the best remedy

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” Anne Frank

Go outside. Get your feet wet. All is as it should be. : )

child.play

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

“Time is a game played beautifully by children.” Heraclitus

It is not always played so artfully by big people. This past week didn't always feel beautifully timed. Volunteering for a soccer practice run went a long way towards correcting that. It meant an hour with absolutely nothing else to do but becoming utterly drawn into their play. It's awesome. You leave windblown and and breathless and sane and laughing.

Time spent laughing is time well spent.

berry pickin’

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"Better than an argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup." Wendall Berry

Yep. No words can explain the pure joy of pulling food right off the plant. No words necessary to explain their reaction….

After which the who-can-catch-a-berry-by-mouth game commenced.

May I present the winner….

at the cabin

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Kim Halloran-Fry

This has been home-away-from-home during my absence in this space lately. Mornings spent reading with steaming mugs nearby. Days spent hiking. Evenings full of exploring all the nooks and crannies of the eco-friendly farm which surrounded us.

Our host was a fascinating man with a heart for adventure. Quintessentially British, he sported a mop of curly untamed ginger hair and wore a button down shirt with rolled sleeves, glasses, and belted trousers tucked into gum boots. He welcomed our crew enthusiastically and showed the children all the possibilities waiting for them on the farm – bikes, badminton, ponds, and a real treehouse. He explained why the farm was a proper nature reserve and not just a vacay spot. He then showed us where the best hiking was and where to find the ponies I had my heart set on seeing.

Before embarking on the guest farm adventure he had spent many years in Africa as a safari guide. We swapped stories of travel and military life. He had fond memories of US Marines who shared music and cola and conversation in a far away place in the days before computers and ipods. His feet are planted on English soil again but he said Dartmoor was his wild. I get that. I need my wild too and we found it on this trip for sure, thanks to his maps and inside tips.

(just looking – we didn't eat them)

And now it's midnight and the day starts early here. I hope yours are also full of fresh air and wet boots.

putting the apples by

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

the most heavenly recipe here

celebrate

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

If you can give your child only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.

– Bruce Barton

We take that advice seriously around here. : )

Another teenager is cause to celebrate for sure!

Pony Ride

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

I sat down and used some of the templates I have to gather together all the pictures we have taken lately. I admit to being ambivalent about it. Scrapbooking was my first photography love. But I have gotten spoiled seeing the images so large on my screen. It's probably not practical to print them all ginormous however (see me still not completely reconciled to that reality lol) and I am determined to get them printed more regularly. So I am testing the waters here.

Jury is still out. So I will post both why don't I. There now that I have published and unpublished and republished I feel much better. : )

At any rate you can click on the image to open it a little larger and see the journaling. One thing I am wild about is the new software I have been working with. (image at bottom) It is like putting my kids into the pages of a children's book. Now THIS is like two of my favorite worlds coming together.

Thumbs up on that.

Here is a funny. At least I crack up every time I see the pic of that sign on the straw stacks. The fine print says to queue up here. Getting queued up in England is what you do instead of standing in line. Queued up rhymes with my new favorite British saying 'clued up' which I first heard on a escalator. The man was asserting to his friend that, "She just isn't 'clued up' about this!" You can bet I am on the lookout for chances to use this one. Being as snarky as I am ashamed to admit I can be, I will probably find one.

If you are still reading I send you my hearty appreciation. I peeled apples for applesauce all day, then we sat in fruh-EEE-zing weather through a football game after dark. Brr. It's possible my brain hasn't thawed out yet.

There you have it – my ramble for the day.

a time of wonder

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

"They are much to be pitied who have not been given a taste for nature early in life."

– Jane Austen

Pitied much, I say. There is no better time to taste of the natural world than autumn. Time to go slowly enough to touch, to smell, to gather, to wonder.

Together.

Oct 2012 nature web

a fall tradition

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

What a difference a couple weeks makes. It is the difference between short sleeves and stadium blankets. Between sunscreen and umbrellas. This is the way of it every autumn. Early in the season the sun beats down and by the end we are shivering on the sidelines. Rain or shine they are on the field however, a fall tradition in this family for nearly two decades now.

I hope you are playing hard this weekend. What says fall fun in your family?

Sew – a needle pulling thread

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Take your needle, my child, and work at your pattern; it will come out a rose by and by. Life is like that – one stitch at a time taken patiently and the pattern will come out all right like the embroidery.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes