Category Archives: Summer

The Fawn

Gimpy mama and the fawn appeared a couple weeks ago and since then they both have spent time in our back acres. The doe has a broken leg and limps so she gets more grace from us on what we let her nibble on our property. We put water out on these hot days.  Healthier deer get run off when they come after our flowers.

Fawns are so much fun to watch when they are on the go.

Our quail population has increased with baby quail looking like teenagers and a whole new batch of baby quail, too.

We are looking forward to the week ahead. What is new in your neck of the woods?

Early July Blooms

 

Thank you, Laura, for this collage of the blooms you took close-ups of during ‘Baptism’ weekend.

We had a good 4th of July celebration with several families from our church. Thankful for such generous hosts to open up their beautiful yard and barbecues for cooking. A potluck of sides and desserts and everyone cooked their own meat on the 3 barbecues available. We all got numbers as we arrived letting us know which barbecue to cook our meat on. A great system for a crowd of 75+ people! A Corn Hole tournament, volleyball and fireworks were all part of the afternoon and evening fun. They also rent a porta-potty which is very smart when servicing such a crowd!

Enjoy the rest of your week trying to figure out what day it is! That always is a challenge for me when a holiday lands on an odd day of the week! Today is Wednesday BTW!

Independence Day 2023

Happy 4th of July, 2023! I leave you with the last verse of the Star Spangled Banner.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Baby Quail

The parents are so protective as they should be.  I can’t get close enough to get a good photo without them scurrying away.

Zooming through the slider window, it’s hard to get a good clear shot.

It’s such a delight to spot the baby quail with their parents.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating the 4th with friends from church. If you live in the U.S.A. enjoy our Independence Day!

Hot on the Trail

Before all ten of us were together, the seven of us hit the Rotary Trail for a walk on Saturday mid morning.

 

 

 

 

 

JJ’s sunglasses were hung from his t-shirt just like Uncle had his.

 

Back at our cars we went our separate ways until gathering together for a belated Father’s day meal on Saturday evening. One vehicle went to the grand opening of a creamery in Chewelah while Dear and I went to Kettle Falls for a graduation open house. Katie and Andrew were traveling from the westside and arrived at our home three-ish. At five the ten of us prepared a meal. Dan cooking the meat on the grill outside, caramelized onions, beans, macaroni salad and toppings prepped inside.

Dinner was delicious and dessert was good, too. After dinner we used Nikkipolani’s idea for a conversation starter and each of us shared 3 objects that remind us of our fathers. It was a fun interaction. Addy and JJ had some fun responses, too.

The Fragrance of Summer Hodgepodge

Summer is upon us and Joyce has come up with questions to get us ready for this season. Thank you, Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

1. Hello Summer! In the northern hemisphere anyway. What’s something on your summer bucket list? Do you have an actual summer bucket list? If not, use your hypothetical list.

I don’t have a summer bucket list but since we are traveling to Dallas for our youngest siblings birthday party (twins), I’ll be checking off going to Waco and walking about the Chip and Joanna dynasty. That’s been something on my radar to experience. My hypothetical list would include keeping cool.

2. What for you is the defining scent of summer?

Fresh mowed grass and throw in a campfire!

3. What’s a (music, food, wine, or flower) festival happening in your part of the country that you would like to attend if tickets/travel/timing was no object? 

Hands down the Lavender Festival in Sequim. We’ve gone in years past and it is worth the effort.

4. Apparently a military whistle blower claims the US has a UFO retrieval program. What say you? Do you believe aliens are out there? 

Only if you count Angels and Satan’s minions.

5. Besides your wedding day and the birthdays of any children you may have, what are three of your top experiences in life? 

  1. Summer Camps in my teens. God was drawing me/calling me to himself and this time the Gospel became clearer to me and with the help of the Holy Spirit, I repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Hume Lake Christian Camp in King’s Canyon, Sierra Nevada mountains.

2. Singing on tour, bringing the Gospel to schools and churches across Great Britain the summer of 1973 and 1974. Not only did these tours add growth in our walk with Jesus but we got the UK travel bug. Dear and I are the singers on the right.

3. Grandchildren!! So thankful to God for letting us be close to our two, Addy and JJ. What a sweet cherry on top of our lives they are.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Speaking of lavender, when we were in England in July of 2014 we came across these lavender fields in Broadway (Cotswolds).

This coming up weekend all our kids will be here because our granddaughter is getting baptized on Sunday (that will deserve a whole post next week). We also have a candidate for our pastorate coming to preach. There are other events going on for us to get to know him and his wife and see if he will be the one who God has chosen to be our Shepherd. Exciting times and a very full weekend!

Quinoa Salad

This hearty salad has a nice flavor and is naturally gluten free. You can add or delete ingredients to suit your own taste buds, too.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup dry quinoa
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 cup chopped fresh mango
  • 1/2 to 1 cup garbanzo beans drained and rinsed (Chickpeas)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped green onions
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method:

  1. In a small saucepan combine quinoa with the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
  2. Once it boils reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.
  4. Fluff with a fork and set aside to cool completely.
  5. You can set it in the refrigerator to speed the cooling.

While the quinoa is cooling prepare the rest of the ingredients. I left the amounts of beans and green onion to your discretion. We enjoy green onion so I added the full 1/2 cup. Mix together all these ingredients with the cooled quinoa and enjoy as a side dish or a meal. You can easily make this a vegetarian dish by cooking the quinoa with water or vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock.

Although I’m going to try to create some posts during our travels I cannot guarantee that and I will be hit and miss with visiting blogs over the next two weeks. Cheers!

Smoky Sunrise

On Saturday morning we walked the Rotary Trail at Sunrise.

The skies reflect the fact that there are fires in our area.

Our conditioning for walking in England is going well. Hopefully we can continue these walks after we return because it’s good for our overall health.

The small white streak against the mountains above is a plane taking off from the small Colville airport.

At the end of our walk is this section of wild flowers blooming. It’s fun to see the poppies.

We walked the trail again on Sunday at dawn and the sun came up above the mountains at the end of our walk.

It was good to be in the House of the Lord on Sunday to declare together with the ‘Body’ that our Lord and Savior is Worthy of all our praise and adoration.

Hope your extended Labor Day weekend is going well and you will have rest from your labors today!

They Turned on Me!

The kids and grands were over for dinner last Friday night and after dinner the grands wanted to play with the water guns in the back yard. Soon the water guns were left behind for the hoses that offered more fun and power!

It was all good for a time and then they both decided to turn on me!

Little stinkers! We came inside to get dry clothes on and it was time for them to head home for bed.

I got dry clothes on and put my feet up for a little relaxation before going to bed.

I cherish these moments and am happy to have the opportunity to spend time with these two little humans!

On Saturday we met up on Main Street in Colville for the Fair Parade. I’ll share photos from the parade tomorrow.