Summer Transitioning

I hope this post finds you all enjoying some blissful, relaxing summer time. It’s been a good summer here, although it’s fleeting fast! For us, it’s been a summer of transition, and August will bring more changes with back to school, fading summer gardens, and soon, transitioning seasons. Grab a glass of somethin’ cold and relax as I share some tips to make summer transitioning smooth sailing and full of “Hygge”.

(“Hygge” is a Danish word that’s hard to translate, but you know it when you feel it. To me, it’s happiness, coziness, contentment … a place or moment where you want to linger.) 

This summer, my sweet half-Dane turned fourteen! In a few weeks, she’ll be a freshman in high school! We’ve made a point of spending lots of quality time together – family time is truly “hygge”.

When I started blogging for MaryJanesFarm, Audrey was only seven, in elementary school. Many of you’ve watched her grow up. I know high school is a big transition, so this summer we’ve savored those special moments of being a kid before school starts and we become busy as bees!

A busy bee in my yard…

We’ve taken a few weeks to be with family and friends, having old-fashioned fun that builds childhood memories- like being outside until it gets dark and campfire fun. I love sitting by a campfire as dusk transitions to night. So cozy.

Hygge! My sweet little nieces from Denmark visited this summer. Seems like just yesterday my girl was this small!

Audrey and friends enjoying a summer evening…

Cozy campfire!

Speaking of cozy, inside sitting by a fire is just so warm and relaxing. In warmer months, a fireplace can look plain “cold”. Clean out the ashes and add decor that transitions into fall, like tea lights or candles and baskets. Get the “warmth” of a fireplace without the “warm”.

Pinecone string lights, vintage Americana, and candlelight make this Adirondack lake house fireplace summer cozy.

Flea market vintage baskets and back lighting warm up this fireplace in summer.

I found this old mid-century Danish teak candelabra in a thrift shop. I remove the grate and add tea lights to my clean fireplace in summer…

…the result is cozy! Thank you, Scarlett, for the photo bomb.

Outside, the garden will transition soon, too. The delicious tomatoes we’ve enjoyed all summer will eventually stop producing.

Yellow flowers that bloomed on vines will morph into orange and white pumpkins I’ll use for decor, fall dishes, and jack-o-lanterns (it’s a bumper crop this year)! I’ve added plants like turnips, and am planning my cold-weather crops to extend the growing season. I had a great season for lettuce both in pots and beds -once the weather cools a bit, I’ll plant more.

Lettuce stops producing in very warm degree temps. Plant again when cooler degree weather.

A little friend cools in the shade of my lettuce.

Planting perennials that bloom from spring to fall means your outside surroundings transition effortlessly. In my cutting garden, peonies that bloomed in late June gave way to the next round of blooms, like yarrow and bee balm.

The cone flowers and Black-eyed-Susans are greeting me now. What I don’t use for cutting will stay so the birds can dine on the seeds. My rusty little windmill looks great no matter the season, even through fall. I’ll bring it in the shed once snow falls.

Speaking of rustic chic, have you seen the current issue of MaryJanesFarm? It’s “hygge” in the mailbox! (Get a subscription Here). The re-purposed iron bed in the garden is too cah-ute! I love re-purposing vintage items outside!

At my house, I re-purposed steps meant for a hot tub as a focus point for potted plants on my back deck, sprinkled with rustic animal lanterns and old insulators with electric tea lights. I’ll transition the look in a few weeks by adding colder-hardy plants like decorative cabbage, fall mums, and pumpkins.

An old milk box, a recent junk-tiquing find, sits at the back door. Junk-tiquing is a favorite past time, especially with my bff! Transitioning that little corner with the seasons will be a snap. Right now there’s a potted shade-loving hosta and seashells; come fall I’ll add mums and pumpkins, and in winter will fill the opened the box with evergreen branches, plaid ribbon, and old Christmas bulbs.

Recently, there was transitioning going on in my chicken coop, too, as I added two new girls to my flock. A birthday present from my friend Susan, I needed to integrate two Araucana babies into my brood of Sussex-Rhode Island Red-Leghorn crosses. MaryJane gave me the best how-to advice on the Farmgirl Forum chatroom, and happily my new girls are now part of the flock. Sometimes transition isn’t a snap – you have to ease into it!

Meet my new girls, “Susan” and “Erin”.

Porch-sitting is “hygge” for sure, and I try to find time for it when I can, even if it’s just with morning coffee or a few minutes in the afternoon with iced tea. My shabby-chic porch is done-up for summer with patriotic touches I keep out through Labor Day. Afterward, I’ll transition the seasonal decor by simply switching out the red-white-and-blue tablecloth for a darker red one and adding a few fall touches like a basket with apples. Decorating with red as base and changing the accent colors makes transitioning with the seasons a bit easier.

My homemade lemonade recipe: add to a pitcher one cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, fill to the top with water, 3/4 cup organic sugar, float lemon slices and serve.

Enjoy the rest of summer! Let me know you stopped by and leave me a comment. Tell me your tips. I’d love to hear from you!

Until Next Time…Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole