At Home on the Road

At home in Cornelius, OR

At home in Carlisle, Ontario (SNOW?)

At home in Moorhaven, Florida

At home in New Germany, Minnesota

At squishy home in Beaumont, California

At home in Apple Valley, California

At home in Oak Creek, California

Still at home in Oak Creek

At home in Spokane, Washington

At home in Mount Vernon, Washington

At home near Lodi, California

If home is where the heart is, we are at home all over the country - just the way we like it.  

It is In The Bag!

These faithful ladies have been preparing sack lunches for the homeless for the last six years.  We are parked at Ascension Lutheran in Apple Valley, California, and since my front door is but ten steps from the kitchen, I simply showed up to help. They put me right to work and made me feel part of the group. 

Each lunch bag contains:
apple sauce and a spoon, a granola bar, chips, a bottle of water, and a sandwich.
The ladies bag up lunches every other Wednesday, from 10:15 until about 10:50 this includes placing the sixty assembled lunches in the car for delivery to the soup kitchen in town. While we worked the conversation jumped around, but mostly revolved around who would pick up what was needed for next time.  Thrivent Financial supplies a good portion of the funds needed through area chapters, but these gals do all the leg work. It was a joy for me to spend time with these ladies who are happily serving.

Many hands working together make for an easy task! The lunches are ready for transport and are being handed out today as I compose this blog post. 

Coachella Wild Bird Center

All of the birds housed at the Center have been injured and are either permanent residents or just doing a little physical therapy and will be released into the wild upon graduation.  

Siva is a falcon, but without seeing the daily intake and entree preference, you really don't get the whole picture. :)

In the cage right next to Siva were two very alive California Quail. Cruel joke. 

As we walked around, the workers were talking shop...
"I took 15 mice out of the freezer for tomorrow."  YUM.

It was a great field trip and the workers/volunteers were quite animated when talking about the birds in their care.
I think it is with such love that our heavenly Father moves in all of us a desire to use the gifts He gives each of us.  

A recuperating Kestrel with beautiful coloring.

Ulia, is a Great Horned Owl who apparently eats 3 - 4 mice per day. 

Public Access

Contrary to the last few blog posts - we are not big drinkers, but we are ALWAYS open to reasons to celebrate and finishing a CD is a biggie!!!!!!

Dave finished Public Access - a collection of hymns this last week. It is now in the hands of DiscMakers and will be back in our hands and ready for market in mid-January. 

Appropriate for the season, give a listen to Gentle Mary.

We are so very thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord in this way and to use the gifts He has given to His glory.  Dave was happier than he appears in this photo. 

Adventures in Lodi

Sometimes campgrounds are spacious and other times we can pass the sugar without opening a door.  This was a cozy stay. But while we were here...

Watching the Sandhill Cranes coming in to roost.

My favorite birder - Dave, along with lots of others at the Woodbridge  Reserve. 

We saw perhaps about 1,000 cranes fly in for the night. It was awesome!

And as always, after a week, it's time to move on down the road.

Cutting a Rug

We were parked in a church lot for about a week and we were informed that we should keep our doors locked at night as there are many folks who travel through the area.  So we did.  In the bed of our truck we keep all kinds of stuff, hoses, wood, chocks, and our outdoor rug.  Of course, our truck bed does not lock and we did not think we had anything worth taking.

When we arrived at our next stop and wanted to use our outdoor rug, it was missing. We had to smile because while a dirty piece of outdoor carpet might not be worth locking up or considered valuable, to a homeless person in need of shelter it was probably quite a find. 

A Visit - Trending South

 My dear friend, Linda, lives in Minnesota.  When the opportunity to visit sunny California came along - she jumped.  

On one day we rented a car, and with Dave as our chauffeur we played tourist and visited San Francisco - Lombard Street, Cliff House, Golden Gate Bridge, onward chauffeur.

When we are together we are ALWAYS in search of a happy drink.  We had lunch at one of the MANY choices at Fisherman's Wharf- and a Bloody Mary - happy drink.

After sampling in San Fran, we decided we could enjoy our own Bloody Mary bar.  Success! 

It is certainly counted as valuable treasure to have people who have walked with you through the years and miles.