hump day nuggets: little bits of the season in photos and words about the last week
I keep starting to write and then backspacing to blank. So, thoughts aren’t easily forming words today and for some reason I have Tumbling Tumbleweeds in my head. And I am rolling with it (ha! rolling with it!)
I’m a roaming cowboy riding all day long
Tumbleweeds around me sing their lonely song.
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I think my old definition of a messy home is kind of cute. I have a whole new understanding of mess. |
Nights underneath the prairie moon,
I ride along and sing this tune.
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Margot’s Darker Pink Panda Bear goes wherever she goes. And, he is always prepared. He wears two diapers and sits in a felted wool purse with three pencils. He is then swaddled in three blankets, one of which is made from fabric Margot picked out just for him at the fabric store last week. The blankets are secured with a pin on the right wide of the bag. |

See them tumbling down

Pledging their love to the ground
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Several have asked how we put our garden to bed for the winter. This is it! We pull all the dead vegetable plants but leave them in the garden and then pile leaves on top. The plant skeletons and leaves then decompose and nourish the soil. Also, in leaving all that on the ground, weed seeds have a hard time germinating in the spring. |
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garlic in the ground! |
Lonely but free I’ll be found
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Ruby and I literately rolled in these leaves for an hour while Margot napped. It was so beautiful and so fun in that dang, life is so flippin’ great way. |
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.
Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go but I’ll find
Just where the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.

I know when night has gone
That a new world’s born at dawn.
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My girl loves rainbows and I love that. |
I’ll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
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Ruby and Margot live in these leg warmers |
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds.
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we adore our reusable snack and sandwich bags |
Hooray for dig sponsor, Hip Mountain Mama! This very cool family-run business has a website full of wonderful, natural products for babies, kids and mamas. Some of our favorites are pictured in the two photos above.
Hip Mountain Mama has a few special offers just for you!
* Leave a comment for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate. Comments close Sunday night (11/14).
* Use coupon code ‘dig’ to get free shipping on all orders over $50.
Thanks, Hip Mountain Mama!
Funny that I haven’t heard Tumbling Tumbleweeds in a long time. Years, probably. And, yet, it’s in my head and kind of beautifully appropriate. I like imagining rolling along the range at whatever pace the wind dictates, collecting stray particles and gaining strength. Also, my hair kind of looks like a tumbleweed today so there’s that too.
Happy hump day out there.
93 Comments
I would spend all $30 on those nifty snack and sandwich bags… Thanks for the opportunity! 🙂
Look at all those leaves!! What a fun way to spend an afternoon.
Can’t believe how big Ruby is getting!
And is there anything cuter than little girls in leg warmers?!
I love thos legwarmers. My Lucy and Alice would be cozier and cuter this Idaho winter with them! -Idaho Amy
I want Margot’s haircut. Wouldn’t that be a crack up to tote a photo of a little one into the stylist? I totally should.
Love pics of the girls together. Such sisterly love. My little one may never have a sibling to love, but that’s what friends are for.
We would adore some snack sacks. Thanks for the awesome offer.
Leighann
I am going to buy some cute leg warmers for my grand-daughter who is to be born any day now. 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion.
Oh girl….tumbling tumbleweeds – now that’s when country was actually country and not crap…just sayin’
Oh, how I wish my Ivy had a sister to share sweet moments with.
,,,smile,,,
Wow! The photos of Ruby in the golden leaves have me aching to be somewhere to experience the seasons! Simple beautiful!
I absolutely love you for posting that picture of your messy house…it is so good to know I am not the only one whose house looks like that at times!
Those re-usable sacks and adorable leggings are awesome.
It looks like in addition to tumbling tumbleweeds you girls are letting the good times roll! 🙂
Once again, I am missing fall in Missoula! Love all the beautiful leaves this time of year.
My three year old daughter also loves rainbows, so I’d totally buy her and her little sister some of the rainbow leg warmers with the $30 gift card!
Great blog post and awesome pictures, as usual!
You and your girls are so beautiful!
Happy winter preparation to all of you!
“I think my old definition of a messy home is kind of cute. I have a whole new understanding of mess.”
Welcome to the world of the Mother of Two! It’s ok, later they help un-mess too. 🙂
LOVE the Baby Legs. 🙂 Your girls are adorable and those fall leaves are beautiful. I love your hump day nugget posts!
I love to use reusable snack bags and could really use more!
By the way, I don’t consider my house messy but the result of very productive imaginative play…it is all in perspective! 🙂
Glad to know my house isn’t the only one that looks like this! LOL.
Glad I don’t have the only messy house 😉 Loved hearing about Margot’s panda bear 🙂
Would love to try some reusable snack bags … and my baby needs some new legwarmers!
Ha I learned Tumbling Tumbleweeds when I was in eighth grade. Our class used it in a musical that we wrote as a project. Now it’ll be stuck in my head too so you have company :).
ok so do you pull out non-vegetable plants? i have chives and oregano in my garden. do i just let them die? or pull them out? help me, garden master.
I love this post! Tumbling tumbleweeds…how very appropriate indeed 🙂 And those leg warmers are awesome.
XOXO,
Angie from Ohio
Love the cute apron and polka dot streamer crown on Margot. Looks like something my little Clara would wear. Thank you for introducing me to Hip Mountain Mama. Love their products!
Sarah,
Oregano and chives are perennial! They’ll come back next year. Don’t pull em. Just cut back and they will grown in thicker next year!
Si…so your in good company when it comes to that messy floor I know all too well. I had a light-hearted smirk when I saw the picture. But it’s life and it means your FULL! And I partially blame that ‘Great Room’ concept that my house kinda has also. We’re all together and for the most part we live and eat and play with a 25 foot parameter. AND….I have to ask do you ever think you’ll make that leap and have music playing with your blog? I mean I’m not complaining here! I sang right along and it flowed beautifully, didn’t even need the the sound 🙂 But it made me wonder…
Funny I have been humming/singing, Don’t Fence Me In for two days now….”Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above,
Don’t fence me in.
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,
Don’t fence me in……..” Goes with Tumbling Tumbleweeds….Must be a Western gal sort of thing!
Margot~I can see by the way you take such good care of Darker Pink Panda Bear that you are going to be a very good mama someday! He is one very lucky bear! AND your sense of style is very becoming! Your mama’s San Fran sweatshirt suits you well…. I Love You A Bushel & A Peck!
Ruby~I could stare at you all day! I wish I was closer to roll in the leaves with you too! You Are My Sunshine!
Love to all!
xoxo, Mom/Gram
Oh! I’ve already added hip mountain mama to my christmas list for my son. He’d love their natural art supplies. Love your blog!! It’s funny because down here in south florida, this time of year is our prime planting season. Our garden was just planted. =)
Love your posts and those legwarmers!
The definition of Messy. It’s all about perspective isn’t it?! It amazes me how fast my littles can make it look like a hurrican came through. Especially since my 1 yr old is in the oh-so-fun dumping stage. If only we can teach her that putting things away is just as fun!
Great idea for putting the garden to bed. I always put the plants in our compost pile. Silly me!
Those HipMountainMama leggings look great – so many to choose from.
How do you clean the SnackTaxi? (I want to make sure I can get the spilled PB&J out : )
Your posts are so inspiring! It makes me want to go find a big pile of leaves and roll around in them with my son (we only have pine trees in our neighborhood-not much fun to roll around in pine needles! :-)) Thank you for sharing! PS…LOVE those leg warmers – do they come in adult sizes?? 🙂
Sunny Southern California is over 70 degrees today. I wish we had some leaves to roll in while wearing puffy jackets!
I’m loving those snack & sandwich bags! HMM is the shiz 😛
Love me some HMM!!
As a Montessori teacher of the age 3-6ers, I have to say that I love those reusable bags, they are cute, and you dont end up with a garbage can full of ziplocks!
The snack and sandwich bags are awesome!
I really want to get some reusable sandwich / snack bags. I hate throwing away the plastic ones.
Oh i just checked out Hip Mountain Mama. They have some great stuff–love the wooden toy washing machine. Love the dragon child’s costume. Love the tie dye onesies.
catherine(dot)alley(at)gmail(dot)com
Wow what an awesome site! Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely be doing some of my Christmas shopping there.
And I really must work on loosening up because I always get twitchy when evie rolls around in too much dirt, but boy does it look fun!
I remember listening to that song with my grandfather. Coloring in the hand drawn coloring books he made for us grandchildren. “Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds…”
Thank you for that smile. 🙂 I needed it tonight.
I love reading your nuggets every week. 🙂 Thanks for a glimpse into your cool life with your loving family.
Hip Mama was featured on Soule Mama’s blog. They have great stuff.
So sad to see the garden all done for the season. And after seeing your house, who says that a hurricane can’t happen so far inland! We all can share that same experience.
Have a great week.
-Jennifer from Annapolis
Love your blog Dig…And my Abby (2 1/2) loves looking at the pictures of your girls. Thanks for sharing your world w/ us. 🙂
Elle
I have a sign that my dear friend gave me that hangs in my kitchen for all to read
“A messy house means a loving mom”
I love that you embrace the mess as I do!
I love you blog and would love a gift certificate to purhcase something for my three girls!
momtothreegirls.blogspot.com
Oh sorry for the misspelling. I have also had puking kids this week and I am so tired my eyes are playing tricks on me!
I still love a messy house now & then, when you know that no one will be ringing the bell & the living room couch is surrounded by piles of magazines & holiday catalogs. You don’t have to worry about getting dressed or eating lunch ~ hell, you don’t even have to hide the pint of Ben & Jerry’s on the coffee table. Of course, I love the cleaning up part too, putting everything back in its place, wiping the ring left by the pint of B & J’s
on the coffee table. It’s just home, in all its glory. By the way Nici ~ you have two of the most beautiful children I’ve ever seen!
It does my heart good to see the pic of your living room… Sometimes I feel like I must be the only one who can’t keep up! But, you reminded me I’m not alone and it’s not the end of the world. Thanks!!
I love how you just emerse you and your girls into every bit of what life has to offer.
I envy your gardening! And I have never seen garlic being planted. So cool!
Love those baroque print leg warmers Ruby is sporting!
Margot, you are an awesome Momma to your dark pink panda!
:o)
SO jealous of your fall leaves – looks like such a fun way to spend an afternoon.
lindsayzockoll(at)gmail(dot)com
I want to roll in those leaves too!!
OK, silly question here…. The snack and sandwich bags…. Machine washable? Do you turn inside out to wash? I love them and what a great way to cut out the use of plastic bags.
love the baby legs. just got a couple pair for my 16 month old daughter..super cute!
I love how even when “the words aren’t forming” you still write something beautiful. LOVE your messy living room photo. And–Hip Mountain Mama! Cha-ching! We totally checked out that website a couple of months ago and have a few or so things on our wish list.
Oh, and my daughter LIVED in baby legs until summer hit, and is now living in them again. We do EC (elimination communication) at our house, so baby legs make it way convenient.
Love your words, as always. If you were a tumbleweed tumbling in the wind today, I was the one that’s stuck underneath a semi-truck… being dragged down the highway of life by forces bigger than myself!
Yep. It was *that* kind of day. But now the littles are tucked in, and (fingers crossed) sacked out.
Whew. Made it through.
Peace out.
Kate
p.s. Snack Taxi’s rock. I usually just hand rinse & hang to dry.
I would love to have a big garden like yours one day. Someday…
I often get tumbleweeds when I’m trying to blog too.
Lovin’ Ruby’s smile…and Margot’s old soul eyes. xo
Crunchy leaves are my favorite autumn event. I love how you involve both of your girls in your gardening…such an inspiration!
i would totally love a chance to snag that gift cert for hipmountainmama!
also – that pic of yer messy messy house? ThankYou for posting that.
no, really.
thank.you.
Love Darker Pink Panda and the rituals involved in getting him ready for the day. any more bite guards in the diaper? Keep on drifting N
Margot is amazing! She cracks me up! Her style, her thoughts, her quirky little way is… magical! She reminds me a lot of my little girl I guess…and that I love!
Happy Hump Day Nici.
xo
Those fabric sandwich bags, how cool! I’d love a chance to win a gift certificate.
Our garlic goes in the ground today too and the obsessive garden planning has begun!
I love babies in the leaves — we spent the weekend playing in them at our house too!
Thanks for the recommendation on the reusable bags too — I was just looking for some for packing snacks for my little one.
It’s refreshing to hear that even you have a hard time forming words from your thoughts at times. And the sentence about your old definition of a messy home being kinda cute … so very true!
PS – You have some pretty rad sponsors!
Happy day …
Dude! Margot is wearing the same socks in this post that little Nella is wearing in Kelle’s post this week LOL! I love both of your blogs and your pictures always have so much detail, that I love to soak up every last inch of them. So awesome that you can just post words of a song and it makes up such a great soundtrack to your week in photos. Have a great weekend!
(my bad, this comment was meant for 11/10 post, not last weeks’)
Thanks for the tips on closing up the garden for the winter, I live in Texas so I still have some tomatoes and jalapenos growing, but it is almost time to wrap it up, I am definitely going to use your strategy.
I have discovered so many great sites from your blog 🙂 Thank you!!! I just glanced over at Hip Mountain, and found so many great things I might need to own!
Dear Dig…I think I love you. :-)Mainly today for showing me what a mess your house can be and making me feel normal about my own wreck we call a living space. Its comfy, what can I say? And I often wonder what kind of funny things my boy will do w/his beloved stuffed animals like Margot does w/Darker Pink Panda. haha. Just saying the bear’s name makes me smile 😀
And Hip Mountain Mama totes rocks my socks. We are BIG fans of the block crayons and art supplies. Love Love Love them!
I love hip Mtn Mama! Woot!
Love your blog and all the LIFE!
I just bought leg warmers for the new baby in my life, my friend just adopted her first child at 46 yrs old! Oh My, what fun she is in for! (me too! I love to have a baby I can give back!)
Love the snack bags, I have to buy them! I’m curious like the previous commenter.. do you hand wash them with your dishes?
Oh, I DO so wish I had leaves like that to roll around it. They make everything glow in the low autumn sun!
Thanks for the gardening info! I was just contemplating whether or not I should pull out the plants in our garden before the snow flies.
And love the love of rainbows! 🙂
I always love checking out your new sponsors… she has some great things!!
I must say, my favorite pic is the messy house one. Mainly because it reminds me that I am not alone! My house looks like that on a daily basis, these 5 girls way outnumber me! I have a hard enough time keeping up with the laundry let alone picking up after everyone. SO thank you for that, I needed that!!
So cute! Love Love Love the Rainbow outfit 🙂
Your girls are both so adorable! I follow the Enjoying the Small Things blog and found my way over here. You are a beautiful writer. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, you still have leaves around, how nice is that. ours have long fallen and now are giving way to the snow. Today was the first snowfall and it sure was fun to watch my two year old play in it. Would love to win the gift certificate.
cannot believe your big girl–she is such a beauty! turning 3 soon . . .
we love rainbows, too (: love her sweatshirt!
miss ruby is just the sweetest.
and i also love the living room shot–
xoxo
ps. all i can think about is the big lebowski when it comes to this song!
i’m gathering those leg warmers for my girl Ever, coming this month!
oh my gosh I LOVE that hip mountain mama site…so many things I want from it.
Hi Nici! I love your blog and your pics! I am in the market for reusable baggies so at the very least thanks for the referral. But I would really love to WIN too!
Checked out Hip Mountain Mama. Wow what cute stuff! I hope I win!
Love how Margot looks after her bear!
I’d us the $30 on sandwich bags and Baby Legs.
Thanks for the great blog….
love your post – beautiful words, photos, and family! Keep diggin … your friend Kelle is fabulous too!
Great photos! I love baby legs. They are adorable, keep baby’s legs warm and knees protected (sometimes she finds it quicker to crawl).
Great giveaway! Thanks!
Love the colors of the leaves! Your girls are always dressed so cute:)
~ Jada
Love the living room shot. Looks just like mine… only, with a 4 year old boy, it’s piles of train track and legos. I really dislike stepping on legos, but I love the ways he uses stuff when it’s all just scattered about.
Margot and Darker Pink Panda… words fail So lovely! She has such a look of adoration while cuddling him/her? Connor has Puppy, who is a girl that likes red. Oh, kids!
Ruby is getting. so. big! Still loving the tooth action. One of my favorite baby-phases.
And the sky through the trees? Oh sigh. I love the Montana sky!
Oh I love Hip Mama!
Hip Mountain Mama is one of my favorites! Thanks for the opportunity!
New to your blog, and enjoying it very much! Thank you.
Have to close the garden this week- thanks for the tips!
I’m LOVING all the colors of your leaves and on your girls. I adore leg warmers so would love to win some:) Cheers for a fabulous week to you! 🙂
Late for class but present and drinking in your words and photos. I see your messy living room and raise you the most disastrous bedroom closet in the history of mankind. Ha. Tumbleweeds what? Prettiest damn tumbleweeds I’ve ever seen. Going to bed but will send long email later. Or screw it all and we’ll talk tomorrow, eh? xo
love how garlic just seems to grow here in montana without much tlc. The chickens at my house have taken over the upper garden. All but raspberries and garlic grow there and the chickens roam free among them and let them be!
I wish you luck with your garlic crop. I just ran out of mine last week and that is saying alot because I use garlic in just about everything. Next time I grow it I will be planting triple the amount and then maybe it will last til spring!
I am getting used to not having my baby with me during the day. It is still so hard to see little ones with their mamas at the store if I am there while Mia is at school. It takes all my strength not to lose it most days. I doubt that yearning will ever go away. I appreciate how much you are living in and appreciating the moment with your girls. I am jealous of where you are at but at the same time so happy to be where me and my girls are at too.
I hope to run into you one of these days, we share so many wonderful friends that I amazed we haven’t crossed paths yet!
Take care. I love love love your voice! Jody