Dormant

It has been a while since I've written a post, and I have a few things I'd like to share with you:

• Bryson and I have recently implemented a new rule in our home. On Tuesdays, we unplug our internet and spend the whole day away from the rest of the world. Although it was strange at first, it is something we both truly look forward to.Instead of scrolling through Instagram posts, and escaping through YouTube videos, we play cards.We ski, we laugh, we eat candy, we clean the house, we clean the car and the smeared dog noses and cat noses from the windows.We reconnect.

• We have been taking full advantage of the last bits of snow. Walking through these wild places, following deer and rabbit tracks. breathing in the cold and crisp winter air, and feeling the hairs in our noses stick together from the cold.

• Trout is growing like a weed and he and Ruby have truly become best friends.

• We have welcomed two new chickens into our home. Their names are Moose and Goose and we love them dearly.

• I have been experimenting with some new pieces in my studio and planning for a possible market season, Covid depending.

• Bryson and I are planning a move in the fall, more on that soon.

• I have been having a tough time with my anxiety lately.

I've been told by a few people who follow my blog or Instagram account, that they admire my lifestyle, and to be honest, I feel as though I am a constant work in progress.

There are times where my mental space isn't the best and needs work, and there are even times like this past week where crippling anxiety has kept me from living normally.

In times like these, I feel scared to share how I truly feel because I'm worried I will be perceived differently.Like my life won't seem as idyllic as it might on social media, and people will lose interest and think that they can't escape to my platforms for a dose of positivity.

As I write this, I'm starting to feel a bit better. Today truly feels like the first day of spring here on the property. We can hear all the snow melting and water dripping, and our road has become incredibly slippery.Thigh-high snow has settled down to knee height and this has all reminded me that much like the seasons changing, things take time.

When I find myself in a pit of anxiety, it helps when I compare myself to a seed.Sometimes I need to lie dormant during the winter months, so I can find myself planted in enriched soil and drenched in water and sunlight when spring arrives.

It's ok to hide away, to feel anxious, or sad, or lonely, or uninspired because, in time, those feelings pass. They always do.

And in fact, we should normalize and share these feelings because they are so incredibly common.

So here I am, telling you that I'm not feeling great, I'm doubting myself, and my anxiety has been really bad recently, but I am working on it, and it's going to be ok.

I hope you are all doing alright during these strange times, but I think we are starting to see a light at the end of this winding tunnel.If you ever feel as though you need someone to talk to, I am always here to listen, and please remember, spring always comes after a dark cold winter.

talk soon,Chloe

♥

Leaning Into Autumn

It is tremendously beautiful this time of year.

The quaking aspen turn to gold and the morning air is more rejuvenating than any amount of coffee.

This is our second autumn on this property and I seem to fall more in love with the Cariboo seasons every year. If you'd like to see what it looks like in the autumn here, I have uploaded a new Youtube video on my channel.

I've been enjoying making silver and taking on commissions over these months. It's so refreshing joining someone in a project and hearing their perspectives and ideas for a piece. Thank you to everyone who chooses and has chosen me to create a piece.

It's good being home and preparing for the winter. We've switched our summer wardrobe for our winters and have started prepping the chicken coop and airstream for the cold months ahead. Soon I will turn over the soil before the first snowfall and let the hens scratch the garden earth to their heart's content.

We are now on a small holiday and will be going off-grid over the next few days while visiting Bryson's mom. She has three goats, three horses, a beautiful flock of hens, and has recently adopted a new shepherd/collie mix pup into her pack. I just can't wait for Ruby and the new pup to meet!

I'm hoping we can go for a ride or two while we are there. The arid sagebrush landscape there is just heavenly.

I'll be back in the studio this coming weekend and I am so looking forward to seeing what inspiration this week of family and the outdoors brings. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!

Talk soon,

Clove and Hound

xo

Mosquitoes, Storms, Sun, and, Silver

I've been living in our cabin by myself for the past month.

While Bryson has been hard at work finishing school in the Okanagan, I've been busy on the ranch working on silver, our garden, and doing daily chores to keep myself busy.

My neighbor Marion has been great company. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that we have been on daily adventures together. Canoeing, mushroom picking, strawberry picking, getting eaten alive by mosquitos, taking care of our landlord's animals while they were away, and sharing stories over cups of tea and homemade brioche. She is a true dream and is also an incredibly talented seamstress. You should definitely go check out her Etsy!

The land is so alive here! Everywhere I look are daisies, Indian paintbrush, wild sweet peas, camomille, tiger lilies, and mushrooms galore! It's been a rainy summer with types of storms I had never experienced before. I have seen countless bolts of lightning, and Ruby has howled back at all the thunder that roars our way. We also experienced an unbelievable hail storm which I will never forget as it destroyed half of our garden.

I've also visited my family in both Kelowna and Vancouver. My mom and sister are both in the process of moving and have given Bryson and me some beautiful things to complete our home. I feel so so lucky driving home from a trip with a car full of vintage goods from my family! I think my favorite additions have been the new seafoam chairs my sister gave us for our dining room. They are just so dreamy!

Today the bedding is drying outside in the first summer-like day we've had in a while, I am packing my things, and tomorrow I'm driving back to the Okanagan to see my love.

I'm in desperate need to feel his hugs and breathe in his scent. He is my happy place and always will be.

I'm going to take a bit of time off and enjoy everything coming my way for the next little while. Soon, I will start sharing more of my life, studio, jewelry making process, and inspiration on Instagram, Youtube, and this platform. I absolutely can't wait!

I hope all is well with you!

Let's talk soon ok?

♥

xo

Slow and Steady

☽  It's this time of year where I experience a wild regrowth.  ☾

It's already late august and I can really feel how autumn is comingcloser with every day that goes by.

As I run my bare hand over bounties of carrots, parsley, and sage, I feel immediate gratitude forour gorgeous harvest.

The garden is feeding our family so beautifully this year.

Although we've grown more than enough for ourselves, earlier this week my neighbors andI went to our local summer festival. Boy do I genuinely love my farming community.

All of these hardworking artisans and farmers had booths so full of gorgeous goods.Garlic cloves wrapped in straw flowers, juicy pickling cucumbers, rose hip jams and unpasturized honeys in sweetly labelled glass jars, turmeric and sour cherry tonics, and all sorts of handmade goods, all at very reasonable prices.

Something about seeing your community come together for a yearly event like this is just so magical.

I'd like to have my own booth next year filled with jewelry, paintings, produce, our eggs, freshly cut flowers, and jars of homemade pickles.

Bryson and I have been spending many of our summer nights on the lake.

We take the canoe out and paddle to the deepest parts and watch as the sun sets over the cow pastures. Bryson has taught me how to fish this year and I am so happy to learn more and more about it everytime we take to the lake.

A few months ago Bryson set off to be away for half a year for some training for a new job in the middle of Canada. Part way through, he made the difficult decision to come back and continue pursuing paramedicine instead.

 6 months might not be a long time to be apart for many of you, but for me, the idea of being awayfrom each other for that long was hard.

I am so selfishly grateful he is home.

I think about our nights on the lake together. I think about the loons calling to us and the beaverstreamlining through the water and smacking his tail like a drum against the calm stillness. I thinkabout catching my first fish and watching the dragonflies dip into the water and create ripples around us.I think about how we almost didn't get to experience all of that together, and that thought hurts.

He still has to leave home for half of every week to work but he is so happy and I am happy too.

He is a fantastic paramedic.

We are coming up to our ten year anniversary and it is so good to know we get to spend it together.I like to grab him and kiss him whenever I like just because I can.

Maybe when he gets home later this week, we will paddle out to our spot and watch the world around us fall asleep.

And as the stars come out we will canoe back home, slow and steady.

♥

Sunday Summer Snippets

As I write this, I find my eyes drifting out the window to the meadow across from our home.

♥

I feel the pull of the big blue sky, I hear the tall blades of grass sway andscrape at each other like windchimes, the horses are snorting and pulling upclover, and as the sun sets, the insects, frogs, and birds fill the air like a twilightsymphony.

Our place isn't huge, but it's hard-working.

Our chickens are busy laying and scratching at the earth, Ruby is patrollingthe grounds, and our garden is drinking up water and sunshine. I'm absolutelyamazed at how much our garden grows overnight.

While my mom was visiting in May, she bought me a flat of pansies with aunknown brassica seedling hanging on the tray for dear life.

We planted it with the strawberries and I eventually transplanted it into ourlarger garden bed once the frosts had passed. Within two months ourvolunteer seedling had grown into a whopping 8 pound head of cabbage!

We are beyond thrilled with how many meals we can make from this deeply layeredbeauty.

Our other plants are also flourishing in our mixture of top soil and three-year-old horse manure.

Our landlord calls this mixture "Cariboo Gumbo."

We have 10 cauliflower plants, 3 tomatoes, 3 zucchini plants, 3 differenttypes of squash, the most ridiculous amount of lettuce I have ever seen, potatoes, strawberries,cucumbers, 2 pepper plants, garlic, dill, parsley, and sage up the wazoo!

It's brings me so much joy to step out every morning with a cup of tea in handto survey our little cultivation.

There is nothing better than eating what you grow. Add some organicallyraised laying hens to the mix, and you're set for the summer.

Everyday is Eden here.

We spend our days swimming in the lake, picking wild strawberries at our feet, andgoing to our local farmer and artisan markets. It is all just too heavenly.

On another note, I wanted to apologize for being MIA recently.

I've been focusing on creating commissions for the past few months and have alsobeen spending a lot of time with family.

Recently I had an urge to take some timeto step away from posting on etsy, and all my social platforms to map out some intentions andgoals of mine.

For now, these are some I feel comfortable sharing:

1) I've decided to completely strip the airstream. we are talking down to the bones.I want to free little red of old insulation, clean up any possible mouse droppings in the base of the camper,seal all the leaks, strip the red paint down to the aluminum, re-paint her (little blue? Little sage green?), and create a versatile open-concept space I am proud of.

2) I'm going to really focus on posting more etsy shop listings.This is going to include both silver and other pieces of my art. It is time to get rid of theselimitations I have put on myself and share my creations. There are so many beautiful things happening in my studio!

3) I am going to begin following a passion of mine I have had for a while in the coming year!I'm not quite ready to share exactly what this passion is, but I promise I'll let you knowonce it is all coming to fruition. I hope that is ok with you. My intentions are pure in all of this.

I honestly have so many dreams beyond these goals of mine. I better get cracking!

Thank you for your amazing support and constant love on this platform.I'll be listing some new pieces on my shop very soon!

I hope you pop by!

Until then, thank you for being in my world and as always, May You Be Loved.

xo

♥