Special Blessings from Still Waters Pond

A little abstract beginning to our day...

What's that, you say?  Well, believe it or not, that is the three sand hill cranes flying over Still Waters Pond this morning.  I couldn't capture them quickly enough with my "real camera", which is VERY SLOW, and so that is what I got.  But I think it makes for a very interesting photo, nonetheless, don't you?  It might just win a prize or something somewhere. LOL.

Now this is what I was really watching, but it was still too low of light and the pictures are not very clear. This is the Great White Egret having her breakfast on Still Waters Pond:

Still not too clear, but you can see her shadow!

Getting a little better as the sun was rising behind us...

Actually, she flew away when those Sand Hill Cranes flew over top of her. I was watching this bird when they flew over, and that is why everything was so blurred. Too much excitement all at once! LOL.

Also, way across the pond was the Great Blue Heron, sitting on that fallen tree over the water, watching for something good to appear for his breakfast:

Again, it was still kind of dark and cloudy, so these pictures are not very clear, but you get the idea:

I thought it was interesting that he chose that fallen tree to stand on, like a balance beam or a tight rope!

I'd say he's very sure footed, and of course, heights don't bother him! LOL.

Meanwhile, this is what the sun was doing behind us over in the east on the front side of the house:

Kind of a dramatic sun rising, shining on the accumulated clouds above...

It was a beautiful start to the day, which soon became just a cloudy kind of morning with some unexpected rain showers a little later on.  Started out around 68 degrees, and the high is now 82 as I write this afternoon. (Tuesday)  Thankfully that is about has hot as it has been getting lately, and we are very thankful for the "cooling" down little by little day by day. Fall is definitely trying to get here...

Now let's switch to the afternoon, when the Sand Hill Cranes came back "home" to roost for the evening.  They often check in with us to see if we've left them any treats on the lawn...

There were in luck on this day, as hubby decided to throw out a little cup of bird seed when we saw them out there waiting for us...

So of course they marched right up there to check it out. I wonder if you can tell which one is Abe, the "colt" ?  It's pretty hard to do now that he is pretty much a full adult, and should soon be taking off on his own...

Well, did you figure it out? He is the one on the left. His top notch is still just a little duller in color than the other two. That's the only way I can tell.  Soon the parents will be forcing him to move on by himself so they can get back to nesting again, probably after Christmas.  It will be interesting to see if they build their nest out there on the marshy island again as they have done the past few years.  So stay tuned for further "developments".

But wait!  Still Waters Pond wasn't finished giving us blessings for the day!  As I was cleaning up after supper and preparing to go to choir practice, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful sunset developing in the skies over the pond...so back outside I ran with my camera (actually, the cell phone camera does best on the sunsets and sunrises I've discovered)  So stand in awe with me as we witness the beauty of God's changing of the color guard at the close of day:

As I stood there celebrating the glorious artistry of God's masterpiece in the skies, this Psalm came to my mind:

Psalm 8

The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. 

A Psalm of David.

 1 "O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth,

Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have ordained strength,

Because of Your enemies,

That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air,

(just thought I'd put that one back in there to go along with the Psalm!)

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!"

Amen!

I hope you enjoyed these "special blessings from Still Waters Pond".  These pictures were all taken in one day, from sunrise to sunset! In between these special moments we lived our lives, went to town, ran errands, fixed breakfast,  ate lunch, (took a nap), prepared supper, went to choir practice, came home and found out a dear friend had called me, so I called her back and we talked for over an hour. She lives in Ohio and we try to stay in touch several times a year, and our conversations are always long and enjoyable. She wanted to know all about our trip and the wedding and life in general, and I enjoyed hearing about things that she has been doing...a recent trip to Italy, a "retreat" with special friends in Minnesota, a road trip to Massachusetts with friends, and sadly the recent death of one of her best friends of over 50 years.  We've known each other approximately 35 years, and our boys were in high school together. Her son is now a pastor, and he was especially a good friend of our son Matthew. There's another story tucked inside that one, but I won't go into that now. Our friendship is very special and unique indeed.  I treasure all of my friends, and I find that the older we get, the more valuable they become.

And you are each very valuable to me as well. Thank you for being my friends.

Have a blessed and beautiful day. Look for the special blessings God has waiting for you outside your window!

 

Tuesday 4~ Relaxing

 

Relaxing

Hello! Welcome back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
Do you keep busy all the time? Many people don't take time to smell the roses. What about you?

1. When was the last time you sat down and relaxed and allowed the weight of the world to melt away?

Just a few minutes ago.  I sat down and looked at a new magazine that had come in the mail...

I don't get many magazines anymore...so many of them just have way too much advertising and not enough content. But Country Living still has some beautiful pictures and stories, and someone very thoughtful actually subscribed to it for me, so I will enjoy it as long as it lasts!

It's relaxing to just sit and peruse the pictures and dream a little bit about some of the things I see and the ideas they have for decorating and cooking, etc. Now that so much is online we don't get to actually hold a real magazine very often, and I do enjoy sitting back in my recliner and looking and dreaming a bit.  

This issue had pictures of log cabins...just my style and idea of real relaxation!

2. What things do you find most relaxing ? How often do you get to do these things?

Of course, most of you know I find photographing nature to be a very enjoyable and relaxing thing to do.  Our own Still Waters Pond gives me plenty of  subjects to photograph.  I try to take the time to look out there often and see whatever there is to see. Some days there is nothing much to see, but then other days we are blessed with beautiful creatures from God's Creation who stand and wait for me to take their picture as if they expect it!  The Great Blue Heron stood very still for me this morning. I was most appreciative!

I'm always so thankful and blessed when God provides these beauties for me to enjoy!

I also love taking pictures of sunrises and sunsets. The sunrise the other morning was just gorgeous, and the Sand Hill Cranes made a cameo appearance in a fly-over while I was enjoying the moment:

Can you see them?

There they go! Off to wherever it is they like to spend the day, and then they come back here to our pond for the night.

It was definitely a beautiful way to start the day!

3. What things wind you up and keep you from relaxing?

Housework! LOL. Knowing it needs to be done, and not having the energy (or desire) to get up and do it, but feeling guilty that I'm not doing it.  So I can't relax until I do.  Now, these next pictures have a story.  Saturday morning hubby said very sweetly to me that perhaps it was time I thought about cleaning out my side of our closet, as the clothes racks are starting to look overly full and crowded. I was a little bit put off by his "suggestion", and made a few comments that may not have been entirely sweet and demure in response, but after I thought about it, I decided that he was probably right. I hate to admit that ever...but yes, it was time I did something about my half of the closet. We won't mention the fact that the reason HIS half of the closet looks so nice is because he takes his extra seasonal things out and puts them all in the guest room closet, and I can't even hardly open the door to THAT closet because it is so full of HIS stuff...but we won't mention THAT! LOL.  So moving right along...

And so, I started weeding things out of my side of the closet...and found many things that probably should go to the thrift store so someone else can get some use out of them because I am not wearing them anymore for various reasons.  Among those items were some very special things that I have been holding onto for quite a few years...18 to be exact.  Why? Well, these next items belonged to my mother. They were things that I saved out of her closet after she passed away, and I actually thought I would wear some of them, (and I have), but now I no longer wear them, and they really aren't my style, and they are still in excellent condition for being so old, (my mother had good taste and had some lovely things, but I only kept some that I thought I would wear or that I had actually given to her).

These two jackets I gave to my mother, and I can remember her wearing them, and when I was still working, I often wore them to work. 

And she had some lovely little blouses with short sleeves...

I love this delicate pink one...but again...I just don't wear these kinds of blouses anymore.

I actually wrote a post about this blouse and one of my mother's sweaters HERE a long time ago. The sweater I have decided to keep, as I still wear it occasionally and I really don't want to let it go yet.

I always loved the collars on these two blouses:

So anyway, I made up my mind that it was time to let those things go. It wasn't easy, but it's time.  I pray there will be some dear person who will appreciate them and enjoy wearing them. 

Here's the bags of items I gathered. They will go to the church thrift store tomorrow, and that will be that.

My hubby commended me for a job well done. I thanked him, but told him that  he needs to get rid of about 5 or 6 suits from his years in the ministry that he will most likely never wear again, along with several winter jackets that we have no use for here in Florida. We live in a very casual area, and men just don't wear suits to church here.  We will save one or two for possible weddings or funerals, but that should be enough.

 But that's another story for another day. LOL.

4. When was the last time you treated yourself to something, anything that is special?

Hmmm, I'm thinking...the trip we took to the mountains was pretty special, and I'd say that was a real treat. You've already heard all about that, however.

How about this?  You'll think this is crazy. We took a little walk this evening, and we came across this bush that was blooming: Turk's Cap or Sleeping Hibiscus

With it's bright red flowers on the green leaves, it almost looks Christmassy, doesn't it?

Here's a close up of the flower:

So what's so special about that you may ask? Well...Here I am reliving a childhood memory from our days on the playground at school!  There were always lots of these plants growing all around our playground, and the flower has a very sweet nectar that if you pick it off the stem and suck the end of it, you will get a delightful little sip of what the butterflies and bees love to much!

Hubby also remembers doing this as a child. I think every child who grew up in Florida in our era had this experience.  And so we both enjoyed this little treat very much! It took us back to our childhood!

Here's a Psalm for the day:

Psalm 145:14-19

"14 The Lord upholds all who fall,

And raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,

And You give them their food in due season.

16 You open Your hand

And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,

Gracious in all His works.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He also will hear their cry and save them."

And so with that I will conclude this edition of the Tuesday 4 meme for this week.  If you wish to join in the fun, you can do so HERE!  I hope you found this "relaxing" and enjoyable! See you again next week!

Friday Foto Friends~Happy Thoughts and Blessings

 Where did this week go?  Wow! and what a week it was!! I know it has been a pretty exciting and nail-biting kind of week, but we all got through it, and now we continue to pray for our country and our new President elect and his family, and that all will go smoothly during this period of transition.  Regardless of which side of the aisle we are on, may we come together in unity and prayer for the good of our nation.  "One Nation, UNDER GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL!" Amen!

I posted this picture of the sunrise yesterday morning on Facebook and said, 

"The dawning of a new day".

And then I shared this Psalm, which I think is very appropriate for our nation right now.  May we read it prayerfully and consider what God has done and is doing in our midst.

Psalm 33 NKJV

The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History

1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!

For praise from the upright is beautiful.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right,

And all His work is done in truth.

5 He loves righteousness and justice;

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;

He lays up the deep in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

13 The Lord looks from heaven;

He sees all the sons of men.

14 From the place of His dwelling He looks

On all the inhabitants of the earth;

15 He fashions their hearts individually;

He considers all their works.

16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army;

A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;

Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

19 To deliver their soul from death,

And to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,

Because we have trusted in His holy name.

22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,

Just as we hope in You.

Amen!

And now, moving right along to what else has been going on around us here in our neck of the woods...

Not a whole lot. Hubby and I have been still a little bit recovering from that bad cold or whatever it was that hit us after our trip to the mountains.  We are MUCH better, praise God, but still have a little bit of a cough now and then and sinus issues, which I think are probably a kind of seasonal sinusitis that just comes with the season.  Hopefully, if the weather would cooperate and cool back down a bit and get rid of this warm, muggy, cloudy humid weather, we will feel a whole lot better.  I see that a cooler weather pattern is on its way next week, so that is encouraging.  

One good thing from this week (among others), our son Scott came home on Tuesday to vote and do his laundry and visit with us! I was so proud of him to take the afternoon off from work and make the hour and a half drive here so he could vote. This is still his permanent residence, but he stays in Jacksonville during the week, where he rents a room from a friend, so he can work in that area. It's always nice to see his smiling face come through the door:

Of course one of his first questions was, "Is there any Halloween Candy left over?"  LOL. Some kids just never grow up, and YES, I saved a bag of candy just for him because I knew he would be looking for it! LOL.

Scott wasn't our only visitor this week...this pretty young kitty stopped by and looked in our back porch door to see who was inside.

What a sweet face!  I've never seen this kitty before in the neighborhood, and she looks fairly young.

I took pictures so that if I see where anyone has posted pictures on our community lost and found pets, I can at least say I've seen her here in our neighborhood.

She soon took off and I haven't seen her since, but if she comes back I could be tempted to keep her! She just has such a sweet face!  But then again...no, I really don't need or want a cat...but then again...

Let's see, what else has been going on?  The kids (Benton and Rose and the grandpups) came over last night and we had pizza for supper.  We hadn't seen them ever since we came home from our trip, since we were sick, so it was so nice to see them all again.  I didn't take any new pictures, but you know what they look like by now! LOL.  Anyway, Rose brought me this magazine that she picked up in the mountains,

And inside were tucked all the leaves we gathered together while we enjoyed walking around the beautiful property where we stayed!  I was so happy she had done that!

These long leaves we had to look up to find out what kind of tree they came from, and I think they belong to a "sourwood tree"

Have you ever heard the song "Sourwood Mountain"?  I remember singing it many years ago...

Apparently the Bonanza fellas sang it one time, so you can listen to it in this video, and here's the lyrics below (their version may be a little different, but it's fun to hear)

Sourwood Mountain

Chickens a'crowin' on Sourwood Mountain

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

So many pretty girls I can't count 'em

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

My true love's a sun-burnt daisy

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

If I don't get her I'll go crazy

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

My true love's at the head of the holler

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

She won't come and I won't foller

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

Big dog'll bark and little one'll bite you

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

Big girl will court and the little one spite you

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

Chickens a'crowin' on Sourwood Mountain

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

So many pretty girls I can't count 'em

Hey Ho Diddle-aye-day

I sang this song while we were collecting our leaves together, at least the parts I could remember.  We had such a fun time.

We girls, including the grandpuppies, had a great time walking and finding the leaves...as you can see, there were many different kinds of trees to choose from!

It was a perfect time for leaf gathering...

I'm trying to figure out a way to preserve them better for the future, but haven't come up with any great idea yet...maybe you can help me?  

Maybe I could put some in a picture frame or something.  I don't know, but for now, we will just enjoy them there as is.

Oh, the Memorial Rose continues to bloom and smell so delightfully sweet. I did send our daughter in law Nicole a picture of it on her 50th birthday this week, and she did respond and appreciated it very much.  I wish I could've sent it to her for real so she could smell it, but I'm afraid it wouldn't have made the trip to Maine intact.  But she appreciated the thought behind it and we were able to wish her a happy birthday.  We continue to pray for Nicole and our grandson Noah, as they move on with their lives without our dear son Matthew,  who has been in heaven over 10 years now. (Still hard for us to believe that!)   That's why this rose is so significant, as it was originally planted right after he passed away.

Oh,  my goodness! I was looking for a good way to close out this post, and I turned to this little devotional calendar for today to see what it had to say, and would you look at this?

I think God had that planned all along! I never saw this until right now! Wow! Talk about God putting things together...

That leaves me rather speechless! So I will just say thank you all for reading along and for being such dear friends.  And may we always have "beautiful roses in (our) hearts".

Have a blessed and beautiful day and weekend.