Smoky Autumn Days

 This time of year I don't normally wish for rain, but today I can hardly wait for the thunderstorm that is hopefully rolling in this afternoon.  It's hard to believe looking across the lake that what we are seeing is not fog.  With the entire western part of the country pretty much on fire we have been living under a cloud of smoke for over a week.  Ranging from Southern California,  all the way up the coast to Washington and even across to Idaho and Montana, the air outside our homes has been pretty much unbreathable!  

 

 We have been staying indoors the majority  of the time.  However, we did make a short drive down the hill to one of the local farms.  Corn season only lasts a few weeks and we don't want to miss it.  Even here you can see the signs of smoke in the air.

It was pretty quiet at the farm today but in a couple of weeks, hopefully everything will be bright and clear again.  This farm will be bustling with families coming to tour the corn fields, take hay rides and pick pumpkins.  Meanwhile, we will just take our produce home to enjoy indoors...cucumbers and olives in viniagrette along with fresh tomatoes from our little garden.

 

Fresh corn with salmon cooked in lemon and garlic olive oil, chopped salad, and a slice of  crusty Rosemary, Olive Oil bread. Yum!

 

Heading out to the local farm inspired me to begin my fall decorating.  I haven't gotten too far yet, just arranging a few leaves into a vase and hanging up my autumn wreath. More will be coming though.

The colors this time of year are always so warm and vivid making it  such a lovely time of year to decorate.  

I just looked outside and it is starting to rain! Amen!

Every blessing to each one who stops by.

Adieu!

 

Photo test

 A few weeks ago I tried to post my first collage and it wasn't very successful.  I am giving it another try and hopefully I have gotten it figured out.

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago when I took my mother over to Jennings Park in Marysville.  I have always loved this park and used to bring my children here often when they were small.

In the past there has been a petting pen filled with farm animals.  This year, of course it did not take place.  It was still fun to wander through the master garden and along the children's fishing pond.

Hopefully, my collages posted this time.  We shall see.  

Adieu!

A Trip to Idaho

 We have just returned from a four day road trip over to Coer d'Alene with our oldest son and his family.  The drive from our home takes about six hours traveling over the Cascades and across to the state of Idaho.

 Looking out from our car windows, the east side of our state is completely different from the west side of the mountains.  Once you make your way through the mountain pass and leave the the dampness of lush evergreen Douglas Firs behind, the air slowly becomes dryer.  The hillsides become dotted with long needled pine trees which scent the air with their own special freshness.  Eventually, even the hills are left behind, and you will find yourself in wide open spaces.  This is farm and ranch country, filled with golden fields of hay, corn or wheat.

While traveling is still limited, Idaho is much more opened up than our state is, as the number of virus cases is much lower than ours have been. There are still precautions, of course, and we always had our masks with us to use when needed. We spent a couple of days visiting the Silverwood Theme Amusement Park located in the Coeur d'Alene area.  We have never been before and it reminded us a bit of Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California.  The flower baskets and plants along the walkways of the park were stunning!

 

We played with the kids in the water park, took a ride around the park on a train, and went on dozens of rides, including my childhood favorite, the merry-go-round! There were lots of fun spots to enjoy and explore.

It was so nice to get away from all the turmoil of the daily news reports and spend some time in a place that seemed almost normal. 

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All too soon, it was time to begin the journey back home again.  On the way back we stopped to enjoy a short walk at the Columbia River Gorge  overlook.  It felt like we had stepped into the deserts of the Southwest.  

 

 

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest Area.  It begins in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada and flows down through Washington State.  It turns west along the Washington and Oregon border and eventually empties into the Pacific Ocean.  We have often crossed it at the mouth of the river in Astoria on our way to Seaside Oregon but it's not often that we get to see it like this.  I couldn't even begin to capture just how magnificent it looked flowing through the gorge.

  I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.

Isaiah 41:18

Adieu!