The Theme is Fall

I don't think I will have any difficulty doing thirty-one posts on the theme of Fall. For October 1st I present favorite images of fall coming to our house.

Summer 2013: Camping Lessons

In the summer of 2013 we moved from a tent trailer to a used RV. Our maiden voyage to Steamboat Rock was the trip that we learned many things about the RV. We then met my family at Heyburn State Park. It sure made it easier to entertain, serve birthday dinner, and keep ice cold!! We also have loved it taking short trips close to home.
These are some lessons we learned while camping this summer:

Always keep your camera off the counter close to the sink in an RV. I accidentally placed my favorite camera in a pool of water by the sink. I did capture the image of Grand Coulee Dam on our way to  Steamboat Rock before the camera died.

Remember that lily pads do bloom at a certain time of day at Heyburn State Park... just be patient.

There is a certain style that goes hand in hand with camping.... niece Molly figured it out.

Dogs that camp together pray together.

When you celebrate your birthday while camping with the family...don't forget to invite Uncle Bill.

Most importantly.... always build a big fire.

Summer 2013: Gardening Lessons

The Summer of 2013 was summer to remember. It was filled with learning events, memory making events, family gathering events, and many smaller events that helped weave the season together. We learned many lessons while gardening this year. I think that is why we love gardening so much at our house. We can always learn.

One lesson we learned is that if you bring in manure.... everything will grow. Everett's vegetables have grown even bigger and better this year thanks to the Judd Farm manure!

Another lesson I learned was location is everything, especially with dahlias. Dahlias are a goofy flower while coming up. They look like a weed or can be hidden behind other plants. This year Everett planted them in a row right with the vegetables and they have done better than ever.

A third lesson we learned was if the fountain doesn't work, make it into a planter. Our barrel fountain started leaking mid-summer so we turned it into a series of planters. This year we just moved pots in, but I am thinking soil and  bulbs will be lovely in the spring.

 We also learned that June is not the only time roses show off their beauty. Actually, some of our roses are the most beautiful right now. If a rose doesn't produce well early in the summer, don't give up on it. Roses are always a pleasant surprise later in the summer.

Stay tuned as I share other lessons learned from the Summer of 2013.

Oh Canada!

 I am not much of an international traveler, but Canada is very close to where I live. Traveling this week with my siblings to Nelson, B.C. and the area around it reminded me that I need to travel more often to Canada. Above is the courthouse in Nelson, B.C.

It is a beautiful country. Our annual sibling trip with my brother Bill and sister Carol included a stop at Salmo on the way to Nelson, a ferry ride to Crawford Bay, a drive up to Kalso and Ainsworth Hot Springs, and lots of walking, touring, eating, laughing, and photo taking.

I love the houses in Nelson. Beautiful colors and designs.

 Our last stop in Nelson was at this bakery. The food, service, and atmosphere was the best. Here we are posing at the end of our sibling trip.

A Sheltering Tree

 "Friendship is a sheltering tree."  ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

A week ago I returned to my hometown to spend a week-end at my Kellogg High School Class of '73 reunion. Coleridge's quote struck a chord with me. I felt like I was under a sheltered tree all week-end. The hours spent catching up, reminiscing, solving world problems, laughing, eating, drinking, laughing more, posing for pictures, dancing, learning about families, and meeting new faces was all under a  warm, safe sheltering tree. 

My classmates and spouses were kind, caring, funny, interested, and generous.  Everyone felt safe. Everyone could have spent even more time together. I still can't believe there was people during that whole time that I never talked to. 

It was special to have teachers there. It was important to honor those in our class not with us any more. It was gracious of people to thank the committee over and over again for a job well done. Under this sheltering tree my classmates demonstrated why were are such a great group of people. 

We grew up together, learned together, and now are growing old together. I feel blessed with all the old and new connections I have with my classmates from the Class of '73.

That Beautiful Season

When I was young I loved summer. I enjoying breathing in the smell of chlorine and sun tan oil at the pool. I loved waking up late to a cool breeze moving through the window in my bedroom. I loved Frontier Days, Fourth of July at Rose Lake, vacations to Orofino, and staying with Grandma Woolum in Spokane. Summer days included sleeping outside, sucking on popsicles, eating fresh green beans from the garden, gulping cold Shasta pop, devouring daytime TV, and enjoying lots and lots of reading.

Somewhere along the way in my adult life I stopped enjoying summer, especially July and August. I think I went through a phase where heat really bothered me physically and I wanted to stay inside. My skin became sensitive to the sun so sunscreen, hat, and long sleeves are necessary most days.It seems to take me weeks to adjust from the exhaustion of the school year into summer. Yes, teachers get some time off in the summer. Often between workshops, teaching classes, trainings, and professional reading that time is more scheduled than I like.

Seventeen years ago I began so immerse myself in gardening.Summer is a friend and a foe to our gardens. Right now as we swelter in hundred degree weather we can enjoy the fruits of Everett's labor in the vegetable garden enjoying green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, and cabbage. The heat does in many parts of the garden where leaves burn up, blooms wilt, and flowers droop. Everett waters as much as he can. We deadhead and trim back plants and wait for cooler nights so the flowers can recuperate. But the lilies are a friend to heat. As plants around them wilt, the lilies push toward the sun and fill the garden with beauty. Thus, beautiful summer.

We also are concerned about fire in July and August. We live in a dry part of the state and all around us neighbors work hard to conserve water. A wildfire started the other day close to us from a spark of the train. As a community we are aware of our dry conditions and are on the lookout for each other. That is comforting, but makes it difficult for both of us to leave at the same time for long. Our acres demand water. Thus summer can be a foe.

Autumn will always be my favorite season, however this year I decided to embrace summer. I have tried to work outside when it is cooler. I decided to appreciate wild, sometimes overgrown gardens and not focus on the weeds. We have waited for the cool of the evening to enjoy time in the porch swing. By filling the feeders we have enjoyed watching birds come to visit. Of course I have taken hundreds of pictures. July has been filled with camping, hosting family ,visiting family down the lake, creating bouquets, and taking the dogs to the lake. Fortunately we still have more hot days to enjoy and especially the long, lingering light of evening.

"Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I agree Henry.... it is a beautiful season.