It is #GratefulFriday

It's #gratefulfriday

"Summer has a flavor like no others. Always fresh and simmered in sunshine."

~Oprah Winfrey

Happy Summer. Summer feels like a gift from mother nature. There is no finer example of true beauty than that of nature. In summer, it generously bestows miraculous gifts of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. How pleased mother nature must be when we appreciate them. Whether yours is a container garden on the patio, an ever-expanding section of the yard, your local farmer’s market, or a juicy slice of watermelon, I encourage you celebrate summer’s bounty.

Here are several ways to graciously welcome and celebrate summer’s bounty.

Be in nature. Go for a walk or run in the woods or visit your local park. Slow down and just listen to the sounds of nature, feel the sunshine. Go for a walk in the rain! Remember what it felt like as a child to run through the puddles.

Be Amazed. Imagine you are seeing a sunflower for the first time, smelling lavender, tasting a blueberry and the joy that would bring. Celebrate the gifts of summer.

Visit a Farmer’s Market. One of my favorite gifts of summer is going to the local farmstands and farmer’s markets and picking up what is being harvested. It is always such a wonderful surprise! I make cherry tomato sauce and freeze it. This year I am going to can bread and butter pickles to bring a taste of summer into my home throughout the year.

Share the goodness. Pick a bunch of flowers and bring them to a friend. It will not only give them such joy, but in the giving you will receive too.

Feel gratitude for all that is summer....the longer, warmer days, walking on the bunch, gathering outdoors with friends, long walks in the woods, eating your favorite ice cream. Take time to celebrate and feel gratitude for what summer offers.

Much Love,

Lindsay