Apple Picking Time is Here Again

 It's that time of year again!
(This is one of four large baskets full of apples from our solitary McIntosh tree.)

It was a fun Sunday afternoon task, requiring three different ladders and still having to abandon some apples that were too high on the tree to reach. Eventually they'll fall and the deer will eat them. That's okay. Most of the ones we picked will go into the dehydrator, after giving a few bags to new neighbors.

It's a very busy time for us, which is why I've not been blogging lately. Between two places, Wausau and Dallas, we've got lots to get done. So right now it seems like we have two homes. Oh. Make that 3. The other day when I mentioned that we would be 'going home,' Henry said, 'You mean to Menards?'  OK, Smartypants! LOL  Yeah, right now Menards and Home Depot are kind of our homes away from home!

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." - from Jeremiah 29. 

The sermon today was about the lost coin and lost sheep and lost son -  from Luke 15. 

https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/homily/a-coin-a-sheep-a-son/5264/

I posted this photo (above) before, but I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be part of a worship service and stand with an entire congregation reciting the Nicene Creed. It is a real blessing. But of course we can't stay here (Rice Lake) forever, and eventually we will be finding a church in Wausau.

Fall has arrived at the backyard pond garden.
Look at God's marvelous work in Creation!

Morning fog over the creek,
from the porch

 Four boxes containing washed and ready-to-go canning jars to go to our daughter-in-law.
54 quarts and 43 pints, with more to go later. It's part of my downsizing project, of which you have already heard far too much, so I'll move on.

 One of my favorite corners
Our Amish neighbor's barn across the road
You may have already seen this photo on my Instagram account:
@cranberrymorning
Feel free to join me there for daily photos. Posting photos daily is lots easier than writing a blog post, believe me. LOL

And although Henry's cows were in the bean field yet again,
he has since managed to finally contain them with some extra wire and a few huge tires leaning up against the shed. It works. Well, except for the little ones who simply walked UNDER the fence (a different spot) the other evening to get out. Mr. C. didn't bother to tell Henry but simply put the little rascals back in and fixed the fence. Now THAT's a good neighbor!

And did I care if Henry's cattle got into the bean field? Of course not. I thought it must be quite an adventure for them. But realistically, the man who rents Henry's land and put in the bean crop wouldn't be very happy if all the beans were eaten or trampled, now would he.

 September 8 sunrise.
from the top of our driveway.
Awesome skies always fill my heart with joy and praise to an awesome God.

***

On to work on the Wausau house:

 This is the song that never ends...
(but actually, it should be ended by Tuesday of this week. It's been a huge job, laying all that floor tile, and Mr. C. never complains, although laying 18" tile on a floor that's not always perfectly even is a job that requires lots of patience and skill, neither of which I possess, but which he possesses in great abundance. Thank you Lord!)

Right. My job was to stand on the ground and catch the apples and to fret and scold Mr. C. for standing on the very top of a very tall ladder. He just laughs. I told him I wouldn't visit him at either the hospital or the morgue. His response?
Well I'm sure you know.

Anyway, I hope you all had a blessed Lord's Day and found (or remembered) a great many things for which to praise our over-the-top-loving God.

(I did, and especially after the apple picking task was over and Mr. C. was safely on the ground again.)

But I do sometimes ask God why oh why he doesn't make Mr. C. listen to reason.


 ***

May God bless you,