A Season of Splendor

Thursday, October 28, 2021



After experiencing one of the hottest summers on record for our area, no one really expected that we would have abundant autumn color this year, as it seemed that the distress of the heatwave would have taken its toll on the trees and shrubs. However, in September, we did receive a fairly significant amount of rain for this area, about 3", and so this October has truly been an October of Octobers! The colors have been beyond spectacular, stretching now almost into November, we are still seeing beautiful golds and reds on the hillsides.

My harvest season from the garden continued well into October, with ripening tomatoes coming out of my greenhouse, and I've canned 40+ quarts of tomatoes, plus I've given away over a hundred pounds of tomatoes to friends, neighbors and our church food bank. And... I  still have tomatoes in the greenhouse ripening! 




Truly the harvest was plenteous this year, and I am grateful for it all! I currently have about 20+ pounds of ripe tomatoes that again need to be canned. They just keep on giving! 




My strawberry patch produced again this fall, and so alongside tomatoes,
I was making strawberry jam :) 



Out of my garden came pumpkins... and pie!
The beautiful bouquet on my table is also from my garden, as is the pie pumpkin I'm using for decor. 


For our birthdays, we decided we wanted kayaks! So, our children pitched in and we invested in a couple of kayaks. We bought them late in the season, and so far have used them once, taking them out on our little mountain lake just down the road from us. It was a beautiful afternoon. Kayaking is just an amazing experience, and we are excited about more adventures to come with our kayaks. 





 


Autumn has been full of wonderful, beautiful things.. so much so that I have to apologize in advance for the heavy photo sharing that I am about to do, but I hope you will enjoy all the beautiful photos that I've taken throughout the month of October. I am going to share them below, and I hope your heart will smile with the beauty we've been able to enjoy here. Everyone is talking about the beautiful fall we've had here, and how vibrant the colors are. I hope you enjoy a peek at our spectacular autumn scenes here in North Idaho. :) 





























This aster is still blooming in my garden... after everything else has frosted!





This is the Hunter's Moon that I was able to capture one evening as it shone brightly. 






We took a quad ride at dusk to watch the sunset, but...
it was the moon that put on the show for the evening! 






I hope you've enjoyed the Fall delights in the photos I shared. I also want to share with you a special experience I had on Monday, October 11.  It was our Canadian Thanksgiving Day, and I had roasted a turkey and served it to our family along with the pumpkin pies I made. I was making preparations for bed when I noticed the sky had a glow to it. I realized that we were having a Northern Lights show! I packed up my camera, and headed outside to take some pictures. I had never experienced the Northern Lights before! It was so amazing to watch them. It was a very special treasured moment, and I truly hope that someday soon I will get to see them again! 









It has been such a beautiful Fall, that we have enjoyed evenings out on our porch, and our son plays the guitar for us, while we sit around our propane fire pit table. I have little solar lights, LED lights, and mini lights mixed in with my porch decor to add to the ambience. 

So, my friends... October has been a month to enjoy the bounty of our harvest, the glory of the Fall colors, and the rich blessings of time spent with family. I am grateful for this beautiful harvest season, and all the blessings that the Lord has given us. I know though, that for so many, this has been a very difficult season, as indeed the c-virus has made its rounds in our community. I have a dear friend, who blogs at Pink Paper Cottage who lost her spouse and is grieving, if you would reach out to her, and keep her in your prayers. 

Isaiah 45:12
I have made the earth and created man upon it:
I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens
and all their host have I commanded. 


I know others have been very ill. My prayers are with each one of you who has suffered losses through the difficult season of this virus. Our prayers continue daily for all those who are grieving, and also for the state of our nation, and the world today. One thing I know, is that our Lord holds this world in the palm of His Hand, and nothing happens, but that He doesn't know about. He has a Plan, and we continue to trust in Him and thank Him for the beautiful gifts He showers on us daily, and know that He will make all things beautiful and right, in its time. 

In a previous post here, in case you haven't read it, I am giving away 2 copies of a very special devotional book written by my dear friend Cheryl Smith who blogs at Homespun Devotions. Be sure to visit that post and her blog, you will be blessed! The giveaway is open until October 31. 

One evening after a passing thunderstorm, this rainbow appeared, like a stripe in the sky. It was quite unusual, not the typical half-circle, but was a straight line from the clouds. So beautiful to see! 

May the rich blessings of the Lord be with you, and I hope that the beauty of the Lord in the midst of this Fall season has brought a smile and joy into your heart today :) 



23 comments

  1. Marilyn, your photos are beyond spectacular!!! We've yet to see much fall color here in Georgia, but it's on the way. I so loved seeing it previewed here. And those Northern Lights? Just wow!
    God is blessing you in so many ways, my friend, but I know you know that beyond a shadow of a doubt.
    Blessings!

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  2. What beautiful Fall photos. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Such a bounty of tomatoes! That's amazing! Your fall photos are lovely.

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  4. Marilyn, your ability to capture God's handiwork is astounding! I enjoyed scrolling through your post! Happy autumn! :)

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  5. We have heard from everyone back in Spokane about how hot the summer was. Love your garden produce and all that you've done with it. BUT, most of all, thank you so much for taking me back home with your photos. Oh how I miss the Inland Northwest. God is SO good isn't He? What a bountiful harvest you've had.
    Blessings and hugs Marilyn,
    Betsy

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  6. Beautiful photos, my friend! And your garden sure did bless you this year! That's great! Our garden season wasn't so good this year... too much rain. But I am thankful for what we did get. The kids are actually gathering the last of it right now, as we have had unseasonably warm weather this year. Usually by now it has snowed, so I'm very thankful for that! Loved all of your pictures, and, just so you know, you can never have too many pictures. ;)

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  7. Dear Marylin,thank you for such encouragement and those fabulous pictures. Blessings.

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  8. WOW! The colors are so lovely. You are blessed to have those vibrant reds mixed in with the yellows. Just stunning.

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  9. I am sorry for your blogging friend's loss. 🕊

    Such glorious, brilliant colors. I love seeing them.

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  10. Oh Marilyn! Your photos are just stunning! I scrolled down, enjoying each one. Thanks for sharing them. Here in Michigan, our colors aren't very good this year. We've had a warm Fall and the leaves have been slow to change.

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  11. Oh, dear friend! Your photos!!! My, I could just sit and stare at them for hours on end! You are so gifted and you yourself are such a gift to this world. All of your bountiful harvest was just wonderful to read about and the special photo of your son playing his guitar on the porch just warmed my heart. What fun we would all have if we could pop in to visit and join in one of those evenings on your porch! It was just so wonderful to visit with you tonight and see the uplifting photos and read your encouraging words. You are such a blessing to me and to so many. Thank you again ever so much for promoting our book. Sending much love, gratitude, and blessings your way tonight, in Jesus' name.

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  12. How I enjoyed looking at all your lovely photos! And the Northern Lights were the grand finale of your day! I remember seeing them as a child growing up in Manitoba but never here in B.C. But I think once you've seen them you don't forget.

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  13. What beautiful photos!!! I greatly enjoyed looking at every one of them! I experienced the Northern Lights once time when vacationing in northern Minnesota. It was something that I will never forget. Absolutely incredible! By the way, your pies look amazing! Blessings for a great rest of the week!

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  14. Thank you for sharing your spectacular autumn colors. It's all still green in my world and I'm afraid that at this point we're going straight to brown and down! Haha. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  15. Glorious photos and what a very special treat to have seen the Northern Lights. Thanks for sharing those photos. Your canning endeavors are inspiring. So thankful we have a God who loves us and is in control of everything.

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  16. I live vicariously through your photos, friend! So inspirational in every sense of the word!

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  17. Oh my goodness! Such amazing beauty you have shared with us! Thank you, and I love the kayaks. I enjoy that too. So relaxing. Happy Halloween!

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  18. Oh Marilyn friend... I never tire of your stunning photos! I enjoyed each and every one, and loved all the old barns and bright red trees.. they are such a vivid spot amongst all the golds and dark greens. How beautiful it is with the golden trees sprinkled in with all of the dark green evergreens... just love it... and seeing those paths through the woods made me homesick for SW Washington when I lived in the forests and trees. I could almost smell the damp earth that is so hard to forget when you've lived there most of your life. The moons, sunsets and kayaking are all so wonderful.. you really DID have an amazing October and summer. Your prayers and heartfelt words are a blessing to everyone. Thank you for the shout out to me and my loss... I have heard from a few of your followers and I really appreciate their kindness and prayers.

    And on those northern lights... wow and double wow. I've never seen them even though I was in Alaska in the 90's.. but never did experience them when I was there. What a wonderful surprise you got. Your porch is lovely... and all of your canning is amazing. I'm just starting in on your strawberry jam! I wanted to hoard it but decided, no, I'm going to enjoy it and I am. Thank you for all of your wonderful photos.. each one captures a different part of our most amazing nature and our most wonderful Lord. Blessings to you... Marilyn

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  19. AMAZING photos!!! Your photos of the northern lights are awarding winning.

    We gifted each other kayaks for our anniversary this year. :-) We have enjoyed going out on kayaking explores too.
    Love, Carla

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  20. apologies ????

    i am thankful for the treasure you shared with us dear Marilyn !

    what a splendid area you live in ,the beauty of Nature is bursting out in each view and i see only Grace of lord showering upon you my friend !
    i loved the images from the bottom of my heart ,they refreshed my soul!
    thank you again !
    what a remarkable harvest wow ,you are so kind and giving away is habit that bring more blessings to one indeed and in abundance :)
    my son spent his first holiday in London while kayaking :) he loved it ,how nice you bought your own boats to do so :)
    My son plays guitar either just like you said your son played for you how lovely :)

    glad you had precious family time this fall and glory of Nature all around you wishing you joy and blessings more in days ahead :)
    shorter days has squeezed my blogging time but i will try to visit your friend asap .
    more blessings to you and loved ones!

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  21. Thank you for sharing these beautiful photographs.

    Happy November wishes.

    All the best Jan

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  22. OH,Marilyn! Such gorgeous photos, and such glorious color! God truly put on a display for you this fall! And those northern lights, and the rainbow! More of His beauty for you to behold! thank you so much for sharing it with us. This would make such a wonderful calendar...have you ever thought of that? Everytime I see your photos I want to come visit Idaho! It is truly a beautiful place. Thank you again. May God bless you and yours, and I will pray for those you are grieving or suffering. Yes, it's been a hard year for so many, but God is still on the throne and so able to care for all of our needs no matter what. We are blessed to be his children. Good night, and God bless.

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Your comments are blessings to me, and I appreciate each and every one, they are precious to me! I appreciate you taking the time to comment on my blog... this is what makes blogging worthwhile! Have a blessed day!

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