There must have been a pasture on our land, because there are fallen fence posts and some rusty barbed wire traversing the property. John and I did some cutting and bundling of the old stuff. A bit of 'excavating' was needed to find the four strands of wire amidst the brush and weeds.

A friend came to visit. I met her in 1988 when we were room- mates at a High School camp. Jennifer lives in Arizona but flew here to enjoy some fall colors, have some relaxation, and laugh about old times. She is a hoot! Jennifer can start laughing just THINKING about something funny, and keeps chuckling so she can hardly spill the story. It makes my face hurt from smiling so much. We ended up experiencing snow in the middle of October, which gave her a thrill.

My dear friend is also in the middle of her life turning completely upside down, so there were hours of talking, grief, tears, explaining, sadness, anger. I'm thankful that Jenn had this opportunity to 'get away' and reflect. I'm heartbroken over her pain. She is running to God and resting in His promises. It looks like a long road ahead.

A great decision was made when I chose to wake early and go see the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. God's majestic paintbrush was different each day. We enjoyed a week of vacation courtesy of my kind sister-in-law, and I relished the warm sunny days that South Carolina offered.

Back when the nieces and nephews were here, John and I invited Isaac and Claire to our house for an afternoon. After playing with Legos & Polly Pockets and eating lunch, we walked to the river and jumped in to swim. Well, THEY jumped in. John and I cautiously waded out and flinched when our tender feet crunched on pebbles.

Mom has a milestone birthday in October, and Rachel suggested the three of us celebrate by attending a Women's Retreat at a nearby camp. There was beautiful weather, so we did a pontoon cruise, trap shooting, biking, climbing wall, rowboat and hayride. It was a refreshing time to meet other ladies, hear encouragement from the Bible, eat yummy food, stay overnight in a tiny cabin, and bask in God's gorgeous creation. Some mother/daughter chatting encompassed most of the weekend too.

Because of too much flower munching, we've been trying to trap rabbits and relocate them to a new area across the river. John has caught three, but the latest animal was a possum. He definitely played dead in the trap, but then would not leave no matter what angle or shaking John tried! We were laughing. The opossum would clutch the edges of the cage with his whole being, not willing to enjoy freedom. We ended up propping open the trap, leaving it at the park, then coming back to pick up the empty cage.

Another visit to our favorite camping site. Simplicity is fun. Fun to cook food over the fire. Fun to wash the dishes in a bucket with minimal water. Fun to climb into a tent when darkness descends. Being on vacation gives me permission to sleep-in, spend hours reading on the beach, and exercise in an outdoorsy/casual way. We experimented making "fry bread", stayed at the deserted campground during a long rainy morning, and biked 22 miles to enjoy lunch at a restaurant. Of course it's always great to get home, clean up with a long shower, and sleep in our own comfy bed.