Signs of the Times

Madam Winter crashed Lady Autumn's party.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." ~Hebrews 13:8 NKJV 

Unirrigating

Irrigating is fun and rewarding; unirrigating, much less so. 

Disconnecting nearly a mile of irrigation pipe--most of which are stuck tightly together with mud--is tough.  Loading the 170 unruly, bouncy, 55 to 85 pound, 30 foot long pipes onto the trailer is tough. Unloading and stacking them is tough. 

Sometimes I wonder if Hubby and I are tough enough for the job. We spread the work over several days, though, and we always pray first. (If we were much younger, the prayers wouldn't be so necessary.)

We're thankful for the pipe, and the strength to heave and hoist them, but we'd be even more grateful for a pivot sprinkler like the one across the canal.(Part of our neighbor's sprinkler can be seen in the top photo, if you squint.)

I wish Hubby still coached high school football. He could schedule workouts in our hayfields. 

"What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds." ~Will Rogers

Morning of Goodness

The view from my back step at sunrise:

I had thought to post this morning's picture with the standard English greeting of, "Good morning."  But I love how Arabic speakers say it:

Sabaah al-khayr/ sabaah an-nuur. I'm told that it's a back and forth exchange -the first is "morning of goodness" and the response is "morning of light".

It gets even better. As a response in Arabic you can also say sabaah al-ward, "morning of flowers". That one is usually reserved for special occasions. How beautiful is that?

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"Say only what helps, each word a gift." ~Ephesians 4:29, The Message 

Up to Autumn

Sometimes when we need a reprieve from the funny farm, Hubby and I head upcountry for a hike. Yesterday's jaunt was in Tensleep Canyon. 

The vivid blue sky vied with the autumn foliage for attention. Recent rains must have washed the sky of summer's dust and wildfire smoke. 

These thick-stemmed asters aren't as vibrant as their low land cousins (mine are just beginning to bloom), but they boast showy disk flowers. 

It snowed in the high country, so one would think that the creek would be too cold for wading. 

This little leaf stuck on the side of the log reminded me of kindergarten art projects. I can almost smell that white paste. 

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The genial sunlight melts on the hills

The breath of the morning white and cold;

By the wayside bend sprays of aster bloom

And the forest turns to russet and gold....

   ~C.B. Galbreath, Autumn Leaves, 1918

Tree Farming

At long last: rain! After an extended dry spell, there's nothing sweeter than the patter of rain on the roof. A fencing chore was postponed, but conditions were perfect for tree transplanting. 

We hadn't expected an audience. 

"As the poet said, Only God can make a tree -- probably because it's so hard to get the bark on." ~Woody Allen

Happy Fall!

Wishing you a heavenly autumn!

(Painting by Jenny Robinson of jennyrobinsonstudio.com)

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"On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it." ~Jules Renard

Excerpts from the 2016 Yearbook

Zeke, Dazzle's firstborn, was also the first calf on the scene in early spring. Voted most likely to be a fireman. 

Prince, son of Princess, is the pasture's quiet, handsome, humble, sensible giant. Amazingly, Prince was voted most likely to run for office. (Prince for President, anyone?)

Flash, son of Flame, aka Mr. Congeniality, has never met a stranger. Voted most likely to be a talk show host. 

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Photos by yearbook staff.