Friday Foto Friends: It's Spring Finally!

 Happy Friday everyone! And Happy First Day of Spring!!! I bet many of you thought it would never get here...and you may still be wondering if it really is spring!  Here in Florida where we live, although it has been quite cool for us this week, it has now warmed up nicely and it definitely feels like spring! Hooray!!

And so today I finally got my veggies planted in the new planter boxes that Benton built for me!

Here's Benton and hubby just after they dumped all the bags of potting soil in the planters for me:

Next was my job...to plant the veggies that were starting to grow out of control in the kitchen:

I may still have the plants too close together. I really don't know what I'm doing.  There's zucchini on the left, and yellow summer squash on the right. (above). There are six plants of each.

And these (above) are the four beefsteak tomato plants.  Hopefully the cages will help them grow big and strong and tall.  Those of you who are experienced gardeners may say that these are all too close together. Time will tell. If I have to get more planters and spread them out more, I know just who to call!

Some of you may remember my dil Rose's sister Sherrie, who came down from Minnesota several years ago and stayed with Rose and Benton for several months. We sort of adopted her into our family as another daughter. Anyway, she's back down for a week's vacation visit, and today she really wanted to go visit a dear friend from our church who is currently spending some time in rehab following a serious illness.  So here we all are, l to r: Sherrie, Opal, yours truly, and my sweet dil Rose.

Opal was our pianist at our church for many years,  until she had a stroke last January (2025), and she has been recuperating ever since.  This old baby grand piano bookshelf (below) is in the lobby of the rehab center where she is staying. It used to be the piano in the lobby, but it didn't work anymore, so they "repurposed" it into this lovely bookshelf/shadow box.  If you notice in the picture above, there is another piano in the background, and Opal has been actually playing that one again as a part of her physical therapy. I was hoping we could get her to play today, but she really just wanted to visit, which was fine with us.

I love it when things that are no longer able to be used for their original purpose can be repurposed/rehabilitated into something lovely and useful once again. I'm glad when God does that with us as well.  

Sweet Sherrie made this pot holder for me...because she remembered that my "One Word" for 2024 was "Strength". I love this very thoughtful gift, and I will treasure it, as well as the message, and the messenger always!

Hubby and I went for a walk last evening past this old palm tree that is covered with so many vines of so many different kinds of flowers, which each take their turn to bloom in the spring. Right now it is more lovely wisteria...

Who would think anything so beautiful could come out of this mess of tangled up vines on an old dead tree?

There's also some of this beautiful purple lantana growing on the same tree...must be time for the purple spring flowers to bloom!

What a beautiful transformation!!

Further down the walkway is this old oak tree, which has this interesting "burl", or fungus in the trunk.

I've shared this tree before HERE, but I noticed that it is continuing to change as the days go by. 

It now looks like it is opening up more to the inside of the tree trunk, and it would be a great hiding place for some gnomes or hobbits. I wonder????

I do see a strange kind of face looking out at me there below...LOL.

As I said before in the other post about these "deformities" or "Burls" in the tree, they can actually be recreated into magnificent bowls with the skillful hands of a talented woodworker and a good working knowledge of a lathe.

Isaiah 42:16

I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;

I will lead them in paths they have not known.

I will make darkness light before them,

And crooked places straight.

These things I will do for them,

And not forsake them.

Springtime is a time for renewal and change and repurposing or recreating not just things, but our own bodies and minds and spirits, as we yield ourselves to the transforming power of God's Holy Spirit in our lives. 

Here's an old song that some of you may remember. It's interesting, hubby started singing this song this morning and we were trying to remember all the verses.  You just don't get to sing these great old hymns much anymore...so you may want to sing along...

Higher Ground

By: Johnson Oatman, Jr. 1898

1. I'm pressing on the upward way,

New heights I'm gaining every day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,

By faith, on Heaven's table land;

A higher plane than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2. My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Tho' some may dwell where these abound,

My pray'r, my aim is higher ground.

(Refrain)

3. I want to live above the world,

Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

(Refrain)

4. I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found,

Lord, lead me on to higher ground.

(Refrain)

I hope you enjoyed singing along with that old hymn, and perhaps that will be a prayer for you as we begin this spring season of renewal and transformation!  

Have a blessed and wonderful Spring time!!!

Wednesday Blessings!

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope your day has been extra special for you! I know mine has...and here's one of the reasons why:

This smiling group of people you may recognize, at least some of them...yes, we are blogging friends and we brought along some of our favorite subjects for our blogs...hubbies!

Left to right there is Mari Bruins, a.k.a. My Little Corner of the World and her hubby Bob, who traveled all the way from western Michigan to visit Your Friend From Florida, Terri D'Orsaneo, and she instigated this little get together with your's truly and my hubby John on the back row, and we met up at the Cracker Barrel in Ocala with Barbara Mims and her hubby Gary, a.k.a. Journal Memories.  We had such a great visit!  One thing I have discovered since joining this "blogging family", is that bloggers are a wonderful group of people to know!  It sure would be fun to meet ALL of you someday too!!   Thank you. Terri, for being the one with the true gift of hospitality to help bring us all together! What a blessing!!  Oh, and speaking of blessings... Mari brought us each a jar of these wonderful "Cherry Berry" Jam preserves, straight from her part of western Michigan, where the best kind of tart cherries are grown...the kind that make the best cherry pies.  I can't wait to try this on a fresh hot biscuit!  Thank you, Mari!!!

Today is another special day, because it is also the birthday of our "baby" son, Scott! However, because he is working and living a couple of hours away, we will not be celebrating together until Sunday afternoon.  Still, we called and sang Happy Birthday to  him this morning before he went to work.  I just can't believe my "baby" is 49 years old already!!!

Speaking of "babies"...our current "baby" Blackie was helping me in my office/Room with a View" early this morning...He likes to check out the waste basket to see if I threw anything important away...

I think he was actually trying to climb inside and sit a while, but he soon gave up and moved on to other things. It really is a lot like having a toddler in the house again...gotta watch every move they make! LOL.

Speaking of "children", here's my "Big Baby Boy"...the oldest, a.k.a Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop...

and these are two of the planters he has made for me to grow my new vegetable garden.  I will use these for the zucchini and yellow (summer) squash plants.  He's still making one for my tomato plants.

He also picked up some dirt for me so I can get started...but since we were busy today in addition to the fact that there was a frost this morning, I decided to wait until possibly tomorrow afternoon to do the planting. I have an my annual eye appointment in the morning, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Meanwhile, I have all these things growing in my kitchen that need to get planted before they get too big!

Meanwhile,  I took these pictures Sunday morning next to our church parking lot. The purple wisteria vine is growing profusely and blooming beautifully, although I think it might even do better if it had been pruned a bit before it started blooming. Still, it is quite lovely,  and I will close this post with these thoughts tonight from John's Gospel:

John 15:1-10

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 

8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 

10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Amen.

Good Night my friends! I hope you have a blessed and glorious rest of your week.

 

Tuesday 4~ St. Patrick's Day

 I had another post started for yesterday and got busy and never finished it, so now today is St. Patrick's Day, and I guess I'd better address that first and go back to the other one later! LOL.  So here we go...

St Patrick's Day

It is St. Pattys Day here at Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...


1. Do you celebrate in any significant way?

Not particularly...I will probably be wearing green wherever I do and whatever I do, but I don't have any special plans for today except that I hope to plant my vegetables that I bought over the weekend...Benton is supposed to bring over the wooden planter boxes for me so I can get started on it...we'll see how far we get! 

Lily Grace and her dog Bailey are all dressed up for St. Patrick's Day...they are hiding in a forest of shamrocks and looking for the pot of gold! LOL.

You can click HERE for more adventures with Lily Grace!

2. Is it religious to you or secular?

It is a secular day in my mind. Although we appreciate the stories and legend of St. Patrick, we do not really connect that with anything "religious".  He was a good man and it's a fun day to remember what he did for Ireland.

3. Is there any green in your wardrobe ? Your home? Is it a good color for you?

I have some green in my wardrobe, but it is mostly either more of a forest green or a teal green. I do have one kind of emerald green top that I will wear today so I don't get pinched. LOL.

4.March has a lot of things associated with it... The Ides of March on the 15th, St. Patrick's Day and the old saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
How is your March going thus far? Is it quiet? Is the weather good, bad or ugly? Is it a lion or a lamb?

Well, yestereday was certainly a lion as far as the weather is concerned! We had quite the thunderstorm yesterday afternoon, and I hear that there are trees down in various places around here. There was a lot of lightning and thunder and very wild winds for a while. Thankfully we are fine and we didn't lose power, so that's good. It also has cooled down to 40 degrees this morning after being in the 80's yesterday!

These photos of the skies were actually taken the night before last, (Sunday night), when we also had a good rain! Rain two days in a row! Woo Hoo! Prayers are being answered!  

But this is the Still Very Dry Still Waters Pond after the rain...it's like a big sponge soaking up the water, but there is still not enough to have any water on top of the ground. It's going to take a LOT more rain for that to happen.  

But hey! There's one blossom on the Bottlebrush Bush! That's a start! LOL.

Hopefully today Benton is going to bring over my above ground wooden planters so I can get the vegetable plants planted. Although I hear we might get a frost tomorrow morning, so we'll see...I may decide to wait...but then again...I hate to keep putting it off...decisions, decisions...I can always cover them...Tune in for further developments! LOL.

In keeping with the tradition of the day, HERE is a link to a post I wrote a few years ago for Toni's Creative Adventures.  Our Toni Taddeo was a very creative lady, and she often did these special "Creative Adventures" for us to make up little stories to go along with a theme. This one was my favorite, and it bears repeating again today especially for St. Patrick's Day. I hope you will take the time to revisit it and enjoy this little fairy tale today with a lovely Irish little lady.

Saturday Revue

 Hello friends! Here it is Saturday afternoon already...and I'm just sitting down to write...and hopefully I can get this finished in time to start cooking supper! Actually, supper will be easy, because we picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store this morning, and had some delicious hot chicken breast with fresh slices of tomato and lettuce sandwiches for lunch...and there's plenty of meat left to make something good for supper. Haven't decided exactly what yet, but I'll let hubby help me decide when the time comes. LOL. That's one good thing about retirement and being just the two of us...meals can be very simple and casual if we want...and thankfully, hubby prefers that, so it makes things easy for me!

I mentioned stopping at the store this morning. That was after we went to the Deep Creek Trading Post Farmer's Market, where our son Benton had set up his booth to sell the above ground planters that he makes.

And I stepped across the way from him and purchased these vegetable plants to plant, and he has promised to build some planters for me to make this job easier on my poor body. LOL.   I bought 4 beefsteak tomato plants, six little pots of zucchini and six little pots of yellow (summer) squash plants. Those are the main vegetables that I find myself buying all summer (and beyond), so I decided to give growing them myself a try.  Since with his wonderful wooden planters I don't have to dig in the ground to plant them, hopefully they will actually grow and produce "fruit"...or vegetables...Tomatoes are a fruit, so they say, and the squash are definitely vegetables.   (Hubby is busily guarding my stash while I walk around. LOL). 

Speaking of hubby...I caught him having this conversation with Blackie on the front porch last night...He literally sat down on the steps to sit and visit with Blackie on "his level".  I was impressed...and amazed at this man who really didn't want us to get too involved with this outdoor neighborhood cat...

But who can resist that face? LOL.

Or his cuteness?

He's not too sure about Lily Grace and her dog Bailey...

Especially when he'd rather be left alone to sleep on the couch...

But yesterday was such a pretty day, I had to get outside and sit a spell in the "Secret /Memorial Garden", beside the Still Very Dry Still Waters Pond...

(Although we DID get a very nice rain shower the night before last...and I saw our first male Ruby Throated hummingbird, but he got away before I took this picture as I had not yet put out that feeder for him...so I immediately went and made some sugar water for him and put out the feeder so hopefully he will be back ...The males come first, and then soon after the females arrive...and it's interesting that they know exactly where to to come back to each year!)

The rain was falling so gently and it lasted a pretty good while, but alas, the pond was still dry when all was said and done...

But at least it's a start, and we are scheduled for more rain tomorrow and the next day...so please keep praying that we are finally getting into a rainy pattern again!

We read this passage in our devotions this morning, and these words gave me great hope...not just for our pond, but for life in general, especially in the current world situation...Although it was originally written for "Unrepentant Israel" some 750 years B.C., I believe we can learn from this today...and it does give me hope...

Hosea 6 NIV

1“Come, let us return to the Lord.

He has torn us to pieces

but He will heal us;

He has injured us

but He will bind up our wounds.

2 After two days He will revive us;

on the third day He will restore us,

that we may live in his presence.

3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;

let us press on to acknowledge him.

As surely as the sun rises,

He will appear;

He will come to us like the winter rains,

like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Anyway, I digress...back to the next day when the sun was shining, but it was much cooler as the rain had ushered in a bit of a cold front, which actually is quite nice! Blackie was enjoying watching the birds in the trees while I sat in the swing...

And then he decided to come and sit and swing with me, although I don't think he really liked the swinging part of it, so I tried to sit still. Didn't want to upset his tummy!

I was noticing how brown/auburn his coat is in the sunshine!  

It's as if he's a different color altogether when he's out in the sunshine...

Speaking of "Sunshine", our beautiful Orange cat who passed over the rainbow bridge back in November, and who was Blackie's bonded buddy...it made me wonder if perhaps Sunshine and Blackie were actually more closely related than just buddies?

Sweet Sunshine, R.I.P.

Best Buddies

It's really a strange kind of markings...maybe Sunshine was his daddy? I do think he was much older than Blackie...

So I looked up this color phenomenon online, and here's what "AI" has to say about it:

"A black cat with an orange or reddish undercoat is often a black "smoke" or "ghost" tabby, where the hair shaft is black at the tip but banded with orange or red near the skin, sometimes caused by sun bleaching ("rusting") or hidden tabby genetics. These cats often appear entirely black until sunlight or movement reveals the warm orange tones.
PetMD +4
Common Reasons for Orange/Red Undercoats:

Sun Rusting: Sunlight breaks down the black eumelanin pigment in the fur, revealing red/orange highlights (pheomelanin) underneath, especially in black cats that spend time in windows.

Smoke/Tabby Genetics: A "smoke" black cat has a white or silver undercoat, but if it carries hidden "red" (orange) tabby genes, it can produce a smoky-orange or black/red effect.

Torbie or Tortie Influence: A very dark tortoiseshell or "torbie" (tortoiseshell + tabby) may appear predominantly black, but has intense orange streaks or patches hidden throughout the coat.

Nutritional Factors: A deficiency in tyrosine, an amino acid, can cause black fur to turn a reddish-brown color, which some owners perceive as an orange undercoat, as discussed in.
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If the cat looks black but has reddish undertones in the light, it is most likely a "rusting" black cat or a black smoke cat with underlying red genes."

It doesn't really answer my question about whether or not Blackie and Sunshine could be related, but it's possible...whatever the reason, Blackie is still sweet and handsome, and Sunshine will always be missed by all of us.

Moving right along...The azaleas have been so pretty this year!

And I'm just going to keep "living life in full bloom" and enjoy the beauty of all of these things while I can! 

How about you?

Have a blessed and beautiful weekend my friends.