Who’s there?
This gobbler saw it’s reflection in the slider and was mesmerized.
Our snowy mounds are still part of our landscape. I’ve pulled the ice cleats onto my shoes when I walk out to the garage and they seem to make things more secure. Starting Saturday we should be above freezing for several days during the day so we should have some more melt off. Our roads are clear and the grocery parking lots are clear. How are things in your corner of the world?
These turkeys flew up high into an apple tree on our neighbors property and it was funny to watch them balance on the branches.
Coming in for a landing…
We’ve had several days above freezing so our snow is melting and slipping off the roofs. The icicles are melting. It’s a slushy mess around here.
Some workers here in the USA will have the day off as it’s a National day to remember Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hope you have a good Monday.
For this last Saturday of April we are on the letter V. I have a variety of things I’ll share for today.
We’ve had a variety of visitors to our country bungalow in the last month.
Can you see the beard on the larger turkey?
Some verses from the Bible I noted in my readings over the past couple of weeks. These are from the English Standard Version.
Proverbs 18:2 ~ A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
Romans 12:12 ~Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
And this is a portion of Psalm 19 that we have memorized and continue to keep in our memory, verses 7-11.
The law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever,
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping of them there is great reward.
One last verse from Psalm 19,
Psalm 19:14 ~ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
This week we finished our last puzzle that we had in our stash. This one is an old one we’ve had around for years since the Soviet Union fell in the early 90’s and became Russia again. This was a tough one and at the end we thought we had one piece missing but were happy to find it under the table. Have you been putting together jigsaw puzzles while being sequestered in your home?
Have a good Saturday y’all. We are predicted some rain later this morning. I mowed the lawn on Tuesday and it already looks ready to mow again.
On Friday the 6th of December we left our home early to drive to the Coast via highway 25 and US Route 2 in Washington State.
U.S. Route 2 is a component of the United States Numbered Highway System that connects the city of Everett in the U.S. state of Washington to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with a separate segment that runs from Rouses Point, New York, to Houlton, Maine.
The only hazards on the roads that we encountered 4 separate times on highway 25 were flocks of wild turkeys that decided to cross the road in a line and not in a hurry.
We passed through many small towns miles apart with limited services.
When we finally got to US Route 2 we found a great little Corner Cafe in Creston, Washington.
Now we were starting the climb over the Cascade Mountain Range.
Leavenworth was decorated and ready for their annual Christmas tree lighting. There were many people milling about. We drove right through without stopping.
We arrived to Josh and Laura’s home for the late afternoon and night. On Friday evening Josh and Laura took us out for our anniversary to a new spot to us, Emory’s on the Lake. It’s such a blessing to have a home base on the other side of the Cascades where we are always welcomed.
On Saturday we met up with friends for breakfast and then packed up the car for our trip to Chilliwack, British Columbia for our annual Mennonite Girls Can Cook Christmas celebration. I’ll save that for a separate post.
On the way home from the Coast on Monday we stopped in Spokane and purchased our Mystery Tree for 2019. It’s still in the car while I type and as soon as we put it in it’s spot we’ll have the reveal and see what it looks like in it’s stand.
We made it back to our country bungalow before dark after stopping for Linner in Chewelah at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Our drive back from the Coast was on Interstate 90 and we encountered several miles of fog which was hard on our eyes. We were so happy to see some clearing after Ritzville. We did not see blue skies until we came down into the valley before Chewelah. That was a welcomed sight for sure.
Now that we are home for the rest of December my Christmas decorating will begin in earnest. Are you all decked out yet? I’m working on our Christmas letter. When that is copied off I’ll be able to send our Christmas cards. I’m happy to say they are all addressed already. Do you still send cards?
I’m headed out the door to a Bible Study and lunch. I hope to make some visits to blogs this evening.
In April, before we drained our pond, we had 3 real ducks land in it. I had to look up their name on google images. They are Common Mergansers.
In May we had some more visitors. This Quail sat on top of this birdhouse for the longest time calling out.
This turkey kept pacing our side fence and it seemed like it’s bird brain could not figure out how to get out of our backyard. Dear went on the deck and made some noise and it finally realized it could fly over the fence.
Finally caught a Tom Turkey fanning it’s tail feathers!
Colville claims the title of the Turkey Capital of the Pacific Northwest.
The Swallows continue to entertain us with their flying.
Our Spring clean up continues. We are working on getting the pond liner cut and removed. It’s a toilsome job especially because of the scum. Pond scum is a real thing.
We’ve been in the 70’s and there are predictions of soaring in the 80’s on the weekend!
Hope the merry month of May is going well in your corner.
…of the Pacific Northwest.
Colville lays claim to that title. All of these turkeys were on our son’s property last weekend and we’ve seen many a rafter of turkeys on the roads we travel around Colville and Chewelah.
Now we haven’t seen one of these on the loose but this bull was spotted just a couple properties north from our new house. We definitely won’t be in the big city anymore.
It’s good and it’s scary with many unknowns but we look forward to be settled in by the end of September with all our stuff around us again. We also look forward to meeting our new neighbors. We hear they are good neighbors and will strive to be good neighbors as well.
Here are some things I’ve learned in the country.
Horses and other animals graze peacefully and make for idyllic photos.
You can use large old tires from farming equipment and add some dirt and wild flower seed and enjoy a wild tire garden.
You can’t take having a store close by for granted in the country. For our kids the closest is just 7 miles away, though. Vegetable gardens are the best for having fresh outside your door produce. So far we’ve enjoyed potatoes, squash, green beans. Zucchini bread is just out of the oven. Later today we’ll have tomatoes and lettuce from the garden on our hamburgers. Cucumbers the size of small baseball bats were picked today.
Having a chicken coop and chickens that lay eggs everyday is a bonus. A rooster can be annoying, though. Yep, that rooster is still alive and cock a doodle doing. You don’t need a rooster to get eggs from the chickens and roosters can get real mean. Even though you think you just purchased birds with no rooster you can be surprised as time goes by. Your days are numbered spotty! The other thing I found out about chickens is that skunks find them to be a delicacy. Our kids don’t put egg shells in their compost pile because they don’t want to attract skunks to their property. A friend of our kids just had several of his chickens killed and eaten by skunks.
There are lots of wasps, hornets, mosquitoes and other flying things in the country. It’s best to get rid of nests in the winter time.
There is plenty of room for dogs in the country. They make for good companions. They do shed just as much in the country as in the city, though.
Birds in numbers like to hang out together. Sometimes they all take off at the same time and that’s a sight.
You have to be extra cautious when driving in the county because you never know what you’ll encounter along the way. These turkeys took to flight as I approached. You need to be aware and watch for deer and other wildlife because car v. animal never goes well for the humans or the animals. We always crack up at the road signs that say “Watch for Deer next 10 miles” How do they know the deer will stay within that 10 mile area?
Are you a city mouse or a country mouse?
To all our friends in the United States a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
I’m joining Kati’s November Photo-A-Day Challenge with days 10 through 16.
Day 10 ~ Yellow
This is one of the tiles that are part of our back splash behind our stove top.
Day 11 ~ Outside my Window
Ha! First, I had to use some glass cleaner on my window before I snapped away.
Day 12 ~ Small
Day 13 ~ Large
The contrast between the large and the small…
Day 14 ~ Swirl
Day 15 ~ Animal
It’s November so I’m sharing the wild turkeys we saw in Eastern Washington while visiting our son. This part of Eastern Washington is known as the Turkey Capitol of Washington State!
Day 16 ~ Red
For red I’m going back to Windsor England with the Guard in their dress uniforms.
It’s late on Friday and it’s been a busy day for me. After my exercise class I powered up the lawn mower and mowed the lawn which consisted mostly of vacuuming up the fallen leaves from the Maple, Pear and Apple Tree. I’m wondering if this will be the last mow of the season or if there will be one more. I’m sitting with my feet up now and am happy that we have a quiet weekend ahead. We are still in a dry, very cold weather system with plenty of frost in the mornings. I’ve been amazed at all the winter snow photos from many of you. Our son had snow in Eastern Washington.
Love this photo of my pop, sister Lana, and niece Melissa from their Thursday night dinner together.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Welcome to Ruby Tuesday now go visit Mary at the Work of the Poet to check it out before a house falls on you!
Dear and I enjoyed an overnight in La Conner, Washington and we saw so many interesting things. Wail till I show you some of the yard art. For now enjoy this…
In 2005, a small flock of wild Turkeys made La Conner their home and have been declared the official town mascot. Dear and I were thrilled when we spotted them. The way this guy strutted about makes me think he’s the King of the Roost! Just a little ruby for you and if you look closely you’ll see ruby on the tree trunks besides the wattle and the snood on the turkey.
Thank you for stopping by. Hope you have a wonderful week.
Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 