Rainy Sunday Afternoon on Still Waters Pond

Today, Sunday, has been a lovely day...after church we had our 5th Sunday Covered Dish Luncheon, which was well attended and LOTS of good food! I forgot to take any pictures, but if you've ever been to any small town country church covered dish dinner, you know what it's like!  I think the Pastor called it something like "welcome to Crock Pot Heaven".  LOL.  Yes, there were LOTS of crock pots filled with all kinds of good stuff, spaghetti and meatballs, beef a roni,  BBQ meatballs, pork and gravy with rice, baked beans, baked chicken and fried chicken, etc., and then there were things like chicken enchiladas and smoked sausages and jello salads, coleslaw, and then desserts...blueberry cobbler, apple cobbler, some kind of cherry cheese cakes, chocolate cake, pound cake, cake with pretty pink icing, everything except for any healthy foods like green vegetables and fruit! Oh well! I guess we won't die if we missed a carrot stick or a pineapple chunk. LOL.

When we came out of the church fellowship hall after dinner it was pouring down rain, which of course we needed very badly, but it made for a lot of figuring out how to get to the parking lot with our empty casseroles and other bags, etc., and hold the umbrella in place so we didn't get drowned.  We survived and by the time we got home the rain had pretty well stopped, but it kind of came back again in waves. That's okay...we need it!

So, all that being said, what else is going on out here in our neck of the woods, or along the shore of our pond?  Well, some of these pictures were taken yesterday afternoon, and then some today...

I hope you don't get tired of seeing the Sand Hill Crane family.  Oh, someone mentioned in my last post they wondered why the babies were called "colts".  Well it is because of their long legs.  If you look at a baby horse COLT, and a baby Sand Hill Crane COLT, you will see those similarities in their legs, right from the very beginning!

 These babies are born ready to run and follow their long legged parents around everywhere they go right from within an hour or so of hatching from the egg!

And as you can see by these pictures, they grow very rapidly! 

 

I really never tire of watching them, and am so thankful to have a front row seat to do just that while it lasts.

There is definitely never a dull moment around here...I've already told you about these Muscovy ducks and what a pain they are.  They fly up on the porch and eat the cat's food, they try to get close to the Cranes and/or geese and eat whatever they are eating, and they tend to make a general muisance of themselves. I am thinking about finding a farmer or someone who thinks he wants them to come and trap them.  

The Canada Geese are right close by too, but at least they are more polite, and they have become my champions by chasing off the ducks.  Then they strut right past our porch honking and talking to me as if to say, "There, I took care of those pesky ducks. Now may I please have a reward?"  And they know I will probably toss them a few birdseeds to thank them.  We've become allies in the battle against the ducks.

Spring and Trumpet are pretty oblivious to all of the antics going on around them...they just want to know where the food is and they stay really close to Mama and Daddy.

Hey! Which way did they go???

Oh, thank goodness! Here they are!

They do love to forage for yummy worms and tadpoles and who knows what down along the shore of the pond too.

So now, this was today...in between rainstorms the Crane family worked their way around the pond and came calling... Oh, I wanted you to see that my Bottle Brush Tree is starting to bloom!  Hooray! Just in time for the hummingbirds, who have been around for the past couple of weeks at the feeder on our porch, but I just haven't managed to get a picture yet.  I've been too focused on all this other activity going on.

Blackie Sue was also watching all the activity from her latest perch up on the BBQ grill just outside my window in my little Room With A View.  (I did finally wash the window, but it isn't that great because there is a sunscreen on the window to cut the glare and heat coming through the window on this west side of the house)

I was beginning to wonder where Sunshine was during all the rain as she wasn't up here on the porch, and just as I looked out the window at Blackie Sue, look who I see peeking up at Blackie Sue from down on the porch?

Yes, there she is, trying to get Blackie Sue's attention, but you can see who Blackie Sue is looking at...

However, she soon notices Sunshine down there and she immediately goes to greet her friend:

About the same time there was some real action going on down on the shore...one of those ducks got too close to the Crane family and Papa Crane took off after him:

He chased him into the pond by flapping his huge wings and probably scaring the life out of him:

Yes, that duck flew out to the middle of the pond pretty quick when he saw Papa Crane coming after him! Hooray!!!

Once again peace reigns for the very wet Crane family...

And Blackie Sue is keeping a watch over other bird activity out there from her place on the porch...

While Sunshine hides under the wicker chairs until she feels safe...she's a bit more timid and nervous around all this activity...

But it's not long before she climbs up into the chair and takes a nap...

And Blackie Sue is once again on top of the BBQ grill, and notices me inside the window looking out at her!  

And now all is calm and we can relax for a while beside the Still Waters...

Psalm 23 NKJV

The Lord the Shepherd of His People

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.

Amen.

 

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Happy First Day of August!

Who can believe we are already here? Doesn't seem possible! July was certainly a month full of surprises...some good, some not so good, some unbelievable! I won't go over the list as I know we are all well aware of all that transpired during the month of July. It was a very long, difficult, and somewhat frightening month.  Therefore, I think it is good to start out the month of August with these words from God's Word:

With the LORD guiding us with His light, we can see our way clear through the storms and clouds and uncertainties of the days ahead.  With God leading us, we don't have to fear ANYONE or ANYTHING.

Joshua 1:9 is a favorite verse to remember and write down in our hearts so that we won't forget when times get a bit scary or dark.  God is with us wherever we go.

Yes, this is the monthly roll call of calendars. That was from the Thomas Kincade calendar, one which I always appreciate because of the messages included on each month's pages.  We keep that one in our bathroom where we also write down our important appointments for the month.  It is good to always be reminded of God's presence with us no matter where we go or what we do.  

Speaking of monthly appointments: Hubby and I both had follow up appointments with our PCP today to go over labs taken last week.  We both got very good reports and were very pleased. That is a definite praise item!!!

This is my next favorite calendar, the John Sloane Country Seasons calendar.  And I love this painting for August of  the young woman sitting outside in her pajamas and bathrobe, looking at the many stars on a starry August night.  Even though I also love to go outside and look at the stars in the sky, I rarely go in my pajamas, and sadly here in Florida the mosquitoes would be biting us so much we wouldn't be able to sit there and enjoy them for long. but it's sure a lovely thought.

I also love this Teapot calendar, with a different style of teapot for each month.  Isn't this one beautiful? So ornate and elegant.  I noticed the man in the background, and it reminded me of some figurines I have in my curio cabinet that were given to me by my mother in law.

Here they are now:   Aren't they beautiful?  And that plate behind them came from my Grandma Mursch. The crystal parfait dish was from my mother. Just some special treasures that I cherish.

Oh, August wouldn't be complete without some beautiful sunflowers smiling up at the sun!

And I saved the most fun one for last:  This is the Susan Branch calendar that has such cute drawings and sayings each month, and this one really caught my eye:

So much so, that I thought I would try to imitate it in a selfie:  LOL LOL LOL

Just having a little fun to bring a smile to your face.  

Also, I forgot to mention that quote above from Ralph Waldo Emerson about dogs respecting it when you dress well and they won't attack you...Well, I do have a praise report about that! Although I wasn't dressed quite "this well" as above, but one day last week when we went walking I heard some panting and running sounds coming out of the woods behind me. I turned around just in time to see three large dogs running out of the woods directly towards me! I stopped in my tracks and yelled at them to "Stop!" "Get out of here!", and they took one look at me and turned around and ran back the way they had come! My hubby was about 20 yards in front of me and didn't hear them or see them and so I started hollering for him, which, because of the outdoor atmosphere he really couldn't understand me, but came back to see what was all the commotion about. We were both quite thankful that the dogs had gone away. Now I carry a whistle and also I keep our car keys with the fob on it handy. I could press the alarm button on it and hopefully, if I'm not too far away from our car, the alarm will start blaring and get the attention of the dogs AND hubby!! LOL.  Actually, we think these were friendly dogs from someone's house not too far away on the other side of the woods, but still, they shouldn't be allowed to run free and scare the living daylights out of elderly women! LOL.

Speaking of selfies and smiles...tonight our kids came over for supper and brought a new game to play. (New to us anyway)

Have you ever played "Deer in the Headlights"?  It was a lot of fun...

Sweet Rose won the game.  (she's trying to smile with bite of that ice cream cone in her mouth, LOL)

Son Benton just went ahead and looked goofy with his ice cream cone...

Hubby declined the ice cream cone so he could smile nice and big for us...

I also declined the ice cream cone, but still wanted to hide behind my cards and take a selfie...

So there you have it!  We had a good time.  Now that I know how to play, maybe I'll win next time. LOL.  We are very thankful and blessed to have our kids nearby to enjoy doing things with.  It's fun to put our food together and enjoy a meal and play a game too. Yes, another blessing!

Well, I promised you some pictures of the house next door when the other half arrived. It didn't arrive until today after I waited for it all day yesterday. I was finally surprised when I looked out the window at 11:00 this morning, and there it was!

It was amazing how quickly they were steering it onto the property to line it up with the other half.

I was trying to take pictures as fast as I could, but they were really moving so quickly I couldn't believe how fast they could move that huge building.

And then they came to a screeching halt.

When he tried to make the turn to swing that end around and line it up with the other half, there was a small tree in the way on that end and he couldn't go any farther.

He tried and tried, but just didn't have enough room to make the full swing.

And so, after looking the situation over, they decided they would have to leave it like this for today and come back tomorrow with a saw or something to remove the tree and limbs that were in the way.

Here's the picture of the front of the house anyway. I think it is very pretty. I do love that color. and I think it will look very nice on this lot once they have it all lined up and settled in and do the leveling and hook up the water and septic and electric and put the skirting on...yes, still quite a few steps before it is ready for occupancy, but at least they've made progress!

This is a copy of the floor plan, in case you are interested in how it looks inside:

As I've said, it will make someone (or family) a very nice home.  I continue to pray for whomever these people will be.  

Well, I guess that's all for tonight.  I am thankful also that we got another good amount of rain this afternoon. Actually, it was quite a loud thunderstorm with lightning very close to us, and I am thankful that, to my knowledge, nothing was hit in that storm. Our power did blink off for a moment, but thankfully that was all. According to my weather app on my phone (which isn't always that reliable), it looks like we will be having some rain almost every day for the next week.  That's fine with me. Still Waters Pond will be happy too!

Speaking of Still Waters Pond, I was blessed to capture this photo of Mr. Great Blue Heron yesterday morning, fishing for his breakfast. He seems quite thankful to have the fresh new water in the pond:

The 23rd Psalm is a great way to close out this evening's post from beside Still Waters Pond:

1 The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.

Amen,  and Good Night Everyone!