There are so many simple joys that can be found when we embrace the concept of ‘slow living’ which we are trying our best to do around here.

This month has been full of adventures here at home and away. We just never know what to expect. Our area has been experiencing a severe drought so that made gardening a little more challenging this season. We have been so blessed to get a decent amount of rain lately and I don’t complain about it, even when it happens mid harvest!

Despite the drought conditions, we have been able to pull in some good harvest on some crops. There definitely seems to be an overabundance of greens this year so we have been busy putting some in the freezer and we even made some delicious Kale chips. We’ve tried them in the oven and the dehydrator with good results both ways. We keep them simple with just a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic salt.

The difference in the garden after a good rain is amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful GOD is and how spectacular HIS creation is. HIS timing is ALWAYS PERFECT!

We’ve also been adding some new friends to our little homestead… I guess we really are homestead… it just feels so funny to call it that when this is just LIFE for us. We’ve added some rabbits… everyone talks about chicken math but no one has ever mentioned Rabbit ‘Rithmetic, have they? Well, let me tell you that it is a real thing.

Baby bunnies are so cute and it is just so hard to say no… you go to pick up one and you end up with three or four… or more. I’m the guilty one when it comes to our growing rabbitry. In February, Mr. Awesome picked up one bunny at Rural King and then another one from a family member in April. We were happy to have a pair but they were too young to breed at the time. Then a neighbor gave us two more in April, after her doe kicked them out the nest. We fed them and cared for them to make sure they grew healthy and strong. We were at four rabbits at the end of April.

We didn’t gain any more rabbits in May but June has been another story. The neighbor gave us another from her litter as someone never claimed one. Then I happened to see a FB post about a little beauty and I brought her home. While picking her up, I learned that there were possibly two more that would be available that afternoon… so of course I go them as well. They planned on having a couple of babies ready in a few weeks which actually turned into a few days. The first ones ready were all little bucks so I had some restraint and only got one… but then a doe came available and I ended up with her too!

As of today (6/25) we have a grand total of 10 rabbits! Did I mention that one of them should be having a litter soon? Yeah, we should have a few more by the end of the month. How many rabbits will that make us in July?

Needless to say, we have been busy working on our rabbitry, raken house, and wormery areas…

The rabbits may not have been a planned event for this season but these next additions to the garden have been on the list for a bit. We did a major garden makeover at the beginning of the year and I knew that we needed to add some shade structures to the area. If we have shade, then we need a place to sit and relax right? These new beds are metal so I don’t have any corner posts to rest my drink on while I’m out there. Then Shyanne and the grandbabies love to swing, so why not include that as well.

These multi-functional DIY pergolas were a quick project but they have made a big difference as they also serve as a trellis for some of our plants. They aren’t quite finished but they’ll get there. Mr. Awesome fell at work and chipped his wrist so it might take a little longer to get them finished but the wait will be worth it. Injuries happen and they just remind us that sometimes we need to slow down a little… they are just part of the bigger story!

We do have some slow days for relaxing, and Father’s Day weekend was one of those times. Mr. Awesome, the girls, and me went out to Palm Coast for the day… not to the beach, but to a special nursery. He had been working at one of the places to get things ready for their opening so of course he wanted to show up for their first day!

We also visited the nicest nursery (@greenheritagenursery) that I have been to. We picked up a couple of plants and then Shyanne also wanted to go shopping for some flowers for her butterfly garden… we stopped by the garden center and picked out a few things to bring home. It was a lovely day and many special memories were made. Shyanne has been planning more shopping adventures for Daddy too!

Once we got the plants home, we knew that we’d eventually have to get them in the ground. The daily rains made this the perfect season for planting. We had a couple of really busy days with appointments and such but as soon as we got the chance we knocked out several projects in one day.

These videos will be posting soon so be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel, if this is something you would like to see!

We are still planning on going to South Carolina in August to help some of the kiddos move closer to us… I can’t wait to have all the grandbabies closer! We may also be planning a baby shower in the near future… not sure yet if that is the plan but you know a baby shower means a new baby is on the way, so I am super excited about that too!

What is something that you are looking forward to this summer? Let us know in the comments below!

God Bless!