Picking Honeysuckle by Sophie Anderson" Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light." Albert SchweitzerI am blessed by an amazing group of friends I have met through blogging. This is a circle of friends I have never met, yet feel I know as well as friends I chat with after church on Sunday. I didn't expect this to happen through blogging. There have been many days when my light has been rekindled by reading a blog post, looking at a beautiful photograph, reading a newly composed poem. receiving a surprise in the mail, hearing about an award, or even winning a giveaway!
The surprise in the mail came from my friend Marcy at
My Knitting & Other Stuff. I had gotten an email from her saying she was sending me a gift she saw at a church bazaar and as soon as she looked at it, it said "inland empire girl" to her. The gift was a beautiful book called
A Victorian Posy : Penhaligon's Scented Treasury of Verse and Prose. The book is full of lovely Victorian pictures including the one above. It is also filled with poems and prose about the four seasons of the year and.... the book is scented. Every time you turn a page the scent of your grandmother's garden surrounds you. Thanks again Marcy. Here is a verse from "The Autumn":
Go sit upon the lofty hill,
And turn your eyes around,
Where waving woods and waters wild
Do hymn an autumn sound.
The summer sun is faint on them-
The summer flowers depart-
Sit still- as all transformed to stone,
except your musing heart.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
This colorful award helped rekindled the light also. Rosanne at
Firefly Nights bestowed it upon me. This is part of what she said about my blog
. " Since I have many fond memories of state park camping trips in a Coleman pop-up, I enjoy reading about her outings in the family’s Jayco. She always tells us some of the history of the regions she travels through in addition to sharing many photos. " She did make my day and thanks for the award.
My last rekindling of the light came when I won a giveaway. I had won a handmade sampler last year from my friend La Tea
Dah, but this was a photo giveaway from
Rebecca at
Rambling by Reba. You can go
here and see the photo I won. It is the first one of the yellow leaf. I will have my own framed print to enjoy myself. Thanks again
Rebecca for doing such a fun giveaway.
Go visit these blogs and you will see why they rekindle my light. Again, thanks to each of you.
The Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. The refuge is over 40,000 acres in size and is 13 miles southeast of Colville, Washington in Stevens County.
We had traveled there once before, but when the temperatures hit the 90's today, we decided it might be a road trip that would be a bit cooler. We loaded up dogs, chairs, a cooler, maps, and cameras for an afternoon road trip. 
It is easy to find and the roads are well marked. 
Our first point of interest was McDowell Lake. We didn't find it last time we toured through the refuge. Once we found it we understood why. You drive above the lake to an overlook and can only get down to the shoreline by hiking. Motorized boats are not allowed. We also learned today that swimming in not allowed in any of the lakes in the refuge. I just took pictures from the overlook. The trails down the steep bank were a bit intimidating. 
I was stunned by the beauty of the lake. I felt like I had stumbled back in time to a place people had not inhabited. There was an island and a tree-lined lake shore. 
Next we found Potter's Pond and Bayley Lake. Bayley Lake had dried up considerably from the last time we were there. 
It said no swimming, but we couldn't have reached water if we wanted. 
Potter's Pond is set up with a wildlife viewing place. We didn't hang around because of the dogs. Others were there viewing and probably didn't want the wildlife to take off because of two leashed, but excited dogs. All along the refuge there are primitive campgrounds. They are each set up with a fire pit and a clearning, but that is about it. 
We rested across from Potter's Pond at this campsite. The landscape changed. 
It was cooler as we set up our chairs next to the cedar grove. JEJ found a good place to rest. 
As I hiked in to the cedar grove to take pictures it was like an enchanted forest. The nice part of the whole day is how few people we encountered. After spending time in this quiet retreat among the cedars we decided to return tomorrow for a camping trip. I can smell the cedar again already! To learn more about the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge you can go here.
