There’s nothing more humbling than a warm bowl of homemade butternut squash soup and some crusty sourdough bread. Oh wait, there is! If that butternut squash came from your garden and the sourdough bread is from your own starter. I had this such experience the other night with my Roua baby; well, I suppose she is technically a toddler now?!??? But, in any case, I still love calling her my Roua baby.
Papa was away working with the bees in the Lavender fields. Sometimes, like that night, he camps over so he can get work done over two days, checking on our other daughters and their Mamas and the brood babies. So, it was just Roua and I, like many times over the summer actually, just the two of us, well, technically, it was the three of us.
Yes, three! Roua and I and baby in my belly enjoyed our first butternut squash soup of the season. I am 29 weeks pregnant, just into the beginning of my 3rd trimester. Baby was just as happy with the soup I suppose, as I felt little kicks, between sips of smooth soup (thanks to my new blender toy Jorris gifted us as a 3rd wedding anniversary present) and bites of toasted seeded-sourdough bread slathered with butter. I’ve been experimenting with adding seeds again to my breads and this particular combination of pumpkin, flax and poppy seeds is especially wholesome and fragrantly delicious. I think it’s mostly the pumpkin seeds being toasted that add such flavor. Roua mimicked me as I dunked my bread into the soup before a bite. Of course we saved a bowl for Papa.
The earth has been good to us and offered a beautiful bounty of pumpkins and butternut, corn, tomatoes, courgette, zinnias, cosmos and sunflowers...my favorite were the success of the sunflowers this year (thanks Sophie!). It was a small garden. We kept it simple; mostly because I could only do so much with my growing belly and a toddler to care for, but we enjoyed so much of our garden and thank her for all the food and lessons she has provided us.
The sunflowers, who I had transplanted as baby plants which I got from my friend Sophie, struggled in the beginning, but my oh my have they established themselves and bloomed in such glory. They have been my greatest teacher this summer. I had planted them around June and patiently waited until September, watering and caring for them until they got tall and I could see little yellow petals peeking out of the green bud. I remained patient. Some moments I felt they would never bloom, but deep down I knew better. Mother Nature knows better. Then, the first bloom appeared on a day when I was having a hard time. I didn’t expect it at all and just happened to wander into the garden and the moment I saw that sunflower just magically like that, bright and yellow, I was reminded to cheer up and stay hopeful, that there is always beauty brewing and bountiful, we just have to be patient and believe.
Despite the small size of our garden, I had never planted and gardened with such intention and thoughtfulness into where and what I planted. It was a giant milestone of an experience, a maturation as a gardener, I suppose. I envisioned how the white cosmos would grow in community next to the zinnias and why I wanted to plant it where I did, sort of at the entrance of the garden as to be inviting. And it turned out to be just that and this one plant of white zinnias has taken off and added such beauty to our land. Their purity and positive energy make me happy each time I enter the garden, and Roua adores them too, as she does all flowers and the butterflies who visit them. And of course, the garden plans herself as well and Mother Nature crafts gorgeous pockets of flowers and vegetables that I could have never imagined on my own.
We also got chickens this summer! They have been such a delight. We have four for now and they are well-behaved and gift us their most delicious eggs for omelets, mayo, red fried rice, and pancakes, just to name a few delicious things we make with them. We got them from our neighbors Lolita and Dorian. They were their favorites but they didn’t want to mix them with the other new flock, so after careful consideration, offered us to be their new family and we gratefully accepted. The chicken house mansion, which my beau pere (father-in-law) built last year, is now put to use! We now have a chicken house with chickens! I love watching Roua interact with them. She helps me feed them food scraps and is about their size so it’s adorable to watch her waddle around and try to pet them.
This week actually she has been successful at gently caressing one of the brown ones and the chicken stopped moving and spread her wings and Roua petted her so sweetly with her fingers spread wide and palm stroking the soft feathers. She managed to do it again another day and that time, laid her head gently on the chicken’s body. It was the sweetest thing to witness, my baby being so kind and sweet to another being. I had a proud parent moment.
The bees have been good to us this season. They have made a lot of honey and we are so thankful. It’s been an intense period of juggling work and family life and couple life; but it’s September, fall is approaching and life is slowing down a bit so we can spend more time together.
Still some preparations before baby arrives, and hopefully a little family holiday before then. I can’t wait to see Roua as a big sister. She’ll be amazing. She already blows baby raspberry kisses on my belly and gently pets my belly when she notices it. It’ll be so tender to see Jorris as Papa to a newborn again and for us to have a cozy winter together, nestled by our woodstove with homemade crusty sourdough bread and soup. Until then, I can patiently wait and savor this pregnancy, especially each little kick and wiggle I feel inside this abundantly amazing belly and body I am so honored to embody.
Cheers to you, thank you for being here, and may a new fall season invite you too to slow down and enjoy your family!
