Friday Foto Friends: Looks Can Be Deceiving!

 

Hooray! the Hummingbirds are back!  I put out my feeder a few days ago because I figured they'd be coming soon, and sure enough, yesterday we saw the first one at the feeder!  I have this hanging up on our back porch where I can see it all the time, so I hope we'll get to enjoy these sweet little birds all summer long!  But for now, that's the only picture I was able to get.

It rained all day yesterday, but the birds were still quite active.  I wish I could have gotten some pictures of the Bluebirds dive-bombing the squirrels on the bird feeder, but they are just too quick. It's fun to watch, however.  This female goldfinch managed to get a few seeds in spite of the squirrel and bluebird battles going on all around her.

Other than those two pictures, I realized this morning that I really didn't have anything new to share with you today.  Now, some of you are also Facebook friends, so you have already seen these pictures from last week's excursion to a little park here in town.  But for those of you who didn't see them, they are kind of fun.  So bear with me, friends, if this is another repeat for you.  

First we must read all the warning signs and then decide if we dare to enter this "dangerous" park! LOL.

Now, one sign says "No lifeguard on duty. Swim at your own risk!"  But the other sign also says "Lake Closed to Swimming from October 1- April 30th. May Be Unsafe to Use!"

But we must not swim within 50 feet of the dock...or maybe we just shouldn't swim or dive at all! I get the picture...and no worries...I wasn't about to dive or swim!

Especially after reading this sign:

"Warning - Wildlife - Danger"  Watch out for the alligators and snakes.  Thankfully, we didn't see any.

I looked in every direction just to be sure:

No sign of any dangerous wildlife...just a beautiful, peaceful little lake.

So after all of that confusion about whether or not to swim, etc., we decided that hopefully it was safe to go enjoy the rest of the park.

Right away hubby found these "monkey bars" and wanted to show off his prowess in going across them:

He wanted everyone to see how strong he was:

He didn't want me to show you that his feet were on the ground the whole time:

Such a ham!...but it didn't stop there:

He had to do a few chin ups too

Oh, such hard work! But he's so strong!!

As long as his feet were on the ground! LOL. We had fun.

I was "sleep-walking" apparently as my eyes were closed.  I thought I'd try out the sliding board.

Should I, or shouldn't I?

Do I dare to do it?

I did it! Well, maybe not.  The tube was really too small for me, so again, this is a "staged photo". I didn't want to get stuck in that tube and have to call 9-1-1 to come cut me out of there! LOL.

Next I tried to climb up on the Jungle Gym:

But I'm afraid that's as far as I got.  Again, I didn't want to get stuck up somewhere and not be able to get back down. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

So, then I very gingerly got on the merry-go-round. But I told my hubby that he was forbidden to come and push it or make it go any faster than I wanted to go.

I sort of tip-toed my way around it because I have serious issues with motion sickness and I didn't want to take any chances:

Okay, I made it all the way around, ever so slowly at my pace:

Hooray! I made it!  Oh, can you tell, this was actually on St. Patrick's Day last week. I had on my green shirt and a tiny little shamrock sticker so I wouldn't get pinched.

Oh, here's some pictures you haven't seen:

Last Sunday we went to "Hog Wild Country Cafe'" for lunch after church. Our kids went too and our DIL's sister and her son met us there for lunch.  I didn't take any pictures of people however.

Oh, and if you notice on the sign, it says, "Try the Cowboy Eggrolls".  I did. I had them with a side of Cowboy Beans and Fried Okra and Cornbread. That's my usual choice unless I'm in the mood for ribs. They are yummy.

But the only thing I took pictures of was this giant thistle plant that was blooming outside by the parking lot:

You surely wouldn't want to bump into those barbs that are on the stems!!

But aren't the flowers of the thistle plant so lovely?

I like this picture. I highlighted it a bit so you can see it better. I had to stand over it to block the sun as it was too bright to get a good picture.

Hence you see my shadow hovering over the flower.

Pretty Cool, huh?

It's interesting that there are a lot of different references to "thistles" in the Bible. If you have a good Concordance (or google Thistles in the Bible online) you can find out what God has to say about thistles.  But here is probably the most well-known reference that I thought was an appropriate warning for us today:

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, 

but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 

16 You will know them by their fruits. 

Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 

17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 

18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

Matthew 7:15-20

There are many "false prophets" in the world today, and it is often difficult for us to know for certain who's who, and whom we should believe.  Looks can be deceiving. We certainly can't trust the media to give us the full truth or the real story.  So it is incumbent upon us to be watchful and pray and let God guide us as we go about our lives.  That thistle flower above is lovely by itself, but if I should try to pick it for a bouquet I would soon find out that I've been deceived by its "beauty" and now I am in a lot of pain and very sorry I didn't pay closer attention.   And just like that lovely lake by the park where we enjoyed a beautiful day last week, it looks very lovely and inviting...but there are many warning signs of danger all around it.  I would be foolish to go run and jump into that lake after being so warned of the dangers that could be lurking just under the surface of the water.  So may we be vigilant and watchful in the days ahead.  May we not be fooled or enticed by pretty words or false promises.  May God give us wisdom and discernment so that we may avoid the painful barbs of the "thistles" of this world.  

Meanwhile let's go and enjoy the true beauty that we know God has provided for us today.  Have a blessed and wonderful day and weekend.  

Well, I guess that's all the photos for today. It's supposed to be a sunny day today, so hopefully we will get outside and maybe go somewhere else where I can take some pictures. You'll be the first to know.