Nature – Asbery's Echoes

Working on the Weekend

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving. We spent the day at Dad and Mom’s along with Eric, Jeremy and Abby, and the grandkids. We had a delicious lunch of turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, veggie tray and Pam Cake. Pam Cake is made by a local lady and is so delicious. She made over 100 cakes as a fund raiser to make money to buy a piano for her church! There were a lot of Pam Cakes eaten over the weekend I’m sure! We spent the afternoon playing games and enjoying each others company. And I didn’t take one picture the whole day.

The rest of the weekend was spent cutting down trees and splitting logs at Dad and Mom’s. From morning until dark. I always dread the thought of doing this but once we get out there and get started I really do enjoy it. Being outside in the fresh air, the physical exertion. Just being able to see the finished product after a day of hard work is so satisfying. Now Dad has enough wood chopped and stacked to get him through the winter in his shop and so does Joe along with wood for next year’s campfires. I think we enjoy the campfires more because of the hard work that’s put into it rather than just buying some that’s already cut and split. And now the timber is looking a little bit better too, which makes Dad feel better.

Blessed Assurance, Beth Twist, Heartstring Samplery

In the evenings when we settled in I worked on this piece. I love this hymn and the song would go through my head as I was stitching! Beth Twist of Heartstring Samplery has introduced a new piece each month of this year based on a church hymn and this is November’s piece. I haven’t had time to stitch every design yet but when this one came out I knew it was one that I would have to stitch right away. I got up early in the mornings to stitch and worked on it every night. I watched the Prime series Victoria while stitching in the mornings before anyone else got up. I’m really enjoying watching that. I can’t imagine what her life must really have been like. I’m sure she never had to split her own logs for the fire but maybe she missed out on something there!

Busy Times

Drew decided out of the blue that he wanted a pet in the house. I thought we were finally past that and even though I sometimes missed having a four legged critter around, the work entailed kept me from not missing it too much! Then all of a sudden Drew started asking again. His choices, a hamster, a fish or a kitten. I said no to a fish. Cleaning out a fish tank is not my idea of fun! A hamster only lives for a very short time. And we had this beautiful little kitten living outside already. Plus, mice control! So, we now have Milkweed inside. Millie for short. Milkweed is one of five that we brought home from my folks’ to raise as their momma disappeared. We bottle fed them all. One didn’t make it, two disappeared and unfortunately Drew ran over one with the Mule. A hard lesson for him but he pays a lot more attention now when he’s driving something. So now I’m busy with a kitten in the house. Oh the messes she makes. Especially when I forget to put my threads away for the night.

Peace Be To This House – designed to be a Christmas ornament but I love it so much I plan to frame it. It’s teeny tiny – stitched on 40 ct and so very sweet.

A sampler I stitched years ago and decided to finally frame. Simple Joys, Simple Life.

Sweet little freebies from Pinker n Punkin Quilting. Perfect for ornaments for the kids. Now to decide on how to finish them.

Which leads to stitching! I’m always busy stitching! I’ve framed a few that I dug out of my finished pile to enjoy and I’ve stitched some new things. I am caught up on orders which is a great feeling. Now to work on the kids’ ornaments for last year and this year. And maybe get a jump on next year’s too!

Making gifts for birthdays and Christmas is keeping me busy too. I made two sets of these Advent Christmas ornaments. One for the grandkids and one for Drew. We’re all ready for December 1st!

I’ve cleaned out my bedroom closet and have a pile of clothes that no longer fit. Now to decide whether to keep them or give them away. I don’t plan to gain weight again but I’m still a little leary of getting rid of them all. And Drew and I cleaned and organized the bathroom cupboards. I have this goal of getting each room picked up and organized. Unfortunately neat and tidy is extremely hard for me! But I’m working on it!

This past weekend we had beautiful weather and decided to take advantage of it and spend time at my folks’ cutting down trees and splitting wood. For some reason I always dread the thought of this but once we get started, it’s work that I really enjoy. Their timbers were destroyed after the storm that went through earlier this year and Dad has been wanting to get some of the downed trees taken care of so that’s what we worked on. Some of the trees were already down, some needed to come down. Joe did most of the downing and cutting while I used the splitter to split the logs and Mom, Dad and Drew stacked the logs on the trailer. We were all tired by the time we were finished last night, and cold too as the wind had picked up and the temperature dropped, but it was such a great feeling to have gotten so much accomplished! And boy did I sleep good!

Drew and Rambler took a nap while waiting for the work to get started!

The garden is cleaned off and put to rest for the winter. The chickens have been cleaned out and bedded down for cold weather. The flowers are all sleeping. I love this time of year. I love all the seasons and am thankful I live where we get to enjoy each one. But I love this season the best. I enjoy the darker days and the time we are able to spend slowing down. A time for lamps and soft light and blankets to cuddle up in. I look forward to the holidays but even more, I look forward to that time after the holidays. It’s almost like we’re being given permission to settle in for a time. To be calm and quiet. To reflect on what has passed and to get ready for the what is to come. It’s my favorite time of the year.

Enjoying the Outdoors

It was a cool crisp morning. The clouds were beautiful and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day to enjoy the park.

We’ve had such beautiful weather the past few days. Beautiful fall days mean getting outside and soaking in the sunshine as much as we can before it turns cold for good.

Last week Drew and I decided to visit Yenruogis to hunt for rocks. He’s studying geology in science and we wanted to have rocks on hand to study. Spur of the moment we decided to give a shout out to the homeschool group we get together with once in awhile and see if they wanted to join us. We met Thursday morning, the kids wandered all over the park and then we ate a picnic lunch. It was actually pretty cold that day but when the sun popped out it was nice and the scenery was beautiful!

Yenruogis is a small park just outside of our little town and we always seem to forget it is there. The lake was originally a quarry. There is primitive camping and lots of places for picnics. You can walk all the way around the lake, which the kids did. We really need to take advantage of this great place more than we do and we plan to. It’s also a great place to go sledding in the winter.

Lake Darling – the kids love walking over this bridge!

Then Abby asked if we would want to meet at Lake Darling on Saturday to walk the trails. So we got up early, packed our lunch and met her and the grandkids at our favorite camping spot. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. The kids played for awhile at the playground, we ate our picnic lunch and then walked the trails. It was nice to enjoy each other’s company and to get outside in the fresh air.

I wonder what these two are talking about?

An October Sunday

I planned an impromptu get together last Sunday. Drew had been begging to go on a Mule ride and I was thinking a wiener roast would be fun so I convinced Joe that we should drive the Mule to Dad and Mom’s and have a wiener roast in the timber.

Uncle Drew and Bayah relaxing in the back of the Mule.

The day was beautiful with warm temps and sunny skies. I contacted Abby to see if they would like to join us and let Dad and Mom know we were going to be using their timber. They had originally planned to be gone but decided to change their plans and join us.

It ended up being such a fun time. We ate hot dogs and chips and pumpkin bars. Some played corn hole, some sat and enjoyed the afternoon. Drew gave Bayah rides on the Mule and the kids had fun climing the bluff and exploring the timber. Then we had s’mores before heading home.

Joe and Jeremy are accomplished at roasting hot dogs!

If corn hole is being played, Braxton will be playing!

The kids love to climb the sandstone bluff

We had spent the weekend getting things done around the house and finishing up the chicken coop. Joe knew he had to be gone this week for work so was focused on that. I just wanted us to have a few hours of relaxation time, being with family and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. It was nice to just spend a few hours enjoying each others company and enjoying the beautiful fall day.

Quiet Places

We who live in quiet places have the opportunity to become acquainted with ourselves, to think our own thoughts and live our own lives in a way that is not possible for those keeping up with the crowd.

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

I’ve walked this lane so very many times and in all season. By myself, with family, and with many different dogs throughout the years, a cat or two, herding sheep, leading a horse, riding a horse . . .

We had a hectic couple of weeks again. A family camping trip (post to come), Joe was under the weather, babysitting the grandkids, helping Dad and Mom. I was starting to get overwhelmed again. Then this morning, while we were at Dad and Mom’s, I stole away for a walk down to the timber.

This little timber has been my happy place for oh so many years. Just a quick walk through the trees and I always feels so much better. Now that there is no livestock down here, the trees and grasses and wildflowers are taking over again and that makes my heart happy!

The beans are turning and look so pretty.

I love the above quote by Laura Ingalls Wilder and I’m working more and more towards living in a quiet place. I want to just be home and have my handful of acres be my quiet place where I don’t have to worry about keeping up with the crowd. And of course, I’ll head over to the timber too when I need to really unwind!

My tree – I always have to visit this majestic old cottonwood.

Weaving

Remember weaving potholders as a child? I always thought it was so much fun. And then those potholders never got used! They were so small and they would melt if they got hot. They got shoved into the back of a kitchen drawer. I don’t even know what happened to those potholders I used to make.

I do remember enjoying the process of making them though. Such a simple thing – weaving over and under, over and under and watching the pattern unfold. It’s a calming process. Kind of like cross stitch I guess. Simple, repetitive actions that slowly turn into these beautiful pieces of art.

This one is made with wool loops dyed with goldenrod. It is not near as vibrant as the pictures show. More muted shades of golds and greens. It is absolutely stunning. And to think something as simple and plentiful as goldenrod was used.

I ran across an advertisement the other day and was intrigued. The same process from when I was a child only using a nice metal loom and colorful cotton loops. And all of these beautiful patterns to try. A finished product that you could actually use. So I decided to give it a try.

This one was made using wool loops dyed with walnuts. Probably my favorite so far.

And then, I discovered these naturally dyed loops. And the loops are wool. Oh my goodness. I love, love the idea of all natural. So much fun to see what you end up with. No two loops look the exact same color. So very very prim – just my style! And you can buy natural, undyed loops. Maybe I will give dying a try one of these days!

This one was made with cotton loops. Drew picked out the colors and the pattern. It think it turned out beautiful!

I love the bigger loom and the bigger size potholder. They are nice and thick and will be perfect for those hot dishes that come out of the oven. No worries about the countertop or worries over the potholder melting. Now I need to try to dig out my old smaller loom so I can make smaller potholders. I think they would work great for coffee and tea mug rugs!

This one was made with cotton loops. It is just so perfectly fit for Fall!

I can’t get Drew interested in making them. He thinks it looks boring. But he did enjoy picking out colors and a pattern for me to make one! I’m addicted to all the different patterns and designs. It’s just fun to sit down and put some colors together and see what you come up with. Or follow a pattern and try using different colors and seeing how different each one comes out. I want to try all the patterns and all the colors! But I definitely don’t need all the potholders!

Weekend at Lake Darling

It was so nice Thursday as we were pretty much the only ones there!

My daughter contacted us right after we came home from our Clear Lake camping trip and asked if we would want to camp at Lake Darling with them the following weekend. And of course, we made it happen! How could we not make it work when it meant spending time with her and our son in law and our grandkids? We had such a great time in a beautiful setting.

We had such a pretty view across from our camper. These guys visited a couple of times.

We spent the weekend relaxing, hiking, playing games and just enjoying each other’s company. There was some really good food to eat too. Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Ward and Uncle Jerry and Cousin Todd came for a visit Saturday afternoon/evening which is always a treat. Great Grandma brought homemade peach cobbler and homemade strawberry pie!

There’s nothing like camping to enjoy family. Days and evenings with nothing to do but be together. Very little internet reception meant the kids didn’t beg to be on devices and us grown ups couldn’t spend much time on devices either. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we took advantage of the cooler temperatures. There are paved trails along the lake and through the woods that are great with little kids as they can ride their bikes and scooters. There are also trails to hike that aren’t paved which we plan to walk someday too.

There was a mink running along the shoreline here. He ran under the bridge we were on when I took this picture, crossed the creek and ran back under the bride. He was a pretty little critter!

A little coffee and early morning reading for me! I like to get up before everyone else and have some alone time and listen to the campground wake up.

The early morning sun peeking through the trees

Grandpa and Braxton having an early morning discussion

Drew starting an early morning fire to warm me up

Bayah may have gotten tired so Daddy gets to carry her scooter while Grandpa gives her a ride

UNO in the evenings. When Abby and Jeremy were dating we would play UNO at the campground, now we’re playing UNO with their kids!

Grandpa is trying hard to convince Bayah that there’s a crocodile in the lake. She knew better!

Camping has been a favorite of ours for quality family time for years now. And it makes my heart happy to have my daughter and her family camping now too. She said once that she has such great memories of our camping trips when she was growing up and she wants her kids to have those same memories. Joe and I are blessed that she wants to include us in those memories!

Clear Lake

We spent the past weekend camping at Clear Lake. It’s a trip we try to do annually. We have friends we enjoy camping with who live there and they invite us every year as Clear Lake also has a big car show this same weekend. So we combine the two, camping and cars. The guys love it!

The weekend starts out Friday night with a parade of cars cruising around the lake while spectators sit out and watch them go by. We sit in lawn chairs and enjoy the show. I have to be honest, for me, this is the most enjoyable part of the car show and yet about halfway through I get tired of watching vehicles going by. Drew and I rarely last the whole cruise, we pack up our chairs and head back to the camper early and enjoy a little quiet time before everyone else comes back!

There was a bed and a TV and some pretty neat decor inside this guy!

Saturday brings us uptown to walk around all the vehicles. It was interesting to see which cars Drew was drawn to. They have them all. Old, new, high dollar, old jalopies, you name it they are there.

As quickly as I lose interest watching the car cruise, I lose interest even more quickly when it comes to walking around in a crowd of people looking at cars. I do enjoy seeing the old vehicles, they have so much style and class. And I enjoy the muscle cars, they remind me of my teenage years. But I can only be in a crowd for so long before I have had enough and the same with looking at cars. But I tag along and try to enjoy myself as Joe and Drew have a great time and I enjoy seeing them bonding and having fun.

About halfway through the car show uptown we come to the lake which makes a nice break. Behind us are the cars and the people and the noise. But if you can tune all that out for a few moments, you can enjoy a beautiful view, the sound of the waves lapping against the shore and watch the sailboats go by!

When we got back from town Drew and I walked down to the beach. He was wanting to swim and I was needing some quiet time. Unfortunately when we got down there we discovered the beach has become a place for all the party boats to congregate so there was loud music and people. But thankfully they were all out on the lake and not up on the beach so even though we had the pleasure of seeing and hearing them, we weren’t actually with them! Drew swam a little while I sat and watched. We enjoyed a little bit of nature on our walk back and found this really interesting rock that looks like a silhouette of a person. The rock is in the camper and has joined a few other treasures we have collected from past camping trips.

The evenings always mean a campfire and s’mores. The weather was great as it was warm during the day, it cooled down enough to enjoy a fire in the evening and then a little rain overnight. It couldn’t have been nicer.

Sunday morning saw me up bright and early before anyone else. I enjoy getting up early to sit outside with my cup of coffee and listen to the sounds of the campground waking up. I love camping. Joe and I have camped pretty much all our married lives. We started out camping with friends. Those friends have changed throughout the years as circumstances have changed for all of us. But as I get older I’ve discovered that I really enjoy camping with just us the most. No schedule, no agenda, just setting up camp and taking it day by day. We’re taking the camper back out this weekend to camp with Jeremy and Abby and the grandkids. I’m looking forward to this. Chances are we won’t ever leave the campground unless we head over to visit Uncle Jerry and see what new animals he has for us to enjoy. We’ll go on hikes and bike rides and just enjoy the lake and nature and being together. This is what I enjoy most. The days of being with a group, constant talk and noise, games and being loud, I just don’t enjoy that anymore. I guess I’m getting old!

Lake Darling

Joe asked if we wanted to go for a drive last evening and we ended up at Lake Darling. It’s a beautiful state park. They have done some major improvements over the past few years and cement paths are one of them. We had never walked on this one and Drew wanted to walk across the bridge so even though we weren’t really dressed for a hike, or dressed for being out in public!, we went ahead and took off. It was a beautiful evening, the heat and humidity had died down and there were very few people around on a Tuesday evening. Even though we hadn’t planned on going anywhere to begin with and we certainly hadn’t planned on going for a hike, it was just what we needed. Family time outdoors.

My dad grew up in a small town just down the road from Lake Darling. It’s a manmade lake and he remembers when it was made. He talks about going to the dedication ceremony that they had. Mom moved to town when they were in high school and she always tells the story of how when they were dating, after a long hot day of making hay, Dad would come pick her up and they’d head out to the lake to go to the beach so Dad could cool off and clean off! I don’t know that the young kids today will ever understand what it meant to make hay. It was a hot, dirty, itchy, hard job. I can remember trying to help when I was younger but I could never manage to haul those bales around.

I can remember when I was little camping here and swimming at the beach. Then when I got married, we camped here many times with our kids. We’ve met here many times over the years for picnics with family. The last time I saw my Grandpa Houseal alive was at an outing here. There are so many memories associated with this beautiful place.

Now I’m ready for another camping trip to Lake Darling. Hopefully this fall. We’ll bring our bikes and hit those trails and see what more Lake Darling has to offer!

Dandelions

Drew and I harvested dandelions earlier this spring when they first started popping up. Most people I know think of dandelions as weeds but after sketching them in our Nature Journals and doing some research we decided to make some useful items out of them. We have so so many dandelions in our yard and I love them. They remind me of little drops of sunshine all over the ground! And the bees and the chickens enjoy them too.

I decided to make some dandelion lotion bars out of the fresh blooms. And Drew wanted to try frying some blossoms. The lotion bars turned out so sweet and they work wonderfully. Drew wasn’t a huge fan of the fried blossoms. I kind of winged it and they could have used a little more flavor in the breading but it was still fun to try. We harvested quite a few extra blooms to dry for later use. I want to slowly start adding to my stash of dried naturals to have on hand.

Making use of dandelions was fun and a great way to get outside even though it was still an early chilly spring day. And now Drew will pick me little dandelion bouquets now and then when he’s outside playing!