Mother Nature has been outdoing herself this month, with so many wildflowers popping up. Normally, we wait till June to enjoy the colors of lupin, but not this year. They are here! So are Paintbrushes, Arrowleaf Balsamroots, Arnica, Cutleaf Coneflowers, and Harebells.

We’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors, enjoying activities like burning brush, hiking, gardening, or simply relaxing in the hammock. If you’re looking for a summer-time read while in a hammock, on your vacation, or while at the beach, keep reading…

3 Updates from the land

What we’re planting/growing: Volunteering at The Rocky Mountain Gardens for the second season, I (Alla) get a couple of neat perks. Learning about plants that can grow in Missoula’s Zone 4 climate, getting my hands dirty weeding, planting, and helping plants thrive, taking cooking and growing classes, and occasionally coming home with a few leftover goodies. Recently, I was fortunate enough to come home with 10 tomato plants. The plan is to grow some in the garden, some in the greenhouse, and transplant a few from the greenhouse to the garden after the last spring frost date passes (which The Internet Oracle tells us is around May 22 of this year). But this isn’t our first rodeo, and having a Winter Weather Advisory on June 20th last year, I’ll take my time transplanting.
Have you had any luck growing tomatoes?

What we’re reading: “Twenty Spiritual Lessons For Creating The Life You Want” by Deepak Chopra. Another great gem by Deepak Chopra, as I make my way through a lot of his books lately. This one helped me to slow down and take my time with each of the twenty lessons. I’m always impressed at the different ways that Chopra delivers his ideas, this time through short stories and interactions between Merlin and Arthur, but also helping the reader to dive deeper through “Understanding The Lesson” and “Living with The Lesson” sections.
What’s your favorite Deepak Chopra book?

What we’re upgrading at The Hohnstead: If you know us well, you know that both Garrett and I love traveling, especially to the colorful towns in Mexico. It always feels like a fairy tale, walking around colorfully painted colonial haciendas, baroque churches, and contemporary buildings, some set among the purple-flowered Jacaranda trees. So to bring a bit of foreign inspiration, we decided to upgrade two of our cabins by re-painting them. To tell you the truth, sometimes I just throw ideas out there. Some stick, some don’t, but I’m sure glad that Garrett green-lighted these colors featured below. We’d love to know what you think.