A midwife, photographer, farmer, and homeschooling mother to three, Sarah Davis was looking for a way to stop time. “It’s easy to move from moment to moment, task to task with our families. I wanted a way to pause for a moment, to treasure certain moments through the day, because our days are busy,” Sarah recalls. And so, she started DoubleAcreFarm on Instagram, an account of life on her 2-acre farm in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
As a practice, Sarah posts a new photograph each day and captions the images with her thoughts on life, nature, and family. Whether she’s shooting with her phone or her Fugifilm X-Pro, Sarah says, “I want to be thoughtful in taking pictures of what’s going on around me.”
This is the light that woke me up this morning, beckoning me out of bed to come and greet the day – despite my sleepiness, for just a taste of quiet before whatever today holds. This is not what I usually do, but what I want so much to do….to have those first moments of the day to simply be – to listen to the gentle whisper of God, since He does speak in whispers to our soul and we can hear if we are still enough. {I am usually not still enough.} My feet most days hit the ground running, reacting to that next thing, the next task or need…but this. More of this is totally what I want – what I so very much need.
The morning’s gathering of herbs to hang and dry today: mint, thyme and lavender…more than likely that fresh mint will end up in a pot of tea instead. Feeling grateful for cool mornings and a little quiet before the day really gets going. Zach was outside with me helping pick the herbs and he has a huge, deep fear of bees at the moment…but we saw a sweet bumblebee at work and I was able to pet it gently with my finger and he was a bit amazed…hoping this helps ease that fear a little.
These peonies have looked just like this for weeks. Just waiting for the right moment to bloom. They are beautiful even in this moment of waiting before the petals unfurl and they open into something new.
May they always remember when they are older and no matter what life brings, that they woke up nearly everyday to him scrambling our fresh eggs while water boiled in the tea kettle, that he taught them to love the land – planting seeds together and watching them grow into our food, that he took so much time to listen to their hopes and dreams and he was often ready for a game of chess or Settler’s, or a game of tag on summer evenings.
I wish I could hug every single one of my mom friends, and mothers I have watched become mothers in birth, and mothers who didn’t see motherhood coming, (but it came anyway)…I want to hug them and look them in the eye and say, “You are enough. Your love is enough. You don’t have to be perfect. There is just no such thing as a perfect mom and there never has been…and we will mess things up and there is so much we may get wrong, but so VERY much we will get right…and in the end it will all come back to the love we gave them. Each day there is so much grace given to us, and despite all of our imperfections and also because of some of them, our children will also learn and grow and blossom into the wonderful people they are becoming.”
Magic is everywhere in our yard this evening, you just have to look close.
I have no words….except, if somehow I can teach them to love all, I will have taught them everything.
“Learn to like what doesn’t cost much. Learn to like reading, conversation, music. Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking. Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills. Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different…different from you. Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done. Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things. Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day. Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.” – Lowell Bennion
New life
Springing up among the rocks and the crevices
A gentle reminder of hope in rocky places – beauty even in the midst of decay –
delicate petals; vulnerable and willing to risk for a chance with the sun, again.
Such beauty – in the photos and their descriptions.
What a wonderful way to document your ordinary, extraordinary days on your 2-acre farm! Brilliant, beautiful, a gift.
What a lovely collection of photos to tell your story. This is so inspiring, all of the beautiful colors and textures of your life. Thank you for sharing!