Summer's First Day

On this, the first day of summer, it feels as though spring has just really gotten to a start but here summer is! Oh how I love the beautiful month of June... it is full of wildflower blooms, the rich scent of wild rose blooms, lush green grass, sweet bird songs, vegetables growing in the garden, berries ripe and ready to be picked... oh yes, so much to enjoy in this delightful month of blooms!

The scent of wild rose blooms fills the air with fragrant promise. 

My newly planted clematis is blooming happily away.

Blooms in the garden

One day my daughter and I kayaked with a dear friend around a mountain lake.  It was a beautiful day!

Our friend's kayaks are blow-up ones.  I'd never been in an inflatable kayak, but it was amazing how well they did in the water! 

This lake has lots of water lilies that grow beneath the surface of the water, and then bloom.  Later in summer
almost the entire lake becomes covered with the growth of the blooms.  We enjoyed several hours paddling around the lake and saw several turtles and an osprey.  

 

I joined a group in the area who hike once a week to see some spectacular scenery and trails.  

We visited a local state park and hiked on some of the extensive trails around the park.  The park also has these darling log cabins available for rent. 

This picture is taken from a viewpoint in the park.  It was such a beautiful day to be out hiking!

I received my copy of Rural Magazine in the mail, and took it out to my garden to savor and enjoy.  If you haven't purchased your own copy yet, you can click this link to enjoy your very own copy! 

It is a beautiful issue full of gorgeous photography and inspirational thoughts from women around the country who share their hearts about the rural area they live in. 

 I have an article included in the issue :) 

Wild strawberries abound!  I have been finding little patches of them growing everywhere... tiny drops of sweetness that make you long for more of them! 

They are so tiny and hidden under leaves that they are often quite hard to find! 

I'm so glad I captured this picture of my Yellow Brick Road rose that my dad bought for me before they left.  I had a deer hop the fence into my garden and clean up the rest of the blooms on all my roses... so sad!  

I know the bush will bloom again, hopefully again this year, if it can.  But for now I will have to enjoy the pictures I took of the blooms before the trespassing deer ate them! 

 

My succulents are loving their new home under the eaves of my garden shed, while my always blooming flowers hang out in my daughter's repurposed cowboy boots! 

I had fun painting tin cans bright colors and filling them with succulents that will provide beauty for years to come.  Succulents have become my favorite garden staple! 

These dianthus reseed every year, I never have to replant them.  I love beautiful perennials that bring joy year after year!

On one of our hikes, this bald eagle kept a stoic watch over us as we began our hike. 

Beautiful mountains, valleys, rivers... oh the joys of getting out and hiking! So much to see! 

Intriguing little wooden bridges.... 

Dazzling tiger lilies! 

Wildflower blooms abounding on every hand.

Little streams rushing down the mountain...

This little stream was particularly bubbly and happy as it chortled its way down the mountain, and the wildflowers on its banks waved to the music of the gentle breeze. 

Someone had built a shelter with pine branches and needles!  

It looked quite cozy and perfect for a hideaway should one need one. 

Seeing views of the water as you hike are always highlights!

I love seeing my chives bloom and watching the bees hard at work enjoying their blooms.

Huckleberry cobbler in our Dutch oven cooked by my husband... a scrumptious treat! 

Strawberries fresh out of the garden... not as many as you see here made it into the house... lol!  They are just so hard to resist! 

A little collage of the wild roses blooming alongside the lupines next to the remnants of an old fence.  We pass
these on our evening walks... the scent of the wild roses fills the evening breeze with its fragrance. 

So we have been enjoying the last days of spring, and here we are, celebrating the first day of summer!  It is quite hard to believe half the year has already passed, but time does keep marching onward.  Our days are packed with moments spent outside enjoying the glorious beauties this season of the year offers up.  I find it hard to sit in front of a computer screen when I can be outside soaking up the sunshine... you understand I'm sure!  I haven't been able to blog as much as I'd like to, but it is the time of year to be outdoors and enjoying the beauty this season shares with us. 

And yet... one never just knows what a day may hold!

 Yesterday my dad was on his way to use a gift card that I had given to him for Father's Day. He was traveling on a 4 lane interstate when an 18 wheeler loaded with oil pipe struck the rear of dad's vehicle, causing his car to hit the concrete wall, then spinning the car around and pinning it to the front grill of the truck, going down the road at 70 miles an hour while the truck tried to stop. Then the car broke free and hit the concrete block on the other side of the interstate, after crossing 4 lanes of traffic before stopping. Dad's car was hit 4 times! Truly the Lord was with my dad today when this accident happened! 

Dad was taken to the hospital and released, without even a scratch!!! We are giving thanks to the Lord today for His protection in what could easily have been such a different situation!!! Thank you Lord!! I spoke to Dad this morning, and he doesn't have any pain, muscle soreness or any signs of trouble after the accident.  Truly a miraculous event that we have Dad still with us today! 

We remain incredibly thankful for the mighty hand of protection of the Lord on my father yesterday.  He told me he will never forget looking out at the grill of the truck as it pushed him down the road.  In that moment it feels like eternity stops... but how miraculous that Dad was able to crawl out of the passenger seat of the car later, without even a scratch!  We remain thankful and incredibly amazed at the powerful Hand of Protection that was on his life yesterday!

Our family has a planned family reunion that will be taking place in New Brunswick, Canada next week, and things could have been so different.  But thanks be to the Lord, Dad is okay and planning to travel Saturday to New Brunswick.  My family will be leaving next week as well to join the rest of our family celebrating my grandmother's birthday in New Brunswick.  We are quite excited about the trip, and so it will be a bit quiet here around my blog for the next week or two, but I promise when I return I will have lots of wonderful things to share with you :)  Blessings and hugs to all!