Hello dear friends! I am sorry for my extended absence from the blog.   We took a 2-week trip over Thanksgiving to visit our family in Texas.  I want to share some of our pictures with you.  It was such a wonderful trip in every way, and I'm grateful for every precious moment we got to spend with our loved ones. It has taken me a bit of time to go through my pictures to share them with you :) 

My husband and I like to road trip together, as there are so many more things you can see and enjoy as you travel. It does take longer, but it is more about the journey experienced together. My husband is a seasoned truck driver, and so that makes it very nice for me because he loves to drive. I did do some of the driving as well, but he did the vast majority of the driving, while I .... took pictures... ha! Many of these pictures are through the windshield, but we also would stop and get out as well. 

So beware... this is a rather long post... a cup of coffee or tea with a lovely treat would be nice to enjoy as you scroll through the pictures, and virtually travel with us :) 

The Lord blessed us with clear roads for the ENTIRE trip! We left home, just as a wild winter storm rolled in. The storm clouds were amazing to see, and we were glad we were not driving in those clouds!

Our area has been blessed in the last month to have a chance three times to see the Northern Lights. Each time, the lights have been barely visible to the natural eye, but because the lens of a camera is so sensitive to light, the lights are able to be easily seen through a  camera lens. 

I wanted to share with you some of the pictures I've captured recently. I can tell you this... now I can't keep looking at the night sky and wondering if we will see the Northern Lights! Apparently we are moving into a more "busy" season with the aurora borealis, as the sun every 11 years or so, goes through a cycle of having solar flares. That season won't fully happen until 2025, but there is more activity happening now with the sun. 

I will share the little bit of research that I have done about the northern lights, and what astronomers and scientists have come to believe about them as simply as I can. 

Northern lights have been documented in writings as far back as King Nebuchadnezzar's time when his astronomer wrote about the northern lights. 

I believe the Bible mentions the Northern Lights in this passage. 

In this passage, it says "their line is gone out through all the earth".  One of the amazing characteristics of the Northern Lights is the lines that dance in the skies with brilliant and spectacular colors. In fact, when viewing the Northern Lights closer to the poles of the earth (north and south), the magnetic action taking place can even be heard!

Scientists believe that the lights are produced by magnetic particles that are emitted from the sun. The sun is constantly emitting magnetic particles toward the earth. However, there are cycles when the sun has solar storms, and these particles are created in increasing numbers. When the particles from the solar storms come into contact with the magnetic forces from the north and south poles of the earth, these solar particles are drawn to the poles in waves and forms. These solar-energized gaseous particles collide together in the magnetic areas of earth (north and south poles) in the skies to create the incredible waves, lines, and forms that can be seen when conditions are right. Sometimes, only cameras can pick up the action, but the closer you are to the poles of the earth, the easier it is with the natural eye to pick up these magnetic collisions of color. 

On October 11, just as I was getting ready for bed, I looked out the north-facing kitchen window and thought the sky had an odd glow to it. I went outside and took a picture with my camera, and to my incredible surprise, I realized it was the northern lights taking place. It was a really cold night, and the stars were dancing in the skies too! It was such an exhilarating experience to be outside where it was completely dark, yet so bright with all the colors from the northern lights, and the brilliance of the stars. 

Never in my life had I experienced such a heavenly experience in the skies! 

Soon after, on October 30, there was a new solar storm that took place on the sun, and the possibility existed for our area to glimpse the lights again.  However, despite all the hopes of so many people in our area (some traveled hours to come to our area to see the lights), the lights were only visible to us right at dusk, and again at dawn.  

On the night of November 3, I was returning home from bible study when I noticed the sky again had a green glow off to the north. However, we were experiencing heavy fog and rain. When I got home, I tried to take a few pictures and realized that because of the heavy fog up on our mountain, it was going to be impossible for me to see the lights clearly. However, maybe you have seen others around the northern hemisphere who were able to capture incredible glimpses of the lights that night. 

Below I will share more of the images that I was able to capture. 

A very slight glimpse of the milky way in the skies.

The stars in the skies were like millions of diamonds twinkling, just amazing to see!

There were so many shooting stars in the skies that night!

The glow of the northern lights through the fog created a rather eerie sky scene!

Northern lights reflect their colors through the fog.

My Dad came for a wonderful visit around the first of September. He was here for three weeks, and we spent so many wonderful days together. It seemed the days just flew past, and that we never got to do all the things we hoped, but we sure did do a lot! 

Harvest time has begun in the garden... well... we've been enjoying things all summer long out of the garden of course, but the real, in earnest season of harvest is upon us now.  Even though it is still August, Fall is dancing around the door with whispers of cool air in late evenings and early mornings that speak of the days coming when summer will have said its goodbyes. 

In my last post, I mentioned that there was a fire that started just over the ridge from our home.  I wanted to share a few more pictures and stories about the fire that thankfully has been just about completely contained, but in the beginning, we did not know how it would go. 

With the heat that we've been having here in the northwest, it makes you understand why the heat of summer is often referred to the "dog days of summer".  Because really, the heat just makes you tired! I love the cool mornings and evenings, and tend to seek out the cooler air in my home during the heat of the day.  But despite the hot days we've continually had for months now, we are finding ways to get out and enjoy the beautiful world around us.  Finally too, my garden has adjusted to the heat and abundant sunshine, and now things that love heat and sun are growing in abundance... come along with me and see what's happening in my world these days... :) 

Sunset in the garden with a beautiful moonrise.

Petunias hanging out with my plate glass flower

Drying lavender... what an incredibly delightful smell!

Harvesting my turnip

Our favorite way to eat turnip is roasted with other veggies in some olive oil.

Guess who loved the turnip greens?

Early morning walks when it is a bit cooler.

One morning the clouds worked really hard, and we got some rain! It wasn't much, but it appreciated so much!

Smoky skies create really amazing photo opportunities with the sun!

We went camping for a couple of nights close by home. No fires allowed!

We enjoyed sitting outside and listening to the creek.  The stars were hidden under the smoky layers.

Percolated coffee is the best!

We missed having a campfire, but having the propane cook stove was a great substitute.

The little creek we camped beside.

Exploring all around our campsite, and crossing nature's bridge :)

We took the dogs down to where the creek had a bit of a dam, and enjoyed wading in the cold waters.

Huckleberries!

We found a great huckleberry patch, and Annie decided it was a good place to take a nap!

Our huckleberry treasures! I'd say we picked about a gallon of them.

Both Annie and Riley decided they liked huckleberries, and we taught them how to pick them for themselves!

We found some wild elderberries that were ripe too. I left those for the birds.

It's always fun to drive on the old logging trails.

Cooked steaks, fried potatoes, corn on the cob and fresh avocado for dinner. Campfire meals are the best, but the propane stove did a great job too.

When we got home... fresh huckleberries with vanilla ice cream... what a treat!

In my garden at sunset... the loveliest time of the day!

My knockout rosebush is loving the heat!

My sunflowers are growing wildly too... and seem quite happy with the heat as well.

Front row seats to the best sunset show in town... via my garden :)

The sunset was so enrapturing to watch... but this sweet sunflower standing head and shoulders above the rest, seems to give the sunset a bit of a challenge, don't you think?

As sunsets do... this one gave its best and brightest at the very end... oh it was truly magnificent to see! It was as if the skies were on fire!

The garden is growing by leaps and bounds. Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, corn, potatoes and beans are getting closer to harvesttime.  Usually, we don't begin to see much of a harvest until late August, but things are quite early this year, thanks to the heat we are having, and so the next few weeks will be exciting as we begin to harvest goodies from the garden.  There is no rain in our forecast at all, and the world around us is quite crispy brown and dried up. I am thankful that we still have no fires nearby, and for the amazing work the firefighters are doing to keep the fires contained. Most of the smoke we get is from other places. I've heard that smoke has been reaching clear across to the east side of the United States, and I am sorry that other people are having to deal with the smoke also. For the last few days, the smoke has lifted, and we have had clearer skies, for which I'm very thankful. 

Update: I was about to publish this post last Thursday afternoon, when my husband called and said he had seen a plume of smoke in the mountains, not far from us.  Soon after, we began hearing planes flying overhead, and it turned into everyone's worst nightmare. The fire began in a steep ridge not easy to gain access to, and early responders were unable to get a handle on the fire, and air support was immediately called in.  Soon, evacuations were being sent out, but thankfully, the fire began to move north and east of us.  We are going to be okay, and will not have to evacuate, but so many of our friends were in evacuation zones. Thankfully the amazing air support we received for this fire was astounding, and homes and structures are not in danger, at the present time, from this fire. Of course, we know all that can change with any weather incidents, so we remain with our bags packed and ready to go, if need be, but for now, we are just so very thankful that we have some of the best firefighting teams in the world here protecting us. I appreciate your prayers for this area, and that we would get some much needed rain! Blessings to all :)