“Making decisions at the fork in the road.”

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”  1 Peter 4:11-12 NIV

I’ve had a couple of major decisions weighing on my heart the last few months. Good things...but just figuring out which way to go is sometimes overwhelming. When I am faced with just such a dilemma and I grasp it with both hands, I try to wrestle it into the box I want to put it in. This is a goal. Something you can plan for, see, hold onto, and finish all on your own. And...quite often it leads to frustration when you can’t make it fit. When it doesn’t work out the way you want it to.

There’s another way to do this that relieves you of the pressure you put on yourself. You give it to God. I have been reminded of this multiple times in the last week when wonderful women of great faith were sent to me. I listened to their wise counsel. I held hands and prayed with them. And I spent the weekend camping in TOW-Wanda while I was in Columbus at the Country Living Fair. When I stopped trying to hold on so tight and bend these situations to MY will and let God work it out to HIS will, the answers became perfectly clear. The decisions ultimately were simple and life changing. This is a dream…something that comes from God. We discussed this at my small group from church last night and it made so much sense.

“"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  Matthew 6:34 ESV

This is the time of year where the days are noticeably shorter, yet the weather still screams “summer”. After a lovely day at the farm, Mr. FixIt and I had to drive back over to his house to get my truck. He has a job to do in town the next few days and we didn’t even think of having two vehicles till yesterday afternoon. I love having him around. I also love some alone time at the farm. I have the best of all worlds. 

I threw some old carrots out on the lawn where the deer were gathered the other night. I sat out on the front porch at sunset to watch for them to come get their treat. As I sat there waiting, I tuned my ears to the sounds around me. There was a cardinal darting in the underbrush along the creek….chattering at the cats who must be nearby. Tree frogs, katydids, and locusts provided a chorus for free. I haven’t heard crickets here like I usually do. They didn’t show up at the Ponderosa till earlier this month. I thought that was odd. 

“Berry Baskets bring back special memories of my grandparents’ farm.”

“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.”  Hebrews‬ ‭3:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One of the things I stumbled upon at the Country Living Fair over the weekend were these sweet little berry baskets. Oh, my...did they bring back memories! When I was a little girl, my uncle was going to college at WVU majoring in Vocational Agriculture. He was always doing something around the farm to help my grandparents. He added the cinder block building with a cistern to collect the rainwater from the roof for drinking water. There was a well here on the property and it had wonderful, sweet water...until they capped the old oil and gas wells on the property. Something they did caused the aquifer to fracture and the water became briny and undrinkable. For a long time, we had to drive several miles with two big milk cans and haul water from a local spring. Then Uncle Bud helped my grandparents build the cistern and we finally got good drinking water on the farm again.

My uncle also put in a septic system, built a basement, rolled the house on top, build a cinderblock bathroom and we joined the civilized folks with indoor plumbing. I was about six years old when all this occurred. After the barn, the cow shed, and the pig stye were built, the next thing on the agenda was to try to make this land not only support us, but pay us. Uncle Bud planned out and planted a huge strawberry patch up on the hill. He and my great grandfather built a nice structure with a long window down one side. The window was hinged and opened outward to make an overhanging awning with a counter. The pickers would bring flats of strawberries to this shed to be sorted and cleaned to take to the Farmer’s Market in town. At the corner of the building was a huge water tank that collected water from the roof of the strawberry shed to be used to clean the berries.

“Crocks waiting for a new home.”

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 NIV

I’ve been thinking a lot about my grandma lately. I’ve been so busy the last three weeks that I haven’t had a chance to spend much time at the farm. Mr. FixIt and I were thinking of going camping this weekend, but for a number of reasons...not the least of which is being just plain tired of running around...we’ve decided to head to the farm for a much needed respite.

The change of seasons are especially beautiful there. As things come to life in the spring and the dark grays of winter turn to buds of green, my heart soars because I’m heading into my favorite season. I’ve always had a little more difficulty accepting the changes of fall because that mean the dark days of winter are close on its heels. Mr. Virgo always told me, “It’s all in your head. It’s just a matter of what you tell yourself. If you say you hate winter, then guess what? You’re going to hate it!” He was right, of course. So, this fall, I am planning some really special things that will make the season joyful and beautiful. I’m going to do some heavy fall decorating this year. I want to get pumpkins and bittersweet, corn shocks and straw bales, Indian corn and maybe even some clear twinkly lights and dress up the farm. Won’t that be pretty?

“The Little Guy Mini Max by Liberty Outdoors.”

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”  Hebrews 6:10 NIV

OMGosh! You all...this was SUCH a fun weekend but incredibly hot and I’m fried in more ways than one. I didn’t go out in the sun at all without an umbrella. I forgot sunscreen, and even with the umbrella, I got a sunburn on my arms. You’d think I’d learn by now, wouldn’t you?

The hardest thing about the last day of the fair is…you can’t even begin to start breaking anything down until 5:00. Then, you have to get a pass to bring your vehicle into the area to load up. If you didn’t have some organization, with all these vendors…it would be total chaos. I have to tell you, they do have this thing down to a science and it all runs very smoothly. Gail got her van packed up first, and since it was its OWN vehicle, she got out first. Then came getting Janine’s truck in, packed up, and hook up her trailer. Last, I dragged my little wagon out to the parking lot where my truck was parked, unloaded everything into the back, and headed to the campground. The girls decided to head on home and not camp…which I totally understand. I had already paid for my campsite, and I was exhausted. So, this morning when you read this…I’m sleeping in!

“Fellow Rancher, Ruth Ann, came by to see me today at Country Living Fair! What a treat!”

“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.”  Ecclesiastes 9:7 NIV

You know what? One of the sweetest things that ever happens to me at one of these events is when one of my readers steps up to me and says...”I love your blog! I’ve been reading it for a long time.” My heart melts and I just want to give them a great big hug! It happened twice yesterday! First, Ruth Ann came all the way from Cincinnati. She was so gracious and I was so happy to meet her. Then, Beth stopped by to say hello. She follows Janine’s podcast and learned about Marshmallow Ranch from my interview on Episode #5. What a sweetie. She’s young and looking forward to camping in her own trailer someday. 

“Fellow Rancher, Beth, came to see me at Country Living Fair. It’s such an honor to meet my readers!”

“Freckles has the cutest little camper as a prop in their booth.”

“You prepare a table before me...”  Psalm 23:5 NIV

OMGosh! It was SO hot yesterday at the fair. The ground was saturated from the storms last weekend and with the heat baking down on all that damp earth, it was like sitting in a sauna. Fortunately, we had an EZUp and battery powered fans, and there was a bit of a breeze most of the day. If I walked around anywhere, I used an umbrella and a wide brimmed hat and that helped a lot.

“Fun fencing surrounding a booth full of baskets and pumpkins.”

“You don’t have to have an expensive camper and tow vehicle to go camping! Come see us at the Country Living Fair in Columbus, OH this weekend…we’ll show you how to camp like a girl!”

“The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.”  Genesis 25:27 NIV

It’s here! My favorite event of the year. I’m here to lend a hand to Janine Pettit...Girl Camper Podcaster and Blogger and all around great camper gal and Gail Bable, my dear friend who is the camp host at Beaver Creek State Park. We headed to the fairgrounds bright and early yesterday morning. Well, ok...not TOO bright and early. We had to sit in TOW-Wanda and gather our wits about us while we had our morning hot beverages and cinnamon rolls! The camp host here at the fairgrounds woke me up WAY too early to register and pay so if you’re up anyway...it’s time for coffee!

You can see in this photo of TOW-Wanda…I got a primo campsite under the only tree in the place! You can’t see beyond us, but there’s another huge campground and beyond that are the railroad tracks. Between the trains and the flight path out of the Columbus airport and all the sirens…it’s a pretty noisy place. But I just popped in my earplugs and slept like a baby! 

“I’m on a road trip…but nothing like this!!!”

“Get ready; be prepared! ...”  Ezekiel 38:7 NLT

This is a picture of a “traffic jam”. It was billed as the hurricane evacuation for Florence, but I’ve since learned it’s “fake news”. I don’t know if it’s LA at rush hour or a real hurricane evacuation or totally made up in photo shop, but I imagine they all look the same.

People are fleeing Hurricane Florence by the droves and the looks of this mess horrifies me. There has to be a better way to mass evacuate people other than sitting in parking lots on the freeway. This is dangerous on so many levels. My prayers are with all those who are in the line of the storm.

“Craving human touch after loss is one of the most painful aspects of grief.”

“I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus.”  1 Timothy 1:12-14 MSG

My younger granddaughter is my mini-me. Creative, funny, and incredibly intuitive, she just seems to “get me”. And she knows when to contact me and say just the right thing. Monday was Mr. Virgo’s birthday, and while the day itself did not carry the painful weight it has in the past, I still could not ignore the feelings in my heart as I remembered such a wonderful man and the passage of time without him. Then, last night... “Little” contacted me via text. 

“What was Papa’s last name?” she asked.