END OF AUGUST FAVES

 

WOW!  The last Friday of August!  Autumn will be here in a couple of weeks and we will be back to ministry duties and planning for various holiday events before we know it!  Let's pause before we get busy enjoying the last Summer holiday weekend, and share FIVE of our FAVE blessings from the past week. I do this by linking up at Susanne's site with other bloggers who are grateful. 

• BABY SHOWER:  We were invited to a "jack and jill" baby shower for one of Dave's former Youth Group "kids"....a young man named James and his wife Sabrina who now live in the Boston area.   J used to hang out with a set of triplets named John, Joe, and Tyler.  Tyler and our oldest daughter used to group date in junior high and he took her took her to her junior prom. We were good friends of the triplets' parents and they were also at the shower. Joe and Tyler were at the shower (Joe is now married and has 2 little ones; Tyler is still single and working at RPI were Dave  got his BS and MS!) I'm so thankful we got to see these former youth group teens now as young adults and to reconnect with the parents. We also saw some other young people we used to know from church who now  go elsewhere.  I'm thankful for the unity we have in Christ with old friends and that we could bless the soon-to-be parents. 

Saturday
26 August 2024

• BONFIRE:  Last Saturday evening, after we were home from the baby shower, we had a late dinner and then I wanted to burn the brush we had collected from the last storm when Hurricane Debby blew up the East Coast. Some of the brush was collected after a rainstorm in July, too.  Dave had already taken a shower and didn't want to get smokey so I built the fire and sat outdoors reading until dark and then sat in the dark and just enjoyed the peace and quiet for a bit.  I'm so thankful for perfect Summer evenings that aren't  too hot and humid. 

Sunday late afternoon 

• LATE LAKE DAY: Sunday after church, our oldest daughter wanted to know if she could join me at the lake where our kayaks are. She couldn't be ready until close to 3 as she had a lunch date. I didn't want to kayak but told her I'd sit on the beach with her and swim, read, chat. The water was so cold as the night before the temps had dipped but once we were in, it felt so good!  We stayed for about 2.5 hours and when the beach officially closed at 6, we moved our stuff over to the sunny part of the beach to dry off a bit before heading home. We decided to pick up a pizza and she joined Dave and I for a pizza dinner and a Star Trek movie. I'm thankful my daughters live close enough where one or both can just join us for a bit on the weekends or their days off. 

image courtesy of Out and About Alb*ny website

• LIBRARY BROWSING:  Tuesday I had some time in the middle of the day to return a book to the library and do some browsing.  While I was there I had an alert that one of the books I've been waiting for was available! I'm still waiting for a few other books I've requested but while browsing I did find 2 books whose authors are new to me and both look good so I also took those out. I love reading in the late afternoon or evening before bed. I'm thankful for a beautiful town library that also includes an outdoor seating area in the front flower gardens as well as a pretty pond and fountain. 

first 1.3 miles of trail is relatively flat
with just 3 stream crossings

After the first 1.3 miles, the trail
to Hurricane Mt Summit bears right
and is mostly rocks and rock scrambles
for the next 2.3 miles. This is where it began to rain

Mady on the summit.....
note the heavy clouds and fog...usually
there are High Peaks (mts over 4000')
in the background

Mady crossing the brook..the water was just above ankles
This is Gull Brook that meanders all over the forest
....we had to cross it 3 times...part of the trail parallels it 

First Cairn on the Hurricane Mt Summit

Wet, slippery rock.....I had to slide down on my butt
a few times on the way down the mountain, 
 and twice my niece had to haul me by the hand
On the way up, I had to rock scramble.....(on hands and knees for those of you who aren't hikers) 
I'm getting too old to rock scramble! 

• HIKING HURRICANE MOUNTAIN! Wednesday was the day I had set aside to hike with my 16 yr old niece Mady. She is our youngest niece and the youngest daughter of my youngest sister Jill.  I picked her up from her home 40 min north at 7:30 AM and we had a 2 hour drive north to the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. This mountain has an elevation of 3688'.  Now here in NY, unlike in the Rocky Mountains, we begin at the true base of the mountain usually. Every hike I've done minus the Highest Peak in Vermont, has started at the base. In the Rockies, you typically drive up most of the mountain!!  (I've researched this...those mountains are as tall as 12,000 feet but many of the trails begin after driving up to about 9500' or more).  A client of my daughter's said he's hiked many times in both mountain ranges and says the ADKs are vastly tougher than most of the Rockies ones because we have way more boulders to climb. Someday I'll find out as Colorado hiking is on my bucket list.  Anyways, Mady and I hit the trail at about 10 AM on a cloudy, cool day. By noon, it was raining and we had another mile  to go. On the Summit, it was dry but misty.....no view at all. This was a tough hike. We saw very few people. On the way down, almost back to the car, the sun came out and the sky turned blue and it was glorious. I was tired.....My back pain wasn't too bad while hiking but yesterday I was very stiff and the mid-back pain was back. I'm thankful I spent this time with my niece, though.  This was my 3rd time to climb Hurricane and it will be my last. My knees did NOT like the 7.68 miles we did, mostly on rock!! 

Those are the FIVE FAVES that made me smile and say Thank You, God this past week.

I know there are other blessings...like...fresh farm produce....good conversations with my spiritual mentor at church and a few friends during the week....sales on some clothes I needed for autumn....and my husband figuring out how to keep the squirrel from flicking the lid off of our bird seed can.  yes...this one annoying squirrel figured it out last week even with me spraying squirrel repellant all around and on it, and with adding tabasco sauce to the feed. Problem now solved thanks to Dave's old kayak strap!

our bird seed container f
or our bird feeder in the backyard!
a Squirrel-proof strap!!