It Has Been A While

Hi to you all,

It has been a long time since I sent some of my thoughts out to you. Things changed on my computer and I was lost as to how to write and get it published. Had a visit from my son-in-law yesterday and he helped me get going again. I still have a hard time placing pictures, but will work on it for each post and see what happens.

A nice rain is happening outside right now. A Summer rain is delightful I think. The lawns and gardens are revived after rain, much more so than after a watering from the hose. Our peaches and apples are forming nicely, hoping for some apple and peach pies in the future. But we do have to share with the birds. Last year they got the lion's share of the harvest. Those Magpies are very hungry I think.

Well, I tried to get a photo for this post, but failed. Will try later.

Sunday morning

What a difference ! A week ago we were in the midst of a fierce wind storm cleanup. People all over our area were out in force removing the shingles, papers and most of all, the downed trees. The days following a big storm were filled with offers of help and concern for neighbors. How good that can make one feel.

Now as we move through the neighborhood, memories of the storm begin to fade as the world gets back to normal. Some roofs have been repaired, some show evidence of beginning repair and others are waiting for bids and visits from the insurance  representatives so repairs can begin. Life get back to almost normal for most of us, the storm a distant memory.

The Day After

The big wind came to our part of the world, did its damage and left. It was a strong wind and with all it's mite, it tried to blow us away. It huffed and it puffed, but all it could do was pull off shingles and wreaths and toss around garbage and garbage cans.  During the windy night, I could hear the race of the large containers used in our town for garbage, they are big and black. There are big blue ones too. They are used for containing recycling materials. The containers left their homes and searched for new places with the winds help. I could hear the rumbling of the cans as they went down the street. But, one big blue recycling can made it's way down the south side of our yard, bumping into the house along the way. I laid in bed and thought that since the garbage pickup had just occurred yesterday, it would only be an empty can that would need to be taken from our yard and up to a neighbor. But with morning light I realized that it was not a garbage can, but a recycling can and it had not been empty since the pick up for it will be next week. So needless to say there was more that just the can that needed to be removed from our back yard. It was windy all day, so I left it for later.

But then in the early evening, the doorbell rang and our next door neighbors stood on our porch with plastic bags telling me they had come to clean up our backyard. They had their three young children with them, all dressed warmly and ready to serve. They asked me to turn on lights in our backyard. Then they went to work. They even found two of the Christmas wreaths that had blown off the front of our house. How nice to have good neighbors.

A cold Saturday Morning

Although it is still dark, I can see that we had a small snowstorm last night.  So probably there will be no morning walk today. Maybe a drive to the mall for an inside walk will be on the docket. Winter is a beautiful time of year, but it takes me while to get used to the fact that plans sometimes need to be changed quickly due to weather.

We spent a good portion of Thursday taking up the leaves that covered our gardens and lawns. They were blown onto the lawn and the mower scooped them up and mulched them and then we scatteded them back onto the gardens in hopes of even better veggies next year.

The outdoor furniture is safely inside now, the snow blower is in the garage,and some of the Christmas lights have been hung so I think that Summer and Fall are over.

Plans for next week all center around Thanksgiving and the fun times we will have with family and friends. It is a time that I look forward to each year.  As the years go by and the children find homes in different cities it is so fun to look forward to this season of getting all together again even if it is only for a few days.

Summer's Last Big Splash

Looking down into the backyard I see the changes that are expected for this time of year. The trees have some color changes, especially the one large branch in the peach tree. The Cosmos are tall and bright pink and fuchsia.  The grass is still a vibrant green and even some of the Pansies are showing their yellow colors. But the one I like best of all is a Dahlia, a giant deep colored one. The plant has many blossoms so I brought one in so as to enjoy it in the house. Don't you think it is beautiful?

Tired Tuesday

We spent the past few days on a very special triip. Last week we headed to Washington state to visit family and attend the blessing of our Great Grandson. We decided to drive. We wanted to see the Fall colors up in Idaho and Oregon and also in Washington. On the drive up, the rain clouds were low and spilling over onto the landscape, so we saw only the gray colors of wet leaves and fields and rocks alongside the roadway. Ok, so we will see the colors on the drive home. But on Saturday, the sun came out and we truely enjoyed the driving around Seattle and Bremerman. Visiting with family is a treat in itself, but visiting family and getting to hold the new baby is surley the best treat of the day.  We talked and attended Church and ate and celebrated October birthdays and just had a fine time. The morning of our trip home dawned with rain and clouds. We only saw the very tip of Mt Hood before the clouds returned to cover the majestic mountain. All the way home from Mt Hood to Farmington the windshield wipers moved back and forth on the windshield, sometimes slow, other times going almost at their fastest pace. So, let me tell you that again we saw very little Fall color. Guess we need to take a run up the canyon before the leaves fall here.

Pumpkin Patch

Today I decided to harvest from the pumpkin patch.  The vines were withered and the leaves were brown and not offering any protection from the sun for the fruit. After the harvest I brought my treasure into the house and began my fall decorating. Pictures are above.

Now I just have to decide what design to save. The fact that only one pumpkin developed and grew and turned orange makes this an important decision. Which display to you like best?