole family is eating healthier, i brought the ingredients to make chicken tortilla soup 

and josie was my assistant.

my chopped junior assistant.

(anyone else like to watch that cooking show? how is it that those

9-14 year old kids can cook faster and better than most of us

seasoned cooks?)

my favorite ingredient in the soup may have been the lime juice- loved the kick~!

maggie loves horses. she's pretty sure she's going to get one next summer and it

can't happen fast enough for me! i want to photograph it standing in their 

beautiful pastures and ride it before i'm too old to swing my leg over the

saddle, so hurry up k. marge, i'm not getting any younger.

this is a great feature in the farmhouse kitchen.

it's a whole wall of cupboards across from the center island

and the rest of the cabinets. the h.'s use it for their

coffee bar etc. there is a whole section just for vases too...

seriously!

maggie has so many cupboards and drawers that i found several that

were empty.

i am bringing some of my kitchen wares to store there next time i go

because i don't have a lot of cupboards and the ones i do have are

bursting.

: ))

m.'s collection of antique rolling pins are in an old 

egg basket on the fireplace hearth.

their great room is so spacious that i suggested maybe she should teach yoga

classes. instead they just dance and do gymnastics on those lovely hardwood floors.

(the other side of this room is the living room.)

the minute i walked in and saw their cowboy boots lined up by

the backdoor, i got my camera.

(that thing-a-majig one the right is a boot puller off-er).

mason jar lights in a wire basket

a shelf in the master bedroom holds some of maggie's favorite things.

and the bathroom. oh it's great...it feels like i'm staying in a fun cabin or at

a resort with the knotty pine walls and jetted tub. there's a shower to the right 

of the tub.

i cut a bouquet of flowers to bring and it fit on the wide dining room windowsill~

maggie likes pillow, like i like pillows. 

we're girls! we like pillows.

jos likes to wear dresses and she'd just gotten this one.

she wasted no time hopping up on the bed for a few quick photos

when i asked her.

i hope i get a chance to go back this fall when the leaves are turning and

the mosquitoes have flown south for the winter.

(they do that right?) : ) 

i want to sit on the deck again, maybe wrapped up in a plaid 

blanket and sip a cup of something warm.

and maybe i'll find another recipe and make some more soup.

the days are getting shorter and a lot of kids

started school today. i saw the school bus go through our neighborhood

and even though it was a muggy 87 degrees, i guess that means our 

summer is almost over for another year!

take care, until next time,

xo b.

it's mid august and that means it's go time for my gardens.

every couple of days i forage and bring in the cream of the crop so i can

have bouquets here and there around the house.

when you look at these photos you'll probably swoon just a little

(just say'n), but please don't be green with envy...

this might be one of my sparsest years ever for the good old staples

that make me totally content with what i've grown.

let's just say that i don't have a lot, but i appreciate what i do have.

: )

                                                        you can't beat good old white, pink and gold cosmos~

                                    oh, i forgot to tell you that yesterday i put a lens on my camera that i don't use
                                         very often. it allows me to get the dreamy bokeh (blurred background) 
                                                                          that i love so much. i was snap happy, taking photos
                                                                                      of anything that would stand still, (see below).

                                                                                                                                      koda

it rained over 2 inches while i was horsing around taking these photos. i have a window box

right outside a bay window in my kitchen and if i could make one suggestion

to y'all, it would be to have one put on a window that you spend alot of

time near. we eat here, and i have morning glories in the box again this

year, along with pink geraniums and a few other things. having a birds-eye

view to what is growing out there is just the best!

                                                           morning glories grow where they want~ if i stood still long
                                                                           enough, they'd twine up and around my neck. : D

                                                                                                     playing with bokeh

                                                                                          echinacea, tattered but still pretty~

                                                                                                                         peegee hydrangeas~

                                                                        my nasturtium plants are huge, but mostly leaves? help

and this is the crowning glory of my summer garden.

i ordered 3~count them, 3~ dahlia bulbs from floret flower farms

in washingtion state, and i've been watching and waiting and

praying the 16 wild turkeys that canvas our neighborhood daily

wouldn't chomp them off. many weeks ago 1 bloomed. 

just one solitary peach dahlia.

now fiiiiinally the rest are budded and if nature cooperates, i'm going to

have quite a few blossoms and hopefully healthy bulbs to plant

again next year!

woo hooooo~

if you've got littles you're no doubt soaking up the last weeks of summer

and thinking about back packs and tennis shoes.

me? that ship sailed a long time ago, so i got the new shoes

instead...haha

my photography business is ramping up and i'm busy doing 

sessions and editing in between.

(how did i get so lucky to be doing this? not sure, but man i love it!)

i'm shooting a small church wedding on saturday and the reception is on

a boat on lake minnetonka. 

a first for me. i should probaby wear a life jacket, just in case.

i can't swim and what if i get carried away taking pictures and back up too far?

later you guys,

i'm off to a concert!

xo, beth

july recap

this was july~ 

stopping to buy homegrown strawberries to bring to 

my daughter...

and flowers from my garden.

marveling at the never-ending beauty coming from that garden~

finding a hidden bird's nest while trimming a rose bush,

painting a cute table a neighbor friend sold me for 5 bucks...

finding out that underneath the dark brown finish of the drawer pull

there was shiny copper. : ) it's now adria's, and looks so great in her dining area~ 

birthday weekends at the lodge,

with dogs, dads and brother in laws...

adria getting her bear rug and hinting that she'd like to keep it at the lodge,

having that rug startle me every time i walked by it,

4-wheeling out to the woods to pick a huge bouquet of wildflowers to brighten the table,

taking pictures of particularly pretty cloud formations~

finding peas in a food plot and loving them in a bouquet,

thinking the lodge bedroom looks mighty cozy...

being thankful that eric transplanted all these yellow day lilies from a Prince property that

was being razed...

taking pictures,

and telling lars over and over, that the big screen door he built on one whole end of 

the great room is my favorite thing about our cabin.

how can it be august already? does february ever fly by like a summer month?

i hope that your summer is makin you happy, keeping you busy and

that you too have flowers on your table.

: D

xo