Wildflowers in Fall.. Deer in Velvet

The deer are regularly frequenting our cottages... especially down this fence line that was planted with chicory and other plants highly attractive and healthy for browsers and the occasional bovine wanting a bit more smorgasbord dining.

purple thistle
red flax bloomed again after the recent rains

these little natives are called "chocolate flowers"... YES, they smell just like chocolate... they are often confused with a similar yellow flower with green centers ... appropriated named, little green eyes...
Fall here at the GateWay is just as inspiring as any other season; and surprisingly just about as abundant in native wildflowers and wildlife

Farmers are saying... "we're looking for a real Winter this year"... yep, the Almanac tends to agree... we'll see!

Labor Day 2008 at the GateWay

The foreground certainly competes with the background view... What a lovely family this one is!

The salvia and lavender certainly are outdoing themselves this Fall! Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are most appreciative of the gift.
Texas Longhorns have "painted" the Texas landscape for years.... why not here?
.... and the chapel..... is again in progress! Yeah Hobbe and sons! I am ecstatic!!!!! and blessed beyond words.
Thank you D. Latham for your contribution of the previous pictures from your family's sweet visit with us on a wonderfully cool Labor Day weekend. (Hurricane Gustav left fresh breezes in our little valley... we loved it!)

*note to the Lowe fam.... Mr. Mouse had no relatives visit, and we are thankful that they only make an entrance at your bequest;)

Hope springs eternal even in summer heat

Our 2 bedroom cottage plays host to some of our FAVORITE guests.... the ones with delightful children who love and respect the nature of the area. These two are absolutely adorable!

This is also a picture of our last weekend visitors. Sometimes you people see things that even I haven't seen or noticed in a while. Thank you!
Even in the dog days of summer heat... there are surprisingly lovely and peaceful things available to us here at the GATEWAY. We love having pictures from our visitors!

VIDEOS of the cottages........................... be patient, it is my first try at this!

Through the wheat gold door of the 1 bedroom cottage, you will find a restful setting in the soft

hues of sky blue and sage green.

Peace will be the word that encompasses your senses as you ascend the steps to the covered front porches of this little cottage on our hillside.

As you enter the fox red door of the 2 bedroom cottage, you will find much the same feel as it's sister cottage. The cares of the world will drop off as you open the little side gate into the the fenced yard with a naturalized landscape. The living area of this cottage is done in caramel and rust with sage as the accent hue.

The green bedroom offers the same incredible night's sleep as all our bedrooms here at the GateWay. You'll fall asleep quickly under silky soft sheets, or simply sit in the leather chair watching the wildlife just outside the large windows of the room.

The red bedroom has windows all around the beautiful old fashioned bed. It has a reading

chair as well so that you can relax in the comfort of

your own space even if the rest of your party prefers gathering and sharing hearts.

I pray that as you view these videos you get a glimpse of what I see. We'd love for you to experience this place first hand, but if you are like myself, having a bit of prior knowledge of my accommodations is a real plus to my booking that place.

Enjoy,

and know that you are seeing places where divine appointments have been arranged by bookings bigger than those we could make!

Blessings over you and yours this day, July 2008!

Stay on the right side of the Cross! Summer '08 pictures and videos

As you drive up our country road you will see the cross to your left...

we tell everyone... "stay on the right side of the cross"

(good advice in the physical as well as the spiritual!)

Outside the porch fence of the 2 bedroom is our fragrant long blooming lavendar... as well as "words" everywhere....some are hidden, some are not... but all have significance in our lives and we hope for yours as well.
The back bedroom of the 2 bedroom cottage is our red room. Although the color is vibrant, the room exudes comfort and solace.
The front bedroom of the 2 bedroom cottage is a soft sage green and offers views from 2 sets of windows onto the meadow below the area and up the hillside from where the deer daily emerge.
Our gardens are filled with xeric plants like salvia, buddelia (dark knight), and cosmos,that attract hummingbirds and butterflies for these lazy warm summer afternoons.

July at the GateWay, Lavendar...butterflies...and blue skies!

July is bringing really warm weather here in the GateWay.

But......

our porches still welcome our special friends and family to the cool breezes of the hillside!

TR even wrote his own special 3 year old's greeting to you all!
July may not be the time for our hot cocoa, but the special teas and my wonderful personal coffee mix is still available each morning for your enjoyment (and mine!!!).
The fireplaces are certainly not in use, but the big fans and the great location keep our places cool and comfortable. Even in the 100 degree heat, we have had evenings when we could keep the windows open, AC off, and let the evening breezes give their gentle cooling over our bodies and souls as only this natural AC can do!
The birds are everywhere!

We don't have to keep the feeders filled as there is such an abundance of native seeds and feeds for our feathered friends.

Right here from beside your bed, you can watch the antics of the blue jays, dove, kestrel,

and of course the doe with their growing fawns.

Lavender is certainly the plant for this soil and climate! It has done wonderfully... as well as the salvia and rosemary bushes covering the west side of our cottages. The butterflies make frequent stops to test the sweet purple blossoms.

We've been blessed with a bit of rain here recently, so the grilling is not such a concern.

Our guests are always careful, but we have to be aware here in Texas that

sparks can start all the local crops ablaze should we not be careful conservationists.

Miracles do happen.... and here at the GateWay,

we've been allowed to be part of more than a few.

We like the addition of the old split rail fences. They do nothing to keep the critters out,

but the certainly do much for me in the way of the aesthetics of our spaces out here

in this pretty area of Texas.

Yes, we agree.... as well as testify... God is good.

We welcome you anytime, and better yet....

we welcome you BACK again and again!

Be blessed good friends.... and those destined to become such!

fossil hunt '08

This spring once again brought our special elementary group from Lawn to our little "mountain". They sent us wonderful pictures of each one of them holding a fossil they'd found. We so appreciate the fact that they "find" the fossils and then replace them for the next year's "paleontologists" to "find". What good conservation skills these teachers are teaching! Thank you for taking care of our place like it were your place....

I suppose, in all reality, it's neither ours or yours, but only the ONE WHO owns everything, right?

anyway... we love you guys and appreciate your consideration!

Lunch at the "dig site".
Things have changed regularly since we first put out these postcards... soon there will even be running water that we don't have to HAUL!!!! yeah Steamboat!
One thing that will never change.... is the "peace" prayed over this place... and the fact that the WAY in our GateWay is only His!