It was a WILD week on the ridge. Monday night we had over 7 inches of rain. Over the course of the week, we probably had 4-5 more inches. It washed out our driveway and was nearly impassable. Our angel neighbors (shout out to Donna! 💕) sent their tractor up to repair it which took a full day. It's funny how you move to a place like this to get away from it all and then find how much you need and appreciate your neighbors. We really hit the jackpot with ours! But I digress.

By Friday, the sun was starting to come out and we've learned that after a long rain you better have your head on a swivel. EVERYTHING is on the move. It was like Noah's ark up here. 

It's really amazing to witness.

As the sun came up and finally broke through the clouds, the birds began chirping, our chickens began squawking demanding to be let out. :) The bees were everywhere gathering pollen. Even the creatures that normally aren't so out in the open were literally coming out of the woodwork.

In the garden there was the cutest toad and about a foot away was a big garter snake. Toads are a primary food source for snakes, but neither seemed to care. They were hanging out soaking up the rays. I kept checking on them throughout the day, everyone played nice together. 

The bigger things were out too. We knew we had some bear activity because they were flipping our stone wall and walkway looking for ants to eat. We also knew they weren't small because the stones were cemented down and probably 100 lbs. The bears were tossing them like pillows. This usually happens at night, and we hadn't actually seen any bear this year.

Here's some pics of their handy work:

Well, once they had been cooped up for the week, much like the toad and the snake, patiently waiting until we were asleep was not in the cards.

In the span of 5 minutes, we came across 3 different bears around our house! One had to be 400-500 lbs. He was HUGE. The other 2 were together. It looked like a mom and juvenile, probably 300 lbs and +100 lbs.

We all scared each other half to death.

Fortunately, there's plenty of space for them to run off. Encounters are rare and brief. Praise be! 

This time of year the bears can seem to be the more aggressive. They’re actively looking for food, but their food sources are still quite limited. It'll probably be another couple of weeks before the berries are ready, and they'll quit flipping our walkway! 

The forecast is calling for lots of sunshine this week, so things should calm back down. Thank goodness. 

Now that summer is officially here, I wanted to share some favorite recipes that are great for cooling pitta. BTW, a good early warning sign that you are accumulating too much heat is any skin breakouts. Rashes, acne, canker sores, even being hyperreactive to bug bites. 

Pitta Pacifying Recipes for Summer:

Mango Lassi - The mangos are amazing right now and this drink is so refreshing. You can easily swap out the milk for nutmilk or oatmilk. But don't skip the cardamon!

Hibiscus Tulsi Ice Tea - great for your skin complexion.

Cold Cucumber Soup - great for picnic's paired with a fresh tomato sandwich

Avocado Summer Rolls - another great picnic option!

Coconut Date Bliss Balls - I've been making these for nearly 15 years, this recipe is from my dear teacher Dr. Manisha Kshirsagar

Enjoy! xo -Anna