The new well garden has attracted a snake. Ellie has adopted it as a pet, and the snake seems to be just fine with that. He appreciated the picture that she drew for him and occasionally lets her pet him. I love seeing her comfort and gentleness with animals of all kinds.

Summer is a time of animals, plants, the outdoors and family, and we’ve been doing all of it. This summer has also had some hard times, some of which I will write about later. I try to meet the lows with love, and savour the moments of joy that we have.

We had a cottage week with my family, which is always the highlight of our year. Growing up, my siblings and I were at our grandparents cottage every weekend. We swam, waterskied and played with a big group of cousins. Now, we give our children that experience, though only for one week of the year. Watching them learn to ski and swim, seeing how they help and encourage each other, and being together as a family is so special. Giving each other our time, presence and love is very important. The most important thing I can do.

On a lighter note, here are some less important things that I enjoyed this month.

This real life Hobbit House is beautiful.

I still look at our grain silo and think of the possibilities.

How is this math right? I feel old.

This book has changed the way I think about the rest of my life… and my breakfast.

Kid’s book of the month: Greek Myths & Mazes. A cool way to introduce Greek myths. Ellie has loved the mazes and the stories.

I made myself a cup of plantain tea on a particularly bad air quality day after watching this video.

I know everyone says it, but it’s hard to believe that we’re already halfway through summer. As I’m looking ahead to August, I feel like time is going to fly even faster. I’m hanging onto as much as I can and making sure Ellie and I continue to work through our summer bucket list.

How’s summer going for you? Have you had any getaways? Do you have any wildlife (or weird “pets”) hanging around your house?