Rest?

(Feel Free to Click any photo for an enlarged view)

God had Blessed Our Travels

We are home again, safe and sound~

Threatening skies did not deter us as we drove past the pines,

over the warm waters of late summer,

past farm ponds~

quickly greening from cooling fall air~

and field after field of corn,

the sky continues to darken~

suddenly, miles have passed~

the sky brightens over the round hay bales

drying on green, green fields.

They must have had rain~

The horses were already having their supper~

as we slowed down past the grove

of Black Walnut trees~

everywhere, there were more~

to the East~

the West~

the South~

of our daughter's home~

Black Walnut Trees~

Pine, large pine~

Oak, virgin Oak~

hundreds of years old~

and

Trumpet Vine of orange, red and yellow hues~

One for me and one for you~

climbing profusely up the grain shed~

smack in the midst of the horses playground.

So heavy are the vine~

that the roof is showing signs of distress.

I will fix the roof, he says,

But oh, be careful of the Trumpets!, she declares.

Whatchadoin? Austin's Windy horse wonders~

And then there is a 'pony' of a different kind~

Just shortened again a week prior~

So as not to sit on her locks~

And a congregation of turkeys~

ten little ones and Mom and Pop~

spiking the curiosity of the horses.

A mom showing her little one his picture~

Curious fella approves Mom's catch of himself~

Little brother feeds sisters

Sophie and Cocoa~

while his Windy looks on~

Big brother Christopher can't decide~

trucks or hoops~

Ah, Trucks it is!

Not a drop of rain~

But mountains of fun!

Grandma and Grandpa return home

ready for another week that is already half past~

Grandpa has already got plans for his new welder!

Of course! There is Always another project going on~

Syrus Lee is so happy to see us home again~

and has news!

There are kittens in the barn again!

3 of them have been spotted~

But now to tame the feline!

It's been such a busy time~

We never seem to rest~

Even when away for a short time~

We never seem to rest~

It does not matter~

We have been greatly blessed!

And~

BlessYourHeart

Going, Going, Gone

When the garden is overflowing with produce~

And the canning is in great supply~

and the cake is baked~

and the cake is cooled~

We take samples with us~

We sit a spell around our children's table~

And watch God's Graceful Sky over Their horizon~

While there~

We will embrace Grandlove hugs~

Daughter hugs and laughter~

Son-in-law handshakes~

Many giggles and grins~

And walks around their acres!

We will return renewed by a short reprieve~

From full fall-like days of more harvesting~

More daycare before school starts~

More daily worries and concerns!

We will continue to pray for those in need~

And do our best to share ourselves~

We will drink in the cooler weather~

Mow the lawn one more time~

Drain the pool and store it for our next summer~

We will get the cabin ready for fall visits~

One day at a time~

We will continue our routine~

Until we are no longer meant to~

So, until next time~

Stay safe, travel safe~

Like a verse of a country song~

Don't let your praying knees get lazy~

An amazing weekend to you~

And~

BlessYourHeart

Gifts of Gifts

Waking up early, as I have for the past 50 yrs. of my life,

yesterday was no different.

My day started as usual, blindly tripping through the house to the bathroom, do my duty, brush my teeth, pull my hair back, wash my face, and head for the kitchen to start breakfast for Bill.

Pack his lunchbox, have coffee with him and off he goes to the mill, only this time, I take him in, needing the truck to get canning supplies.

Another cup of coffee, a call from my son, a usual one, as he drives back to the Dakota's for work, he always calls on that road trip as we catch up on our week.

The phone call is interrupted by an incoming call for me that I take.

This is where my fun day began.

It's been a long time since anything unexpected has happened to me so I was so thrilled with the outcome of the day.

The call was from an a gal who knew I loved plants, particularly, perennials. Not only that, but Primroses, registered primroses, with the Primrose Society. She did not know their names, nor the gentleman she acquired them from, but she wanted me to have some.

Thanks K. What a wonderful surprise. She did not just give me one, but 3 grocery bags full of them. There were also a couple of house plants. I tried to explain that I have no luck with them but she insisted that I at least try a Prayer Plant and a Shrimp Plant.

I will need the prayer plant, as it may be what gets me over the top with these new-to-me, plants.

Of course, I did NOT say " thank you," or they will not grow.

Instead, I was so glad I had taken her Black Cherry JellyJam and Zuchinni Relish.

( Don't forget to click on each photo for an enlarged view.)

Upon arriving home, while grabbing a bite of lunch, the phone rings.

B next door, wanted to know if I had seen the bag of Yellow Transparent Apples on the deck~~~I had not but WOW, so nice of her.

And what's on the table, but a sample of Apple Cake and a stack of recipes to check out. Thanks B. You are so sweet to us.

Finally, after lunch, the walk to the mailbox had another great surprise.

Inside the box was a squishy, large manila envelope with the return address of a very dear friend on the WI/MI border.

On opening the envelope, I pull out a sweetly wrapped in tissue and yarn, yet, another wonderful surprise.

The card was an explanation and a homemade bookmark with a special meaning and growth of the Monarch Butterfly. But~~~inside the tissue, was~~~not one, but two~~

Two, yes, 2 pair of N's fan-tabulous, warm fleece-lined woolen mittens.

She makes these out of old woolen fabric and sweaters.

What an ingenious way to reuse, recycle, go green.

You go N. These are unbelievable. Even Bill slid his hand into one, approving of her handiwork.

I LOVE how she made them, unmatched, but yet so practical and cute.

Here is the top view of their charm.

N sells these on http://www.bonanza.com/booths/StoneSoup

Please do check her booth out. You will not be disappointed.

I am already working on my Christmas list.

After a short visit to the farm to see Mom and home again for a Breakfast for Supper meal of French Toast topped with dear Bill's homemade Maple Syrup, eggs and sausage, we played our usual card game of Golf.

On glancing occasionally, out the window to see if the deer were out yet, what did we see?

The deer were way beyond the North Garden~do you see them?!~~~

bedded down for the evening in the cool grass.

Keeping an eye on me, with ears perked, they didn't seem to have a care in the world. Awww, the life of a deer.

I'm so grateful for the day I had. It was so fun to have ' surprises ' happen. Life is so good, not only full of material gifts, but gifts from God, like all the nature so close around me, my family and true friends.

I am truly blessed.

As I thought of all my blessings this morning, I remembered this verse,

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High.

Psalm 92:1

Count your blessings, for we have so many every single day.

BlessYourHeart

Remember those beautiful Whitetails from a few days ago?

Well, they have been in the field every morning and evening for the past couple of weeks. The graze in the fields is nourishing them for our upcoming fall. The hazy look of the grass is actually dew.

(Please click on any photo for a close-up look)

Also, do you remember the gorgeous Black Cherries~

picked from the trees in the wild woods~

They produced these pretty jars full of the sweet

Black Cherry Jelly~

What a treat on a scoop of ice cream or hot buttered toast~

There are those deer again~

Fall is not here yet, but it sure is starting to show signs~

Warm days, cool nights,

Dark moving in earlier,

Still dark at 6 in our mornings~

Cedar cones forming~

There's that bunny again, filling her belly with clover to fatten her with warmth for these cooling evenings~ already~

The tent caterpillars don't have a chance to destroy the foliage if they are spotted~we lost 2 apple trees and many yellow birch trees, probably to this ones cousins.

The late summer, invasive, Pickerel Weed dots the shoreline with it's lavender hue~

The White Pine Cones tumble down an erosion ditch near the lake~

The New York Asters show off everywhere, ditches, field edges, along woods trails, highways and byways~

They are a lovely sight to see~

Eye Candy~!

Not wild, but stopping traffic as we passed through a side road from the lake towards home~Yes

Peacocks of which there were 3~

The Partridge Berries will soon turn bright red for the birds to savor before the snows fly~~~

(man, I did not say the ' s ' word, did I?)

Summer is so short in north central WI

the minnows even look like they are searching for a warmer place to prepare~

prepare for what's coming, sooner than later~

The little Chickadees that brave all of our 4 seasons, have been busy tucking seeds wherever they can~

and, last, but not at all touching all of our nature friends,

the Admiral Butterfly is enjoying the Dogwood Berries~

I wonder if they also make Jam?

Thanks for walking along with me.

With summer lasting only a few short months,

we take in all we can,

saving it in our jars, our freezers,

our Minds,

dreaming of yet another joyful summer~

~~

oo

\/

BlessYourHeart