Beautiful Fall Colors

Twice in the past few days we have taken a drive to look at the beautiful fall colors. They are at their peak here right now, and we want to share some of the brilliance from Perham, Woodland, Ashland and Portage. The hillsides are ablaze with the best color we have seen in several years. It must have something to do with the great summer we have had. Gary has decorated the window boxes, and the scarecrows watch over the front of the house. Beautiful fall. Louise has completed her mitten knitting and shares a picture of the 35 pairs that have been made to keep little hands in need warm. The month of September is gone. As the seasons change we look back with pleasure at a great summer.

The End of Summer??

We seem to be in day four of a heat wave. It is hot, humid, and hazy today. We have retreated to Portage Lake this week to enjoy the end of summer and it has been really hot! Last night we set up a theater on the wharf with the laptop and watched a Netflix movie under the stars. We had to use bug dope as the bugs are alive, well, and biting. They don't think it's fall either! The lake is very shallow with a huge expanse of beach and very shallow water. Here we have some pictures looking down the lake at the sand bars that have developed. Notice how high the wharf is out of the water. With no rain in at least four weeks, things are dry. Gary got some photos of the sunrise over the lake the other morning, so we are sharing one of those too.
Gary is still building his stone wall. Here you see him moving some rocks. Despite the heat, he enjoys this project.

The only sign of fall that is noticeable, besides people taking in their boats and wharves, is one tree that is starting to turn to fall colors. It has been a lovely summer and Portage Lake is a great place to be on a hot day!

Meeting Bridget

The Coles are in Massachusetts right now becoming acquainted with Bridget, our new granddaughter. She is two weeks old today. Despite an awful trip down here, stuck in traffic for three hours yesterday, it is all worth it. These pictures tell the story.

Here she is, with her parents and grandparents.

August Festival 2010

Today was the August Festival. Jon and Erin came home to visit for the weekend, Andy, Matt, Jo, and the kids came to watch the parade. Ralph's truck is seen here and Sharon joined us watching the parade. Here we have pictures of our gathering on the lawn and scenes from the parade. After venturing downtown for food and looking over the displays, we gathered for the afternoon at Portage Lake. The weather was a bit windy and cloudy, but the kids enjoyed the water anyway. Matt tried to take the boat out for a ride, and we have pictures of the first attempt. He and PJ pushed it back to shore and charged the battery again. Eventually they did get a ride. Pizza was served at the camp, and a fine afternoon was had by all!

Brighten the Corner...

We have spent a lot of time the past couple of weeks at the camp. Today we will show you what we have been doing. The dark, drab, brown kitchen has been transformed into something brighter, cleaner, and lighter. Are you ready for this? Photos show it all. The window now works and has a screen in it.

A second project has been the wharf. It has been stained a deep brown. Gary told Louise it was chocolate, just for her! Here we have pictures of the finished product.

We also encountered a strange

mother duck with a lot of babies, some of them riding on her back. We left the camp today for a few days as we head to Portland for a trip. It is our first trip out of the county this summer.

How Does Our Garden Grow?

We have not updated the blog concerning the garden for a long time. Today we present you with July progress. The

hollyhocks outside the door are spectacular, and at least seven or eight feet high. The petunias we bought in Portland for the hanging basket are beautiful. We have a glimpse of the perennials in the back garden in full bloom, and the little Budda bed,

shaded and peaceful. There is a close-up of the astilbe in that bed.

In the vegetable gardens we have had pole beans, one cucumber, and some lovely yellow squash. We share

pictures of the tomatoes in the raised beds, zucchini plants overrunning the raised beds, the pole beans, and a close-up of the tomatoes and beans. Those beans are the ones we started early and they are planted in pots leaning against the poles.

It is a lovely summer day, and the growing things are thriving!