Yes, it's that time of year when all the nasty bugs that multiply and grow in confined warm spaces begin to make their rounds.  Our family was visited this past week by one who decided to stay and visit us. Not welcome at all - we hit the bug hard with all the tools in our "Keep Healthy" toolbox.  

I was the first one to succumb to the bug, but I was only sick for about one day. As soon as I started feeling a scratchy throat, I began to take extra vitamin C and drink lots of water. The next day, I began to run a fever, had aches, chills, and just general malaise, and my head was congested.  My fever only lasted a few hours as I began drinking elderberry tea.  I also took Quercetin, vitamin C, vitamin D, and some cold medicine.  

My husband also got "bit by the bug" within a few days.  I made him some of the elderberry tea as well, and his fever broke within a few minutes of drinking the tea! It really made a believer out of him! He only missed one day of work, and I was sick for one day as well. 

Elderberry syrup

Thanks to each of you who were so kind to share your condolences to our family in the loss of our precious Mother, Mom Moseley.  With the holidays approaching, this year will be hard for us without the presence of my Gram, my Dad, and Mom Moseley. But, as I've shared before, our hearts don't grieve as those who have no hope - we are thankful for their eternal presence with the Lord, that is such a comfort.  

As we journeyed to Texas for the funeral of Mom Moseley, I wanted to share some of those pictures with you. I wanted my last post to be all about my precious Mom Moseley, but for this post - I will share some pictures of our trip there.  

I continue to be amazed at the length of Fall's season this year! My harvest is almost over, as the cold weather (30s and 40s at night) has really slowed growth. Yet I still have zucchini, green beans, and tomatoes growing in the garden! We had a light frost about a week ago, where temps got down to about 29 degrees in my garden. However, I really think having the shower curtains hung where the frost breeze can't hit my plants has made a huge difference.  I still have blooming flowers, zucchini growing, and green beans too! I am giving the Lord praise for this bountiful harvest! 

I picked this bouquet the night before the expected freeze. Thankfully, with the help of my hanging shower curtains, the frost just nipped the leaves, and everything is still alive! I'm so grateful!

I celebrated a birthday milestone in September... 50 years! It's been a wonderful month celebrating my birthday! We celebrated at a local state park with family and friends, and it was a very special day for me! I don't feel any different, but it was wonderful to visit with our family and friends! 

Happy 50 years to me!

Summer is drawing to a close here in our beautiful North Idaho. I had lows in my garden of 38 degrees in July! We've had many nights in the low 40s in the last couple of weeks.  My plants are doing their best, as I support them and give them everything I can think of to help them - but we all know that Fall and the first frost are close at hand... 

Most of you my faithful readers know that I am Canadian by birth, as I've shared much about my Canadian roots through the years.  I have lived in the United States since 1994, and while having my green card - which grants me most of the benefits of being a US citizen - there were still things I could not do with my green card -  namely voting, sitting on a jury, running for political office, or being able to get a concealed weapons permit. 

Thanks to all of you who shared such encouraging words about the passing of my Dad. I have mourned his passing each and every day - and have appreciated all the prayers and encouraging words each of you have shared with me! There is an ache in my soul every moment with the loss of his presence here on earth, but then I look up into the heavens, into the skies and the Lord reminds me that Dad is at peace there, with Him. What a comfort it is to know that in the darkest moments of our loss, we can still rest in comfort in that knowledge! 

The garden has been a place of solace and comfort for me. It was the place I last heard my Dad's voice. And, it is the place where the voice of our Heavenly Father speaks to me too!

The garden has offered up glorious bounties already this year. Strawberries were produced in abundance!

I have enjoyed hosting garden tea parties...

In July we and our son purchased an older model fishing boat. We have since spent quite a few hours on the rivers and lakes with the boat.

Watermelon is one of our favorite treats to enjoy while on the boat!

A neighbor invited me over for a tea party on the deck of her gorgeous log home built by she and her husband.

It was such a lovely treat to sit and visit each other!

The garden has required much work - the weeds have been abundant! My husband helps in the evenings when he can.  How I appreciate his help with these tasks that can overwhelm me quickly!

We enjoyed quad rides together in the earlier part of the summer. Now that it is so hot and dusty, we will wait until we get some rain.

Our little boat! It is small, but we are enjoying it immensely!

I've had lots of chipmunk visitors to the garden this year. They have eaten their fair share of lettuce, dill, marigolds, and cilantro! They are cute but very destructive!

Dan and I went camping on the northern end of Priest Lake with Miss Riley.  What a beautiful relaxing time it was for us. The campsite was right on the beach with these glorious views!

We went for a ride up some old logging trails - our favorite thing to do!

We enjoyed cruising around the lake with our new-to-us boat.

So quiet and peaceful, and the views are glorious!

Riley enjoys riding in the front of the boat, keeping an eye out for the ducks!

Spotted this sailboat one afternoon - against the beautiful backdrop of the mountains!

Beautiful wildflowers along the bank of the lake.  We hiked along a creekbed - so peaceful and beautiful as the afternoon sunshine filtered through the trees.

Back home - Dan and I celebrated our anniversary together by getting huckleberry ice cream after a meal together. My Dad was almost always here every year for our anniversary as he would often come up to visit in July. So we enjoyed huckleberry ice cream in memory of him! Dan and I sat outside the little burger place in town where my Dad and I would often go and sit and enjoy ice cream together. We cried and reminisced our memories of Dad.

The garden is doing splendidly this year - my clematis burst out in glorious purple blooms over the trellis!

Berry picking has been abundant this year - I am thankful to have many gallons of huckleberries picked, frozen and in my freezer to enjoy!

Raspberries were amazing this year! Really - every berry that grows here has given us a great bounty!

Another view of my garden with the clematis on the trellis.

I am sure you can understand why I've been a bit absent on the blog these past couple of months, as I've had much to do in the beautiful garden space I am blessed to care for. I anticipate a marvelous harvest this year!

I have collected quite a few pictures of the aurora borealis or Northern Lights - and I put together another video with many of my Northern Lights. I hope you will enjoy the video paired with this beautiful song "You Are My Hiding Place" by Selah. 

On Friday morning, June 9th my Dad passed away unexpectedly on his front porch at their home in Texas.  I remember where I was standing in the house when Dan called me. Dan was working down in Texas at the time, and he had just backed our semi into their yard and brought in his luggage. Dad stood up to open the door for him, as he sat on the front porch during the early morning hours when it was cooler.  Dan went inside, dropped his luggage, and came back outside to sit and visit Dad.  But, Dad was slumped over in his chair, and despite EMS arriving within 2 minutes of Dan's call, they were not able to revive him. He passed quickly, peacefully into the arms of Jesus without any of us getting a chance to say goodbye. Our hearts were broken. 

Dan called to tell me Dad was unresponsive, and they were working on him. I knew in my heart he was gone, but we all prayed desperately for the Lord to touch him one more time. It was not to be so.  I quickly made airline reservations to fly out that afternoon and arrived in Texas late that night. My Dad was gone - gone from this earth to his heavenly home, and reunion with his loved ones in heaven, gone to rest in the arms of Jesus. 

The loss of him in our lives though - this is what we mourn. This is why we grieve and cry. I'll never hear my Dad's voice again, this side of heaven.  But he lives on in my heart, his words, his love, his presence, what he meant to all who knew him! 

The last picture of Dad and I together, on Easter Sunday morning of this year when we went to church together.

Dad loved classic cars and cowboy hats and enjoyed a good visit at Buc-ees.  If you are from Texas, you know what Buc-ees is - if not - if you ever get to Texas, you need to visit this iconic convenience store. Dad loved Buc-ees!  Dad and I on a recent visit to Buc-ees.

Dad remained a citizen of Canada all the years after moving to Texas, but he loved the United States of America and the blessing of the freedoms it meant for all of us!

On my last visit at Easter, Dad, Mom, and I enjoyed the day together - I took them out to eat at a quaint diner, The Twisted Fork, and we got this fun picture together. How thankful I am for these memories!

Dad came up every summer to spend several weeks with us.  We always ate lots and lots of huckleberry sundaes and ice cream!

When we went for a visit at Easter, we went for a drive in Dad's old pickup. Sweet and precious memories they are to me now!

Ryan and Dad with Ryan's dog, Gus, went for a ride in Dad's pickup, this was back in the early spring of this year. Dad made it to Ryan's wedding last June, even though he had a heart attack the day before. He was in the hospital most of the time on his visit here, but he was determined not to miss the festivities!

Dad spent several days in the hospital before being released to travel back home to Texas. This was the last picture I took with him and Mom as they left Idaho last June.

TIMESTAMP 

Just a quick post today to wish everyone a Happy July 4th! I hope you have a wonderful and safe day celebrating this great country. 

I am Canadian by birth as you all know and my heart is so grateful for the freedoms both countries have stood for. How blessed I am to enjoy the rich and bountiful blessings both Canada and USAhave given us. 

As you celebrate today, be safe! And remember...all our freedoms were bought with great sacrifice, so may we never forget to be thankful! 

God bless Canada 🇨🇦  and the 🇺🇸 USA!! 

Spring has disappeared here in our neck of the woods!  Summer has gobbled up Spring and is visiting us with the most decadent blooms and weather! We went from flannel jackets, hats, and gloves one day to summer attire the next! Like most people I've talked to - the weather all around has been very strange this year - no gentle changes from one season to another, but abrupt, rough, and hurried changes! We went from having temps in the 30s and 40s to the 80s almost the next day, and it's been hot ever since.  Some of my springtime bloomers are confused and unsure of what to do. I lost a couple of my roses over the winter, my lavender even took a hit - it was just a rough winter! So, I have been working to clean up my beds. Springtime is full of lots of work - but when the blooms come - oh how I rejoice! 

 The Spring Parade of Blooms has begun - and oh how wonderful it has been! I plant daffodils with abandon - all around our property. I've learned that this beautiful flower blooms without any care - and is one of the first blooms of spring. What a welcome delight to the world it is! Deer and gophers, ground squirrels, and other animals will never eat them, and their bright yellow blooms light up the landscape. Can you tell, I'm in love with our daffodil blooms! 

We have an old stump in our front yard, left here by previous owners.  Back in the 70s a fire went through our area, and we believe this stump was left from one of those fires. It sits on a large mound, and I decided it would be beautiful with some daffodils blooming around it.  I can't plant much else here, because the deer pathway through our acreage is right by it, and so the only plants that I know for sure deer won't eat are daffodil, and lavender.

My early tulips are now starting to bloom! Oh the joy! I can't wait to see them all unfold their heads from a cold winter's sleep!

One of my plate flowers stands watch over the unfolding yellow blooms of my tulips.

We had some unsettling spring weather romp through our area this past week, leaving us with a system that brought lots of rain. The skies were incredibly lit up with the storm and its incredible cloud formations!

Sunset as a spring storm rolls in - such beauty in the skies, I am always in amazement!

I captured the Flower Moon the night the storm was rolling in, before clouds covered it up. What a beautiful moon it was!

I've created a little seating area around our bonfire pit, just outside my garden. I've hung LED lights and string lights through the trees, and have them on a timer to come on for 2 hours at dusk. It makes my heart happy to have lights - lots of lights come on at dusk. I've set solar lights all through my yard too. It just adds such a special ambiance!

As I watched the Flower Moon make its appearance, I had company - my sweet kitties wanted to sit on my lap and watch with me. However, their attention span was shortened by something in the grass more interesting... {smiles}

A view of my garden space with the stump and daffodils in the foreground.

Does this bring a smile to your face? It does to mine :) No maintenance, no care - just pure joy!

Our first hummingbirds usually arrive around our son's birthday, the 17th of April. However, this year, they were 10 days later. I saw them arrive around the 25th. There was just one hummer for about a week, but now I've begun to see more. I understand the first crew to arrive are called "scouts" where they scout out the area and then report back to the rest of the hummers. I hope I received a good report :)

These two - my precious sweet fur babies - after a busy day outside, they enjoy napping in my lap before bedtime, and early in the morning while I drink my coffee.

Planting a variety of daffodils, from early bloomers to late spring bloomers, makes my yard a beautiful happy place of all kinds of blooms in early spring!

I have been very busy in the garden, getting ready for another year of planting and harvesting.  I also have set up my Prayer & Tea Garden area where I host prayer meetings, and tea parties throughout the summer with friends, family, and other sisters in Christ. It brings me a lot of joy!

I raked our entire yard where pine needles fell, and wheeled them into the garden to put in my pathways, to deter weeds from growing there.  The pine needles break down every year, and keep my pathways (mostly) free of weeds. I also utilize a barrier of cardboard on the pathways under the pine needles.  One year I worked very hard and put out the weed barrier throughout my whole pathway - and it failed - utterly! So, every spring, I work hard raking pine needles, and all winter I save cardboard boxes, and this has been the best system for me.

A peek inside my "She Shed", which is a place where I can sit in an open gazebo-style building, and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors, without any bugs. I've made it a little sitting area to enjoy tea and cold beverages during our hot dry summer. Part of the shed is functional with tools, and equipment stored also. Someday, my husband promises to build me a little tool shed, but for now, my shed is a multipurpose place of joy for me.  I live in a very tiny home (less than 800 sq ft), so any treasures I love but can't find a place for in my home, I bring out here.  There are no rules! No perfectly designed spaces for me out here - it is just free, and I hang and put things at will, where I can enjoy them. All of the pieces come from yard sales and thrift stores, for pennies.  Many of them are cracked, broken, and in disrepair when I buy them (many of my friends gift me with things as well!) But I find a place for everything and it has become a place of beauty and delight! The dresser is a new addition to the "She Shed".  It is not in the best shape, but it holds a variety of things for me, and so I love it!

This is one of the baby chicks I hatched out through our incubator - all 19 that hatched survived, and now they are ready for their new homes.