adventure in gardening :: kopperskogen

scrape of the shovel. dirt in my fingers. small seeds falling in a line. 

a dusting of dirt. water. sun. growth. harvest.

All the things that call me to my yard and to the creativity it gives me.  With each decision I am painting a little piece of earth. Amazing to have found a raw piece of land to mold and paint into an expression of me and what I hope for my family. Ever since moving into our garpartment in 2007 we have gradually worked on this.  From the creation of our first garden dug into the dirt and surrounded with chicken wire, to our current raised bed garden with pea gravel pathways and beautiful hand built cedar and copper gate. It is a lot of work but so worth every bead of sweat when we get to stand at the top of our stairs and look out over everything.  Every year we get to see more and more of our hard work come to be.

This last fall I expressed to my most fabulous husband that the next step in my gardening adventure would be a greenhouse.  He was more than happy to help me realize this dream.  He began designing and building it in his head.  It was going to be a custom greenhouse; I was so excited.  I began collecting things for it with the hopes of building most of it from recycled and re purposed products; windows we got from an apartment complex remodel, a sink & faucet found at a garage sale, doors that were being thrown away, and so much more.  This February we started sketching out some drawings, my hubby finally decided on a design and at the beginning of March we broke ground.  He is a month into it now and it is taking beautiful shape.  I am so excited to be able to start growing in it. 

This weekend I plan to spend some time with my girls getting our second batch of seeds into the garden as well as planting some of our pots.  I found some french flower pots at a garage sale that I am going to plant with fuscia.  Last year I took some old galvanized garbage cans (think Oscar the Grouch) and cut 4" off the bottom.  I then planted these cans in the ground and grow herbs out of them.  I have decided to use the 4" bottoms of them as tops to the posts in my garden and am going to plant them with succulents that I picked up at Bainbridge Gardens. If only the rain will hold up on Saturday we will get out there and get dirty - and of course get some photos to share with you all.

Having this little piece of property brings so much happiness to me.  I love watching my girls run around, playing in the dirt and with their chickens, planting seeds in the garden, and harvesting the vegetables for us or to share.  Ahhh, the adventures in gardening!

tell us something about who you are :: reflections

I recently started participating in an all female study group that meets weekly.  At the first meeting the facilitator asked us to go around and say our name and something about ourselves.  This is something that always catches me off guard.  I am never quite sure what I should say; whether I should share a life characteristic, job title, favorite food, etc.  So as I am sitting there wondering what I should share and listening to the other women in the group tell the rest of us something about themselves I started to realize my answer was probably not going to fit in. I realized each woman started by saying 'I'm so and so and I have ___ children, or am pregnant, or have ___ grandchildren. . .'  Some left it at that and others elaborated specifying where their children went to school, whether their children had children, etc.  I found it interesting that in this large group of women (about 30) they all seemed to define themselves by whether or not they had children.  It got me thinking, who are they outside of their children? What type of food do they like? What are their hobbies?  What do they enjoy reading? Do they have a passion other than their children?

Now don't misunderstand me, I love my girls.  I love every little bit about them, even the frustrating parts that make me slap my forehead and go "really?"  That said, when asked to say my name and something about myself, I didn't think to say "Hi, my name is Jessica and I have 2 kids."  Instead, I thought "Hi, I'm Jessica and I love life.  I love being a photographer and getting to capture people living their lives. I have leapt out of a plane and free fallen 5000+ feet. I love getting my hands dirty and growing things in my garden.  I thoroughly enjoy eating deliciously beautiful food. I love to breath in the fresh air that can only be experienced when you are hiking through the woods. Unlike some people who don't get to see their family much, I work with mine every day. And I am wonderfully blessed to be able to teach my children to search out and love all aspects of their life."

So, how are you going to respond when asked to share something about yourself?

having a little fun with ISO :: photography

I took a little me time this evening. Yep, I said it.  Not only did I say it but I actually did it.  Kissed the little munchkins and headed out for a while to do something I enjoy.  For all you mothers out there, you can relate to how difficult this is to do.  To step away from our day to day tasks of helping, nurturing, preparing, and in all ways caring for others to devote time to ourselves.  A 1 hour massage or manicure (oh that does sound lovely), a much needed hair cut, a little retail therapy, getting together with a girl friend or, in my case, some time to play around with my camera.

Something I have been wanting to mess around with more and more is bumping up my ISO when I am shooting.  You probably would recognize this most from film photography.  When making an everyday film purchase, you probably made your choice based on the ISO (200, 400, 800 and so on). This rating was directly related to the level of sensitivity the film had to light.  With digital photography, the idea is pretty much the same as with film.  You might bump up your ISO to affect your camera's sensitivity to light.  The lower light situations (indoors or at night) might call for a higher ISO so you can keep your shutter speed higher while still allowing enough light into your image.  The risk is that it will increase your noise causing photos to be grainier than with a lower ISO.  That said, I don't believe this is always bad and in fact tonight when I went out to play around that was what I was looking for.  I wanted to create some photos that had some grainy character.  It was a blast and I can't wait to get back out there and mess around some more.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from tonight. 

 

The Olympic Mountains.  So beautiful!

 

Poulsbo Waterfront Marina. I love these.  They just scream of having a story to tell.  All the many adventures that each of these boats has been on.  So invigorating.

 

and my favorite color shot . . . the blues were so beautiful.

 

 

I encourage all of you out there, especially you parents who rarely make time for yourselves, to do so this week.  Find 30-60 minutes where you can sneak away and devote some time to you, to something you would enjoy.  You might just love it so much you do it again the following week.  Who knows......







greenhouse in process :: kopperskogen

A few years now . . . OK, five years if we are really counting . . . since we built our first garden and I believe it is truly time to step it up a notch.  I am not sure my husband was super ecstatic about this but being that he is completely fabulous he didn't complain one bit when I exclaimed last fall that in February of 2013 we would be building a greenhouse.  And he knew when I said it that what I really meant was that in February, he would be building a greenhouse.  :) 

The adventure began in late fall as we began collecting all the necessary building supplies. Acquiring windows free through both Craig's list and a house remodel we knew about, a wall hung sink from a garage sale, tile for the floor and behind the sink from the Habitat store, beautiful pine tongue & groove for the walls from another house remodel we knew about, misc. building materials from a friend who owns a local contruction company, and so on.  Every time I would find something new or get a new idea for this most fabulous greenhouse, my husband would just smile. Adding the sink wasn't a big deal since he already knew we would have to have misters in there for the plants. However, when I suggested a hot/cold hose bib he quite quickly replied that there would not be any hot water out there. I tried the lip but it didn't work.  That is quite alright.  I am very happy with only cold water if that is what I have to work with.  I am going to have electrical, so I could always put a coffee pot out there to heat water should I need some warm water for something . . . .

We began discussing design ideas and after some sketching have come up with something that will look like this:

The slanted roof will be in the direction of the sun so that the plants can get maximum sun exposure throughout the day, especially in the winter.  Originally we had discussed a 11'x13' structure but once staked out I (rather we) have decided that a 15'x17' is much more what I was imagining.

The area is all staked out and this weekend we will be purchasing and planting the posts and hopefully (depending on weather) pouring the concrete floor....Stay tuned.  As we progress I will definitely be keeping you filled in.

foulweather bluff nature preserve :: family

Explored a new area this afternoon with the girls and hubby.  Foulweather Bluff Nature Preserve out in Hansville.  We followed a beautiful trail through the woods that led us out to this fabulous beach where we explored, laughed, walked hand in hand and enjoyed some perfectly wonderful family time together before heading home to a glorious bowl of Picky Palate's Slow Cooker Beef & Barley soup.

 

 

What walk through the woods isn't complete with a jump of a rock by everyone. :)

 

Loved watching them explore the beach and haul around the driftwood they discovered.  Reminded me of the many trips to the beach I took with my family as a little girl.  All about making memories.

"testimony" by anita shreve :: literature

Every day we are faced with decisions that not only affect us, but can and do have an impact on the many people that surround us.  Testimony looked at this phenomenon.  It showed the utter devastation that can come from a decision made by two people; the far reaching affects of a decision made to fulfill one's selfish desires.

Testimony by Anita Shreve starts with a graphic event that I have to admit was slightly shocking and almost made me put the book back on the shelf.  After finishing the book I was glad that I stuck with it.  It really made me think about the decisions we make and how what seems like one simple decision can have complicated results.

***A good read. Intriguing. I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates reading a novel with a puzzeling plot.  The twists and turns will keep you guessing the entire time and bring you to an end that you were never expecting. 

"7~an experimental mutiny against excess" by jen hatmaker :: literature

I couldn't have picked a better book to wrap up 2012 with than this suggested piece of literature written by Jen Hatmaker. 

From 2001 until 2007 I had the amazing opportunity to know exactly what God wanted me to be doing and to be doing it.  I remember siting in the Social Hall at our church during a meeting discussing the future of the youth ministry at First Lutheran Church. I remember listening to all the people around the table talk about what they were looking for in a ministry director.  I could feel the Holy Spirit calling me into ministry at that very moment.  It was as if He was laying out the yellow brick road brick by brick and I was Dorothy. 

That period of my life came to a close and I feel like I have spent the last 5 years wandering, not sure what God wanted me to be doing.  As if the yellow brick road just ended and all that lay ahead was a big empty field as far as the eyes can see in all directions.  It isn't as if I have done nothing. My beautiful girls are a big part of my life keeping me more and more busy as they get older. In 2007 I picked up a camera again. Something I hadn't really done in years and I am so glad I did.  I LOVE taking photos.  It is a true outlet that I am super greatful for. I had also been helping my parents at their company for 6 years part time and when my position at the church ended I switched to full time. At the end of 2007 my parents began the process of developing a beautiful place in Sequim called Fern Hollow and I have had the blessed opportunity to assist them with that as well.  So for sure these last 5 years have been full with amazing opportunities.  I have been so busy though that I have sometimes felt like I wasn't sure if I was who God made created me to be. 

A few months ago a friend shared with me a book she was reading called 7.  A book about a woman who exercised 7 fasts (clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media and stress) each lasting 1 month. A way for her to eliminate excess in her life to have more room for God. This book chronicled her experiences throughout these months.  This book is amazing.  It has made me look at my life differently.  It has made me reevaluate what I put importance on and where I feel God is leading me.  It is a book I would suggest to everyone.  An amazing book that helps you to evaluate so many aspects of your life.

One of my favorite quotes from the book, one that I will take with me always, is "if we all raised others up instead of raising ourselves higher, there would be few needs left on earth." Wow!

After reading this book I have been reassured that I am a work in progress.  That God did not create me and then leave me on my own but created me and continues to work on me every day. I am still processing but I know for sure that God will be in all that I do.  I am going to make a point to focus more on what he wants for my life and not what I want for it.

***** A must read for everyone.