Lochsa Hike Photos

Fields of Camas were in full bloom at the lower elevations in the Lochsa Area, while Beargrass & early spring wildflowers like the Trilium were blossuming near the top of Savage Ridge. We saw evidence of bears. Their claw marks were obvious on some of the trees we had to duck under or climb over. It was interesting to change our perspective & view the Bitterroot Range from the Idaho side like Ranger Peak below.

Colt Killed Creek Hike in the Lochsa area of Idaho

The Hallelujah Hikers ventured into Idaho via Highway 12 last Wednesday. Heading towards Elk Summit, we had to leave the car due to so many downed trees across the road. Part of the hike was over crusty snow drifts. On our way back down to where Colt Killed Creek joins the Crooked Fork Creek to make up the Lochsa River, we rounded a bend in the road & startled a large cow moose who had been sunning herself in the road. In the 3-4 seconds it took for me to snatch up my camera, she had jumped up & bounded down the forested steep bank. What do you think we found in the Colt Killed Creek? Do any of you know what the contraption in the third photo does? We found out. I'd like you to try to guess before I tell you the answer.

Bitterroot (Lewisia Redivia)

June 1st, Ari & I took a walk up Antrim Point, (the conservancy land south of us). Pink & white Bitterroots were in bloom everywhere!! These elusive blooms have a two week lifespan. They are the Montana state flower & our valley is named for them. Their roots were a staple for the Indians who lived here when Lewis & Clark came through.

Reasons for Billy Graham's successful ministry

Melva Campbell, teacher of our women's Sunday School class, just returned from a graduation in the Seattle area. Jerry Jenkins, coauthor of the "Left Behind" series with Tim LaHaye, was the commencement speaker. Jerry spoke some about the series, but more about the 13 months he spent with Billy Graham. Billy had asked Jerry if he could help him to write his memoirs in "Just As I Am". Jerry spent days in Billy's library and then days interviewing Billy.

"If you could give only two reasons for why God has blessed your long ministry as an evangelist, what would they be?" Jerry asked at one point.

"Unceasing prayer," was Billy's fairly quick first response.

"What do you mean by 'unceasing'?" Jerry queried.

"Oh, you know, that on-going inner conversation I have with the Lord from the time I awake until the time I fall asleep," Billy answered.

"What about the second reason?" Jerry prodded.

"Daily time spent in the Word of God," Billy finally decided after some thought. "I always spend some time in the Word every morning. Sometimes I read & meditate on only a couple of verses, other days I read a long passage. I usually leave my Bible open & often will return later in the day to meditate further or read the context if I only started with a couple of verses."

" What happens on those days that you are too busy to get into the Word?"

Jerry said that Billy looked puzzled for a few moments. He slowly responded, "Well, I can't really answer that question, Jerry. I can't think of a day in my life with the Lord that I haven't been in the Word."

What a response!! Can any of you say the same? No wonder the Lord has used such a man to reach thousands upon thousands of souls with a clear, simple presentation of the gospel.

Jerry went on to say he had traveled to spend those months with Billy, thinking he could really help Billy in writing the book. He left Billy, knowing he was the one who had benefitted in countless ways by his time spent with this man of God.

Rattlesnake Trail Hike

The Hallelujah Hikers experienced sun, rain & hail on our 12 mile Rattlesnake Trail hike today. Once we arrived at the car, drenched to the skin despite our jackets, we also found 2 woodticks. The lupine were in full bloom in white, pink & blue shades. False Solomon's Seal & Shooting Stars were in the shade near the creek that the trail followed. The chokecherry bushes wore blossums, the squirrels ran around us & a snake slithered across the trail in front of us. We talked with two hikers who had just seen 2 black bears & 1 cinnamon-colored bear up the mountainside west of the trail. We never spotted them however. We saw much evidence of beavers: their dam & trees they had been gnawing.

God gave us such awesome minds!

I don't remember if Sherry posted this on one of her blogs or I read it elsewhere. Another friend reminded me of this today. We have been given such awesome minds!

Only great minds can read this.

This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too.

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Hallelujah Hikers returned to Kootenai Creek

Today's hike along Kootenai Creek was similar to last year's with spring run-off filling the creek & later spring flowers in bloom. We saw clumps of orange to red Indian Paintbrush, Penstemon & Larkspur. A variety of other blooms were less noticeable, but filled the canyon with spots of many colors. Towering above the canyon were snow-capped peaks. Another gorgeous day spent praising our awesome Creator!

Jerusalem Day - May 16 (Iyar 28)

Today, Wednesday, May 16th, the 28th day of Iyar, marks the fortieth anniversary of the liberation of the old city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. It also marks the yartzheit - the anniversary of the death of Shmuel hanavi - the prophet Samuel. This is only fitting as Samuel along with King David, (whose yartzheit is marked next week on Shavuot), worked together (with the help of G-d) to turn Jerusalem into the eternal capital of the Jewish nation. Samuel and David determined through prophetic vision that the threshing floor purchased by David from Ornan the Jebusite was none other than the very location referred to by G-d in Torah as "the place where I will choose" to dwell. David spared no effort in bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and acquiring the materials necessary for the construction of the Holy Temple. It would be his son, Shlomo HaMelech - King Solomon, who would commence and complete the building of the First Temple, otherwise known as Solomon's Temple. Today, three thousand years later, the Holy Temple is not presently standing, but its destined location, the Temple Mount, and the city of Jerusalem that embraces it, is no less compelling. It is accepted as a given by most of the modern world that, as goes the Temple Mount, so goes humanity.

Prayer-Hiking & Community Work are the best!

As much fun as we have fording streams, singing our praise & shooting the wildflowers & wildlife, the prayer-time on our hikes is the best part of our outings. Last week we supported the "Right to Life" rummage sale with items dropped off on the way to the hike. This week we donated cut rhubarb from our gardens. All my spring rhubarb is now harvested & donated! On the way back home we stopped by the Skalkahoe Lodge & I made a reservation for Louis & my 35th Anniversary dinner in mid-June. We will attend "Fiddler on the Roof " at the "Hamilton Players" Playhouse after the anniversary dinner. I heard about the lodge & about the play while hiking. We have also planned part of our VBS & a meeting for the "Ladies in Lavender" group while tromping the trails.

Sunburn, 4 ticks & a wonderful 8 mile hike around Lake Como

The chipmunks didn't beg for food, but they did sit still enough for a quick photo.

These two does stood like statues for several minutes as we walked by & stared & clicked our cameras.

At the height of Spring run-off, we could see other smaller falls from the trail.

We ate our lunch feeling the cooling spray from this waterfall at about our half-way mark. Rock Creek roars down the falls, under the bridge & then empties into Como Lake.

How I enjoyed our latest hike! Lake Como is south of Hamilton & a little west of Highway 93. Wednesday was a gorgeous 80 degree day - perfect to hike the eight plus miles around the lake. The Spring flowers were in full bloom, a few fishermen were enjoying the lake before irrigation from this lake draws it down to half its current size & wildlife was peeking at us much of the trip. We saw several chipmunks, deer, loons, a tiny frog, butterflies & zillions of wildflowers.

Spring blooms #2

Which of these are apricot & which are apple blossums? The strawberries you already know. We are hoping that none of these will be frosted this year. ( The apricot are on top & the apple on the bottom.)

Spring blooms at home

Our Spring flowers are finally starting to bloom...Tulips, tiny grape hyacinth, our strawberries (not pictured here), & our fruit trees. Can you tell which blossoms are from the plum tree, which from the cherry trees & which from the pear tree? The pear blossums are on top, the cherry are next against their almost reddish wood & the plum are last. I'll post the apple & apricot blooms in the next entry.

Snow on May 4th

As Sherry mentioned in her blog entry today, large snowflakes fell against our spring blooms around 9:00 a.m. today. I grabbed my camera & took a couple of quick shots against our plum tree in full bloom & our apple trees just starting to bud & leaf out. The snowflakes were falling so quickly, my shots look almost like time exposures! Ten minutes later the ground & trees had a thin snow covering. Another 20 minutes & the snow had stopped & completely melted. The grey mare peeking around the apple trees is Diego, the mare we board in the summer. She helps to pay for the hay for all four horses.

Hike continued

A forest fire swept through Blodget Canyon seven years ago, leaving charred tree stumps & fallen wood. Mushrooms now make their home on such remains. Can you see the stiped garter snake in the center of one of the photos? As we neared him on the trail the medium sized snake slithered under the leaves to hide, but part of his body still showed. We also startled a chipmunk, squirrel, blue jay & velvet-antlered buck. Butterflies flitted around from bloom to bloom. The orange type, like the one I caught on camera, were the most numerous. They tended to fold their wings when they lit on the ground or a leaf. Tiny lavender butterflies were around but were not photogenic. When they landed and closed their wings they looked like small grey lines. A few larger butterflies with a white stipe near the edge of the wings appeared to be black in color. However, when they touched down, they didn't fold their wings & you could see they were a glorious dark burgundy with the white stripe. I tried & tried to capture one on film, but they were too active to catch. Sorry!

A nest of safety over Blodget Creek

Blodget Creek is full to the brim with the Spring run-off. As we crossed a bridge, we noticed the bird's nest perched way out on a limb that stretched out over the fast moving creek. Any fledgling that fell from that nest would be swept away quickly. I'm so glad that we are safe in the nest of "in Christ" although we too can look down or about at the raging waters of circumstances.

Blodget Canyon Hike

Despite the threat of a thunderstorm with lightning, the Hallelujah Hikers traveled due West of Hamilton to hike Blodget Canyon. The rain didn't begin until we had finished our 5.33 mile hike amidst gorgeous early spring flowers.

The dainty Fairy Slippers were in a few spots, but the Trillium bedecked the florest floor this year.

Dressing-up on May 1st or Iyar 13th (Jewish Calendar)

This week's Power Sunday School paper ended with a Dwight L. Moody quote: " The Scriptures were not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives." My devotions are becoming application-oriented as I take this quote to heart. Character traits of Christ that I need in my life can be role-played until they are mine. "Putting on Christ" is like the story of the man who had to wear a mask to make him look much nicer than he actually was. He wore it for years. When he finally took off the mask, he found his own face had grown to fit it. What had begun as disguise had become a reality. Can this be part of the reason God has ordered us to "dress up like Christ"? Of course, in actuality the Holy Spirit does all the work as I make myself available.

I also plan to focus on implementing some of the stepped suggestions to good health from "Fitness for Seniors", which I have been reading this Spring.

1. I have purposefully increased the activity level in my day. I try to find reasons to walk up & down our stairs multiple times a day. Louis can hardly believe how quick I am to serve him in all the "go-for" tasks. Like Jeannie, I am thoroughly relishing my walks in our neighborhood. Tomorrow our Wednesday Hiking Group starts again rain or sunshine. The Spring weather has given me all sorts of great raking, planting, watering, clipping, etc. exercise as I soak in my Vitamin D. Today I washed the car, so I am certain that we will have rain for our first hike.

2. Making sure that I drink at least 8 glasses of water/tea/fruit juice a day was my second step. Some days when I am at home that is not too hard to do. Shabbat & Sunday services make this more difficult on the week-end...as liquids are not allowed in the sanctuary. This step alone has greatly cut down my appetite.

As I take more steps, I'll try to note them on the blog.

Happy Birthday Israel & Ledge Conner

Israeli Independence Day begins at sunset today.

Also, I'm a Great Aunt once again. Scott & Brigitte (my niece & nephew via my sister, Esther)birthed "Ledge" this morning. Mom & baby are recovering well.


Beth Tephila has only one more Shabbat at the Lincoln School Baptist Church building. The building & grounds have been sold to a developer & will be turned over to him on May 1st. Five different pastors responded to Louis's inquiry regarding another place for us to meet. Information has been shared with them, which each must now share with his church board for a final decision regarding our relocation after about 6 years.

Getting Ahead

A puddle started forming around the base of our hot water heater in recent days. We found out the leaking meant we had limited time to replace the water heater or risk a flood downstairs when the tank fully ruptured. We checked into the tankless water heaters now available, but found them to be about double the cost of the tank types. Our budget, which we thought we were just getting ahead on & could lay some $ aside, just barely covered the new tank. PTL! He knew exactly what month we would have some extra $ & timed the hot water tank replacement need perfectly. This precise timing of material needs has happened to us before. It's great proof in our lives of a loving, sovereign God.

The men who delivered the tank know our place well. The first new tank was faulty & wouldn't stay lit to do any heating. This photo was taken when they brought a second new tank to replace the first new tank. Now we have a lifetime warranty!

Epicenter

One of the ladies from our Thursday Precepts Bible Study group loaned me this book. Joel Rosenberg clearly outlines why he believes Ezekiel 38 & 39 are on the board - ready to be fulfilled anyday. His recent fiction novels: The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option & The Copper Scroll gave possible scenarios & are becoming actual headlines one by one. I highly recommend the novels & this latest book that explains what is happening in the Middle East & Russia...& how it will impact you.

Joel C. Rosenberg is a writer & communications strategist who has worked for some of the world's most influential & provocative leaders, including President Reagan, Steve Forbes, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu & former Israeli deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky. Until recently, he was a political columnist for World magazine.