the summer: images

A few days late, but here are a few of the pictures I took on the summer solstice.

Sunrise with the wind turbines.

The view of Idaho Falls from Sunnyside; sunrise.

Purple fuzz; midday.
[I have no clue what this is.
Some sort of weed, I'd guess,
but it really intrigued me.
I think it's beautiful.]

Looking west; sunset.
[I love the golden sliver you can see from
the setting sun's reflection on the Snake River.]

hurry spring! i want to plant flowers for my niece's birthday!

Every morning that I've woken up this winter, the sky outside at 6 a.m. has been pitch black. I would drive to work in the dark and at 6:30 a.m. I would flip my neon "OPEN" sign on; it would illuminate the cold ground in front of it and the reflection would bounce off the window into the dusky cafe. It would be at least an hour before the sun peeked over the mountains in the distance. I waited so anxiously for that every morning. 

This morning I was met with quite the surprise when I opened the door at 6 a.m. The air was lighter, not like the density that comes with the dark night. There was a hint of twilight; a faint peachy glow on the horizon. The sun! I could see hints of the sun at 6:15 a.m. this morning! Hallelujah!

[This morning was especially beautiful because of the moon. The dusty peach overtook the eastern horizon, and on the western edge the moon sat just above the horizon. Big, fat, and glowing orange against the navy sky. It was magical, I tell you!]

When the sun comes up, the rest of the world wakes with it. I no longer feel so alone in my corner coffee shop at that moment. And I can't describe my happiness over the fact that the days are getting longer! It means spring will be here soon and I can get my hands dirty with my brother, his wife and the kids. My niece has requested California poppies for her 8th birthday. And a Minecraft cake, haha.

Fall(ing) Apples

On Friday my sister-in-law and I took her kids to a family owned apple orchard just outside of town. I've never been to an orchard before, let alone had the opportunity to wander between the rows collecting ripe fruit. I think it's one of my new favorite things.

Honey crisp apples: delicious!

She found a lady bug

More apples than we can carry!

I love being out in nature. It's fun with small kids, too, because they get so excited and stare in awe at what nature gives us. It was so fun to hang out with my nephews and niece, see them get excited over fruit (of all things!) and answer questions about how the fruit forms.

Being out in middle of that orchard made me want an apple tree. I couldn't believe how many apples grow on a single branch, hundreds to a single tree. It truly is an inspiring and humbling sight.

The apples ripen faster than they can be picked. It was so surreal to walk a path that was sprinkled with apples underfoot as well as overhead!

Absolutely stunning

The reason we went in the first place was because we could get a bushel of apples for literally a fraction of the price than you can find at the grocery store. My sister-in-law and I have been on a canning kick lately and we wanted to make apple butter and apple sauce. The opportunity was too good to miss!

After everything was said and done we spent $8. Our final prize: A trunk-full of apples!

Score!