The dew of the earth

"Then the remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on vegetation which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men." Micah 7:5

In the stillness of the morning,
the air heavy with dew,
the Olympic Peninsula
cries out praises
to His glory.

A few more photos from our trip.

The last section!!

"The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins, and Thou hast uprooted the cities; the very memory of them has perished."
Psalm 9:6
The enemy? All the tree roots and gravel from the previous owners' landscaping/circle drive. Thou? It actually means our LORD; however, today it means Eric.

We're getting started on the final level to our front patio!! See this post for the lay-out.
After Eric dug the trench for the timbers, we were able to get the walls built. Everything has been tied in with rebar. Next? Level the inside for layers of gravel and sand, then those enormous pieces of flagstone!

With Michael back in school, we're not sure how to move the flagstone unless we hire someone again. Maybe two someones!

(PS - We know we could break the stones to make them smaller, but both of us really enjoy the statement made by the huge pieces of stone. Too, it makes for a much safer place to put a chair!)


Just had to share this picture of the girls with you.

Aren't they cute?

The beauty of flowers

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8

Just a few photos from our recent weekend to the Olympic Peninsula.

Count Your Blessing Monday

Down on the Farm, Marci has started Count Your Blessings Monday. Please join the fun!

Visit her site for more information and to visit more bloggers sharing their blessings!



My blessing? A potato. A potato? Yes - a potato. Actually, it represents the food we have been gathering from our garden. I am so grateful the LORD has allowed us the space for a garden, the knowledge to garden, the weather to garden, and the desire to be self-sufficient. This potato was one of the first we harvested and now we have two baskets full in storage under the house. That night we had baked potatoes for dinner. It was the best baked potato I'd ever eaten!

Marci, thanks for starting this weekly tradition!

Confusing Week

"Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." Genesis 11:7
Have you ever had one of those weeks? A week that flew by at rocket speed? A week that made you wonder if you accomplished anything? A week full of confusion? Last week was one of those weeks for me. And it wasn't the goats' fault. Who knows what it was, but - whew! what a week!!

Today a gal at work asked if I was at that stage in life, yet, where it was hard to remember common, everyday words. My answer was, "NO!! Certainly not!!" And then I laughed and asked, "What do you mean 'yet'? Is it a for-sure thing?" She assured me it was coming, had something to do with menopause, and would not linger long.

Joy. There may be more posts like today's!!

Thanks to all my blogger friends for waiting on me so patiently!! Maybe a few of you can relate - and coach me through this. When the time comes, of course!!

Our new little babies

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name." Genesis 2:19
We now have our goats!! There's a Kinder breeder about an hour north which is very convenient. The little ladies spent most of the afternoon checking out their new surroundings. We let them lose in the front yard until they decided to go down to the hill. They would have had a grand old time in the timber, but we would have had a darned old time catching them!

This is the nice little goat house all ready for the babies. We have the straw on the floor for bedding. We attached the bale feeder (compliments of Petunia's Gardener). We have the alfalfa and goat chow ready. We even have the water which is situated on the ground to the left of the grain. Have we forgotten anything? Nope - every thing's ready.

Or so we thought!! In one breath, Alpha quickly learned that she could stand on the top of the bale. And in the next breath, she learned she could jump the pen! We caught her and threw her back in the pen hoping it was a fluke. It was not. She jumped again and the game was on! We knew we had to make a few adjustments to the goat house - ASAP!



Now our cute little goat house is not so cute anymore, but I think it did the trick. Alpha tried to jump a few more times - each time moving one or two steps farther back before taking off. Maybe she's really not trying to get out, but just likes to jump. And the only thing to jump on is the goat house.
With that in mind, we threw a few things into the middle of the pen - away from the goat house and away from the walls. It's really not very high, but maybe (maybe) it will do the trick.

And, yes, their names really are Alpha and Bravo. That idea was Eric's (you know, the military history buff).

Yummy Peach Cobbler

"Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S; it is holy to the LORD." Leviticus 27:30
Until we have fruit trees again, we're buying fruit from the local grocer or fruit stands. Right now, Safeway has peaches on sale: 10 lbs for $10!! Who can pass that up??

One of my special blogger friends, Sue, recently harvested peaches from her newly acquired peach tree. Here's the recipe I promised her. I got this years ago and it is one of the best cobblers I've ever had. Enjoy!


PEACH COBBLER

Filling...
1 c sugar
2 T flour
1/4 t ground nutmeg
4 c peeled, sliced, fresh peaches

Topping...
1 c sugar
1 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/3 c cold butter
1 egg, beaten

Filling...Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg. Add peaches*. Stir to coat. Dump into greased 11x7x2 baking pan**.

Topping...Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in egg. Spoon over peaches. Option: sprinkle nutmeg or cinnamon on top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

* I regularly substitute a large can of peaches from the grocer using the juice and all in a 9x13 pan.
** I prefer cast iron or stoneware which does not need greased once seasoned.


Please visit Sue at photowannabe. The view of life through her lens is really quite amazing.

Goat Houses

"Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were carrying the tabernacle, set out." Numbers 10:17

Far cry from the tabernacle.
And the sons of Gershon and Merari were nowhere to be found.
But the little goat houses are finished and Eric and Michael moved them into place! We're almost ready for the critters!!

If you check out my Scrap Lumber post, you'll see what we started with to build the goat shelters. Now you know why Eric wanted to use a pallet as the base!! Pretty ingenious, if you ask me.

Fish and tomatoes???

"We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic." Numbers 11:5
But what about tomatoes and fish?

After such an incredibly relaxing weekend, we come home to fish in our garden!! Fish? Yes, fish. Strung all through our tomatoes!

This trout line has become a gag gift in our neighborhood. If you read Petunia's Garden, you'll notice that she's posted about these little critters for several days in a row!! The joke started last Christmas when they were away for the evening. How do we welcome them home? We can "decorate" the tree outside their front door (see here)!! The lights were taken off their tree and fish went into hiding. Until now, that is!

Petunia's Gardener thinks the fish need to travel the neighborhood, but I'm not sure others would appreciate them as much as we have. Who knows? They may love them!!
(PS - There has been no scientific data which suggests illumination by fish is beneficial for growing tomatoes!)

Twin Bridges

"In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, and travelers went by roundabout ways." Judges 5:6
No, the highway is not completely deserted. But, we did go by roundabout ways this past weekend. Just love these old-style bridges. The quiet, peaceful journey was the perfect prelude to a great weekend. I'll be posting more photos in the coming days.

A little rest and relaxation

"Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you." Psalm 116:7
Eric and I are taking a little break this weekend and won't be returning until Monday. We've rented at room at Lake Quinault Lodge on the Olympic Peninsula. Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

(Photo courtesy of Microsoft Clipart.)

Show & Tell Friday

Yea!! Another Show and Tell. If you haven't been to Kelli's blog, please check it out. She has graciously invited us to take part in her Show and Tell each Friday.

"Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, jealousy is as severe as Sheol; its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, nor will rivers overflow it; if a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would be utterly despised." Song of Solomon 8:6-7

Fist of all, thank you for the kinds birthday wishes. Blogging has turned out to be much more beneficial than I thought. I have met the nicest people - you!!

Second, normally I would not be carrying on so about my birthday. However, I wanted to share the card from Eric. It has his personality written all over it - quiet, unassuming, polite, respectful, playful.

It's perfect; I absolutely love it!! Thank you, honey. And, no. I don't mind one little bit. ;o)

Sweet Surprise

"...and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26
This was my surprise this morning before Eric left for work. However, it was not from Eric. It was from my sweet neighbor, Petunia's Gardener and her DH. She brought it over yesterday before I got home and Eric was ever so kind as to hide it until today. (Today's my birthday.) What fun to open this goody bag!

- recipe book for making smoothies of every concoction
- lovely printed napkins
- two envelopes of traditional European bath therapy
- candle with the most amazing scent
- gentle green candle plate
- card with a sunflower recalling memories of our KS roots

Petunia's Gardener and her DH have been incredibly hospitable since the day we moved in. God certainly knew what He was doing when He allowed us to find this house. The two of them both graduated from Wichita State University - we had just moved from our farm 30 miles south of Wichita, KS! Coincidence? Hardly not (no such thing). Unmistakably the hand of God. It has been such a comfort to talk of familiar things with our new neighbors. They even put up with me during my 6-month funk! She introduced me to the fabulous world of blogging, they share veggies from their garden, and she likes to check out thrift stores!!

Thank you, Petunia's Gardener and DH, for such a lovely surprise this morning!