Priorities

Another weekend, another hike.  This time of year weekends often include lots of hiking time for our family (it's nice to get out there hiking before the full, dry heat of summer hits) but this year we've decided that we really will make sure our priorities are our priorities. 

We love time outdoors and so we are scheduling it in just the same way we schedule work hours in - it is a priority in our lives and we are determined to treat it as such.  This weekend's hike had us hiking along a trail we went to for my Mother's Day hike last year - a beautiful spot.

We enjoyed our hike, the boys enjoyed having a friend along, there was time for a packed lunch, flower photos and, once we were out of the park, there were roadside spots for rosebud collecting (I collect these every year and this ritual is such a simple blessing to me).

 

Every time I go for a hike I feel so grateful to live in this area, there are so many beautiful places to hike that are easy to access. 

On this hike (which has a very steep climb for the first while) we saw some members of the local naturalist club out on a bird count.  These women always inspire and impress me - some of them are 30 years older than I am and I love to see how fit they are.  They are also gracious outdoors people and always take time to engage my boys on the trail and encourage them. 



Once we got home we decided a home baked treat was in order and, since it is rhubarb season, rhubarb cake seemed a good choice...especially with whipped cream!



We also enjoyed a delicious fresh salad with dinner, not from my garden yet but from a beautiful garden I've been noticing for the past few months whenever we are in town.  It is a home on a city lot  that seems completely filled with beds of greens.  It looks beautiful - like a living quilt(you can see what I mean if you click on that link and see the blog header photo).  When I first saw it I felt sure that someone must be running a market garden there and I was very curious.

I LOVE seeing whole yards used to grow food.  And, from my understanding, the greens are then brought to our farmers market by bike.  I love being able to tell my boys about people like this - very inspiring.  We bought some of his greens at the market this weekend and they are fantastic.