Wednesday Treasures...Or Photo Dump Day!

 Happy Wednesday!  Some people call Wednesday "Hump Day", but today I am calling it "Photo Dump Day!"  It seems like I've been accumulating a lot of miscellaneous photos that haven't found their time to "rise and shine", so today will be the day. So pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee and let's take a walk through the garden or the house or wherever this leads us, okay?

I don't always take pictures of my breakfast, but I thought this was pretty so I did.  I baked some banana nut bread the other day, and we enjoy a slice (or two) for breakfast while it lasts...I prefer to put some cream cheese on mine. Of course, one must have some protein, so I made a little "omelette" of eggs, spinach, ham and cheese.  This made a delightful breakfast! I may just have it again today if there is anymore Banana nut bread.  HERE is a link to a post with the recipe if you wish to make your own!

I just looked at this again, and thought that might qualify for a "Green Eggs and Ham" Day.  If you've ever had grandchildren or have worked with young children, you know all about this! LOL.

Well, what's this?  Oh, yes, we must have some Blackie pictures! The other day he saw that our bedroom door was open, and for him that is an opportunity to race me to and through the open door and go hide either under the bed or, if the closet door is open, he loves to go in there and jump in my clothes basket.  This time, since I couldn't entice him to get out of the basket, I just pulled the basket with him inside out into the living room!  He actually enjoyed the ride and stayed right there in it once it stopped! 

But lately he has been choosing to come sit in this rocking chair, which is right behind me as I sit at my computer in the "Room With a View".  

Please notice what is written on the little pillow behind him..."The Song of Bluebirds".  

After he gives himself his morning bath after eating his breakfast, he curls up on this chair and goes to sleep.  For some reason he has decided he likes this even better than sitting in Daddy's lap!  Although he will still do that at other times of the day if Daddy is sitting still long enough.

Speaking of the Bluebirds, some of you may have already seen some of these pictures on my Facebook page the other day.  I took these pictures a couple of mornings ago, when Mama Bluebird was trying to entice the babies out of the nest by offering them bites of this big juicy bug.

How would you like THIS for breakfast?  (would it be better than green eggs and ham??)

What she would do is stick her head in the house with this bug, and let the babies get a little taste of it, and then fly away with it trying to get them to follow her.  

Reminds me of this part of Psalm 34...

"8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!

There is no want to those who fear Him.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;

But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing."

I used the illustration of the bluebirds enticing their babies out of the nest with little bites of food in our Ladie's Bible Study the other day.  One lady was asking about how do you encourage someone to go back to church after many years away. The person had recently lost her husband, and had not been to church in many years, and she was very despondent.  However she was resistant to those who were inviting her to go to church, and when she did finally go, she was very critical of everything and didn't want to go back.  I had just watched these bluebirds trying to get the babies to follow them out of the nest with little bits of food, and I shared with these ladies that sometimes you have to "spoon feed" a person with just little bits of "food" from God's Word, and let your own light shine before them so that they will see how God is working in your own life as you go through difficult times.  Perhaps eventually they will want to know how you've found peace in your own life, and you will be able to share Christ with them more fully.  We can't just try to shove a steak down their throats when they really need to be fed with little bits of "baby food" until they are ready for more.  I love how God gives us illustrations from His creation to get His point across, don't you?

Speaking of feeding birds...Our hummingbirds have been active too. This is a male Ruby Throated Hummingbird at the feeder...can you see how smoky it is?  This was a couple of days ago. The smoke has been really thick for the past few days, although this morning is a bit better.  The fires are mostly north of us about 20-25 miles, but the wind blows the smoke our way and it has been pretty bad.

But I was happy to get these photos of the hummingbird. He looks healthy enough.

Also, if you are a Facebook friend, you probably already saw this opossum drinking from the pan of water in the yard.  This was early in the morning the other day.  I know all the critters are very thirsty since the pond is so dry and even some of the lakes are getting quite low.

I'm glad there was still some water in that pan for him. I've been trying to keep them filled.  (There's a lot of dead leaves in there, which I also try to keep out, but there's a lot of dead leaves still blowing around out there with the wind and the drought).

Thankfully our squash plants are doing quite well, since I water them every day...

Everyday there are new flowers on them, so that means there will hopefully be a good crop of zucchini and yellow squash this summer!

And the tomato plants are also getting lots of little flowers. They seem to like the new location.

We took a walk the other morning and I saw this Coral Bean plant blooming...They will attract hummingbirds, and there are some good uses of the plant, however, the beans are poisonous, so don't eat the beans! (or get them on your hands).

I also followed this Red-Bellied Woodpecker  around  trying to get a good picture of him:

He just kept flying further away and I couldn't keep up with him, but he was busy finding bugs to eat in the trees, so I left him alone.

Last night's sunset was pretty special, after a day will smoke filled skies...

However, if you look at the lower clouds on the horizon, you will see that there a lot of smoke there:

Still, we could see the Crescent Moon up in the sky:

Pretty cool!

It was a beautiful evening and I said a prayer of thankfulness that we were safe from the fires here...

But we continue to pray for those in harm's way who are fighting the fires as well as those who live in closer proximity to them.  There have been some evacuations, but thankfully no loss of life (that I've heard of).

However at sunrise this morning, the skies were still very smoky in the distance, and we could still definitely smell it:

Actually, that smoke isn't that far away...but thankfully the fires are...

The skies over the still very dry Still Waters Pond this morning:

I would like to close this post with a favorite passage of scripture from the Psalms, which I believe is appropriate in these turbulent times both here locally with the fires and drought, and around the world, with the wars and unrest and serious threats to so many...Praying this for our firefighters, law enforcement, political leaders and our soldiers, and any who are in harms' way.  

Psalm 91 NIV

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10 no harm will overtake you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

Amen.

I hope you enjoyed my Wednesday "photo dump day".

Have a blessed and safe day, wherever you are.

Tuesday 4~ Lights

 Lights

Welcome to another Tuesday 4 by Toni Taddeo.

Let's talk about light, okay? You light up my life.. shine a light in the darkness, Miller Light. All kinds of light but how about at home?

1. Are you afraid of the dark? Is night or day your favorite time?

No, I am not afraid of the dark.  I don't like to stumble around in it, however. We keep flashlights handy beside our beds just in case we have to get up and check something.  I definitely prefer daytime so I can see where I am going and all the beauty of everything around me.

2. Do you have night lights in your home?

Yes. We have night lights in our bathrooms, kitchen, hallways and laundry room. Would you like to see them?  Here are some of my favorite night lights. Some are not used all the time, but just when we have company or I want to show them off to you. Mostly we use the kind that are photosensitive, which means they automatically come on in the dark without me having to switch them on. I use those primarily in the bathrooms and hallways.

This is the auto night light in my bathroom.

This little teapot night light, which was a gift from my sister years ago, is in the kitchen above the coffee and tea  "bar".

Here's a close up of the night light. Isn't it sweet?

This little night light shows two bears cooking marshmallows over a campfire. This was a gift from a friend when we lived in our "Camp of Woods House" in Salt Springs, where we had bears come to visit regularly. I never saw them do this, however. LOL.

Here's how it looks lit up in the dark room...really cute. And the light flickers like a fire.

And here's another little lamp with a bear roasting a marshmallow over a campfire. This was a gift from my sister in law Peggy when we lived in that house where the bears came calling. This is in the guest room. 

Here's a close up of the night light...and yes, the light flickers like a flame.

I used to call our guest room at that house the "Bear Crossing Bed & Breakfast", so these items were very fitting.

Here's another night light that is also in the guest room...a sweet little church with a magnolia blossom on it. That's probably more in keeping with the theme of the guest room nowadays, since we no longer live in the woods among the bears. (But I still miss them.)

And last but not least is this beautiful victorian lamp, which I purchased from a dear 92 year old lady  (from our church) who was moving away to live with her son and daughter in law.   She told me that she always used this lamp as a night light in her living room.  As you can see, you can light up each section of the lamp by themselves, or light up the whole lamp: 

I love this lamp. I really don't use it as a night light, however. I'm a little leery of leaving it turned on all night while we are sleeping.

3. How low do you set your air conditioning? Do you adjust it through the day?

Our central AC has an automatic thermostat. It actually is set so that it can go from AC to Heat if the temperature dips low enough or rises high enough.  We keep it set for 76 for the AC, and 69 for the heat. During the winter months here where we live in Florida, it can switch back and forth throughout the day quite often, as it is not unusual to need heat all night and in the early morning, but need the AC by afternoon.  I'm glad it is automatic and we don't have to keep getting up to switch one or the other on or off.  Update: I was writing that last night, when it was still quite warm and the AC was on. I woke up this morning to put the  finishing touches on this post, and I heard the heat kick on because it dipped down to about 50 degrees last night outside and the house felt chilly inside. So I am thankful the thermostat is set on automatic. Our temps will be back up to 82 today, so I'm sure the AC will be back on.  Also, we have been in the midst of some serious fires in the region around us, and the smoke is quite heavy outside, making it impossible to open windows.  Please keep praying for rain!

4. Do you keep any outdoor or indoor lights on all night?

As far as indoor lights, I've already shown you the night lights...and really the only ones that are on all night are the automatic ones in the bathrooms and halls, and the little teapot one in the kitchen. All the others are only as needed or as I said before, to show them off for company. LOL.

  

However, outdoor lights is another story altogether, and that is my hubby's domain.   We do have motion detector lights at our front door and back door, so they will come on automatically at night when there is motion near the doors. We don't keep them on all night otherwise.  BUT, we have what seems like hundreds of little solar yard lights all around our house and mostly in the front yard.  (Not really hundreds, but it looks like an airport runway out there at night!) I will have to wait for it to get dark to take a picture to show you.  That is my hubby's project...he checks those lights every night to see if they are shining, and when any one of them finally dies for good, we replace it right away with another from either the Dollar General or Walmart. (Because they are cheaper there!) He loves his little yard lights.  However, because they are solar, they usually don't stay lit up all night long.

Here you go:

The nice thing about all these little solar lights is that they don't use any electricity! And I don't have to worry about turning them on and off!

How many of you remember singing this little song...or teaching it to your children?  "This Little Light of Mine, I'm going to let it shine"...  There are other tunes  and versions, but this is the one I remember most.  So cute...

Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

I hope you enjoyed this "de LIGHT ful" little post today on Tuesday 4.  You can  click HERE to join in the fun.  Thanks, Annie, for another "enLIGHTening" post today!! May we all let our lights shine!!!

Sunday Night Sunset, Geese and More

Zechariah 10:1 NIV

"Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;

it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.

He gives showers of rain to all people,

and plants of the field to everyone."

This lone Canada goose was standing out on the "still very dry Still Waters Pond" this evening, just before sunset.   

I thought he looked rather lonely and perplexed, wondering where all the water was that he remembered from all the years past...

It also seemed rather strange to me that he was alone out there on the pond. Canada Geese normally travel in pairs, as a couple.  

This picture is to give you more perspective as to where he was standing out there in the very dry pond bed.

He started to honk, which is what they normally do when they are calling their mate and usually just before taking off in flight.

Oh! Look there!  Sure enought...there is his mate, coming around from behind the bushes on the island! I knew he wouldn't be alone!!! And right after this they both took off in flight, honking all the way!  I do hope they won't give up on our pond. I believe this is the same couple who have come here every year and have builts nests on that island most every year.  It's been a very sad year for our water bird families. No new babies for any of them. I hope next spring will be much better...and I hope they will come back!

After the geese flew away I noticed that there was a beautiful sunset forming...so of course I had to go outside and watch.  Wanna come along with me?

These really aren't in any order.  I miss seeing the reflection of the sunsets in the water on the pond, but still the sunset itself is beautiful.

The sky has a lot of smoke in it because of all the wildfires burning throughout the region. Thankfully none are too close to us, but still we can smell the smoke.

Not sure what that bird is, but it was nice of him to fly over just as I was snapping this picture.

There he goes...

Wow...this is a close up of the skies...it almost looks stormy...but there's no rain in our forecast for over 10 days...

We really really need rain...please pray!

The air quality hasn't been too good, so I really haven't wanted to be outside too much...plus it's been VERY HOT!

Speaking of very hot... (yeah, these guys are "hot", lol! That's not what I was meaning),  The boys were here this afternoon and I asked them to move this planter with the tomato plants in it to a different location because it was getting way too much bright hot sunshine in the afternoons, and I'm afraid that as the tomatoes develop they will be baked in the sun!

They are putting on a little show here, but it truly was extremely heavy to move because it's full of dirt. But being sweet sons, they did as Mom asked. I hope they won't have backaches or hernias tomorrow. LOL.  

Speaking of today, I woke up this morning with a nosebleed. Not a severe one, but enough to get my attention. I also just plain didn't feel too good, so we decided it would be best to stay home . I actually went back to bed for a while because I hadn't slept very well.  However, I knew that Scott was coming and I had already planned to have him cook some chicken on the grill, and by noon I was feeling better, so I asked Benton and Rose if they wanted to come on over for lunch since I had plenty of food anyway. And so they did. It's really no trouble to have them because everyone pitches in and helps with clean up,  etc., and Scott did the hardest part of grilling the chicken.  So it ended up being a lovely day. Thank you all also for your kind comments on my previous updated post about my father. Today marks 15 years since he passed away, and I just didn't want to let the day go by without remembering him.

Anyway, I was disappointed that I wasn't able to go to church this morning. I was looking forward to singing this song that we recorded at choir practice this past week. Here's  the video of us singing, along with the Pastor's sermon for today, if you'd like to listen.

Well, that about wraps it up for tonight. It's been a long day and I'm ready to get back to bed. 

 

Speaking of singing...did you know that God will "rejoice over you with singing"?...Here's one of my favorite verses...it's a good one to remember when you just feel like you need a little extra comfort and maybe a lullaby to help you sleep...

Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

"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.”

Good Night! Sleep peacefully.

God is watching over you...and He rejoices over you and quiets you with His love...what could be more comforting than that?