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,

Hodgepodging A Thousand Words

 Although it's going to be in the 80s today,
it's starting to look very fallish out there.

 Join Joyce and the Gang
for

She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

and join in!

 We've been seeing and hearing flocks of geese

and sandhill cranes in our neighborhood this week.

I love it!

And this early morning there was a doe and her fawn

under our apple tree.

1. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.

I certainly always hoped so, when I was a kid and had to write a paper for English class.

But actually, yes, I do think so, especially for poor writers. :-)

 Something to ponder.

Something to praise God for.

And Grandpa got a giggle out of this three year old!

2. Have you ever driven any part of the Pacific Coast Highway? If so what was your favorite stop? If not, is this sort of trip on your bucket list?

Yes, many years ago. My favorite stop was the airport and returning home. Even back then, California seemed like a foreign country. If I had any aspirations of visiting before it breaks off into the ocean, I'd probably better do it sometime soon. But it's definitely not high on my bucket list. I'm more interested in traveling the eastern coast.

 Antique railroad freight wagon

Rice Lake, WI

3. How do the changing seasons affect you? As the seasons change do you find yourself looking more forward or backward? Which season-season transition bothers you most? Why do you suppose that is? 

I love having four distinct seasons here in Wisconsin. I love the change from summer to fall and the change from spring to summer. But fall to winter is depressing because winters are so very long up here, and winter to spring is still very cold, wet, and dreary. So let's go back to thinking about May, June, July, August, September, and October. They're beautiful here in Wisconsin. And we do need snowy December for Christmas.t

 Our Four Seasons

Can you see why I like fall and summer better?

4. It's your birthday and you get to pick the dinner menu. What are we having? Do you ever lie about your age?

I would choose fish and chips at The Cricketers pub in Canterbury. And no, there's little point in lying about my age. My hair and wrinkles tell it all. I doubt anyone would believe me if I said I was 29. or 39. or 49. or 59!!!  Yikes. I never dreamed I'd live to be so old. 

My daughters and their mother

5. What's a life lesson you've learned recently?

As God's image bearers on the earth, reflecting his image to the world, we can look at Jesus (not anyone else) to determine how we're doing as image bearers.

Philippians 2:6: 'who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.'

   

As God's image bearer, does my life have the remotest resemblance to Jesus' life?

What do we most want our children and grandchildren to learn about God? If we are God's image bearers, what of his character are we reflecting to them? Are we reflecting a true image as Jesus did, or a distorted image? And because of it, how will they perceive God? So back to your first question, 'Is a picture worth a thousand words?' I'd say that in the case of parenting and grandparenting, it most definitely is. And I pray to be aware of it every day.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

We're so grateful that Hurricane Irma wasn't as devastating as initially predicted. That doesn't mean, of course, that we'll stop praying for those who lost so much and are left homeless and/or without electricity and with such a huge mess to clean up in Florida, or those who were and are affected by the storm and its aftermath as it moved farther north.

And a little more random:

 Tommy & Smokey, of course.

 ***

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Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Can You Believe that September is Already Here??

Hello Blogland, This is your long-lost blogger, Cranberry Morning. I decided that even though I've not been out getting new photos with my real camera, I'll put up a few pics that I took with my not-so-smart phone.

That fencing you see above is the gate to our garden. The brick is standing in the gap between the post and the gate to try to keep out the bunnies. It seems to work relatively well.

I  have about a dozen tomato plants, but they're determinates so they are all getting ripe at about the same time. (Determinates or determinants?)  I'd really like to open-kettle can them. Does anyone still do that? I know that the County Extension Office strongly advises against it because the 'new' hybrid tomatoes are not as acidic as the 'heirloom' tomatoes were. But if I add a tablespoon of lemon juice to each quart, can't I still open kettle? It would be so much more convenient, because at this point I'm not hauling heavy things up and down (where there's a second range) the stairs, and my kitchen range on the main floor is a ceramic top, so I don't want to use the pressure canner on it. I've heard that they can crack from the sustained heat of canning. Okay, you're right, I'm rambling, and it's not your problem. Sorry.

 Terrible photo, nice dog.

Jazzie is back for a visit. This afternoon she was out in the front yard sniffing the breeze. She's got a smorgasbord out there and is loving it.

Above is the view to the southeast from our front porch. I know I tend to put too many photos of views from our porch or our back deck on Instagram, but I happen to love those views, and besides, if I came across something better, I'd be sure to share to post that too.

At the end of last month, we were at our daughter's home, celebrating the SIXTH birthday of Henry. What a fun kid. What a Lego lover! What a Minecraft lover!  Anyway, it seems impossible that it's been six years since that little guy was born.

This was Henry on his introduction to winter, back in 2010. That's kinda how I feel about winter, Henry.

Can I ever publish a post without a barn? Not usually. And I like the star on the front of this one. I hope everyone has been well and enjoyed a great summer. My summer was non existent, so I'm going to try to make the most of autumn and hope that it lasts about six months.

Trying to ease back into Blogland.. maybe.

***

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Hodpodging The Wasps' Nest

Our entire crop of McIntosh apples

One measly apple from our poor tree.

Join Joyce and the gang

for

She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog

and link up!

1. What's on your September calendar? Anything fun?  YES, we're going to Westby for a weekend. I always love that little trek to the unglaciated (why is spellcheck questioning this??) and beautiful part of Wisconsin.

Photo from September 2014
We're much older this year.

 Country church cemetery
Near Westby, WI
 

2. You might be described as a natural born _____________________?  Problem solver. I've wasted a lot of time and annoyed a lot of people  - people who come to me with a problem but who, unbeknownst to me at the time, had no desire to have their problem actually solved. I think I have a callous on my scalp for the number of times I've scratched my head over that one. At least I've finally learned a thing or two, and don't always try to find the best and quickest solution to a problem or the shortest point between A and B. Many times, I've learned, people don't want the shortest route. They want the long, circuitous route that has no end in sight. It's been a foreign concept to me that has taken a long time to learn.

Basil for Pesto

BASIL PESTO RECIPE:

4 cups (packed) fresh basil

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (Pine nuts are expensive

and have a disturbing 'pop' when you bite into them. Makes me think of woodticks.)

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic

3 T. Extra virgin olive oil

Pulse in food processor

I made a double batch of this and put it in 1/2 cup containers and froze it. It's so nice to have those little containers in the freezer that I can pull out in a morning and use at dinner that night.

3. September is National Courtesy Month...what one act of courtesy would you most like to see more of in your home, town, or the world at large?  

Let someone else go first. Think of all the car accidents that might be prevented, the people who would be made happier, if we all just let the other person go first. (Of course, you literalists out there, I do realize that if we ALL did that, no one would ever get anywhere! Just bear with me.) Whether it's related to traffic or the line at the supermarket, it could make a huge difference in people's overall health and well being.

4. Eager beaver, chicken out, clam up, or let the cat out of the bag...of the phrases listed, which one have you related to most recently? 

Eager beaver might describe me in the morning, from about 7:15 or earlier (after that morning coffee has kicked in) until about 4:00 in the afternoon. I can get a lot done in a short amount of time. After that, it's a slow slide into evening with little-to-no energy or desire to go out after dark (and did you notice how early darkness arrives now??)   

 Picking beans is an every-other-day activity

with a cannerful after the second picking

 It doesn't pay to use leftover unused lids from last year.

Each batch has left me with one jar that doesn't seal.

I'm using 2015 lids now.

NEWS FLASH!!!
At least one jar didn't seal even with the new 2015 lids.
So it's not the process or the date of the lids,
but the fact that lids aren't made as well anymore.
I think there's less gummy stuff on them. Annoying!

5. What's your movie theatre snack protocol? Do you chow down on snacks during the previews or wait until the movie begins? Do you buy snacks or refuse to pay those kind of prices? What's the last movie you saw in a theatre? How many thumbs up would you give it?

I hate to watch previews, so I like to time it to arrive when the previews are done. That way I not only avoid movie trailers designed for 15 year old boys, but my kid pack of popcorn and Mike'n'Ike isn't already gone before the movie starts.  We prefer, however, to watch something in our collection of DVDs rather than go out to the movies. Also, Mr. C. makes better popcorn. The last movie we went to see was The Hobbit. We took two of our granddaughters to see it in 3D. It was incredibly boring and I found it especially annoying that the one redeeming feature, Mr. Thornton (North & South), kept looking UP, as though he were a dwarf or something.

No thumbs up.  North & South, on the other hand, (not to be confused with North and South) - two thumbs up! 

6. Henry Ford is quoted as saying, "Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness warps the mind." Agree or disagree? Why?

This is a really tricky question. It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'work' is. Being busy is no guarantee that the mind is engaged. Work can involve physical labor or reading and thinking.  I can't picture C.S. Lewis working in an assembly line at a Ford plant, throwing hay bales around, or working out at the gym, but he was certainly not idle.

And actually, I can spend a lot of time thinking about that question. I need to move on. 

 Mr. C. found a wasp nest in the flowering crab.

It's at head height. It's a wonder that no one ran into it!

 If you look hard, you can see a few of the

angry wasps 
Makes me think of an old Poirot: The Wasps' Nest

7. What's the last job you completed or task you performed where you had to 'work like a dog' until it was finished?

Cleaning up after spending the day canning, so that I can wake up the next morning to a clean kitchen. It's not exactly 'working like a dog,' but then my dogs just lie around all day, so...

 Jazzie, workin' like a dog

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

In the past month, we celebrated 5 family birthdays!  Here are a few pics from the last two:

 Just turned two!

5 year old minion

Five years old - hard to believe!

Not the birthday boy,

but his little sister

This post is linked to Theresa's

GOOD FENCES

and Eileen's

SATURDAY'S CRITTERS 

and Judith's

MOSAIC MONDAY

***

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Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

 

Late September in NW Wisconsin - at our House

Cornfield south of the house

View from our Almost Porch

(upcoming post)

I've always been partial to October, but I may have to reconsider September for favorite month status. October has bright blue skies and gorgeous maples and oaks, but September is more reliable when it comes to pleasant evenings and of course, garden harvest.  I used to be able to count on the second weekend in October having perfect weather for celebrating an early Thanksgiving, which we did for  many years before our kids grew up and moved away. The past few years, however, the second weekend in October has been cold and wet, less than cheering.

September has been lovely!

Tomato Chips

(from the dehydrator)

So before we move into October, I thought I'd post some of my last-part-of-September photos, most of which I took yesterday.

Milkweed

Tomatoes and Oregano

Before the Dehydrator

SandStonehenge

I think these hunks of sandstone were placed here by the grandsons.

They look like tombstones, don't they. I kinda like them.

Asters, Rudbeckia, and Salvia

They won't be around much longer. 
I love the huge burst of color, that last-minute treat before we get a killing frost.
And then, you-know-what is on its way.
The big W.

***

***

Happy Birthday, Honey!! :-D
c. 1990

***

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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and Efforts and Assets and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and Crafty Texas Girls and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special