Blogtober, Day 31

I made it to the last day!  It's October 31st.  This afternoon my daughter-in-law Jennifer and I hiked at Dawes Arboretum again.  Almost four miles.  We tromped through the fallen leaves and followed the main trail to the gorge overlook trail.  Two of my favorite photos from today.

And tomorrow is November first.  All Saints Day.  And now, here comes Thanksgiving!

Blogtober, Day 30

My favorite photo from our walk at Dawes Arboretum today.  We crossed under the road which separates the main areas from the eastern section which is most isolated and rustic-- no paved walks.  We just hiked among the trees tromping through the fallen leaves.

Last Friday Fave Fives in October

Can you believe that it is almost November??  Time is flying!  This week has gone by quickly too.  I have had to stop a couple of times and catch my breath and try to recall what we have done this past week.  And now it is Friday evening and I am pausing again to reflect on the week and remember the blessings.  That's the whole point of Friday Fave Fives.  For the writer, it's to express gratitude.  For the reader, it's to encourage.  Do you want to be encouraged?  Click on that link and you will find many more people who join FFFs each week.

Here are my end of October faves:

1.  We were excited to welcome dear friends into our home as they were driving across the US.  We knew them when we all lived in Camarillo, CA and attended the same church.  Now they are missionaries who live in Tanzania.  We had a great time catching up and hearing about Omega's work as an infectuous disease doctor.  And of course, Mia our nurse girl joined us for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed talking medical stuff with them.  And their youngest girl has grown so much!

2.  The next morning, we enjoyed our breakfast at one of our favorite coffee shops.  The breakfast pies and biscuit and gravy were delicious!  And the coffee, too.  It was the best way to send them off on the next leg of their journey.

3.  And of course, the result of having overnight guests is making sure that our home is clean and neat.

4.  Our weather has been unseasonably warm this week.  Just perfect for working outside in the garden doing the fall clean up.

5.  And perfect weather for walks.  My favorite was at the Dawes Arboretum.  So much beauty!

Even the leaves enjoyed sitting on the bench...

the arch...

my favorite photo of the day

Alaska, Day Eleven-D

 After a long day spent on a ferry boat, it was good to have a ramble in the Alaskan wilds.

First, we walked on the beach at the bay.

Then, into the woods.  Definitely Pacific Northwest Rain Forest.

Back to the bay where we were entertained by a sea otter performing for us near the pier.

Then back to the lodge for dinner.

Blogtober, Day 27

Tuesday, October 27th.  It was a quiet day here at Willow's Cottage.  We woke early and greeted PAL who was here to spend the morning with us.  After breakfast and her math test, we ventured out to Crumb Cookie where she used her birthday gift card to buy her favorite cookie.  When we returned, we ate popcorn and played Opposite Words.  If you say yes, you mean no.  If you say no, you mean yes.  Oh the silly things we said.  "I'm so full now that it is midnight."  "Do you dislike that book?"  "I am not enjoying it at all."

Nathan (grandson Tall Boy) came over and mowed our lawn.  Then I drove him to the university so he could work his shift there.  I spent an hour doing the edging before it was time for dinner.

And now we are just resting.  Some days are like this.  And sometimes it's what we need.
 

Alaska, Day Eleven-C

As we neared the end of our ferry ride, we passed this beautiful lighthouse.  My favorite.

We finally arrived at Gustavus.  A small bus was waiting for us to drive us to the Glacier Bay Lodge where we would be staying two nights.

Glacier Bay Lodge

The Lodge is inside Glacier Bay National Park.  It is a beautiful place situated on the edge of Bartlett Cove. 

The Tlingit and Hoonah Indians lived on this bay for centuries.  Recently, the Huna Tribal Hut was built as a place to celebrate the history of these people.  

Craftsmen have created artworks around the area.

What a beautiful place to spend two nights!

Alaska, Day Eleven-B

 Whales!

As we were traveling through the various channels around islands towards Gustavus, we encountered a pod of Orca whales.  They were frolicking in the waters near our ferry boat.

First, someone who was standing outside on the deck noticed the spouts and yelled, "Whales!"

Can you see the spouts on the left, way out in the distance?

You can barely see the black spot of one whale's back.

More appeared, showing off their breaching and diving skills.  This area of Southeast Alaska is home to many orca whales.  They live near the coastlines and feed from the many fish (mostly salmon) that also call this area home.

Then the ferry drove closer to them.

As the ferry moved on up the bay, one popped up to say goodbye.

Too many photos... but I couldn't never tire of watching the whales.

Alaska, Days Ten and Eleven

After we returned to Juneau, we decided to just relax the next day.  Evidently, we really relaxed because I don't have photos of our wanderings around Juneau that day.  I know we returned to Heritage Coffee and enjoyed our morning brews.  We walked around downtown and revisited some shops and restaurants.

But the next morning we were up and out of our hotel bright and early to catch another ferry ride.  This time our destination was Glacier Bay.  I have to say that the four hour ferry trip was one of my favorites.  Why?  We saw fishing boats and whales!

I snapped forty (yes, I wrote FORTY) pictures of the whales.  No, I won't bore you with all forty photos... in fact, I am still working through to organize them.  So sorry, today all you get are fishing boat photos.

The weather was cloudy and that made for some great pictures; they almost look like old fashioned black and white photos.

And a lighthouse!