Rural

"I'd like to take you up and show you and Mom our cabin," my Sister said to me last week.  When this invitation came about  I was hesitant....could I just up and leave? What about the magazine...what about my garden?  Throwing the keyboard, and the trowel to the wind, I went on an adventure...we had it timed so the mosquitoes were not yet out, and the ice would be coming off of the lake. We returned wind and sunburned despite tons of sunscreen....with over a thousand pictures on my phone, and camera...along with memories of time spent with those I love. They were good times... the sound of waves lapping against the dock, and the haunting call of loons at midnight from across the lake echoing in my head.  Ducks in the bay doing a bit of house hunting, wild bears we startled on the roadside... too many deer to keep track of, a hare, and the most amazing of all, a nesting sandhill crane! All of the power poles in the Cariboo seem to be marked ...

Spring is a season that always appears suddenly where I live. The Okanagan is known for its beautiful sunny hot summers. Excessively so if you are a gardener watching your beloved plants withering in the intense heat. It looks like that's not going to change despite our long and never ending winter, which suddenly left us a few weeks ago. Now we are in for a stretch of potentially record breaking temperatures that will melt the snowcap on the mountains and cause considerable flooding. As hard as they are to find, there are still patches of snow snuggled up under a shady roof, and the spring bulbs have barely raised their delicate heads from the frosty ground...but summer is arriving here any moment now.  Don't blink.. So much for spring.  But even the overly enthusiastic summer temperatures will be welcome it's a joy to see the unfurling of the leaves, the opening of the blossoms, the greening of the trees...it's been a long winte...

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Are you a fan of Pinterest...you know that wonderful rabbit hole that you swear you are just going to look at for a few minutes...maybe find a recipe for your new Instant Pot, or get some garden inspiration?  Until the next thing you know...it's hours later and well...you've pinned so many gorgeous ideas that you don't know where to start? Yes, that Pinterest....Well, Rural magazine is there also... check us out here : We'd love to see you on Pinterest, and we even have a group board named Rural Magazine Reader's group board ...if you would like to be part of that message me through our Pinterest site, and I'll add your name to our group board. We pin varying themes each week, this week it's Garden Inspiration, and there are some gorgeous pins being pinned to this board. So join in and find us on Pinterest, we'd love to see you there. Jen @ Rural Magazine

Spring is in the air and we're excited to open up a new shop for RURAL readers. Our first items to be stocking the virtual shelves are luscious art cards created by Jen from Muddy Boot Dreams...[hey that's me!]. Printed on a heavy paper stock with gorgeous full color detailed designs, these art cards measure 5 inches by 7 inches and are blank inside with lots of room for your personal message. They come with a crisp white envelope, sealed inside a clear cello sleeve, in numerous designs. All the photography is original and exclusive to Muddy Boot Dreams. At only $5 each with Free Shipping [US and Canada] they are are a great deal...so hurry the stock availability is limited and they are going fast.  Check them out here; Interested in purchasing? Email jen@ruralmag.com for more info and to place an order.

Journals have fascinated me all of my life, I've longed to be the kind of person who managed to document their life in words and illustrations...someone creative, and visually inspired Like many things in life, I've had good intentions, although the more practical side of it seems to fall short. Sure, I've started a journal or two, or three....they seem to falter somewhere after day 7...maybe you are like me and you only get a few weeks or months written before real life steps in and distracts you. But a visual journal gives me a chance to share what it feels like to hike the nearby mountains, our breath foggy in the crisp cold air. To capture the sunlight peering through the towering branches of the fir trees. To record the early morning grind of rubber tires during a bike ride down a deserted and dusty country road. Wheels crunching on the gravel left behind by the snowplow, birds chirping in the trees overhead... a glimpse of a coyote a flash of amber dashing...

Dear Winter... I think we need to see other seasons... Yes, I know our love for each other was a deep as the snow that's fallen almost every day since November...but lately you've been smothering me.  I long for green shoots, and branches that are budding, and I need to see the ground once again.  Dear Winter, let's break up It's not as if you weren't faithful in sticking around, it's just that we are spending too much time together...how about we give each other some space. I've started to take you for granted, being with you all this time..and I'm finding my eyes straying towards Spring, dreaming of days outside without your chilly grasp...and I have to wonder what else there is out there for me. Winter, this isn't goodbye I can tell you don't do goodbyes easily...but, maybe we could set up a meeting once again after Autumn comes to visit. I'm looking forward to Spring charming us...