October Fields, etc.

 Neighbor Bill's Hay Bales
October, late afternoon

There are times in the late afternoon when the sun is at just the right angle to make all the colors of the hay field and woods almost glow with deeper, richer tones. I love that time of day! And of course, fall is my very favorite time of year! While our kids were all still living at home, we celebrated Thanksgiving in mid-October. It's a great time for a celebration, and who wouldn't feel thankful when surrounded by all this beauty God has given us!

 Corn field south of the house

We're having an extraordinary October, starting with great weather for our son's wedding, and now several days where the daytime highs have been in the upper 70s or lower 80s. Except for digging the potatoes and picking the remaining peppers that should ripen in the sunshine this week, the garden is done for the year. It's kinda nice it works out this way, for I suspect that my waning enthusiasm for gardening is shared by many.

 Just one more shot of one of the maple trees in the backyard
They start out with green leaves in the summer, of course, then they turn to gold, then orange, then a deep rust color. I love late afternoon when the sunlight shines through the leaves.

I took this photo just a couple days ago, but we've had a good strong, dry wind since then and many of those leaves are now on the ground, where we all enjoy shuffling through them and hearing that wonderful, crunchy sound of the leaves beneath our feet. It was beautiful weather when our oldest son and four of their children came to visit last weekend. It was perfect for being outdoors. This is what I love about October - cooler, drier, bright sunshine, and full of color!  It's almost hard to imagine that cold, bleak, dreary, and icy November (when we rarely see sunshine) is just around the corner. It's definitely a transition month.

 Sunset over pines in west field

The sun sets fast. There was a beautiful sunset, and in the time it took for me to run to the house to get the camera and get back (about three minutes), it had lost a little of the previous color. We're losing daylight fast this time of year. It's dark when we get up in the morning and dark by about 7 PM. And this is only October!  I don't think I'd enjoy living in Lapland, where winter days contain only four hours of daylight.

 Soybean field in the morning

I think these beans are about ready to harvest. I'm hoping we'll have alfalfa in this field next year, for the dogs and I miss our walking trail. (It's a lot harder to make a trail through the soybean field.) We were just noticing tonight that the soybeans have dropped their leaves and now it's just the stalks and bean pods remaining.

October at New Scandinavia Church 
before the fire in early December 2010 destroyed it

It still seems strange to drive past that gaping hole in the ground where New Scandinavia once stood. I miss seeing this view on my way home from Rice Lake.

Landmark Destroyed by Fire

 New Scandinavia Lutheran

Last Friday, the day before the huge snowstorm, our neighborhood lost a beloved landmark. Many lost their home church, the one from which generations had been baptized, confirmed, married, and buried. Beginning mid morning of December 10, and continuing all day, water tanker trucks went past our house, sirens blaring (and my dog howling along with every single one).

How I loved this steeple, with its cross glowing in the night sky. So many times as I drove past the church at night, I thought how precious is our freedom of worship. The glowing cross was a constant testimony to God's grace.

Firefighters fought the blaze all day Friday. The building has been declared a total loss. I took these photos late Sunday afternoon. It was so sad to see the church building destroyed, and to learn that it's considered a suspicious fire.

 The steeple

Late Sunday afternoon

 

New Scandinavia in autumn

Every time I returned from Rice Lake, this would be my first glimpse of the church, along with that nice feeling of being almost home. We are sad that the congregation of New Scandinavia Lutheran has lost their beloved country church.  It will be missed greatly by many of us.

We pray for God's blessing on His people at New Scandinavia as they go through this difficult time, dealing with the circumstances of the fire and making plans for the future.

For any who may be interested, our local television news has a video clip of this story on their website.