Tuesday 4: Summer Solstice

 

Summer Solstice

Welcome, it's Tuesday 4 time. I keep it up in memory of my friend Toni Taddeo who really enjoyed her blogs.

The Summer solstice arrived and some got hot weather and some got chill and rain. But summer is the time for holidays or vacations, summertime activities and being outdoors more. It's also a time, like winter, for complaints and we realize that people in Texas, Arizona and Florida stay inside in summer.

1. How is summer treating you so far this year? Could things improve? How do you make summer fun in your neck of the woods?

As most of you know we started out our summer with our AC breaking down and having to be replaced.  

Thankfully last week when it broke down the weather was cooler and rainy.  This week we are already having high 90's each day and no rain in sight, so we are very thankful to have our new AC unit keeping things cool. We live in Florida, and this is just the beginning of the summer heat. We mostly stay indoors in the summertime here, and try to stay cool. If we take walks, we try to go in the early morning or later in the evening when the sun is going down behind the trees. Summer fun in our neck of the woods now at our age is when we can be together with our loved ones and friends for a meal, either at our house or at a restaurant.  We sometimes take rides to neighboring communities just to get a change of scenery, but again, because of the heat we mostly stay inside wherever it is cool.

I love to watch the birds and wildlife outside our windows and keeping cool beside Still Waters Pond. Here's a few pictures I took just this morning:

Mrs. Ruby Throated Hummingbird says good morning!

Mr. Daddy Bluebird is bringing food to Mrs. Bluebird and the new brood of babies in the nest now.

Mr. and Mrs. Dove are preening and keeping cool in the shade of the pine tree...

And also taking a drink and/or a dip in the bird bath to cool off...

Mr. Sand Hill Crane has been showing up alone lately. I am not sure where Mrs. Crane and the two colts Pat and Val are these days.  Perhaps they are off on vacation. I hope they are okay, but I don't really understand why he is alone.

It seems very strange. I keep asking him to tell me where they are, but he hasn't given me an answer. Maybe they have found a better place to spend the summer where it is cooler. The last time I saw the whole family the "colts" were both able to fly just as well as the parents...so perhaps they are off exploring and he's here to hold down the fort.

I recently bought this new Log Cabin Bird feeder to replace a wooden one that was beginning to fall apart.  

I've been waiting for the birds to discover it, and finally today they showed up. Mr. Cardinal seems to approve...

But he still likes to stop for a cup of tea before he heads back to the trees...

And then Mr. Carolina Chickadee discovered it and kept coming back for more seeds.

I am glad they approve of the new log cabin diner. 

That would be my choice too, if I were a bird...

2.We give you magic powers! You can change the climate, the surroundings, even your house and anything you like. Tell us what you are doing to make your summer or your entire year better..... GO!

Oh wow...to be able to change the climate, surroundings, etc. for summer would be amazing!! If I could, I'd be in that log cabin somewhere up in the mountains where it is cooler,  perhaps with a little lake or mountain stream right outside to enjoy.  The weather would be perfect for swimming in the lake and/or kayaking down the river/stream.  We'd have a firepit and enjoy sitting around the campfire each evening, roasting hot dogs, making s'mores, and just enjoying the cool, fresh mountain air with friends and family telling stories around the fire.  It would be the kind of place where everyone would love to gather. There would be a hammock to nap in or lay there and read a good book, and a porch to rock in the rockers or a swing where you can just relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. That's my ideal dream of a place to spend the summer.

3. The puppy on the boat up above is your new friend. He wants a name. What name will you give him and would you like to be in that picture (if you can't sail we will provide someone for you!)  That puppy is so cute. She looks a lot like Lily Grace's puppy Bailey.  (You all remember Lily Grace don't you?)  So, maybe I would name that cute puppy Bailey.  As far as would I like to be in that picture, well, I know I can't sail, but if there is someone who can take care of that very competently, then that would be fun. I'd prefer a small rowboat in a small lake as opposed to being on the ocean, however.  

4. It's friendship pot luck day at your house this month. Everyone is coming. Please assign us what dishes each of us are to bring to make for a great day.(by the way, you needn't use names. Just name some dishes you would like people to bring along)

Oh,  that sounds like so much fun!  I won't assign names, but here's what I would like others to bring:

Potato Salad, (or a Pasta Salad, if you prefer). Deviled Eggs, baked beans, Watermelon, homemade pies, either cherry or peach for summertime, and we will make home made ice-cream together. I will provide the barbequed chicken and/or hamburgers/hotdogs, corn on the cob, and iced tea and/or lemonade and rolls. We will have such a great time! I can't wait to see all of you!!

I hope you enjoyed this little summer solstice dream time!  But even if we can't do all the things we wish we could do, I hope we will all have a peaceful and blessed summertime right where we are, doing whatever we can do to bring joy to others in some special way.  

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."

2 Corinthians 9:8

Thank you, Annie, for coming up with some fun questions once again! I hope others will join in and share your summertime dreams!!

Friday Foto Friends from Chilly Florida

Good Friday Morning Friends!

Sunrise at 7:00 a.m., Current Temperature is 42 degrees!! High today will be 60!

No snow in sight...but then again, this IS Florida!

I was thinking to myself, gee, I wish I had some kind of bird picture to show you this morning. No sooner had I said that than a flock of Canada Geese came honking and flying in onto Still Waters Pond! Sorry again for the poor quality, but it is difficult to get good pictures in such low light:

Nevertheless, they flew in right on time to bless me again...another example of God's perfect timing!

To show you that it is quite chilly here...This is my hubby yesterday, wearing his PJ's to keep warm.

If you are a Facebook friend, you've probably already seen this photo as it was quite the talk of the town yesterday! LOL

I was thinking I didn't have much to share with you today as we are busily preparing for Saturday's big event at Dixie Cottage:

It will be a long day of fun and hopefully lots of happy customers who come to visit us and do some early Christmas shopping!

If you can't make it here to Florida to our little shop, then please support your local small businesses wherever you are!  I believe next Saturday, November 26th, is the official Shop Small Business day, but any day is fine with all small business shop owners!

Dixie Cottage is filled with beautiful items, mostly all created by local artisans. We are very thankful to be able to provide space for them to sell their wonderful creations: 

Those little trees are hand crocheted!! Beautiful!

All kinds of ornaments and signs and decor

Christmas quilted wall hangings:

More Christmas ornaments...wreaths...all kinds of decor

I love this old Singer sewing machine. One of our vendors brought in a lovely little stool that is just right for it!

Let us not forget the true meaning of the season:

This pink little dresser would be lovely in some sweet little girl's bedroom:

Repurposed jewelry made into lovely and fun Christmas pins and earrings, etc.:

This is a lovely "new to us" painted accent table...

And it I had a young grandchild, I may be tempted to take this Rocking Horse home with me:

This is not a vendor's item, but I do love this woodland Santa with the fox, cardinal, owl, bunny rabbit, and polar bear cub:

Well, the sun is a little brighter now and the geese swam around the pond and came back into view for a minute...and then they hurried on their way around the pond again...or maybe they are headed to Dixie Cottage to take advantage of all the great deals!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I may be a bit out of touch for a couple of days while we get through this major event! LOL.

2 Corinthians 9:8

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, 

that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, 

may have an abundance for every good work."

 

Friday Foto Friends~Better Late Than Never

In my last post HERE, I shared that we now had this tree stump left in our yard and I wasn't sure what to do with it:

Right away our blogging friend "Sparky", A.K.A. "My Thoughts Exactly", and who is also another Pamela and Facebook Friend, sent me this photo on Facebook for an idea:

I liked that so much that I started looking at some other ideas on Pinterest, and here's just a few I found:

That would be a fun project, if I can just get someone to help me with it. I may have to wait until it cools down a bit. It's too hot out there right now, even for the "gnomes". LOL.

Speaking of work in the yard, we had these fellas come and clean up the shore line of Still Waters Pond. It had gotten so overgrown with weeds that we were concerned about the possibility of snakes, etc.  Right now the pond water has receded quite a bit because of the hot/dry weather, but as the summer afternoon rains continue, it will start filling up again and there will be water all the way to those pine trees. So this was a good time to get it cleaned up while we could.

The finished product:

And it appears we have a new tenant in one of the birdhouses:

Actually, he's been there before, (or one of his ancestors), and he was just waiting for the birds to all leave so he could take it back over again until they return.  He's so funny. He loves to sit there in the window looking out just like the birds did.

And he probably feels safer in there so this Great White Egret can't get to him.  

Yes, there is still plenty of hunting ground all around the pond for the birds.  We just needed to clean up our part of the shore.

We took a quick ride over to see if there is any progress being made at the new Dixie Cottage store building.  The landlady is painting the outside of the building and has chosen a pale yellow for the walls, and I am not sure about the doors yet, but they won't be that pretty blue anymore.  Our kids were not consulted about what color scheme it should be. It's the building owner's choice, so whatever it ends up will have to do.  I'm sure it will end up looking nice, but it will be different!

Tomorrow is their last day at their St. Augustine store, and then they will be packing it all up and moving it here next week, with a target date of August 2nd for the grand opening. They have a LOT to do, so prayers are welcome for their safety in moving and for their energy to hold up! They are younger than we are, but still not that young!  It's a big job! And we really can't help that much. I will be having my scheduled colonoscopy on Monday, so I will be out of commission for at least Sunday and Monday. 

Oh, across the street from their new store there was this benefit rummage sale and BBQ going on today, to benefit a local fireman who has cancer.  So we went over and bought some BBQ ribs to have for supper.  The kids are going to stop in on their way home from St. Augustine and have dinner with us. So that is one way we can help the kids...and help support a worthy cause in the community at the same time.  I love the spirit of a small town...and I think having the store right there in the heart of town is going to be a real benefit and joy. 

Here's some encouragement from God's Word for us today:

2 Corinthians 9:8

 "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." 

Have a blessed and beautiful day and weekend friends!