Wednesday, November 30, 2011

God Is Love

Ahhh, the beauty of creation.  Isn't it amazing how even the flower petals speak of God's love....














This flower petal, in the shape of a heart, was one I noticed and collected and photographed this summer.  I loved the color and I loved the fact that it was shaped like a heart.




God is love.


Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Relic

Walking in downtown Spokane one day, not too long ago, what should I find but this relic....






....which I now add to my collection of "relics"







It looked vaguely familiar.  I think it is called a pay phone.

Seen any of them lately?

A Museum Day

One beautiful autumn day, not too long ago, the MAC was my destination for an outing.



















There was a lot to see and do.  My favorite part was probably the gift shop,  (not pictured here.)
The special display was Impressionists.


Some of the paintings were quite old.  All were interesting.


























 The question o de day was:
"What is collaboration?"








 After visiting the museum... one can tour the historic Campbell House next door.


This is the home of the Campbells.
 You can also view their Carriage House.  They have begun a new display inside that was not there previously.   I liked the horse dran carriages and the electric car.
There is a lot to see inside the Campbell dwelling.  It's quite the place.  It is interesting too, to tour with other people and see their observations.  Kinda fun too is imagining the different lives in various roles and taking  peek at the people who lived and worked in this house.


  I loved the kitchen.
Here is a "typical" meal menu.
The staircase has a beautiful picture window,















Then it was back to the museum, specifically to the cafe.


It was time for lunch!


Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A Day in the Country

One fine autumn day, I decided to take a little drive in the country.  My destination: Green Bluff, a little farming community north of Spokane, WA.

 To get there, you have to take a little curvy, windy, country road.

First stop was Walters Fruit Ranch....


 They had one of the biggest pumpkins I had ever seen!




  Next was Thorsons, then  Sundown Browns Place...









.... then Eleven Acres,
and the, it was on to Byron Seimer's Farm.


 Here is the Siemers' castle corn maze:

 And their train ride for the little kiddies.












Their is a bountiful harvest there too!













Ahhhhhh  Green Bluff.  Kinda reminds me of home.

If you need a map, stop at the friendly barn colored  mailbox at Legacy Farm.  The Green Bluff map will show you where to go for fresh picked foods.  You can see the map or print it out at www.greenbluffgrowers.com


There's a lot of farms,too many to picture and name them all, but most of them are on the map or have a sign..  The ones listed here are just a few.  There is a whole rainbow of seasonal fruits and veggies.... even Christmas trees, depending of course on the time of the year.

(Thanks Beckman's! PS  Loved the dragon too!)




 Take a lovely family autumn photo here along the road by the Legacy Farm.... with Mt. Spokane in the backdrop.   (This won't be your K-Mart / Penny's "professional" photo, but it will be genuinely autumn and beautiful!)





This is Harvest House.
Here is Cole's.


Trezzi's Red Barn..
Beautiful.


There's Hansen's.




High Country Orchard
 



 Next stop....Knapps.

 

 
 Where there are pumpkins-a-plenty... (strawberries in an earlier season.)
 and a pumpkin cannon too!
 Here is Mr. Knapp now... getting ready to launch the pumpkins in the cannon.  Andy will attempt to hit a target far, far away in another field.

There were a lot of people waiting to see how his ingenious cannon worked.   When all were finally gathered, he gave a demonstration.






He packs the pumpkin projectiles in straw, so when they fly out, you will see the straw disperse... and the pumpkins too.  So, it is not little pieces of shattered pumpkin that you see here.  look closly and you will see the pumpkins flying....  whole. They remain so until they hit the target, or the ground around the target, as the case may be.

 "Thar she blows!"
Off the go into the wild blue yonder....
If you click on this photo and look carefully, you can see the white target out in the next field. (It is kinda in the center by the greenery of those trees.)

 The target was not hit that day.  Hasn't been hit yet.  (I think he is perfecting his aim, year by year!)
You can take a cool photo here too.  Just put your face behind the painted board... and you can be a pumpkin!
 Knapp has built this amazing, enormous, (free) hay maze to loose your kids in for a little while, if you'd like.  Hint: You are supposed to watch them have fun while they are in here.

Looks like fun to me.

And he has animals that you can see.


 They like to see you too.






Visiting here is just plain fun!

 And the best part, besides having some fun, breathing fresh country air, is that you can buy fresh picked, delicious food direct from your favorite farmer.   You can ask them directly about themselves, their farms and all the whys and hows of their homegrown food.
 Then you can take a bunch home with you , can it, freeze it, store it, and eat it on the way home or all winter long.
 
There are a lot of farms on Green Bluff, which is not a city or a township, but a little country farming community, just about ten miles north of Spokane.
Cabbages

 

 The Roening's Orchard and the Green Bluff Greenhouse... Strawberry Hill... Mrs. Kalin's..... the list goes on.  There is a lot to see and do here, and, it is a pretty place to visit when you want to take a little drive in the country.  This is true, any time of the year.

 On this day, the autumn leaves were beautiful!  The air was fresh and brisk.  I loved it.
Home, sweet home.