Pumpkin Patch!

October is time for a visit to the Pumpkin Patch and they are everywhere including in Florida:

California:

And Texas!

The Fake Office!

I walked by Dan's home office yesterday and did a double take!

I can't remember the last time his desk looked this good.

I had to get a picture.

Must be stake conference with a visitor staying at our home!

 That's OK.  Our family is famous for fake houses!

This stake conference marks 7 years that Dan has been serving as president with 10 years as counselor before that.

Time for some new  ties!

 Our visitor, Elder Marc C. Davis, Area Seventy from San Diego:

We enjoyed spending time with him and were greatly blessed by his words and his Spirit!

Family Home Evening Group Reunion!

For 10 years we met with a Family Home Evening group almost every Monday night.  The group ended 4 years ago when wards were divided and situations changed.

Tonight we hosted a "reunion" of the group the purpose of which was to catch up with what was going on in each others lives and families.  For many years we knew intimately the ups and downs of each family, so this was a great chance to find out what has been going on.

Each couple let me take a picture of them tonight.

John and Judy Hansen: 

Served a mission in the Nauvoo temple; they have been temple workers in Sacramento for many years; serve weekly at the Family Search library;  have a daughter moving to Texas; will be attending the baptism of their youngest grandchild (have attended them all) and will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary soon.

 Terry and Phyllis Lee:

Have had quite a few health challenges the last two years; Terry recently trained and rode in a 65 mile bike event; Phyllis had a granddaughter become active in the Church and was married last month in the temple; will be helping a daughter rennovate a home on the coast.

 Regis and Beth Herlehy: 

Just got back from a 37-day rode trip of 5,900 miles and 10 states.  Visited family in Texas for 2 weeks, helped a friend in Utah and discovered some family and Church history connections in Missouri (they are both converts); spent time in the town of Hamilton Missouri,  a quilter's paradise, recently revitalized by an LDS family.  (They told us this interesting story is highlighted in a BYU TV "Turning Point" episode)

 Ron and Leslie Astle: 

Leslie, a convert, had her DNA done by Ancestry just for fun and they found her birth mother!  The mother now living in Florida sent her DNA in as well 3 months ago for the same reason.   She will be meeting her at Christmas time.

These are the athletes of the group.  They run marathons and climb Mt. Shasta a couple of times a year.  They are doing a 

15-day trek to Machu Picchu next year.

 We took a selfie afterwards:

Here is a picture of the couples about 10 years ago:

It was a very fun night with special people!

Sometimes On Sunday!

The Melanchuks went to Titusville this afternoon to see if they could help.  Darryl went yesterday and today.

Amanda shared this with me; this is just part of the message.

So grateful for our Church members who are always ready to help!

"From Cocoa Stake Presidency:

Thank you for all your prayers and efforts to keep everyone safe during Hurricane Matthew.  We appreciate all the help you have already rendered in preparation of the storm.  We are grateful that our Heavenly Father has spared and protected us.

We would like to give direction regarding Church services tomorrow which is Sunday October 9th.  

  We will be holding Fast and Testimony meeting in all buildings at 9:30 am.   All Priesthood brethren able to serve in work crews are asked to dress in work clothes and will be sent out tomorrow to serve in our communities or move to the North to serve North Brevard Co. and Deland Stake where the damage is much greater.  Young men and young women are welcome to serve also as long as a parent is with them.  Sisters are invited and can serve if they so choose as coordinated by Ward Melchizedek Priesthood Leadership.   

Most of the service at presents appears to be general clean up and tree removal.  It will be hot and strenuous.  Please do not fast if you plan on going out to serve in a work crew.  We do not want anyone dehydrated and weak.  

If you are unable to serve outside, please find a way to lift spirits and relieve burdens amongst our membership and neighbors.  

Once again, we appreciate all your love and support on behalf of our members.  Please continue to pray for those affected by this storm who are still recovering."

Unique To This Visit!

Here are some of the unique things about our trip that we wanted to remember:

The house on the bluffs.

Here are some outside views of it. 

It was built in the 1970's and was pretty small and a bit shabby but it ended up working pretty well.

It has windows all across the front which is the living room and the kitchen.  There were two sliding doors and we had them open a lot because it was warm.  The shades are part way down over the kitchen because it was so sunny.

View from the bluff trail.  That's a garage to the left which was nice to be able to keep our car inside.

The front door is down on the left.

You can see the house and even the bluff trail and the neighboring houses.

Our view from the bluff near the house.

We were able to see some nice sunsets.

And interesting sky over the ocean.

Sitting at the kitchen table we saw some wildlife including deer...

... this great blue heron, and one evening as we were eating Dan said very matter-of-factly: Oh, look, there's a fox.  We also had a raccoon on the porch.

Being so close to the ocean we took some chairs over to the bluff one day and had a relaxing time.

And finally (although it is hard to see in the photo) we walked to the place where we often see seals.  This time we saw a dead baby seal on the beach and 5 vultures surrounding it.  

We watched for quite a while.

This is zoomed in from the above photo but you still can't tell much.  It was late in the day.

No picture but one of my favorite things was being able to hear the ocean.   We usually couldn't actually hear the waves crashing but more like a roaring sound.  It sounded different throughout the day which was interesting.

Back On The Trail!

A few years ago Dan and I bought a Trails map of The Sea Ranch.  We decided to try to walk all of the Bluff trails.  On Highway 1 (it's in white) Sea Ranch is 10 miles long, but probably longer on the squiggly trails.  This was our third trip after having decided to do that and we had marked off what we had previously done.

(This is one side of the map--the other side was done before this trip.)

We were able to complete our goal!   All the parts marked in blue are what we did this trip.  And keep in mind that we parked and  walked and then walked back, so in reality we walked the whole thing twice!

I'm sure it's one of the most scenic walks anywhere!

Beautiful secluded beaches...

Interesting homes (and we wonder what they look like inside and how much they cost)...

Rocky coastline...

 Bits of history along the way...

Hedgerows...

Places to stop and take it all in 

...including trying to photograph the waves crashing against the rocks...

Seals to check on...

And sometimes a deer even peeks out!

 Anyone want to join us? 

There are more trails to walk and seasons to enjoy!