A Good Harvest

There is something very wonderful about harvest time. It just might be my favorite time of year. (But then again Spring gives it some pretty strong competition and there are other fun and wonderful things to do other times of year as well so I just don't know....) It is also a wearying time of year as food doesn't just sit around in perfect condition waiting for you to have time to harvest or process. The canning sometimes takes longer than you think and you are up late waiting for the prescribed time to be done so that you can turn the burner off and take things out. But it is so fun to find the treasures in the garden and hive and a blessing to get meat from the pasture or woods as well. Whether we get our food from the grocery store or the garden it is a gift from God but I think it is often easier to remember that it is God who gives us all things richly to enjoy when we are out in nature harvesting things He has caused to grow. 

   After a two year break I had bees again this year. I had taken a break for a few reasons: 1. I still had enough honey from previous years. 2. My life got a lot busier when I had to go to work following Ken leaving and this was something I could skip. 3. In 2020 when I last kept bees I got stung near the end of the season and reacted to it much more strongly than I ever had before. I was stung on the ear (through the netting that had gotten to close to my ear) and both ears immediately started throbbing, my neck (but not my throat) and arms swelled up and I broke out into hives. It was a little scary. Since then I have taken a homeopathic treatment that is supposed to have cured my honey bee allergy but it hasn't been tested to I don't know if it worked or not. I also have a lot less stress in my life then I did that Fall (as my marriage was falling apart at the time) and I think that my body was quite possibly simply overloaded when the sting happened. Anyway I decided to try again but I have been careful and I didn't work with them unless I had somebody around that could drive me to the emergency room if necessary. 

The bees did well and I had fun watching the miracle that a bee hive is and sharing it with others (as I had nephews and nieces come to learn about it with me). I did learn a lesson this year about not putting off harvesting honey. I had extracted some honey in August (as they had pretty much filled the boxes and I needed more space) and then some in September and I got a nice amount from those times but I knew there was a lot more still in the hives. I needed to extract before it got to cold but it seemed like things were going fine that way. We didn't get a killing harvest at our place until this week. There were rainy, chilly days but for the most part it still seemed pretty nice. And I was hoping for a whole day to work on it and Saturday is the only day for me that is a possibility and I had been busy with weddings, working, traveling and company and it didn't happen. I finally got out to finish getting the honey out a week ago and discovered that the bees and all the honey (except for about a dozen bees and 20 pounds of honey in one hive) had completely disappeared. I honestly don't know what happened but I think in the future I had better not let it go so late. I had figured there was about 150 pounds of honey out there so it was a disappointment but in my learning to trust God in all things I was able to have complete peace about it. He knows what we need. He knows everything in the future all the could-have-beens and He knows what is best - Always. And I had perfectly cleaned out hives to put away and NO stings this year! 

Flowers are an important part of my gardening (and my life). I don't actually harvest these to store away for winter except in pictures. :-) Someone said once that being able to have flowers in every room of their house was a sign of wealth. I totally agree. I feel like I have "arrived" when I can enjoy flowers all over my home. I love being able to get them out of the garden to decorate. I am also super blessed because with my business I end up with extra flowers and with working part time at the flower shop I also can bring old (no longer sellable) flowers home and decorate my home with them. It gives me joy and I feel incredibly blessed. By the way I am curious about that- I have come to realize that not all people have the obsession with flowers that I have, some people will even say "No Thank You" when you offer them a bouquet - are you the type the loves them and find they give you joy or are they something that don't really stir any emotion in you?

I love canning tomatoes - they are so quick and easy. I canned quite a bit from my garden and then a neighbor also shared these lovely ones with me. 

Carrots that I got to dig from a friends garden. I love getting to dig carrots and potatoes and things like that! It feels like looking for treasure.

I have enjoyed harvesting wild mushrooms from our yard this year - such as this gemmed puffball.

One evening every burner was busy as I canned applesauce, cooked down goat bones, made tomato jam and salsa and blanched broccoli. I ended up canning quite a bit of broth and some soup too. I helped my parents with butchering a little and they blessed me with some meat. This year is a little sad as my parents got rid of all their goats. They have had goats since before I was born so this is a real change for them.

Thanks to my parents prolific apple trees I was able to dehydrate a lot of apples. They are a yummy snack. I love how efficient my current dehydrator is. I also canned apple pie filling and applesauce.

Today I made Kimchee. I think it is going to be a yummy (and good for you) batch and I am excited about it. I am thinking maybe I should make another batch.

   The freezers are full and the pantry shelves look lovely too. I am so thankful for God's many blessings. We got our first hard freeze last night so it is time to move on to the next season. I am looking forward to some sewing/crafting.

  Did you harvest anything at your house? What is a favorite thing for you to harvest?
 

Jackpine Retreat 2023

The middle of September found us, as normal, heading north to go camping along with a bunch of others at a place we call Jackpine Retreat. This was my 44th time to attend and I love it every year!

A few weeks before we went I had met a bunch of international students that are attending our local university. I told them about our plan to go camping and invited them to come along. Nine of them ended up coming. I had 4 ride up with me on Friday and my parents brought the rest up on Saturday. We stopped at the town of Baudette along the way where we could get a view of Canada. 

Cooking over the campfire is an important part of our time at Jackpine. Aaron and Jason were working to get their brats just right. Jason, Michelle and McKayla came all the way from Louisiana, I always get excited when they are able to come. 

These pictures look like we had a sparsely populated campsite but actually we fed around 30 people at our campsite. There was a total of around 130 at Jackpine.

Times of singing together are one of my favorite things. Kate, a student from Russia, commented that it sounded like many of the people had been professionally trained. They aren't but most of us love to sing praises to God and I guess that shows.

I got to teach the kids class on Saturday morning. Billy who was doing the messages was talking about Loving God and others (among other things) so I decided to tell the story of the Good Samaritan. We decided to "take" the journey from Jerusalem to Jericho. The 30+ kids lined up to go on the road. I had arranged with a couple of older kids to hide along the route and then jump out and "attack" another of the older kids that I had positioned to be first in line and then run off with her stuff. That was a very effective story telling aid except Malcolm burst into tears and went running after "the robbers" trying to defend Nettie. Overall we had a lot of fun with the class and I was very grateful for the moms that were willing to come along and help out. 

Planning for next year...

Ewan at 3 months was camping for the 2nd time. The students helped out with holding him.

Ricardo from Columbia tried out spool walking and did a good job.

Jackpine is a place we like to go to spend time with old friends and make new ones as well. It is the time each year when the highest percentage of my closest friends get together. It is such a blessing to spend time with others who passionately serve Jesus Christ and follow His word to the best of their ability. It is not a group of perfect individuals but imperfect ones who know and seek to be like the One who is perfect.

My whole family was able to be there for at least part of the time (my parents don't camp anymore but they come up for part of Saturday). 37 in all.

Introducing the students to the rocker. 

 I really enjoyed having this group from other countries join us. Among them were a Buddhist, Muslims, non-religious and more. They were a fun group and I really enjoyed the conversations we were able to have about life, God and religion. They didn't mind that we spent a lot of time singing praise to Jesus. They commented on how they enjoyed seeing this part of America - it was very different than what they had thought America was like. 

Game playing is a fun part of Jackpine too.

I was excited to meet Dj's new wife, Talia. Speaking of DJ (one of my boys longtime friends) one of my fun memories of Jackpine this year was seeing him with a bunch of boys in the 5-8 year old range walking around. I asked "What are you guys doing?" and I don't remember exactly how it was worded but they told me that they were just walking around and talking about God and the Bible and stuff. From conversations that I have had in the past with DJ I know that he follows God passionately and I just think it is so cool that he would take the time to walk and talk with a bunch of little boys and encourage them to follow God passionately too.

This boy loves Jackpine and the freedom to roam from camp to camp and have lots of friends to play with. And even though it is chilly, run barefoot if you so desire.

Megan and Ewan.

Aaron's girlfriend, Harper, drove up all the way from college in Nebraska to come. I enjoyed getting to know her a little better. Travis asked her and Aaron to sing a special and they sounded beautiful together.

Ewan and I. Ewan is wearing a hat made by his mom and a sweater that I made for Malcolm but that fit Ewan for Jackpine this year. I look like I didn't get enough sleep and that is true. Saturday night was a pretty chilly one. I think many of us didn't sleep the best.

Travis amused me by not only holding Ewan all through leading songs but also doing the actions for at least a couple of songs. I don't think I know anybody else that loves babies quite as much as Travis. 

Billy Wallace shared the messages and they were encouraging and had a lot of food for thought.

Church is generally held around a big campfire. The younger ones are usually closer to the middle. :-) In all my years of going I don't know of any bad burns that have happened. 

  A couple more memories of Jackpine this year that stood out to me were on Saturday night my niece Margaret and I were looking at the stars with the international students. We could see the milky way so well and it was incredibly beautiful. First just a few of us went out to the field where we could see them really well and then when the others found out all of the students wanted to go. We enjoyed the wonder of God's creation so much. Katy (from Panama) came to me and shared that see the stars like that really reminded her of the grace of God. I so agree! Every day He gives us countless gifts for us to enjoy and some of them, like the stars, are incredibly gorgeous. We just need to wake up and start noticing this grace that He pours out on us day after day.

  While up on the field there was a group of teenagers (primarily boys) sitting around a campfire. They were visiting a little but mostly they were singing. Angela (from Columbia - and she was actually a visiting professor, not a student- who said she wasn't religious) came and asked me if they were singing about Jesus. Why yes they are. She thought is was very neat. We never know who is watching and just how we might be able to plant a seed or share about Jesus. 

   Jackpine Retreat 2023 is over but many good memories remain. I'm looking forward to next year.
 

Beautiful and Fun Things to See in Ireland

I have been a little unsure of how to truly go about sharing our pictures and about our time in Ireland. There is just so much to cover. This post is picture heavy with some of the fun and beautiful places we saw.

On the first day on our trip from the Airport in Dublin to our AirBnB in Oughterard we did a little extra side trip to see Dunsandle Castle. I had read about in online and was very intrigued because this was owned by the Burke Family and I had read a book series that was set in County Galway (By Brock and Bodie Theone) and the main characters were the Burke family. So though the book was historical fiction it was based on a lot of truth and it was super fun to to visit this castle and imagine how things would have been nearly 200 years ago.

We were very blessed to be able to hang out at the Tuttles (the missionary family) home many times while we were there. It is a beautiful home on the banks of the Owenriff River in Oughterard. They are renting it and are very thankful to have found that home as it is very hard to find places to live there. The photo below is from one of their balconies. 

Mara and Malcolm walking near the Tuttle's.

A bunch of us actually went out on a walk in their neighborhood. We crossed over the river on a little footbridge and then came back on a bridge that cars drive on as well.

This bridge is in a little park that we stopped at on our walk. It actually is directly across the river from their house.

Their home, up on the hillside.

The bridge we drove on every time we came into Oughterard from our AirBnB.

A cool place behind the Catholic church building.

Mara and Jess out behind their house.

Primroses grew wild. So pretty!

Thomas in their backyard.
We went on a hike to see Galway Wind Park and the views that we could get up on the hills.

The forest was so cool and super soft with moss.

The view (and us) from up top.

Jonathan and the wind farm.

This was what a lot of the landscape looked like when we were there in April. Very rugged and rocky.

We explored around Lough Corrib some one day. It was a very pretty lake. Super windy too.

Nick and Jess Tuttle

The cemetery behind the Anglican Church in Oughterard was very pretty and interesting. 

The boys were trying to stay dry.

Aughnanure Castle in Oughterard. This was a very lovely place!

The toilet.

Malcolm and I by one of the fireplaces.

A more private toilet and a place where prisoners were kept down below the grating.

Aaron, prepared to defend the castle.

There were some fancy details on the stone work.

I loved this place!

One day we drove along the North Atlantic coast.

We saw wild horses.

Sheep are everywhere in Ireland. Most of them have some sort of paint on them.

In Spiddel we went to a group of shops with lots of handmade things. That was really fun.

The basket making place was super cool.

I always love pottery too. 

In Galway City we checked out a bunch of Thrift stores. That was interesting. Jonathan wasn't a huge fan but he is a good sport.

This thrift store was selling by weight on this day. Malcolm really wanted the balloon.

We saw entrances like this at several shops. I thought it was very pretty.

A music and art store was fun to explore.

This is a fun shopping area in Galway City.

Kings Head Pub - this building is over 800 years old.

The icecream shop and Megan!

All the wool sweaters were beautiful!

The Spanish Arches in Galway City.

Heather was growing many places.

Blake took us to explore the University in Galway City where he is attending. It was a beautiful campus.

The Galway Cathedral is quite beautiful.   

Malcolm loved the pigeons in Galway.

We went to see the Cliffs of Moher. There were pretty views on the way too.

Jonathan heading off to take more videos.

Malcolm and Thomas.

Hiking up to see the Cliffs of Moher. We were really grateful that Blake told us about an alternative parking area to see the cliffs. The main parking area charged 12 euros per adult. Where we went it was 5-7 euros per car for parking. 

We went on a great day that was sunny and not to windy. It was beautiful!

We totally just enjoyed exploring, checking out each new view from a different vantage point and truly enjoying God's creation!

Naturally there would be part of a castle here too. :-)

Malcolm and I took the hike back to the care together. We were ahead of the others and had plenty of time to stop and pick up rocks and throw them in every puddle we passed.

We took the long way "home" and went down to see the town of Lahinch which was on the coast.

And then we drove back up to Kinvarra and saw Dunguaire castle on the outside. I found it very beautiful.

We were able to walk around the castle.

There was a very large and cool Thatched roof hotel in Kinvarra.

I found these unique little signs all over and was puzzled by them. I think from my attempt at research that the SV stands for "stop valve" but unfortunately I am still puzzled.

Some of the sheep very near our cottage.

Aaron, Malcolm and I went on an adventure one morning near our cottage. We found a mountain bike trail and explored it. I loved the look of the little farm above.

Views from our hike.

Aaron and Malcolm decided to slide through a culvert.

The "Quiet Man" bridge. It was made famous in the movie "The Quiet Man". We had to cross it every time we came and went from our AirBnB as it was part of the little road that it was on.

We went exploring in the Connemara region and it was gorgeous. I guess we were staying in that area to basically. The picture above is Hillary Fjord.

In this picture you can see mounds of peat that area being harvested.

Family pictures by the Fjord. It was a little chilly but pretty!

The Tuttles there too.

We had a picnic there. We were going to do it on the beach but decided it was just too windy down there so we had a tailgate party instead. Malcolm was happy to have his own bag of chips.

Kylemore Abbey

I thought I should have a picture of Abbi in front of an Abbey.

In Clifden I was very excited to find out there was a music festival going on. I totally enjoyed listening to the traditional Irish music. It is so fun!

Jonathan and Malcolm listening to music.

I don't know the name of this castle but it is pretty cool looking. We saw it from Sky Drive in between Clifden and Recess.

On Sunday afternoon when we were headed to Dublin we stopped in a little town and had Megan's Birthday cake in the green (a place were they used to have markets and sell there stuff many years ago). I think it may have been Kilbeggan or Kinnegad.

We explore a neat cemetery surrounding a church building that was next to the green.

At the Harcourt Hotel on Sunday night.

The caretakers cottage in St. Stephen's Green in Dublin.

St. Stephen's Green was a beautiful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Walking around in Dublin.

Dublin Castle.

At the Chester Beatty Museum (which was free). Some 3rd century parchments from the Bible. Super cool!

At the Chester Beatty

I think this was Dublin Castle again.

Christ Church Cathedral.

It was huge - it even went over a main road.

River Liffey and Mara.

The Round Tower and the museum (also free) next to it.

Some poor Irish peasents.

A cute Malcolm.

Building a tower.

Enjoying the garden by the tower.

 After that we headed to the Airport, then to Holland (just the airport) and home again.