Sierra V. Fedorko

Has your summer been as wild as mine?! Last time I posted on the blog was May 29th! But I’ve been working hard behind the scenes, and I’ve also been getting into the summer spirit.

I thought I’d give you a little garden tour (spring + summer edition) and share some pretty big news with you while I’m at it.

I try to get a couple photos with Ben throughout the year when I can. We are so relaxed and like to document our life through a real lens so our photos are few & far between and usually grainy selfies in poor composition, but this photo from our 10th anniversary garden picnic is a real favorite! If you missed all those photos + reflections, find them here.

The week after our anniversary party, Wolf Mountain, the Christian camp we work at, began its summer season. Every season is full in its own way, but summer is a special kind of noisy blur here at camp. I love the activity, though, and how it makes the quieter seasons so much more special. It took me longer this year to get the hang of things, but that’s because we added our lil Sylvie to the mix.

For me, the transition from 2-3 kids was much easier than 1-2, but I still had quite the task on my hands with three children in tow during camp’s busy summer season. But we are totally getting there! I cultivate really quiet rhythms at home where we can recharge and have a real sense of haven and light-hearted summery fun. Kids have been swimming in their pool, playing in the garden, enjoying their friends, and soaking up porch days.

Daisies have been the name of the game this spring/summer! My center flowerbed is a hodge podge happening place. I never know quite what will grow.

Many different flower seeds have been thrown in over the years and what comes up, comes up. These Shasta daisies have taken the cake, but we have some more wildflowers up and coming so we will see what happens in July! And if you didn’t know late spring and early summer is a flower’s gardener’s holiday season! Here’s I am in my Santa hat with my designated coffee teacup for the warm months so filled to the brim with light, bustling, and bloom!

Although, we officially planted our sunflowers seeds a few weeks later than usual (by moonlight no less!), I didn’t thin out all the “wild” ones growing in the bed, which meant we had our first sunflower last Friday IN JUNE!! That’s a record for Green Fables. I always take special note of the first bloom of the season. Here is the first sunflower of 2025! I’m very partial to sunflowers! I love them.

Hollyhocks have also risen to the top of the fray in that hodge podge flowerbed. These lovely flowers feel like the garden has its Easter dress on. Hollyhocks will tower and tower nearly forever if you let them. Yes, our purple banner from our 10th anniversary garden party is still hanging! I’ve decided it’s my new spring through June tradition: hang a banner in the garden!

In 2023, we brought fruit trees home to plant in the garden. Last year, we had about two small grainy peaches. Still the bite into that peach was satisfying! But this year we had nearly 10 peaches and the last one we picked was the sweetest of all. Sooo delicious, what fresh fruit dreams are made of!

So far we’ve enjoyed one summer thunderstorm at Green Fables. I love a summer storm. The only thing that (barely, maybe) beats it is the first downpour when autumn is on its way. Thunder in summer is such a cozy sound and the rain is always needed. Especially in California! Fire planes fly over our garden often in the summertime.

It’s always possible everything burns, but I’ve no fear in that. I keep tending to beautiful things, making a place for children to play freely and creatively, and nurturing a habitat to draw in and care for the birds and butterflies and bees.

Since I’m not pregnant, I’ve been able to tend to my garden more intentionally and am coaxing my roses into another glorious burst in July! They are doing wonderfully. After their party in the spring, I’ve kept my eye on them, tending as necessary so we can get another solid bloom.

We are also at a point in Green Fables where I can make up simple bouqets to leave on a neighbor’s porch or gift to a friend at church! This has been in my garden dreams for awhile now, but it’s the first year it feels like that dream is really taking shape. I think the sunflowers and the daisies are going to be the stars of Bouquet Season.

I’ve been notably quiet on the blog because life has been so busy and the garden has been so loud. I’ve shared more consistently with our community on Facebook these last weeks, but even then I haven’t posted new poetry (until today).

And That’s Because:

I’m in the process of writing my THIRD poetry book! After weeks of brainstorming the concept of a book, settling on a working title, and also letting myself meander down different paths and new ideas, I finally sharpened a fresh pencil, turned to the second page in a small brown notebook (see it on the typewriter), and wrote a new poem for my next poetry book. I’ve already worn in the eraser.

If possible I want my printed poetry collections to hold anywhere from 75-100 poems. Which means I have quite a few still to write.❤

The project grows stronger and more personal as I continue writing, and I’m hoping to have a rough draft of my third poetry book by summer’s end. There’s so much I want to share with you from these last few years…grief and fairytales, motherhood and struggles of faith, my refuge in Christ, my sadness and my joy…

And while I’m writing my own story, my hope is always that you feel seen and that your story feels told in some way or another.

We have different life experiences, sure, but we all experience life profoundly.

So that’s where I’ve been. 🙂 I will share here as often as I can, but if it’s unusually quiet that’s because it’s an intense and vulnerable writing season, the garden needs tending, and my children are at my feet and in my arms.

What a treat. What a season!

---

discover my first two poetry books:

Hope Gives a Eulogy – intimate poetry about my journey through infertility and how God made spring in my soul even before a baby was in my womb. 

Swan Song of a Scarecrow – from infertility to pregnancy, to birth and the beginnings of motherhood, Swan Song of a Scarecrow is a stirring tale of how God’s Presence changes everything…how I discovered I am safe to run into life like a child. Arms outstretched. Headlong.