the view from my kitchen window

this is my 'altar.' i bring my problems to this place and meditate on them as i wash dishes. the window sill is always littered with pieces of found nature...shells, feathers, rocks, pine cones, acorns, crystal, branches, leaves, flowers, dried bits. it also contains some stones that say 'faith,' 'joy', 'love' and 'trust'. there's an incense burner and an oil burner as well, gifts from greg from over the years that are multitasking tools (the incense burner is where i put my tea ball to dry before emptying the contents).
looking beyond the window sill, the view is of part of the gardens...herb and vegetable. daylilies, echinacea and mint fill the foreground. flowers dot the borders...dianthus and pansies mostly. the garden surrounding the birdbath is filled with rue, daylilies, marshmallow, comfrey, lavender, butterfly bush, dill, catnip, lemon balm and plantain to name a few. i am currently thinning out this garden and moving the bigger plants to a more appropriate area in the new herb garden, to the left of the garage. the greenhouse, cheap as it is, has served its purpose. it has housed (and is currently doing so) day old broiler chicks, turkey poults (who are now happily thriving in the goat barn), lots of seedlings and transplants. soon i'll be starting our fall veggies in there. eventually, it will be moved away from its location and a summer kitchen will go in its place, filling out the space to the right of the greenhouse to the stone path that is barely visible in this picture. this is the last of the lawn...to the right there is a fire pit and circle and i hope to build a sand pit for the kids to play in before this summer is over.
the stone path is barely visible (click on the photos and they'll enlarge to show you many things, including lenny drinking in the bird bath). but beckons me to wander down it to the farther out gardens. there more herbs await me...dill, mugwort, chamomile, st. john's wort, ashwagandha, marshmallow, motherwort, chives, spilanthes, poppies, lemon balm, valerian, basil, feverfew and astragalus, just to name a few. their path leads to the main vegetable (and weed) garden. beyond our property, the farmer has planted soy beans this year after a harsh 3 years of corn. the ground has got to be sucked dry of any bit of fertility. at the far end of that field lies a tree line and beyond that, the 'mcmansion' house, home of the annoying neighbor with a para glider. we always joke about what it would take to bring him down, everything from discussing using a bow and arrow with flames to a hand held missile. seriously though, the guy gives me the creeps every time he flies over us, i feel like he's spying on us and seeing what all we have going on around here. i don't like the invasion of privacy.

next time, i'll show you the much less glamourous view out my side and front windows!

what do you see out your kitchen window?