Welcome Home

Home is many things to many people. It is often said that home is where the heart is. If that's true, I guess home really is North Carolina for me. When I drive down the back roads, I feel home. When I hear the thunderstorms, I feel home. So many moments that make me feel home. Sights, sounds and scents all evoke that feeling of home. Every time I get that feeling, I think "welcome home".

Fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market, made into sandwiches with mayo salt and pepper.

Local strawberries. Nothing tastes as good as a local strawberry, grown on a small family farm.

Fresh peaches. This was the first weekend there were fresh peaches at the farmer's market and I can't wait to cut into them later today.

The market also has bundles of fresh wild flowers at several booths. The colors are stunning and so many more fun types of flowers than at a florist.

Look at these gorgeous multi colored carrots. I could have stared at these all day long they were so pretty.

And I bought some cucumbers, again some of the first of the season, and made some bread and butter pickles. They should be ready to try tomorrow. I am so excited!

We have had several thunderstorms this spring and we love watching them roll in. The clouds seem so low you can almost touch them. The smell of rain in the air, and when it hits the hot pavement, is so evocative of summer to me.

This is my daughter's garden. She is in year three, and the garden is transitioning from flowers and veggies to mostly just flowers now. It is a delight to watch these interesting plants grow and change and develop.

And the bees and other pollinators are in love with all of the flowers and so fun to watch. There are also so many varieties of birds that come by for the bird feeders, but they are really waiting for the sunflowers to start producing. Then they will be in their hey day.

And for me, all this means home. My heart is happy. Life is good.

Talk to you soon.