Sierra V. Fedorko

Since I wrote last the irses have bloomed in the garden, we’ve plucked a few fresh strawberries, the roses continue bountifully, and my “everything” flowerbed is filling out.

Just yesterday morning I noticed the first blooms on one of my hollyhocks! The stalk is so bent over and so lopsided that the deep purple blooms are lying on the ground in my “everything” flowerbed, but that’s the kind of gardening I do best…wild, chaotic, cottage-in-the-woods vibes.

Fall as you may and bloom if you can. I will be here for whatever happens!

As far as life things, my son finished Kindergarten and proceeded to share this accomplishment with anyone in the grocery store who would listen. And they all listened and were all so happy for him.

I love small town life, but also, I think these kinds of interactions are much more prevalent than social media would lead us to believe. So look up the next time you’re in town and be pleasantly surprised.

My four-year-old daughter got to ride a horse for the first time and she was thrilled to pieces. It was a highlight for me to watch her enjoy something so much.

Horses are definitely in our future. She was a natural and so in love. (I know I’m her mom, but I try to be realistic about my children’s talents and skills. She really was a natural, hehee!)

In my last blog post, I wrote about my youngest daughter’s sudden sickness and the following of weeks of struggles and unknowns. I am so pleased to share that she is doing so much better. She is walking along furniture once again, climbing in and out of things, so much happier, and finally really and truly playing again.

The relief I have felt in late April and the first bit of May has been refreshing to the soul. It was a lot of trudging before, but like the garden, life feels much more alive these days.

I am 16 weeks pregnant tomorrow and will find out whether this baby is a boy or girl in June. I am so excited to know! I couldn’t tell you one way or the other. I will be surprised either way.

My last two pregnancies have been girls (so a boy would feel unexpected!), but this pregnancy has also been shockingly lighter on the nausea front (still plenty miserable, but lighter!). So, if this baby is a boy I will maybe take stock in that old wive’s tale about less nausea for a boy pregnancy, but if this baby is a girl, I will still be flabbergasted (haha) and so thankful the Lord has allowed the sickness to be less intense this time around.

The baby is already who the baby is so knowing doesn’t change anything about the life already so full and beautiful growing in my womb. I felt the baby for certain on the eve of Mother’s Day (what timing!) with three little consecutive flutters. The most amazing feeling.

As for writing, we finished our first novelette in the Garden of Green Fables series (find it here) and I am well into writing the second one which will actually serve as a prequel to our first, The Heart of Hugh. Kind of confusing, hehehe, but I share some about this next novelette in this Substack post.

Eventually, I am hoping to combine each novelette into a true body of work that will read like a novel. To stay on track, I have two novelettes to complete this year and one planned for Winter 2027 and after that I should have quite a good story to put all together for the first volume in Garden of Green Fables. It will be worth the wait.

I have posted mostly the garden on our Facebook page and am in desperate need of writing more poetry. But that will come soon enough. I have already set aside poems for a fourth poetry book. It is very doubtful anything will be published this year. I am having a baby in the fall, after all.☺️ However, I look forward to composing my fourth poetry book and have already been inspired to begin the process.

I know I am posting my stories to Substack, but I want to put more of my time and energy into this blog. But that probably means I just need to get back to writing poetry again! I save nearly all my poems for this blog. Substack is fun and all, but I think of this blog as my “legacy spot” for writing. So, thank you for being here!

This summer, expect new poetry, garden tours, story updates, the news about this baby being a boy or girl, and other life notes on this season of life.

Talk soon!

🌻Sierra