Something New

It was time for a change. My blog address of westcoastaddict was so often misunderstood (I chose it as I feel like I'm addicted to the lifestyle of west coast living) that I decided to change it. It was hard to find something that fit but wasn't already in use. For now I've gone with westcoastlovinmama.blogspot.com. Because really, I am a west coast lovin' mama!

Oh and here is a super cute picture of my boy with some apples.

Garden Blessings

It's been a difficult year in the garden. It's been hot and dry. The heat has benefited the pears and the tomatoes but other things are struggling. My zucchini has been rotting on the stem and my swiss chard is barely 4 inches tall. If that weren't enough the blight of urban deer has spread to my garden. More than one morning I've gone into the yard to find a handful of deer happily munching away. They ate all my beautiful cabbage.

The long hot summer seems to be making the grapes very happy. Almost every morning I collect handfuls of grapes for my children's snack. I've also been harvesting cherry tomatoes daily. It's been such a joy to eat from our garden. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than picking vegetables and then heading straight to my kitchen to make my family dinner. Just the other night we had herb mashed potatoes with roasted carrots, beets and squash all from our garden.

Catching Crayfish

A few weekends ago we attempted to go on an impromptu camping trip. We drove for several hours and only found packed campgrounds. It had been a long day filled with disappointments so before we made the long drive home we stopped by Cowichan River for a dip and to search for crayfish. One of A's favorite Sparkle Stories is titled Catching Crayfish. We certainly don't have big crayfish here but they are fun to search for.

We stripped the kids down and headed into the river. Though A wanted to be the one to catch the crayfish, she just didn't have the grab down pat. So once spotted, Daddy grabbed the crayfish. A held one but I'm pretty sure F was determined to crush. Poor little guy was pretty scared. We found a nice little spot for him to hide and set him free. We searched and searched but didn't find more crayfish. We saw a few salmon fry but that was it. It's been a very dry summer so the river is low. It's not good news for the fish.

Dinner and a dip in the river seemed to help recharge us for the drive home. It was a bit disappointing to arrive home without having had a night in the woods but to quell A's disappointment I set up an indoor campsite for her. A little campfire made of a lantern and playsilks, her sleepbag on her bed, a couple stuffed birds and a stuffed raccoon and the window wide open. It's not the same but it was a little something fun.