friday senses

We have dove headfirst into summer and have yet to come up for air.....it's been wonderful. 

Days just feel better with summer kissed skin and popsicle stained lips.

Seeing: the whole valley is in bloom! Lilacs! Poppies! Blossoms and blooms everywhere. 

Watching: Two little barn swallows build their nest on our porch. It's fascinating watching them gather materials and bring them back to make their cozy home.

Planting: Well.... Garden fail this year. It's still not in. We've had too many other projects going on and sadly the garden has yet to be started. I know we'll get there eventually....so I'm trying not to remind myself of all the homegrown goodness I'm missing out on right now. But I've planted a few flowers if that counts for anything.....(it doesn't)

Justifying: I'm telling myself it's ok that my garden isn't growing and flourishing, because our lovely Millie is giving us an egg a day now. Since she started laying, she's only missed two days--it's such a treat to go out to the coop and find her daily gift. It will still be a few months before our chicks begin to lay, so for now we are so thankful we inherited Millie!

Eating: With lots of running comes lots of eating.....here is one of my favorite breakfasts right now 

Raw Oats

mix 1/2 cup raw oats and a big spoonful of chia seeds with enough almond milk to cover

soak for about 15 minutes

add bananas, strawberries, raspberries, almonds, cashews, coconut, hemp seeds, flax seeds, cocoa nibs and raw honey.  (really though.....anything goes....obviously)

It's a loaded breakfast (or sometimes an afternoon snack for me) and keeps you full with lots of GOOD calories for all your summer adventures. 

Excited for: getting my bike out again. I'd been so focused on running this past month, I'm excited to add mountain biking back into the mix. Hoping one of our favorite trails opens up soon!

Smelling: A few weeks ago we were out for a little hike and Charly rolled in a dead skunk. Because any other dead animal wasn't good enough--it had to be a DEAD SKUNK. 

The kids scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed her until she was a yellow fuzz ball, but every now and then we get the faintest smell of skunk......

Hearing: Every morning as the sun shines in and the cool mountain breeze comes through the windows, we hear the song of the Western Meadowlark.  It transports me back in time to when I was little--this is the sound I remember from my summer mornings.....it makes me so happy.

Farmer's Marketing: Our market has started! Not a lot is growing quite yet, but we picked up lots of greens, asparagus, honey and some freshly baked asiago bread.....and have been loving every bite.

Grilling: It's grilling season! Nothing is safe. Here is a favorite salad that we have often--it's easy to throw together and always a hit with the family. Sometimes I don't add the chicken and make it a side salad, or just add beans for a quick lunch. 

Grilled Chicken Salad with Beets and Asparagus

-your favorite greens (we used a mix of spinach and red lettuce from the farmers market)

-grilled chicken (brushed with olive oil, lemon, and salt and pepper)

-grilled beets (brushed with olive oil) we used golden beets this time to mix it up a bit

-grilled asparagus (tossed in olive oil, s&p)

-goat cheese

-easy balsamic dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey)

-your favorite bread, brushed with olive oil and grilled

What are you grilling this week?

Happy Weekend!