Fall Guides and Gratitude

Combine the health benefits of a walk with the mind and soul refreshment of gratitude. A Gratitude or Thankfulness Walk is a great way to enjoy being outside and away from the myriad of distractions in life while focusing our mind on the gifts and blessings that we have.

In Jon Gordon’s book, The Energy Bus, he talks about “how it’s physically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same moment.” Gratitude walks can be particularly helpful when you are feeling stressed, anxious or overwhelmed, but you can also just make these part of a daily practice to grow your positivity muscle.

To start practicing gratitude walks, you can walk right out your door or find a peaceful place. Walk at a comfortable pace. It can be as long or short as you want, if you are new to walking try 15-25minutes. As you walk, instead of letting your mind wander, draw your mind to the things you are thankful for. To really enhance your experience, begin to talk out loud. That may sound crazy, but you can pretend you are talking on the phone or to a good friend.

You can start with the simple, such as the things you can see: feeling thankful for the sunshine or weather, feeling thankful for the trees, flowers or birds chirping. As you continue you can deepen your gratitude to meaningful things or people in your life. You can even begin to think of the things you might be grateful for that have come out of negative situations or circumstances; seeing the gift or growth in the struggle. You can even begin to feel grateful for things that have not yet come to fruition, visions you have or goals you are striving to achieve.

Don’t feel guilty if you get distracted by your surroundings or your mental list for the day, the more you practice the more natural it will become. As you train yourself to focus on things you are grateful for, according to the law of attraction you will begin to see them more and more. This grateful outlook will bring an overall more positive perception of life.

By the end of your walk, you will feel an overwhelming sense of contentment and joy. But the amazing thing about gratitude is that it isn’t momentary, it will carry through the rest of your day.

Have you taken a Gratitude Walk? We would love to hear about it. Tag us on social media or email us.

Outdoor Fall Style Guide with Leslie

Create that cozy outdoor living space this fall to share with friends and family! If you have any questions from our Fall Style Guide, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and let us know how we can assist you in transforming your space.

~ Leslie 

I love this time of year – the summer heat is slowly fading and the nights and mornings are just a little bit cooler.

As the summer garden begins to wind down, now is a great time to do some fall seeding and planting. Here is a quick guide for our area of plants and seeds you can get started now and still have time for harvest before the first frost of the season.

Have a specific fall planting question? Feel free to reach out to us or connect with us on social media.

Happy Fall Planting, Friends!

~ Victoria

Ingredients

5 cups of peeled, diced or sliced apples

4 tablespoons of granulated sugar

½ cup rolled oats

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon of cinnamon

¼ cup cold butter, cubed

Vanilla Ice cream (optional, but recommended)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375degrees. Mix the apples and granulated sugar together and place into a 2-quart baking dish.
2. For the topping: Combine oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over the apples.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Visit one of the many local fruit orchards in our area to add to the outdoor adventure. Find one close to you or try out one you’ve never visited before. Perhaps you can create a fall family tradition.

A few local apple orchards:

Showalters Orchard

Henley’s Orchard

Chile’s Family Orchard

Carter Mountain Orchard

Our Crozet homeowner had a blank slate to build their backyard space and have created a masterpiece. This build design project includes a beautiful deck in Fiberon Good Life composite decking in Cabin color with a screened-in porch section, using the ScreenEZE System. The deck has black aluminum railings with steps leading down to a paver walkway. The steps down to the new patio are made with magnificent large stepping stones. The expansive patio space includes a retaining wall to define the space. The homeowner also utilized our garden design to have new garden beds created around her new backyard oasis.

Articles written and complied by Natalie Hall. Natalie is Bear Creek’s Marketing Manager. She is passionate about helping people enjoy the outdoors. She is an avid runner and hiker. She loves simple adventures to explore nature with her husband and three children.