It seems like this summer that all I'm able to do is continue to share snippets of our summer!  We are so busy enjoying the lovely days and all the garden chores that go along with summer that my poor blog is feeling a little neglected!

I must say that this summer has been one of the loveliest that we've had in many years.  We have been blessed to have lots of sunshine mixed with plenty of rain, and cooler weather too.  My garden has come along nicely in the last couple of weeks, as we've hit temps again into the 90s, but cooling down into the 40s at night... can't get much better summer weather than that!

Some pictures of the days slipping by like pearls on a string...


The loveliest summer wedding ...


 A wedding dress worn for the third time in the family.  This dress was worn first by the groom's grandmother, then his mother, and now his bride.  Amazingly... this generational wedding dress fit her perfectly, and needed no alterations!


The groom's sister buttoning up this lovely 3rd generational wedding dress...


The bride... an exquisite vision of beauty and joy.


I think this is my favorite picture out of the many I took that day...



Just married and driving off... our daughter caught the bouquet thrown by the bride... don't think I'm ready to marry her off any time soon, lol!


Speaking of generations... can you guess which generation this handsome fellow is part of?


If you guessed Rudy being his father... you are correct... I have been working on Pepper, carrying him around with me several times a week.  I want him to respect me, and not have the issues we had with his father, King Rudy, lol!


Roger's sweet face on a hot summer afternoon...


Zucchini are now growing prolifically in the garden!


The last of my summer raspberries.


Thieves in the garden!  The wasps were eating my raspberries if I didn't pick them early in the morning.


I don't like sharing my raspberries with the wasps, lol!


This huge squash is growing in my garden.  It was a "volunteer" that just showed up in the potato patch and started growing!  I believe it is looking more like a pumpkin now, although for a while, I was wondering if it might be a watermelon... in time we will see!


I love the happy faces of the flowers growing in the vintage pots I have scattered around the garden.





Switching gears from the garden.... we took a hike back up into the woods with friends of ours to view a waterfall we were unaware of.


Beautiful isn't it!  It was only a short walk down to the falls, and it was lovely and cool there with the misty spray coming off the falls cooling the air.


There was a lovely winding trail that followed the creek and we found this little spot to stop and just enjoy the beauty and serenity there.


Many downed trees created a little oasis for mushrooms to grow.


You can see this creek runs pretty high in the spring, judging by the water line on the trees.


We found a little picnic area and the guys got the charcoal grill going for a relaxing picnic.


Our view of the lake as we enjoyed the picnic.


 Evening shadows drawing in over the lake, now still from all the motion earlier in the day.


An incredible sunset serenaded us as we drove home.


Magnificent.


 Blessed we are to live in such a land of perpetual beauty.


Sorry, I probably shared way too many of these sunset pictures, but I couldn't hardly choose which one I liked best!


Switching gears again... my husband and I went for an afternoon drive.  We turned onto a logging road, and began taking whatever roads suited our fancy.  Imagine our delight when one of the roads we were on began to lead us beside the river!


Now you would think, having lived in this beautiful area as long as we have that we would have seen all there is to see, with all the sightseeing we do, but I'm telling you my friends, we probably haven't even touched the surface of what there is to see and do in this incredible place we live in.


A perfect campsite, if you ask me!  Situated on an outcropping, with gorgeous views of the river in all directions...


I can just imagine camping here, and waking up with coffee in hand, and the views of these mountains at sunrise... be still my soul!  We must come back!


And we will.  My husband and I are making plans for when the busy duties of garden have slowed, to come back here and enjoy a night or two on the river.


Each bend of the river offered different views, and each one seemed better than the last, although how could that be!


Our daughter has been busy painting.  She has been asked to showcase some of her work at a local gallery.  This is one of the paintings she worked on recently.

Daisies... sadly the last wildflower of the season to bloom before the leaves begin to fall... oh I do so love daisies, but when I see them blooming, I know summer's end is near.


Recognize this pretty girl?  At my request, our daughter produced this painting of Annie.  It is not finished, she still needs to add the wildflowers...


I took the picture of Annie in the lupins this past spring... remember it?  She painted the picture using the picture I took.


I can't wait to have the painting hanging in our home once she finishes with it :)


Homemade pizza in the middle of the summer - it is a rarity for me to cook many meals in the oven during summer... but we were all feeling like eating pizza, and it was a treat we all enjoyed :)


I didn't get a picture of the pizza as it was coming out of the oven, but as we were putting away the leftovers, I got a picture...

In other news... the first reported wildfires in the area started up this Sunday, but there are none reported close by to us, although the wind has certainly shared the smoke with us.  Late summer is always worrisome for the forest fires that can start as simply as a tree falling on a power line, or being hit by lightning, so the possibility of fires are a real one here now.

I know that summer days are winding down... both my children started college this week!  Hard to believe that summer has been here, and now is leaving us.  It is a transition in our family with both our children now in college.  Seasons come and go, and we must welcome each one with joy, there is always sadness and joy that comes with each one, and I choose to look for the joy!  Soon the harvest will be abounding in the garden with my corn about to ripen, green beans fattening up,  potatoes bursting through the ground, and tomatoes gently starting to ripen.  Harvest time is a wonderful time, and lots to look forward to.

Are you ready for fall? As for me, I am still enjoying the lingering warmth of summer, but the cooler days of fall and the season of harvest will be welcomed gladly too.  :)

Lovely summer days... fleeting sweet moments in time... passing through our lives... moments enjoyed to the fullest, savored in joy.... busy days, full days... and now days that I am wondering where did the summer go to?

Our local ski resort had a festival offering free rides on the ski lift.  It was an incredibly beautifully clear day which was such a bonus!

As I looked back through my pictures, I realized I had missed sharing several events with you, and so this post is going to be a hodgepodge of sorts... little tidbits of the good days of summer we've had here this year :)

My daughter and I rode the ski lift to the top, and such a beautiful view was seen!

There was a lovely stream cascading down the mountain following the path of the ski lift.

The view was spectacular!  Everyone was amazed at how clear it was up there... as usually the clouds hide part of the horizon.

At the top, my daughter and I decided we were going to hike back down the mountain. The line to go back down the mountain on the ski lift was 30-45 minutes long!

There were many trails leading down, and we just picked one and went with it.  It was an awesome workout, with an incredible view!

I just had to stop and not just catch my breath from the downward trek, but from the view spread out before us.



At the top of the mountain these lupins were growing... don't they look like Texas bluebonnets?

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One evening we went to this nearby lake.  Friends of ours brought their canoe, and we took our little fishing boat.


The evening rays of sun washed the world with beauty.


We had a hilarious time on the lake.  Our little fishing boat does not not have a trolling motor, and no big motors are allowed.  So we had to paddle our fishing boat around.  Our boat was not made to row.... and trying to get it to go in a straight line was ..... well.... rather silly to watch!



So our friends tied our boat to their canoe, and pulled us along... and we managed to maneuver around the lake a little easier after that. LOL!


Lots of algae and lilies growing along the edges of the lake. 


Beautiful wildflowers along the banks.



Speaking of flowers... this beautiful verbena is blooming in my garden...


Kale is growing abundantly this year.


My husband and father found this little wagon for me at the dump, and I've filled it with some flowers that I started from seed... in vintage containers.. aka coffee cans, lol!




This is an Indigo Rose tomato plant that I purchased from a local gardener.  The tomatoes look like little plums, and have the most delicious flavor, so that you could eat them like a plum! I have never eaten a purple tomato before, but they are soooo good! Try one if you ever get a chance :)


The hummingbirds are keeping me busy refilling their feeders almost on a daily basis!


A tom turkey brave enough to enter the hen's domain... and it wasn't but a few seconds after I snapped the picture that the hens chased him away, lol!


The summer full moon was bright and beautiful with the gathered clouds below adding an air of mystery to the view.


We went to the local Timber Days parade... it is always an impressive sight to see all the log trucks lined up loaded with their timber driving down Main Street.


This fancy truck caught my eye... it wasn't in the parade, but it sure was purty!


Bright colorful floats are always fun to see.


And lots of candy for the children...


My husband and I took a drive and stopped at the lake... it was a beautiful day with cotton candy clouds in the sky.


We went to a little state park and hiked along its rocky beach.


It was late afternoon, and the sun was sitting low in the sky... a perfect time to enjoy the beauty of the river.



And an after view of the newly installed floors, painting, and trim.  It was not finished when I took this picture, but you get the idea... a great new look.

It is amazing what paint and new flooring can do for a home!  They plan on moving in this weekend, as the purchase of the house was just finalized.  Only life can throw a curveball like this - the house closed on the same day that our friend's sister flew in from England with her family to attend the wedding this Saturday of their sister, and on the same week that they need to move into the new house, with company in tow!  The Lord is giving them grace to accomplish all that needs to be done, and we have helped them as much as we can.

Indeed, there has been so much happening around here, and summer seems to be sliding into third base, and headed for the home base!   We have had some cooler weather lately with highs in the 60s, and lots of rain.  We are not complaining about the rain!  So happy and thankful that this year we don't have the terrible concern for forest fires, as we have been blessed with rain all summer long.  My garden is coming along slowly, truthfully - all the cool weather has slowed it down, but I am anticipating a nice crop of vegetables still, and holding out hope that we don't get an early frost!

Our calendars tell us that all seasons have about equal days in them... but summer just really seems to fly by, while winter drags its feet... and so we are enjoying the most of every moment that summer has to offer us... and when the weather cools down, the days get shorter, and the fall colors are bright... I hope to have more time to visit all of my dear friends in "blogland".  :)

I hope to be back sometime next week to share pictures of the wedding this weekend.  :)