June Realizations

Good morning!

I woke early this morning.

Yesterday my neighbor and friend gifted Mike and I a chaise that we chose to put in our patio area. Last weekend we found a canopy that suited the space and spent a few days assembling and sealing things. It has quickly become one of my favorite spaces. It's so nice to be outside practically always.

One thing I really love about this place that I don't want to forget is the way the kitchen leads to the back door. I love being able to just pop into the kitchen to flip something that's in the over/dehydrator and then returning back out to the garden.

This morning I've been doing some online learning of a sort. I've had some things on my mind throughout the week. As they've compiled I made a note in my guidebook of the refined questions before taking them to google. I've found this to be a good technique because it gave me time to lay out my sentences to what I thought would be the best of googles efficiency before hand. I've got more tabs open than I can count right now, and many pages of notes filled. Blogging however, has been at the top of my list for the past few days as well. Out here in under the canopy feels like the perfect time and place for it. I will continue the learning later.

Through the weekend and into Monday as a model I worked on several projects I feel grateful to have been a part of. From photo work, I look forward to seeing what will come from several of the months shoots. I've tried with great commitment to keep things green and honest. It's a luxury to me to be able to shoot in my own backyard. The light changes all throughout the day and the the tiers create many different angles to work with. It also feels spectacular to do what I am passionate about in a place I love. I've done a few projects back here so far this spring. As the season progresses I may chose to do more, depending on how the natural scenery changes. I also did another set designated towards publication recently. Until I hear more about that, I won't be able to share that work. Perhaps towards the end of the summer I will have access :)

Yesterday during the daytime I collected my biggest sage and lemon balm leaves from the garden for tea. I've been enjoying tea and the benefits of it more than I could have ever imagined. The power of the herbs is truly inconceivable to me. I am so looking forward to the next few months and more opportunities to work with my home-grown garden herbs to make tinctures, infusions, teas, perfume, and more! I feel highly inspired outside and amungst the nature as per usual. After bringing the leaves inside and washing them in water ( there was a surprising amount of garden dirt on them), I set them up on a tray and put them on the dehydrator for a a few hours.

Since we are also well into strawberry season, I've been drying those. My hope is that I may be able to stretch them beyond the season. Drying can preserve the strawberries up to 6 months.

If I have time this afternoon I intend to try some beans for a change!

After drying out the leaves I placed each type in their own herb bottle. I then crush the leaves so they can easily slide from the bottle to be used for tea/garnishing.

Other new bottle infusions I've worked on this past week are a lemon-coconut oil infusion and an aloe-coconut oil infusion.

I love learning about the benefits of each ingredient I work with and making natural, plant based mixes. The more I learn, the more there is to learn. It feels endless, but in a really great way.

Towards the end of the week, planning on good weather, I have shoots and work in my schedule and am excited for a change in scenery. I will be shooting at a park I've only been to once before, so I'm hopeful there will be much to explore.

Today I've got a dress that needs finishing up before tomorrows outdoor shoot. I'll be working with a photographer I've never worked with before but have known for many years. We finally both live in the same place, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity.

Images today are from my last session at Cspace.