The beauty of the Sun as it sets and rises

Last evening Bob called me up to his office to look out his window over the orchard. This is the sunset that was visible. I ran and got my camera and got this amazing picture as the sun was going down and illuminating the clouds with bright red and orange. Beautiful!



That same morning I had captured this shot of the sun coming up over the orchard, with the valley all fogged in. I love living up on our hill above the fog line. The valley is often shrouded in fog this time of year, but we wake to beautiful sunrises quite often. The fog does move up the hill most days, but not before giving us a lovely look at the sun's greeting.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for giving us such amazing beauty to behold. This is just a tiny glimpse of Your majesty, and I am sure a small taste of the beauty of our eternal home in heaven. Thank you for allowing us to see Your creativity through this amazing world .

We had a very fast moving thunder storm the other day. I was able to get a great picture of the storm after it moved over us and down into the valley. The sun came out and everything was all sparkling and bright. A rainbow appeared and was just the perfect finish to the storm event.

Mt. Hood peeking out over fog shrouded valley

Large old Royal Anne Cherry tree

Cherry Orchard at the end of Autumn

I was outside this afternoon admiring the lovely autumn afternoon. The air was crisp and the last of the leaves were still hanging on to the trees. The valley is white with fog, but we are above the fog line quite often, and today is no exception. Mt. Hood was just peaking out and looks like it is floating above the fog in the valley. I love it up here on our hill this time of year. We get to see sights that are not visible from the valley floor. So I wanted to share this autumn splendor with you all to enjoy.

Our Little Lamb

Eating the yummy fall leaves, like a good little lamb.

Thank you, God for making such a lovely world.

Am I adorable, or what?

Elsa Jane, our Little Lamb

I grew up in a very strong Christian family and we made a big deal about the holidays. We usually dressed up for Halloween and went Trick or Treating. It was just a 'fun' time for us. My husband's family did not celebrate Halloween at all. No costumes, no Trick or Treating. Halloween was considered to be an evil day. I respected that, and since it is not a big deal to me either way, we did not celebrate Halloween at all when our children were young. Often our churches would have a Harvest Party on Nov. 1, and we would go to that. But Halloween was not even acknowledged. Our kids are pretty normal even tho they did not dress up for Halloween or participate in any of the 'festivities'.

Miranda sent me some pictures of our little Elsa Jane all dressed up for Halloween as a little black and white lamb. She was so adorable, that no matter what you believe about Halloween, you could not be offended by this Little Lamb. I just wanted to squeeze her when I saw her costume. Surprisingly, she did not even pull at the fleece on her tummy. How precious.

Colors of Autumn

Brilliant gold and reds of God's palate
Brilliant beauty of fall leaves

I LOVE this time of year! I drive around town and the trees are amazing with their intense colors. I know it is not as amazing as the East Coast this time of the year. But I think, somehow, that our colors are better because they are mixed with all the Evergreens that don't change color. So the contrast is greater. I have seen pictures of the colors in the east and it is stunning. But I really love seeing the bright reds, oranges, and yellows against all the green here in the NW. I took some photos today to illustrate what I mean by the beauty of our colorful trees.

October in Oregon

Sunrise over the foggy Willamette Valley - Oct. 12, 2008

Sunset over the Snyder Cherry Orchard - Oct. 16, 2008
Sunrise over the Willamette Valley - Oct. 17, 2008
Banana Squash fully cooked - 10 lbs.
16 cups (4 quarts) Banana Squash ready for the freezer
( Dad will sure be happy since this is his favorite squash)

This is my favorite time of year. The air is so clean and crisp. The colors on the trees and bushes are so vibrant. The sunsets and sunrises are amazing because of the clear air. The days are warm, the nights are cool, and there is a nice breeze to keep things fresh. The harvest in the Autumn is abundant, and so the freezer is full of containers with fruits and vegetables to enjoy during the winter.

Getting Ready for Mom and Dad

Since Mom and Dad will be moving to the NW at the end of the month, I am trying to make sure that their new 'home' will be ready for them.

I went over yesterday and spent about 5 hours cleaning. The duplex was supposedly left 'clean' by the former tenants. However, I have learned that everyone has a very different idea of what 'clean' is. I took my step stool, a bucket, rubber gloves, environmentally friendly 'green' cleaner (hey, this is Oregon), some disinfectant wipes, and a roll of paper towels. The first thing I did was to weed the yard. The grass may be dead, but the dandelions continue to grow even when there is no watering done. I got a very large bag of yard debris. Next, I went into the kitchen and washed out all the cupboards, drawers, stove, fridge, and counters. It fairly *sparkles*. On to the bathroom, which was not that dirty........amazingly! But now it is spotless. My next cleaning chore was to clean the windows, troughs, and sills. My last cleaning chore is to clean the kitchen and dining room floors. I discovered that there are little spots of tar on the floor, which I don't know how to remove without harming the surface. Any suggestions? I did talk to the owner about some things that need 'fixing'. One of the keys does not work in the deadbolt and one of the drip pans on the stove are missing. No big deals. I did find a great - over the toilet - vanity cupboard for the bathroom. Got it half price at Walmart and need to put it together. It will give lots more storage in the bathroom. I will put that together today........maybe. Anyway, things are coming together. I talked to Mom yesterday and she actually said, "I am getting excited about moving up to Oregon". Now that was an amazing thing for her to say! I have prayed over and over that she would do well with this move. I know how the weather affects her moods, and we do have a 'few' days of grey in the winter. But being closer to family is something she is really looking forward to. They put their home on the market this week, and that is great. We need to pray that just the right buyer will come along and that the timing will all work out for them. God is in control and He has orchestrated every step of this move so far. I know all the last bits will fall into place as well.

Autumn's Seasonal Bounty

Thursday at the Farmer's Market I picked up some winter squash. One variety was called Golden Nugget and the other was a Sweet Meat. And yesterday I saw an older farmer with his truck in our little town of Amity. He sells produce out of the back of his truck. He had an ENORMOUS Hubbard Squash, and he was selling it for only $5. It was over 20 lbs. And it was 38" around the middle. Pretty cheap. Anyway, I cut the squash up and bake it in the oven at 350' for about 2 hours. ( I had to take Bob's hacksaw to the Hubbard, it was so tough and so big!) Then I let it sit for about half an hour so that the squash pulls away from the rind. Then I scoop the meat out and put it in a bowl and mash it with a potato masher. After it is all mashed, it goes into containers for the freezer. We have 12 pints of frozen squash now. I had a small sample of each left over, which we had for dinner. Our favorites were the Hubbard, and the Sweet Meat. The Golden Nugget tasted a lot like an Acorn Squash. Bob eats his with butter and salt and pepper. I like mine with butter and brown sugar. Delicious!!!



The other benefit of the Autumn Season are the apples in abundance. We have a Gravenstein Apple tree and a Golden Delicious tree. The Gravenstein did not get worms this year and since we love them the very best, that was very good news. Yesterday I spent about 4 hours outside cleaning up the ground under the Gravenstein Apple tree. There were so many good apples that had fallen. I put them into a big tub and it was heaping. The bad apples were tossed into the orchard for the birds, deer, racoons, and squirrels. This morning I made two batches of applesauce from the apples under the tree. Bob came home from Spokane and he also cut up enough apples for two batches of applesauce. We got 19 pints of delicious applesauce in the freezer. We just quarter, core, and peel the apples. Then let them bake slowly at 300' for about 2 hours. Then mash with a potato masher, pour into containers, and freeze.



I took some photos of the apple tree before and after the cleanup. And also the huge tub of apples, and the gigantic Hubbard Squash. I put a can of soda in front of the tub so you could get a perspective of exactly how many apples there were. What a project!!! But I am so happy that we can experience the bounty of this, my favorite season - Autumn!