Miller Lake Retreat LLC

TNC, The Nature Conservancy came to study the Kiamichi River and the mussels, too. What they found will hopefully be shared with those of us who want to know the status of the river. Here's hoping they'll let us know how the system is working and what we will need to keep it healthy and happy. Here's to learning more about where we live and then, showing our appreciation for that the Kiamichi River brings into our lives. Good day to all.

I am closing down the Miller Lake Retreat LLC page as of today. Facebook has gone too far for me to continue to give you all some beauty and views of Miller Lake and life around the Kiamichi River. It has been wonderful for me to share what is here for so long, and I hope you've all enjoyed it over the years. See you all on my page then and hope you all have a beautiful day.

A short but really beautiful sunrise this morning here @ Miller Lake. After rain yesterday, hooray! Humidity today and for the rest of the week, through the roof, over the top, you get it, right? Still, everything is soaking up the water and hoping for more rain to get us back on track, less drought, more mowing! Have a great day.

It's raining, it's pouring and no longer snoring, but delighted that the rain is giving back our greenery, if only for a short time. It is a total surprise as the weatherman gave us only a 30% chance of rain for today! Love it when it's a total surprise and ever so grateful! Have a wonderful day.

Well, my prize tomato from the garden this year seems to be the one and only really nice one to have been presented all season. Not the best year for a garden, however, for many of you, your green thumbs seem to have done really well. Maybe next year, there's always hope for betterment. We persevere and do what we can. Have a good day today and let's head on out towards September, just around the corner.

This beetle, one of many differently decorated beetles looks as if it could have been created by a master jeweler. With precious metals and enamels, this bug could be in an Egyptian tomb waiting to be discovered, but instead, it's right here in Oklahoma and it is a treasure to behold. These beetles are just setting their iridescence now. If you find one, enjoy the beauty and today, have a good day.

Friendship and love is where you find good. It is the bread of life, the hug of true understanding and where all creatures find peace in the present moment. I hope we all can embrace the moment when one culture finds another culture and embraces the differences to get peace and.... a really good hug! Have a good day today, hug someone that is different from you and find the shared experience of peace if only for the moment.

Captured the other night , a stunning cloud formation coloring just a moment of sky. It hasn't been the best summer for beautiful sunsets, so this one was a special treat. Have a nice day with cooler temps and green grass everywhere along the Kiamichi River. Ah, what a bit of rain can do to make things so much nicer.

Even the pine trees loved the feel of the rain upon their needles. It is truly a gift to have rain come down all around us. Everything can rejoice is getting wet from the rain! Now, let's hope the new "greening" of our grasses doesn't take too very long to mow once more! Happy day, job security is back!

Raindrops keep falling all around and the leaves are loving it! Perked everything right up including us critters! So far, the rain has been fairly kind and not been overwhelming us or flooding us. Drink it up and enjoy the lead in to the fall season. Good day to all.

Reflections on glass caught my attention so captured the image to share with you. It fascinates the mind eye and creates "art", something to add to the wonders of the "round table". LOL, entertaining oneself is a daily grind some days. Enjoy the effects afterward, interesting. Have fun entertaining yourself with something new and fun today.

This! This is what I would love to see today...the "new pond" created by lots of rain in the yard! We'll see, and in the meantime, a light sprinkle will have to do for now. Have a good Sunday today and if you get rain, be ever so grateful for any we get.

What does rain bring? Cooler weather and an early morning fog layer throughout the valley. I know it's early, but fall is just around the corner, the favorite season of beauty and closing summer down until next year. This is just a teaser, a moment of wonder when the promise of a change of season tempts our imaginations. Have a good day early because the heat will be back later today. TGIF!

It's a very good morning with rain overnight and more on the way! How lovely it will be to not have that blazing sun beating down upon us today. After the showers we'll pay though with humidity that will be daunting. I'll take that rain and be grateful, how about you? Enjoy the day.

Memories of Denver and our "Moon Flower" that I loved so much and now I have another and it's waiting to bloom! Reminding me of being a kid once again, good to have that nearby. Have a good day and hope for the rain to visit us soon and with slow release of say an inch in several hours. We can always hope.

Somehow the marsh plants around the lake are hanging in through this heat and blooming! Seeing them makes me hopeful that we'll survive this too....but "blooming"? What are people doing to create such a chaotic outlook for our future I wonder? I think we should all bloom with something prettier than what we are doing. Just saying, have a good day.

Wild hogs! Well, this one's out of the way, but there are so many more that it boggles the mind. While watching the sun go down the other night, Doc in the pasture minding his own business, me daydreaming again, out walked into the pasture, pretty ugly as you please a 400 # black hog. Timing is everything, and my timing is always wrong when it comes to taking down a hog. No gun, no camera, no time and another, "Oh well.... next time". Have a good day.

Finally, mornings that are cool, evenings that are bearable and a place to relax and take it all in. Sometimes, there is just no place like the porch, dogs sharing the space with Doc Holiday and one kitty, too. Ahhh, if you've noticed, fall is in the air and, with it, relief from the heat that has been so oppressive. Enjoy the early morning hours because the 100's are back for the afternoon. Good day to all.

Thanks to OKC, the river has flow, steady and slow. Never underestimate that a political group of people can, if they choose to, change their way of thinking. Hip hip hooray for the mussels in the Kiamichi River and to all of us who care so much for this little river system. It's the weekend, getting hotter, stay cool and be safe out there.

The tomato crop has been slow this season, but this one's got character! And, btw, it was absolutely delicious, schnoz or not. Nature's humor!

The colors of fall are here, but not because the season is changing them, but from the excessive heat and drought. Today, the early morning "cool". 71 degrees, makes me feel that cool fall is just around the corner. One of the most refreshing seasons for S.E. Oklahoma. Enjoy the moment in early morning when the air is fresh and cool. Have a great day.

One of the best things about Oklahoma is that you can have ponds! Collecting water to keep things alive around them is a significant use of runoff water, keeping things green close by even during a drought. Dig them deep and they'll keep their fish alive, dig them deeper and they'll keep their water during the tough times. Back in the day, Colorado would never let anyone collect rainwater, let alone build a pond. Managing water to help keep water is an amazing reason to build a pond. Glad to be here and grateful for the water!

How about those lovely clouds we're seeing all of the sudden! Could it be that rain will grace our pastures and ponds? This dry, hot mess of a late summer is testing us in every way possible, but there is a promise of moisture/real rain if, and only if, every state around us doesn't take it all! As we become more and more challenged by the climates' changes, the need to help mitigate becomes more and more important. Have a good day and enjoy the clouds, they cool a bit and we sure need that.

Taking a trip down the Kiamichi river, imagined in fabric and a fictional story to go along with the quilt. We made this quilt to raffle off hoping to raise money to help legal costs to save the Kiamichi River. It worked in a small way and, along with another donated quilt, we made a difference in the efforts to change the conversation about the precious waters of the Kiamichi. What's next? Only the data from OKC/US Fish and Wildlife and US Corps of Engineers will tell a more complete, not fictional, view of this lovely river system. There is a future out there for the Kiamichi, let's hope we get to see positive results! Good day to you all.

This is how the Kiamichi River becomes a creek bed if water isn't released from Sardis Lake reservoir in the dry summer season. If OKC does what they've promised, the flow of water will increase and be monitored. There will be scientific data to keep the mussels alive and the other creatures living here, to thrive. Another really hot day ahead with humidity to bring it up even higher. Stay safe and try to enjoy your day.

Some very good news for the Kiamichi River the her endangered species the Rock Pocketbook mussel! Oklahoma City has begun releasing water into the Kiamichi to help the mussels get through the drought and.....OKC is installing instream flow monitoring! After years of fighting for this monitoring, it begins a new chapter of awareness and scientific studies with real data, no guessing by anyone! How about that? Temperature and flows will be recorded and shared with everyone as a more sustainable reality for our seasonal river. Congrats to all and may we all enjoy the Kiamichi River water and wildlife for years to come.

Early morning clouds are keeping the sun at bey, the garden sleepy and given a break from the harsh sun that will invade the day once again. Early morning is the time to get out and enjoy the smells and the only coolness in the place. Notice the trees are bare, but this was a winter shot and I guess I am wishing a bit! LOL, have a good day.

The Kiamichi River in August can be either a flowing river or a trickling creek, but regardless of the flows, the tide pools are deep and keep the fish and mussels somewhat safe. These pools, perfect for swimming if you can get to one. The heat is back, not much relief, so take care, stay cool and have a good day.

Something pretty in pink for the first day of August. Through all the heat, these flowers have survived me and the sun. I envy all of you who have really good green thumbs and show off their work with yards that have such a variety and gardens full of veggies. Perhaps next years flowers in this yard will be a bit more prolific. Happy August and stay cool when you can.

Cloudy skies this morning! It has been a long time to wake up to overcast skies and cool temps. Oh, what a relief it is, but only temporary as we see the last of July and get into August. Enjoy this oddity of a day while we can and be ever grateful for a small but wonderful break from the heat! If rain is on the plate today, even better. Have a great day.

Forty-four years ago and still the heart burns for you my darling Jerry. It's been such a journey this life with and now, without you. Miller Lake Retreat was all about us, how we viewed our good fortune and built something to last more than a lifetime. Thanks for the memories, the love we shared and the times we might have gone our separate ways but never did. Rest in peace and find me in my dreams, shine on..

If we are very fortunate today, thunderheads and rain will bless the region and give respite to the heatwave that has befallen the month of July. Forecast to be a chance of 39% chance, the odds are not necessarily in our favor, but then again, the weather has been so weird, 39% is looking promising! Have a day that promises to be good for everyone, rain or shine...or better yest, BOTH!

It's looking like fall is coming early this year without anything resembling "cool"! Driving anywhere right now exposed the trees that are going dormant because of this drought. Our real fall season may be nothing at all, but wait....what's that? Rain in the forecast? Well, the trees now dorment won't change their colors but I bet the grasses will for at least a day. Have a safe, if not blistering hot, day today.

Kiamichi River mussels are a big part of why the river is so precious to us all. The data gathering has been on-going for years now and the results are in. Yes, they do need to be protected, so let's get on with it! Thank you to all who have worked so very hard to make change in the awareness level to finally make forward movement to protection for these critters without voices! Be the voice of reason and by all means, never give in and never give up. Have a really great day!

At the end of the day, some cool settles in and we all take a deep breath and realize, this day has been done, completed and on to the next day.....Heat, sun, heat, sun, heat, sun and perhaps one cloud or two, just enough to tease us into thinking rain could be in one, but sadly, none. As we all suffer through, we know the country and some of the rest of the world is suffering, too. Take good care and see another day done and night , begun. Have a good day.

Share the love today. Doesn't matter what the bodies look like, only that the connection is strong and real. Have a great day today.

Yesterday was spent saving tadpoles from Doc Holiday's water tank and sending them off into the big, giant water hole called Miller Lake! I hope my efforts will be rewarded by additional frog singing in the future. However, these tads were in the "Tree Frog" category, but they sing too. There are still a few more to catch, but realizing they were not going to get out alive and thrive where they were, a good deed done! These small things that get noticed and then accomplished make living here precious...saving the little creatures who make up the giant world and, add music of their own making for the rest of us to hear. Have a good day and enjoy whatever musical notes come your way.

My darling was given a gift @ Christmas one year, a gag gift to be sure...a wig to cover any baldness that might be there, and it was. So, on a whim, he and his good friend decided to go fishing one day and for his hat, he put on the wig.....of course I had to snap that photo because it was so funny. I think the fish were afraid and no fish were caught that day. Life can be so fun, if we make the choice to LOL at our antics daily. It's the human form of stupid tricks that make living worthwhile after all is said and done. Don't forget to LOL, it's good for the soul!

Sometimes, sharing photos here are unusually beautiful or full of beauty, but for today, I share something a bit different. Sharing the love of friendship and love with Alyce, Jerry and myself many years ago. A special tribute to the lasting images of what we have in our lives and how we keep them close in photos. Here's to the memories and what they bring into our lives. Have a blessed day.