It's Friday! Fly! Be Free!

The Bluebirds have left the nest!  

They may not have left things very tidy, but at least it appears they all made it out of the nest safely. I didn't see it happen, nor do I know how many baby birds were in the nest, but judging by the amount of "you know what" they left on the walls, there must have been several and it must've been rather crowded in there! LOL.  I am sure they are happy to be free and hopefully safely abiding in the treetops with their parents now and learning how to take care of themselves. 

Happy Friday! First off and foremost, I want to thank you all for so many kind comments on my last post HERE, the "Photo Dump Day". Your comments are always so precious and humbling and encouraging to me...as each of you are also precious to me. Thank you for being such special friends. We may never meet each other in person, but the bond we share through our conversations here in "blogland" oftentimes draw us even closer together than "in person relationships". I think it's because we often share things, ideas, events, deep thoughts and concerns here that we may not have the opportunity to share with people in the "real world" on a day to day basis. I am very thankful for each and every one of you. You inspire, teach, and encourage me in so many positive and uplifting ways. Again, thank you for being my friends! I have a feeling that if we could ever all get together, we would be even better than "The Golden Girls". LOL.

Speaking of "friends"...

Blackie seems to be my best buddy these days. He follows me around in the yard...

And wants to be right there in the middle of anything I am doing...

Literally in the middle...

(this is still a work in progress. I need some help moving those heavy boxes out of the way. )

I had just planted some wildflower and zinnia seeds in this little patch, tried to put a barrier around it so they don't all wash away when I water them, and had everything all nicely tucked in, when Blackie decided this looked like a good place to jump in and investigate! I am not a great gardener, but maybe Blackie helped pack the seeds down in the ground a little better and perhaps they will grow much stronger because of his extra gardening touch...Let us hope so! LOL.

After all "our" hard work planting seeds, we both decided to take a little break and sit on the garden bench for a while...

Oh, and speaking of the garden...the tomatoes are starting to appear!!

Hooray!!

And there are more squash/zucchini blossoms every day! Another Hooray!

Of course maintaining this garden requires a lot of watering on my part since we still have not had any rain...and even though there is some in the forecast for maybe on Sunday and later next week,  I have a feeling it still won't be enough to make any major difference in our pond or dry forests in the area. The fires continue to burn, but thankfully it doesn't seem it is quite as bad as it was...at least there's less smoke in the air.

However, there's apparently something dead somewhere on the still very dry Still Waters Pond. This morning we have a flock of buzzards surround our pond...

I don't know what they see out there...could be a dead turtle or something like that. I've wondered what's happened to all of the turtles who used to live in the pond.  I wish I could walk out there across the pond and see if I can find out what it is, but even though it is dry, there are places where I am sure I could break through the dry crust and sink up to my knees in muck, and I am definitely not willing to take that risk.  So whatever it is, I hope the buzzards clean it up before it starts to "smell".  That's what they are good for...all a part of the cycle of life and death in the wild.

Thankfully, I know it's not our Sand Hill Cranes, because there they are, alive and well and taking a stroll on the pond this morning.

I wish I had some other exciting or interesting news to share today.  Well, let's see...our son and his wife continue to create all kinds of wooden items in addition to the cedar planters. They currently have a booth a the Trading Post at Deep Creek, as well as setting up an outdoor booth bi-weekly at the Farm Swap.

And there's more news...Benton is actually going to be working at the Trading Post at Deep Creek a few hours each week! So if you go at the right time, you just might get to meet him there!  So yes, that's news!

Okay, that's all for today for now.  Oh, the rose bush keeps blooming...it's "living life in full bloom".

And I am very "Thankful, grateful, and blessed". Amen.

Here's some "food for thought" for today from Romans 14:5-13

"5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 

6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 

7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 

8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 

9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 

10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 

11 For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 

13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way."

Amen.