Saturday Meanderings

Today was a lovely autumn Saturday...a perfect day for some "meanderings" here and there.

We took a little ride in the country and came across this flock of wild turkeys doing the "turkey trot" across the field. Actually, they had just crossed the road in front of us, and we had to stop quickly for one of the stragglers. I would like to have had more time to get a better picture (maybe even have time to put the window down!), but there was a car right behind us who almost rear-ended us when we stopped, so hubby didn't want to hold up traffic any longer.  I see at least 11 or 12 turkeys there! I think they are getting out of town before Thanksgiving arrives!  LOL.

We ended up on this road where this old "Florida Cracker House" is... (You can click on that link for more information about Florida Cracker Architecture)

2026-looks like nature is about to take over this old house.

If you've been with me here in blogger for a while, you may have seen this old house before. See this link:  First post about this old house in 2017.  There was some interesting discussion about what people remembered about these old houses on this post:

First picture I took of this house in 2017

The next time we drove by was in 2020, and there was some yellow tape around the property and it looked like maybe they were going to either do some work or maybe sell it?  But apparently not.

Link to former post about this house in 2020

2020

I am concerned that the next time I drive by that house it may be gone or totally swallowed up by nature. I sure wish someone would rescue it and restore it before that happens. But it may be that all the family has either died or moved away and no one seems to care about it anymore. It makes me wonder about the old folks who lived there and raised their families in that house...and now perhaps they are also forgotten. 

This kind of leads me to these next thoughts...I actually hadn't planned to go there, but now it seems I am supposed to...

On Thursday morning I was awakened out of a sound sleep with some strange sensations in my left upper chest and neck area.  I've experienced this before, and it always goes away in a few minutes...not sure if it is a kind of heart issue or a heartburn issue or anxiety, but it was enough to wake me up and make me a bit concerned. I woke up my hubby and he got me a baby aspirin, and I just sat there a while and tried to decide if I should go to the ER or just wait and see how things go.  Actually after a little while it subsided and I was able to get up and move around and go about my normal morning routines.  Only one thing concerned me that I had never experienced before with these episodes, when it was time to read our morning devotions, I normally read out loud from a devotional guide with scripture verses.  Even though I was talking normally, when it came time to read, I was having difficulty forming the words as I read them. My mouth muscles and my brain didn't seem to be quite in sync with each other and it was quite an effort to read.  That kind of scared me, but as the morning wore on I was feeling much better, even though I was kind of tired and headachy most of the day. I decided to call our doctor's office and see if I could get in on Friday, and they just happened to have had a cancellation on Friday afternoon, so thankfully I was able to take it.   When I got to the Doctor on Friday, they did an EKG and checked all my vitals and did the exam for stroke, etc.  Although my EKG showed the same slower response in the right ventricle that had been seen a year or so ago, the doctor still did not see that as anything to be too concerned about. I passed all the other "tests" and he really didn't seem too overly concerned with what he was seeing, but to be on the safe side, he has ordered a CT Scan for me, which hopefully will be scheduled next week. He is trying to rule out a TIA or any other possible malfunction.

These verses below seem to speak to this issue of how I feel about these things...

Psalm 73:26 

26 My flesh and my heart fail;

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 

18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

I feel much like that old house that is outwardly failing and perishing, but I think about the lives that lived in that house over the years and how full of life and love they must have been during those years...and their spirit continues on into eternity even though the building they once called home is perishing.

  

Our human outward bodies are perishing, but the soul of our internal being is eternal, and when we keep our eyes and thoughts on Jesus, He will give us the strength we need to keep moving forward here until the day He calls us home to our eternal home in heaven. Then this outer shell will become dust and crumble in the earth, but our internal soul will live forever.   I am thankful for this hope of eternity through faith in Christ. No matter what the world may throw at us, we have an imperishable home in heaven that cannot be destroyed.  Praise God!

So Friday afternoon I didn't want to cook supper after an afternoon spent at the doctor's office, so we called Benton, who is still batching it this week until sweet Rose comes home from her father's in Minnesota on Monday, and we decided to go to Hog Wild Country Cafe' for supper.

I took this picture of Benton to send to Rose to show her his new "girlfriend", so she'll hurry up and come home! LOL.  Thankfully she's a good sport, and she sent us pictures of the pies she was baking for her father.  We are happy for her to have this opportunity to spend some time with her family there.

Today was another beautiful morning, and after our ride earlier, when we got home I wanted to stay outside and enjoy the fresh cool air for awhile.  Here's my fall t-shirt:

"Life is Good~Go Outside"

I set up the scarecrow and we bought a pumpkin at the "Walmart Pumpkin Patch" the other day.(LOL) , and I put out my "Happy Halloween" Black Cat flag that I got for my birthday...

I also finally put out this beautiful outdoor decor, which was a birthday gift from a very dear blogging friend...

I couldn't decide where to put it, and tried it on this shepherd's hook in the yard, but it was so windy today that I was concerned it would blow a bit too much there...

So I decided to hang it on this planter trellis frame in the garden, and Blackie approved of this decision:

Speaking of Blackie...this morning someone (not me) forgot to close our bedroom door and also our closet door while Blackie was inside the house for his breakfast.  After he finished eating he disappeared for a while and I didn't notice where he had gone. I went into our bedroom and was calling him, but no response. I looked in our closet, and there he was, asleep (before I woke him up) in the little baby cradle that our son built for me a few years ago to hold my sweet Baby Elva doll...but it is a little too big to put beside my bed in this house, and so it was relegated to the closet and my hubby likes to store some of his comfy pants and t-shirts there...and Blackie discovered it and decided it was a great hiding place for him to take a nap, snuggled up in "Daddy's clothes".  

I took this picture to show that there is still another baby doll and some other stuffed animals in there as well...but poor Blackie looks like he's going to cry and say ,"Please don't make me move".  And so I didn't. I let him curl back up and sleep awhile longer, and pretty soon he came out of his own accord and said he was ready to go outside. LOL.

Doesn't he look pitiful? He's holding on to Daddy's pants and pleading with me not to make him go. Who could refuse such a face as that???

This afternoon has been windy and cool and actually a little bit of a rainy day, and it just seemed like a good day for chili. So I made a pot of chili and called Benton over to share it with us while he and hubby watched some football.

The pot of chili while it was simmering on the stove. Smelled so good!

I meant to take a picture of our bowls of chili, topped with cheese and fritos and sour cream, but I forgot, so here's my clean empty bowl, so you get the idea. LOL.

I also made a pan of brownies, and so we had that for dessert...

Here's Benton enjoying his brownie, while the puppies, Sugar and Spice, are snuggled up next to him on the couch. I know they miss their Mom.

Well, friends, I guess this is all for today. I do feel much better, and I feel confident that everything is going to be fine, but prayers are always appreciated.  It's just one of those things as we get older, things happen and we need to be prepared for whatever comes next. But when we know Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we do not need to fear what the future may hold.

Strength and honor are her clothing;

She shall rejoice in time to come.

Proverbs 31:25

Here is the video of our service and choir song for tomorrow morning.  This really goes along with what I've been trying to say...I hope you will take the time to at least listen to the song. It is so beautiful.

Romans 15:13 

"13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Amen and Good Night!

Saturday Wanderings

Happy Saturday!  I hope this day finds you enjoying some beautiful skies, fresh air, and God's lovely world around you!  Or, maybe you are enjoying staying indoors in your "cool" house, away from the heat and humidity and/or other weather issues.  Wherever you are, I hope you are doing well.  

It was such a lovely morning, we decided to take a little ride to the Kenwood boat ramp...not to go boating as we do not have a boat, but just to enjoy the natural beauty of a morning that started out a few degrees cooler than it has been the rest of the week, and humidity was lower as well...so it was a good time to get out while the getting's good!  This lovely dragonfly above was enjoying sunning himself on a picnic table. I appreciated him staying still long enough for me to take his picture!

It was a picture-perfect morning...blue skies and green trees reflecting in the cool green waters of the canal leading to the Kenwood Recreation Area and Rodman Reservoir

I enjoyed walking around and taking pictures of everything I saw...I hope you don't mind a lot of pictures...I missed the weekly Friday Foto Friends post for yesterday, so this will make up for that.

Beautiful Live oak tree shading the picnic area...

 I am not going to attempt to identify all the water plants and flowers...just enjoy them...

Ah, but those eggs are actually Florida Apple Snails, and I believe these are the native variety. There are many invasive species starting to takeover our fresh waters, but these look like the native snail eggs.

It's a great day for boating and fishing, and there were many trucks with boat trailers in the parking lot already, so I assume the lakes/rivers are full of fishermen out enjoying a beautiful day on the water. 

We were quite content to stay onshore and admire God's wonderful creation.  

Another Post about this location from last Fall

And also a post from the winter time

Back on the home front, last night I noticed this little Brown Anole (lizard) on our back porch. He looks kind of funny because he is shedding his skin.  Apparently they do that several times a year. It is interesting to get to see this actually happening:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 

18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Here is the latest photo of the Century Plant/Agave, that is blooming as it is actually dying:

It is still quite beautiful, even in its last days of life...

We stopped by to see the Hawthorn bush that I've been watching on our walk, and this strange thing was growing on the tree.  Here is the link to what it is...a kind of fungi.

https://wiki.bugwood.org/Gymnosporangium_clavipes_(cedar-quince_rust_on_hawthorn)

Here is what the actual hawthorn berries look like:

I just think that's interesting!

Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird are at it again, building another nest in the birdhouse!  They've been quite busy at their task, even though we've had 95 degree temps most every day this past week. Seems like it would be too hot to stay in the birdhouse and sit on a nest...but hubby said maybe the heat will help incubate the eggs for them so they can take more breaks! LOL. Probably not, but I hope the baby birds will develop and maybe we'll get to see them this time!

And Mr. Red Shouldered Hawk has still been fussy about the loss of so much of his habitat on the lot next door...

He was scolding me for being so close (although I was really quite far away...trust me!)

I hope the Hawk family will be okay once the dust settles.

Oh, btw! Today is the first day of June!! Hard to believe we are already to the half way point in this year! My, how time flies!  

As per my usual post for the first of the month, here are the calendar photos for June:

This is the John Sloane Country Seasons calendar, which I love so much. This picture is so beautiful...I can just visualize myself standing there with that sweet doggy, looking at "Out Town". I think I would love to live in a town that looks like this...no cars, just horse and buggies...sometimes it's nice to dream about living in such a world...but then reality hits...no air conditioning, no electricity, no indoor plumbing...so, if we could live in a town like this and have all the amenities mentioned above, that would be lovely...what do you think?

And then we could have a tea party...although this particular picture/tea display looks more modern than the above picture.

Here's the quote for the month from the Teapot Calendar.  Funny...

Now, here's the cute little Susan Branch calendar for June...cute ideas for summertime picnics...speaking of watermelon...I have one waiting to be cut, but I don't have room for it in the fridge, so we are waiting until we can make more room, or until there are more people here to help us eat it. "The Kids" said they'd come over tomorrow afternoon and help us eat it! LOL.

Here's the Thomas Kincade calendar for June...isn't that a lovely garden?  Oh, wouldn't I love to have a garden that looked like this!!  I'm afraid my brown thumb just can't quite accomplish this kind of beauty, try as I might! LOL.  

Amen to this verse:

It goes very well with the following picture from the calendar in my bathroom...isn't that beautiful?

So, how does your June look? Is it going to be busy? Are you going on any vacations this summer? Our June calendar already has several medical appointments listed...still working through all the follow ups and test results, etc.  Hopefully maybe by the end of the month we can think about doing something fun, like getting away from the heat for a while. Not sure where or how, but we can dream, can't we?

Well, friends, here it is the end of the day and time to say good night.  Tomorrow is Sunday, and we get up early to get to Sunday School on time. Hubby is the teacher, so we'd better not be late! LOL.

One last verse from my daily devotional book...the header page for June...Good place to end the day...

Amen.

Good Night!