Friday Foto Friends~Happy Last Friday of May!

Psalm 113:1-9

"1 Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

Praise the name of the Lord!

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord

From this time forth and forevermore!

3 From the rising of the sun to its going down

The Lord’s name is to be praised.

The 'Still Very Dry Still Waters Pond" early yesterday morning after a couple of rainy evenings.  No puddles on top yet, but that big old sponge is soaking up the water and someday it will have to spill over. Keep Praying! More rain is on the way, so they say... (I wrote that earlier today, before the rains got here around 4:30 p.m.)

4 The Lord is high above all nations,

His glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the Lord our God,

Who dwells on high,

6 Who humbles Himself to behold

The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?"

Yesterday morning's sunrise...

And last evening's full moon...

It was playing Peek-a Boo with the clouds...

This Gopher Tortoise was also playing Peek a Boo with us as we saw him on the road back in the woods where we had decided to take a long ride...

7 He raises the poor out of the dust,

And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,

8 That He may seat him with princes—

With the princes of His people.

9 He grants the barren woman a home,

Like a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord!"

Blackie seems to also fit that description above..."He raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with "princes..."  Well, close enough!  Blackie certainly has come up in the world a great deal since his lowly beginnings...however, he thinks he's really the "king" around here...He's helping Daddy with his computer work...LOL.

I have been working on this post off and on all day long.  Had little interruptions throughout the day, and just couldn't sit still long enough to get it posted.  Now, this evening here's what's been happening...

Mr. Ruby Throated Hummingbird flew in to get a drink and rest a spell while he waited for the rain to go away...

And after the rain...a Rainbow!!! Praise God!! What a perfect ending to a lovely day! (Although the rain isn't really over yet...just a little lull in the storm)

Oh....BTW:  Happy Last Friday of May! Wow! That sure went by fast, didn't it?  Hard to believe next week starts the month of June already! The kids are out of school here in our area, and graduations and awards ceremonies have been going on all week long.  Whew! Congratulations to all those who have graduated and received awards. And best wishes to all those who made it through the year and maybe didn't get any awards, but you made it! You survived and hopefully will be moving up to a new level in the fall...new beginnings and opportunities.  I do remember those days quite well. I was always happy to see the last day of school, and believe it or not, I was always happy to see the first day of school in September! Summers were fun when I was a kid...lots of opportunities for swimming, camping, and traveling north to visit relatives. But they were also hot and sometimes boring when I couldn't see my friends all that often. So I was always happy when school started back and we could all be together again.

I know this post seems kind of disjointed...Like I said, I've started and stopped working on it all day...that paragraph above was originally going to be the first paragraph, but I got distracted by the weather and beauty outside...so just bear with me...this is the way it is around here some days! (most days!)

Yesterday the Blue Jays flew in to disturb the Bluebirds! The Bluebirds are now feeding their 2nd brood of babies in the nest it seems...and their youngsters from the first batch are still hanging around in the trees and sometimes show up wanting some help from the parents with food...but anyway, there were several Blue Jays who flew in and starting taunting the Bluebirds, and the Bluebird parents were all over those Blue Jays, chasing them away. I tried to get some decent photos, but there was too much action and I couldn't really keep up. So here's what I did manage to get:

The male bluebird is on the left side, and the Blue Jay is on the right (above)

The male bluebird is on the top branch on the right, and the Blue Jay is on the branch below him, close to the tree trunk.

This is the Blue Jay.  I think the BlueBird was somewhere around standing guard over the birdhouse where the babies are.

Meanwhile, the Ruby Throated Humminbird was flying back and forth to their hummingbird feeder, and looking at the Blue Birds and Blue Jays as if to say, "Can't you blue guys behave yourselves?"   Of course, if you've ever seen hummingbirds in a territorial dispute, you know they can be even more feisty than the Blue Birds and Blue Jays! LOL.  There's never a dull moment here in Pamela's Wild Kingdom! LOL.

I am so very thankful for the rains we have finally been having! It appears that the drought is finally over in our area. Now it's just a matter of time before the pond will be filling up again, little by little. This gives me great joy and hope for so many things...

Let's close with these words from Psalm 96...

Psalm 96:11-13

"11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;

let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for He comes,

He comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples in his faithfulness."

Good Night Friends!  Have a blessed weekend.

Tuesday 4~The Four Seasons

 

Four Seasons, Four Questions

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...


1. Do you have a favorite day of the week and how about a favorite month of the year? Why?

Hmmm, favorite day of the week...since I am retired, all the days are pretty much the same. I do love Sunday, however, because we go to church and worship the Lord, sing songs of praise, have fellowship with our friends in Christ, and then usually we have some family here for lunch, which is always nice!  This past Sunday our "kids" were all here, but I didn't take one picture! Imagine that! And we had ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, salad, potatoes, rolls, and watermelon!  It was a lovely day.  So yes, Sunday is my favorite day.  

My favorite month?  Well, September is my birth month, and so that has always been a special month for me.  But right after that comes October, and I probably love the season of October even more than September. 

To quote my favorite character, "Anne of Green Gables"...

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? " 

2. What’s the most beautiful or magical thing about each of the four seasons?

Oh goodness:

Spring: The end of winter and the beginning of new life once again. Flowers blooming, birds singing and building their nests, all of nature seems to come back to life. 

Here's some wildflowers from our walk the other day...

The Bluebirds and Cardinals have all been very active...

Summer:

Well, what can I say?  Summer tends to make me go crazy with the heat! LOL:

This was at our church Memorial Day Picnic yesterday, when it was about 90 degrees in the shade, but at least there was a nice breeze and some cloud cover...but no rain...

And thank you all for your kind and supportive comments on my post yesterday.  Staying busy and being with special people made it a much more bearable day.

Here's hubby hamming it up...

And son Benton was there too, but sadly Rose had a headache and wasn't able to go. It was definitely too hot to be outside with a headache...

One of the highlights of the day was our church family singing "America The Beautiful" together at the beginning of the picnic...

As far as the rest of summer goes...we stay indoors in the air conditioning a LOT, because of the high heat and humidity.  And although we need rain, we pray for no bad hurricanes to hit our country this summer.

Fall:  Ahhhhh, the summer fades and the air begins to change to less humidity and cooler temperatures. Our "fall" isn't as dramatic of a change here in Florida as it is further north, but still there are subtle changes and we are very grateful for them.  It is also a time when we normally try to take a little trip north to the mountains where the leaves are beautiful and the air is cool and crisp like the apples we find at the orchards there...but we are not too sure about going this fall. It's just getting too expensive, so we will see.

Winter:  I love the Christmas holiday season and all that it means, Advent, the celebration of the Birth of Christ, family time, the lights, the trees, the beauty all around.   Thankfully here in Florida, our winters are more like fall up north...cool and wonderful. We can get out more and do more.

3. Summer is coming... what does this mean in your life? How will things change, stay the same ,etc?

I think I already answered that above.  No major changes expected, but we must always be prepared for hurricanes here in Florida. When I was a child, summer was wonderful! We'd take a vacation and go up north to visit relatives and camp in the campgrounds all the way up and back through the Smoky Mountains. Those were very happy times for me as a child.  We don't do that now. I sometimes wish we could, but I don't see it happening...So mostly we stay home and try to stay cool.

4. What do you look forward to in each season?

Again, I think I already answered that in #2.   So since this post is already too long, I will leave it at that...Each season has it's own beauty and magic and wonder.  We just have to look for the beauty and enjoy it.  

I will close with this passage from Ecclesiastes chapter 3:

"1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him."

Whatever season of life you may be in, look for the blessings and joy in life, no matter the weather or the storms in life...keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and He will carry you through.  

"The Mighty One" - Updated 5-25-2026

I originally posted this on 5/31/2014, just one week after the passing of our son Matthew...after his 4 year battle with a deadly foe that just wouldn't give up.  (Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor- DSRCT).  Today, 5/25/2026, marks 12 years since his passing from this life into heaven. I have reposted this before in 2018, but what was said here originally 12 years ago and also in 2018 is still so real. I repost this today to hopefully encourage someone out there who may be going through a similar trial and time of grief.  I can honestly say that it does get a little easier with time...but only in the sense that we move from raw, unabashed sorrow and tears to a quieter, sweeter kind of grief. Acceptance? Perhaps.  I know that in my head I do accept the fact that our son is gone from this earth forever...and that he is now in heaven...forever.  But I still miss hearing his voice and seeing his face and feeling the warmth of his hugs.  I will say that there are many times that I feel his presence near me...I really don't think heaven is all that far away.  If only we could just reach through that veil and grasp onto each other again...but that is not to be...yet.  

Someday I, too, will pass through that veil from this life into the next...and I truly believe that my son will be standing there, next to Jesus, with arms open wide...ready to welcome me "home".  Until that day we will continue to carry on his memory in our hearts and in little things that we can do to keep his flame burning brightly.  I pray that these words will bring comfort to someone today whose grief is still fresh and glaringly painful.  May God's peace be your peace today.  May you place your hope in Jesus...and trust Him to carry you through. He will.

Our Memorial Garden in our back yard, in loving memory of our son. A wonderful place to pray, meditate on God's Word, and remember a marvelous son.

Original Post 5/31/14:

"The LORD your God in your midst,

The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17

It is hard for me to realize that it was just one week ago today that I said my last farewells to my son Matthew.  It would be several more hours, in the wee hours of the next morning that we would receive the word that he had taken his last breath here on earth.  Can it be that a week has already passed? I believe I have been floating in a cloud mixed with sorrow and relief all week long.  Sorrow that my wonderful son is no longer with us here on earth, and relief that my wonderful son is no longer suffering from disease and that he is now totally healed and safe in heaven.

I know, I have already said these things to you.  I don't need to remind anyone about these events that have transpired this past week, especially not myself.  Everyday brings fresh reminders to me as we prepare for his memorial service and think of ways to honor him and keep his flame burning bright.  Sweet memories flash before my mind's eye, pictures of a precious little baby born earlier than expected and who lived a marvelous life and  left this earth earlier than expected, 41 years later.

The one thing I am mindful of is how the Lord has been carrying me in His arms this past week. This morning as I read my daily devotions, the verse written above stood out in bright highlights to me. Especially the part about "He will quiet you with His love..."  Yes, He has done just that. I have felt His love tenderly quieting my heart every time I have given over my mind to grief. When the tears began to overflow out of my eyes, I felt His hand gently wiping them away as He caressed my face.  I believe I could hear Him singing a sweet lullaby as He held me close and rocked me like a little child who needed to be comforted.

This same One who saves us, rejoices over us with gladness, quiets us with His love, and rejoices over us with singing. I've heard Him singing...He has filled my heart with songs of joy, peace, promise and love.  I have been flooded with songs in the night, the daytime, and at times when I didn't even think I could or should be singing.

Some of you may not understand how I could feel this great comfort...you may think I'm a bit daft in the head. But for those of us who have been there, we know how wonderful it is to have such a "Mighty One" as this Lord our God in our midst. "The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save..."  

I take comfort in knowing that this "Mighty One" takes the time to notice my sorrow...He is touched with my grief.  And He assures me that 'Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

I cannot say enough about this "Mighty One"

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."  (Psalm 34:1)

This is the way I love to remember our "Deer" son.  Always smiling and full of joy and mischief.

Back to the present, 5/26/2026...today we are heading to a Memorial Day Picnic at our church. I am baking a cherry-blueberry cobbler.  It's good to keep busy on this day.  Benton and Rose will be there too. Hopefully I will have some pictures to share later.  Yesterday Scott was here and the "kids", and we cooked ribs and chicken on the grill,  along with corn on the cob, a salad, baked potatoes, and we had watermelon.  I didn't take one picture!  I wanted to plant something in memory of Matthew, as is our custom, but it was very hot and we were all tired and I didn't have what I wanted to plant, so we decided to wait.  Hopefully we will get some much needed rain this next week, as the storms that others are having in Florida continue to bypass us.  Once we get more rain it will be a better time to plant something.    I can smell the cherry/blueberry cobbler baking, and it's almost time to get it out of the oven, so I'd better go. I will write more probably tomorrow.  Thank you for bearing with me.  Hug your family tight whenever you can. Life is short.

Thursday Thankfulness

 Happy Thursday!  There's nothing in particular on my mind, but as Thursday seems to be the day to think about being thankful, perhaps that's what I need to do!  

Here's the current weather report...91 degrees and do you see what I see?  Thunderstorms are expected around 9:00 p.m. today!  Although we have found this phone weather app to oftetimes be less than accurate, we are going to pray and claim by faith that this is true! Also, it is predicting rain for the next 3 days and then again several days next week! SO, if this is accurate, we will be doing some happy rain dances!!  Please pray with us that it is true! We need the rain SO badly.  It is SO hot and dry right now. The one thing I am very thankful for is our air conditioning.  After we had been outside a little bit this morning, as soon as we stepped back into the cool comfortable house, I said, "Thank You, Lord, for our AC!"  I don't take it for granted as they can be temperamental things, especially when you need it most, so I thank the Lord for it regularly.

I am thankful that even though our Still Waters Pond is still totally dry, life goes on...there's some green grasses growing out there on the pond, which tells me that there are some lower areas with moisture in them, and the grass is still growing around the pond (and we had to have our friend mow all the way out there and he didn't get stuck in the mud because there still isn't any mud).  

I am thankful that the flower seeds I planted are all growing in spite of the fact that I just kind of dumped them all in there together. Hopefully that ring of sprouts will soon be full of flowers! Oh, we got those terra cotta stones at our local building supply place and put them around the little garden. It looks a lot better than it did before. However, that is on a slope and it was tricky getting them to stand up.

I am thankful that our little vegetable garden is still growing and producing "fruit"...Look at those tomatoes!!!! Praise God!!

Aren't they beautiful?   

I am thankful that even though we have to pay for our water here since we are on a community water system and not our own well, we are able to water our little garden and keep it going in spite of the drought. However our water bill is a bit higher than normal, and we are also on a bit of a watering restriction, so I have to be careful...that's why I am really looking forward to this rain so I won't have to do so much watering.

The squash plants are looking good too...

That's a baby squash!! WooHoo! Growing your own food is so much fun!! Thank You, Lord!!! We are in this together!!!

Here's my sweet garden helper...well...I'd say he's more of a "supervisor" than helper, but he sure is sweet.

Did you say you wanted to see more pictures of Blackie?  Okay then, I think I can manage that...

Here is where he managed to jump up onto this morning,  and thankfully hubby alerted me to come get him before he could do any damage to anything on top of the buffet, but of course I saw it as a photo op and had to take a few pictures first, keeping a close watch on him  (and that tail) to make sure he didn't knock anything off. After I took my pictures, I kindly removed him from the danger zone.

When I first got there (and before I could get my phone ready to take a picture) he was actually over there by the dolls and their tea set. I think he wanted to have a tea party with them, but then he noticed his reflection in the mirror and that was something new and interesting...

Then he noticed the little bird on the little church birdhouse, and was studying that when I decided it was best to get him down from there before he decided to eat a little stuffed bird. LOL.

My hubby wears these flip flops in the house and has some Dr. Scholl's insoles on them to make them feel better on his feet, but Blackie found those to be quite interesting and was enjoying playing with them.

I am thankful that we have fun with this kitty, and that he really isn't destructive, just curious. 

He has been a joy and a blessing in disguise to us.  

One day last week we took a walk at a little park in our community that is beside a little lake.

Hello!

I really wasn't going to go down that slide, but I can pretend...

Hubby was working hard at some chin ups...

 (of course his feet were on solid ground, LOL)

Some people never grow up!

The lake was calm and smooth as glass.  I didn't have my good camera with me, so the pictures were whatever I could get with my cell phone.

Well,looky there! A beautiful Great White Egret was flying across the lake:

You can see along the shore that the water level is quite low in this lake also, but at least it isn't dry.

That's because this is a real lake, and our pond is just a pond.  

It's still beautiful, and I am thankful that there is water for the birds and fish here...

Here's some food for thought from God's Word about not giving up, but continuing to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" in this life.  It may look different for each one of us, but when we keep our gaze on Christ, He will help us make it safely to the finish line...

Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV

The Race of Faith

"1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

I am thankful for that encouragement as I face my daily struggles and routines. My struggles are nothing compared to what Jesus had to endure for my sake. He ran interference for us, and is there waiting at the finish line to welcome us "home".  That is truly good news to me.  I hope it is for you as well.

Okay, friends. That's it for today. I just got a notice that a book I requested is ready for me at the library, so I can go pick it up and have something new to read in my "spare time".  

Blessing to each and every one of you!!