Sunshiny Autumn, Happy Hawk !

I was working outside and noticed my constant companion, our Vizsla , Hawk, was not following me. Very unusual, he seems to be attached to me at the knee when I am outside.I looked for him and found him just standing...

..and soaking up the heat of the afternoon Autumn sunshine. Here is a dog dear to my heart that knows when to stop and soak in the blessings that come our way, sometimes for only a few scarce minutes.Thank-you God for allowing me the privilege of enjoying animals who know to stop and take in the everyday blessings I so often hurry by, only to remember days or years past, if at all.

"The happiest heart that ever beat 

was in some quiet breast

That found the common daylight sweet,

And left Heaven to the rest."

John Vance Cheney 

 

Seasons

 Things change, seasons of life can surprise us, even with great joy.My youngest sister has returned home, to our state, after so many years away. My other 2 sisters and I are enjoying having her back home. In the photo above she is walking with 4 of my grandchildren out into the field to pick apples with them. God has worked all things out for us more perfectly than we could have ever planned, He is so good to us !

My sheep are thriving, and I am pleased with the spring lambs I have chosen to keep. Above is Bide-a-wee Buttercup with her lamb ( rt) Cedar Pond's Bluebonnet Vickie, named for Sand Flat Farm's Vickie and the state flower of Texas.Bluebonnet Vickie is almost as large as her mother, and has 4 horns fused, appearing as if they are 2 very large horns. 

 The weather in the Pacific Northwest has surpassed all previous records of days without rain. Fires are still burning in our state. I am having to water trees and plants I have never had to water this time of the year. Usually I can count on this being the time of year to get things done inside, but am still having as much outdoor work as the summer months without benefit of the long hours of sunlight.

I am still getting yarn spun up, wee little sheep made, wool dyed, carded, and put away for the winter days inside by the fire.However, by the time I get inside I am just plain tired out, and I am thinking the season of life for me has come where I must be more selective in my use of time. I think I will be praying about this and pondering the right choices this fall & winter as I spin up more wool yarn and craft more rugs, remembering to enjoy the company and blessing of those God has placed in my life, and I in theirs. ~ "I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.." Ecclesiastes 3:10,11

Delicious Autumn!

Miss Marple is supervising my autumn decorating. She is not pleased with me. I asked her to get off the table so I could finish arranging my table centerpiece. Never mind the fact that she is not supposed to be on the table in the first place....as far as she is concerned , rules like that do not apply to her. She sits and sleeps wherever she pleases.

There is so much to be done in my favorite season! Apples and grapes need harvesting and preserving."Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." George Eliot

My herb garden is full of herbs needing to be dried for use throughout the rest of the year. Drying fennel fills the house with its' pleasant licorice scent.

The rugosa is loaded with huge, beautiful rose hips. "Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all." Stanley Horowitz

I also cut and dried oregano, marjoram, and brought in some rosemary to use fresh in a poultry dish. Rosemary grows prolifically in our herb garden all year long, so it is always available to me fresh, even in the coldest weather.

Apples lined up on the porch railing. "For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature , it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad." Edwin Way Teale Blessings: abundant fruit and vegetables grown right here on Cedar Pond, friends and family to share it with,