I’m enjoying some Thanksgiving family time this week at the farm and getting back to my sketchbook.
I’m enjoying some Thanksgiving family time this week at the farm and getting back to my sketchbook.
We were very excited to spend part of last week at our family’s farm land for the children’s Fall Break. We enjoyed many of our usual farm activities, and I thought I would share a few inspiring thoughts and views discovered there. We aren’t usually at the farm until later in the fall, so this time we had the chance to see a nice mix of summer and autumn as well as a few wild flowers and plants we don’t often get to see.
We call the farm “Busy Bee” after an old African American church that was once located in the area. It may be just a name our family uses, but it’s stuck since I was a child. For this trip — and for the first time in a long time — I left my laptop at home and had a welcomed break from work activities. I didn’t even take my paints or sketch book, and I didn’t miss them! A true sign I was due for a mental break from creative activities.
We filled our days with down time, conversations, and walking in the pastures. We found a couple of new trees to climb, checked out the hay yard, walked the Southwest end of the property, and explored the Dry Creek bed (which was actually dry this time of year). It was a much needed change of scenery for me and for the kids, and in that void of deadlines and creative pursuits, I had the chance to let the whirling of thoughts and ideas in my mind settle. I came home with this small reminder written in my journal…
It’s hard to take the right steps forward if I am not disciplined to spend time listening to my own inner voice.
[pasture wildflowers we haven’t seen before]
[sometime rust can be very colorful]
[lilypads forming on the back pond]
[the remaining two walls of an old hay shed – before my time]
[an honest to goodness tree bench discovered in the woods at the Southwest corner]
The children and I are spending this week at the farm to celebrate the start of summer vacation. It’s a great excuse to enjoy some down time, play time with the kids, exploring, and good times free sketching and painting.
We were last here in March when the scenery was just beginning to show signs of spring. Now, we seem to see green in various hues peeking through every possible crevice, and the pastures look almost completely full of growth. This trip, I brought my Canon SLR, and I took a short walk to capture some of the scenes after we arrived. I loved these views of the “nail hole constellations” in the tractor shed walls. In a dark, shadowed space, the tiniest pin hole of light just seems to grow and vibrate.
It’s Friday, and this installment of my Oh Happy Day! Gratitude Project is a dispatch from the farm where we’re winding down our spring break week. We’ve spent spring break here for the last several years, but this year has been a little different — and maybe a little un-spring break like. I usually spend some time with plein air watercolor while we’re in “the country”, but this week I’ve taken a break from drawing and painting. I’m still nursing a recuperating sprained ankle, so some of our usual farm activities like walking the pastures, climbing hay bales and such just haven’t been possible. Plus, it’s been very cloudy and rainy this week, so we’ve had to be extra patient for time outdoors.
With so much rain (and snow) over the last month or so, and some still hanging around this week, we are surrounded by mud and water here — so much so that we almost decided not to come this year. Still, the time, as always, has held the blessing of quieter days, staying up late, sleeping in, laughing, reading, and just hanging out together. I’m realizing more and more how precious those days really are as we try to keep up with all our normal weekly activities. Even with the rainy and muddy weather, I’m grateful we still found some ways to carve out the nature time that is the hallmark of our farm days. Perhaps one of the most needed blessings has been the freedom to simply let go and run feet first and unrestrained into the muddy waters around us. We’ve visited the creek every day to throw rocks, run through the puddles, and splash in the low places funneling water through the culverts. At least the children have. My ankle isn’t quite ready for running, but I’ve done my share of cheering, laughing out loud at the escapades, and at least walking through the mud at a much slower pace. Sometimes when rain takes things out of the ordinary, you just have to embrace the muddy waters. And be thankful.
In my normal habit, we still had enough dry skies for me to capture a few photo glimpses of farm days and nature’s still lives, if only the views from somewhat level ground this trip! Here are a few…
This rain and a few milder temperatures this week have made some green come alive! Our spirits are totally ready for spring, and I think the earth may be ready too. I have a few recap posts on this winter’s snow day escapades, and then I’ll be ready to get inspired by spring in full force. Stay tuned!
Oh Happy Day!
I call this one Cow-ish 🙂
Happy Tuesday from the farm!
Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of Small Pond Graphics. I sometimes fancy myself a frog kisser— a documentarian coaxing poignant moments from unexpected places. This blog has evolved from those moments.
The small Pond FIELD GUIDE is part diary, part sketchbook, and part wish list – an archive of ordinary wonders. For years, this space has housed my stories – creative ideas, vintage inspiration, our forays into curious places, and the simple artifacts of quiet of conscious living. Through watercolor, photography, and illustrated tales, these pages uncover the blessing of ordinary days and the wonder found in authentic places and pursuits.
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Peek into the drawers.
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