The DeerLake Weekly Letter

   Fall colors are here once again. Sure is nice to watch the sunrise colors in the morning, then fall foliage colors all day.

  Cool mornings, mean time to start getting things winterized once again. Cleaning up the garden and mulching over the winter plants. I just pulled up the garlic that was planted this spring and they are telling me to go ahead and plant again for next years garlic crop. The pumpkins have been removed from the plant and now are decorating the front deck. Only the brussel sprouts and strawberries are still growing in the garden. All the rest has been worked and plowed for next year.

  Fall in the Flathead Valley means Quilting shows and holiday craft shows getting underway. We strolled through the local quilt show today. Wonderful quilts for sale and lots of booths to buy all kinds of quilting materials and things. I never got into the quilting much, however we have several friends that love to quilt. Becca's sister-in-law does quite a bit of quilting. She belongs to a quilting bee (I think they call them that). Several of the quilts made are donated to different organizations for distribution. It's a lot of work making beautiful quilts. Lots of fun walking through the rows of carefully hung works of art, truly amazing.

  Today we are cookin-up huge Hubbard squash and freezing. Man are they nice this year! Becca cooks them up and blends them with spices, just like you would when making a pumpkin pie. I cannot tell a difference between hubbard pie or pumpkin pie. I can't tell you if it's the cooking of homemade goodies and canning smells or the wonderful fall colors that brighten up my day more.

  Geese are flying south, humming birds are gone, even Becca is getting ready to fly the coup. She is leaving with a girlfriend to enjoy some autumn colors in Colorado and Wyoming. Plans to visit Thermopolis Wyoming on the way to Colorado, a famous hot springs town with surrounding parks that include the Legend Rock Petroglyph Site. Do you want an experience you cannot find anywhere else in the world? Thermopolis is lucky enough to have numerous one-of-a-kind natural attractions including one of the most impressive petroglyph areas in the world . This protected site, approximately 23 miles west of Thermopolis contains at least 283 different petroglyphs on 92 individual sandstone “panels.” She is looking forward to doing a bit of hiking too.

 We usually try to get up into Waterton and Glacier Park this time of year. It's a wonderful time to view the Elk, with hundreds congregating for the annual ritual of the rut. Watching as the bulls try to increase the size of their herds by enticing the cows of another's herd with their loud bugle.

If I were a leaf on a majestic tall tree,
And I had the choice, of which I could be,
I’d be a maple to turn orange yellow gold
When the cool autumn winds turned warm nights cold.

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Charms of autumn encircle me,
Nature is on a coloring spree,
I am enchanted by the display
Of this crisp sunlit day.

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Autumn's misty morning this dawn
Reminds me that summer is gone,
I yawn thinking how quickly it seems
As my teakettle wildly screams.

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Search your heart prayerfully,
true happiness lies within.

Give of yourself graciously,
let wisdom guide your life.

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Recipes Below
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Becca's No Bake Energy Bites Recipe.

and

Steven's Beer Bathed Beef Roast Recipe.

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Thoughts for Today -

There is pleasure in the pathless woods.

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Tamarack trees create the look of streets-made-of-gold, Steven and Becca