Jackson's Discovery

Jackson (black lab) and Ebby (Black lab mix) make such delightful companions.
The other day I was helping my dad stack wood for the winter and was delighted when I successfully taught Jackson to pick up sticks he could fit in his mouth and place them in the trailer =) He's a quick learner...usually. However, yesterday when I returned from the vet with Ebby, I found Jackson with porcupine quills in his poor little nose! Dad and I wrestled him to get most of them out with a pair of pliers, but eventually the last two called for yet another visit to the vet. =( He was a darn good sport about the whole thing. He loves getting his picture taken and even gave me a "smile"  in spite of his condition.

Forget Not His Benefits

The rest of this week I am dog/house sitting for my parents. The weather here in Black River is absolutely perfect (a high of 73 today) so I took the dogs for a walk on the land. With Jackson beside me I seem to notice every little detail of beauty down to the motivated woodpecker flying from tree to tree. Every time we heard it Jackson stopped in his tracks until he figured out where it was. 

Coming home, I'm always amazed by how blessed I was to grow up here and to call it home. Prayer Acres is a name my parents gave the 10 acres of land when they bought it several years ago and i think it is a fitting name. I can't NOT recognize God's prompting to lay my burdens at his feet when I walk through and enjoy his beauty. 

Here are some photos of Prayer Acres in beautiful fall.

"Praise the Lord Oh my Soul; all my inmost being praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord Oh my Soul and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all yours sins

and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the Eagles." Psalm 103:1-5

John and I truly feel renewed by the benefits of our  Lord and continuously grateful. Let us not forget...

The Dog Days of Summer

I love to cook =] Thought I'd share with you what was on the menu tonight...

 <----That, is one of the many reasons I love the farmers market and lucky for me there are quite a few random family run markets sprinkled throughout Black River Falls. The man who sold me these beauties was Amish and his name was Ben.







                           And this----------------------->
is the finished product. Probably one of my favorite summer meals of sauteed veggies-with lots of color. (Ben was fresh out of red peppers except for that one which I strategically placed on top for the sake of this picture, but you get the idea.

There was also delectable  chicken (it's not braggin' if it's true) marinated in a tomato basil cream sauce, along with a modified  fettuccine sauce on vegetable  noodles. There is no picture because the picture didn't show it justice and I didn't want to show you an icky food picture. Icky food pictures are the worst...

I love food, and icky food pictures just ruin food for me...like the time I saw a picture of a "well-balanced meal" in my health book that was obvoiusly taken in the 70's....I couldn't eat carrots, broccali, or turkey sandwiches for a month. Gross.

But back to nice things and good food...we had a perfect sunday afternoon with two of our friends last weekend. A picnic in  the yard with chicken wings of multiple seasonings, boiled cheesy  garlic potatoes, yummy fruit, green salad (complete with avocado -my current obsession) and s'mores by the fire- after a visit to the swimming hole during which Jackson (my adored dog) created many an awkward yet memorable moment. We found out he loves kids so that's good...he also thinks that anyone running is inviting him on an adventure, thinks it's fun to check babies diapers (cutest thing :P) and loves the water...so, so much.

When we first arrived there, I relished the various compliments  of  how well behaved he was. I may have taken a little pride in that since he's kind of my project right now. In previous visits this swimming hole was kind of a secret, or so we thought. It's a kayak landing nestled into the trees on the river, so I was rather  surprised to see a group of people camped out along the bank of "my swimming hole."  But upon Jackson proving his love for water and his distain of leaving it even for the sake of re-leaving himself, that problem was quickly solved... =/ How embarrassing. There was an audible groan followed by parents grabbing their children and...really it was just a horrible occurrence... Please don't judge me for my dog's behavior...also please believe that was truly horrified, but I couldn't help but laugh...a little..ok a lot. It's just that this kind of thing usually only happens to me and I find the luck (or lack there of) in my life just humorous. After 23 years of living this way- one makes due.

Hoping this is not a sign of my parenting skills. If there is any question please note: my parents are the proud legal owners of Jackson, the dog who *flunked  leader dogs school.

*Jackson actually did not flunk. He's very intelligent and actually passed all of his tests. The only problem was that he didn't bond with the person he was supposed to be paired up with to lead. We certainly didn't mind getting him back =]