Birthday ThirTeen

Sunday afternoon Birthday tea party at Grammy's home.

Cupcakes and Teapots

Tea Time!
Sweet Cousins

Birthday Wrap

The men and boys enjoyed being part of the tea party!
Thirteen Cupcakes and Thirteen Candles

Gabe is augmenting the birthday song with bangs and ear splitting pops of packaging airbags and pistol caps.  He had started the birthday celebration off with a figurative bang with his 5 star scavenger hunt to find his gifts for her.

Big breath for blowing out all those candles.
All out down to the last one.

Lots of presents from everyone!  Backpack, ice skates, watch, paint by number, and pretty clothes.

Venetian beads and "Seasons of the Heart" books from Grammy.
Our Baby Zeb - Two month old smile.

Breyer's Natural Ice Cream and Hot Fudge.

A little start of a game of Qwirkle before movie time.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the classic of Lydia's choice, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."  We all had a happy day with our special girl.

Sneak Peak of Clinic Progress

Trout Lake Clinic, a residential duplex just over a year ago.
Exterior in a promising light this past week.

Marshal looking happy with some progress.

Marshal's office looking across the street at the store.  Notice paint, lights, and outlets being installed! 

Putting a snow shedding roof over the heat pump before the snow flies!

Awana hosted Community Costume/Harvest Party

Cinderella with her Stepmother and Stepsisters before the ball.

Fairy Godmother comes on the scene.

Piper is wearing her birthday ballerina outfit in Daddy's arms.  She just mastered walking, and we heard reports that she was very pleased with her first birthday.
Three generations.  Farmers working this land of milk and honey.

Leroy

Gabe being himself.
Lydia darkened her eyebrows to look a bit more sinister.

Candy Pirates

Shane in creative bandito get up.
LadyBugs!

Meg- A beautiful gardener with her prize pumpkin and cutest beneficial bug.

Fairy Godmother yet to work her magic.
The Sisters

Pretty Girls

Nephews from The Dalles -Oh so cute!
Little Heidi in traditional dress.  Jemma is a gem.

Cranberry Bogging

We took an October trip to the secret cranberry bog and brought home a bumper crop of wild cranberries.  They are like hunting for jewels in the moss.  They tend to grow in little clusters that suddenly appear before your eyes as you study the sodden watery ground of mosses and grass.
Marshal's first sighting of cranberries in the wild bog with Hav.





First jewels in my bucket.

Lydia filling her bucket.

Meg with baby on her back, hunting and gathering.

See those jewels?

Jemma helping me fill the bottom of my bucket.

We were rewarded for our efforts with over a quart of berries for special Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.  Marshal exclaimed that he hadn't imagined he'd have so much fun!

October Colors

Catching the maples along the drive while they were coloring up.

Pigs growing with the corn stalks drying up behind.

Reds and golds around the house.
Pumpkins from self-propagating seeds tilled in from the compost pile!

Pretty wispy green of the asparagus patch.

Pumpkins and sunflowers
The Farmhouse where we are at family school each day.

Trout Creek behind the farmhouse during a golden sun break last week.

Mt Adams

Time will tell, but I'm thinking this election is about much more than our next president.

Golden drive to our "little house."

Victoria with her chicks in the yard.
Burning Bush behind Lydia and Oliver!

Milk house and barn in the golden light.

Lydia packed the pumpkins to the front porch patio.
Husking some last corn cobs.

Gabe's chicks flew up on Lydia's arm voluntarily.

Hopping from one arm to another.
Pumpkins still in the patch!

Beautiful Light

Lydia took this pure gold photo as well as the one below.

The yellow cottonwood leaves are floating down this morning.