Monday Monday~For the Birds!

 Good Monday Morning!  Here's the view from where I'm sitting right now as I try to write this post:

Yes, I have a little "helper", and he's quite taken with the image of the beautiful red Cardinal on my screen. I had to hold him back to keep him from getting a closer look!

This is what he's looking at...the birds have been quite active in our yard this past weekend...

The Bluebirds have also been busy...I do believe there must be babies in the nest by now, as I see Mama and Papa Bluebird come and go to find food for them. That is so exciting! Last year they never did build a nest, and this year we've missed out on watching our Sand Hill Crane family have any babies, so it will be exciting to see if we get to see the baby Bluebirds when they leave the nest. I'll be watching!

On Saturday there was a flock of birds that kept flying from tree to tree and landing in our pine tree, but the sun was so bright behind them I couldn't make out what they were. However, I took a picture of them anyway, and then I had to brighten it up until I could make out the color and markings on these birds...and finally I was able to determine that they were Cedar Waxwings!   HERE is a link to a time several years ago when they came and we were able to enjoy watching them better.  

They normally come in the fall when the hollyberries are ripe and they clean off a tree in no time at all. But now, at this time of year there are no hollyberries or other berries on other bushes yet, so I'm not sure what they were eating. I assume they are migrating back up north now since it is springtime, so if you are used to seeing them where you live further north, be on the lookout for their return! They are such interesting and unusual looking birds!

This is a picture from when they came in November of 2020...when the hollyberries were quite abundant! 

Also on Saturday we noticed way over on the other side of our still very dry "Still Waters Pond" a group of birds gathered at the only puddle of water that remains of the pond...

There are two Great Blue Herons and three white Wood Storks, gathered at this little tiny pool of water to search for whatever food they can find.  

Oh how badly we need rain! The weather report keeps teasing us saying we might get some rain, and then somehow it keeps circumventing our location and we are fortunate if we even get a drop!  Rain is predicted for today and  Oops! It WAS predicted for later today, and I just now looked at my weather app again on my phone, and it's no longer in the forecast! Less than one hour ago it was showing up there, and now they've removed it again! That happened yesterday afternoon as well!

So here is the current revised forecast for this week...There's a couple of days of possibility of rain, but I am not holding my breath! However I will keep praying...

Blackie and I have been spending a little time together on some afternoons sitting in the "Secret/Memorial Garden", watching the birds and enjoying a pleasant breeze in the trees...

He's such a sweet companion...although you have to wonder what's really on his mind when he looks at me with those squinty eyes and perturbed ears..."Oh no! Here she goes again with that camera! Always taking my picture! Good grief, woman! Get a life!" LOL.

Finally he decided to go hide in the azalea bushes and camouflage himself from me and the birds...

Meanwhile I was enjoying watching this Northern Parula enjoying the birdbath!  We don't see them here often, so this was a real treat!

As I walked around the yard I was thrilled to see that all four blossoms on the Hippeastrum plant were blooming.  This link tells the history of when we first discovered this plant blooming in our yard and what a surprise it was.  It always seems to bloom just in time for Easter! 

Much like the Easter Lily, it looks like four trumpets announcing the good news of the Resurrection of our Lord! 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen!

Luke 24:5-6...

Oh, I am getting ahead of the story for this Holy Week...But even though we remember all the things that Jesus had to suffer during this period of time leading up to His death on the cross...we already know how the story ends...or rather how it begins with giving us all hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ! 

Because He Lives...I can face tomorrow....

Because He Lives Lyrics

God sent His Son, they called him Jesus,

He came to love, heal and forgive;

He lived and died, to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride, and joy he gives;

But sweeter still the calm assurance,

This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,

I'll fight live's final war with pain;

And then as death gives way to victory,

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

Have a blessed Holy Week my friends...

P.S. Thank you for your kind words on my "Palm Sunday" post yesterday. I was a little under the weather, but I am fine today, praise God!! I have to be...it's going to be a busy but wonderful week.

Thursday 6 and Thursday Thankfulness

 My friend Syl over at Sylify is the hostess for this Thursday 6 meme each week. Just six questions. Syl lives in the Netherlands (right, Syl?), and I enjoy visiting with her on her blog throughout the week.  Since I didn't have anything else in particular planned for today, I thought I would give this a try, so here you go!

Welcome!
Theme of the week:  Greetings

1. Did you already have snow this season?

No, because I live in Florida, where snow would be quite unusual, especially in November. It has happened before in January or February, but never enough to accumulate...it usually melts before it hits the ground, but when it does happen, everyone goes crazy for a few minutes just wanting to enjoy it!

Newspaper articles about when it snowed in Central Florida in 1977.  I remember this night, because I was about 8 months pregnant with our youngest son, and I had just arrived at church with our other two children for Wednesday night church, (or some other program).  We had just gotten inside the building and had taken off our jackets when people came in saying it was snowing...and the kids and everyone ran back outside without jackets to see the snow!  My hubby was working as a FHP State Trooper at that time, and he was actually directing traffic out in the snow. He said people were driving like they forgot how to drive. It was crazy everywhere! But so much fun for a few minutes.

2. Who puts the rubbish outside? How?

Usually my hubby and I take the rubbish out together, and we just did that a few minutes ago, because the garbage truck will arrive around 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, and we need to put it out tonight rather than try to wake up on time to catch them in the morning.  

3. At what time did you close the curtains yesterday?

Well, the curtains on the front side of the house stay closed all the time because we live on a rather busy street and I don't like people looking in our windows as they drive by. Plus the sun is very bright on that side of the house in the morning, so we keep them shut to keep the sun from being too hot in the house. 

Here's the view from the front porch early this morning:

 The blinds on the back side of the house overlooking the pond are open for much of the morning, but when the sun moves around to the southwestern side of the house, we have to close them during the middle part of the day or it makes it too warm in the house and the glare off the pond (when there's water in it) is hard to look at.  Then we usually open them back up when the sun goes down in the evening (or on a cloudy day they stay open all the time, which I love).  We don't normally close them back up at night on that side of the house because there's no one behind us to look in them.  

This was the view from our back porch windows last night:

Blackie and Sunshine were enjoying watching the sun going down:

Psalm 113:3 NKJV

3 From the rising of the sun to its going down

The Lord’s name is to be praised.

4. How do you keep warm during the night? What kind of cover?

Funny you should ask...when the cold snap hit a week or so ago, we brought out the new set of flannel sheets that I bought at the end of last winter. I've been anxious to put them on the bed, because I just love the little cabins and pine trees in the snow...

Aren't they cute?  And they are so soft and warm and cozy.  They make me smile just to look at them!

And when I really get chilled, I add this sherpa lined blanket that I got for Christmas last year:

It is super cozy!! Especially when I snuggle up with my little brown "Bear Bear" you see there...and of course my big Teddy Bear hubby too...

When the temperatures start to drop, I think "cozy" is my favorite word...

5. Have you bought Christmas cards yet?

I actually just ordered some yesterday. They don't seem to be carrying them at Walmart anymore and I have a hard time finding any locally, so I had to order them. I also bought some Christmas postage stamps today, but what a sticker shock that was! I may be limiting my Christmas card list this year to people that I don't communicate with online  that much...I don't know...we'll see. I do love to receive cards in the mail, so it's only right that I should send them out too...but it's really getting to be quite expensive!

6. Do you feed the birds when it's cold?

Yes...Feeding and watching the birds is one of our favorite pasttimes in the winter/spring months.

 

Now that we have these porch kitties living here, I do hope they won't scare away all of our pretty birds this winter.  Time will tell.   Mostly our cats just lay there on the porch and watch the birds...they really haven't been that interested in stalking them, so I hope that will be the norm for this winter...

I guess that's the end of the questions for the week for Thursday 6, but I still have more to say! (Of course!) LOL.

Yesterday we had some fellas from our church come and trim those big oak trees in the front. They cut back a lot of low hanging branches and really made them look a lot better!

Here's the finished product!  They cleaned everything up and it looks so nice!  We are very thankful for their hard work and excellent job!

While I was standing on the front porch, this beautiful Gulf Fritillary butterfly came and landed on the pot of Penta that is still blooming so prettily! What a blessing! 

Another thing I am thankful for this past week was as I mentioned in an earlier post HERE, that son Scott came home and cleaned up his room so very nicely.  Then son Benton came over on Tuesday and hauled away some things to the dump, and also helped me get the bed set up the way I wanted it.  I didn't take any before pictures (because it was too big of a mess!!) but here's the after pictures:

The bed used to be turned so that it was up against that wall where the head of the bed is now. You couldn't get beside it on that side so it was very hard to make the bed, but that's the way Scott always liked it.  This way is much better for my purposes and to possibly use it as a guest room now. 

Here's the organ that Scott inherited from my parents' house...(he's the only one that wanted it). It's quite old now and very heavy, but it still works, and he still loves to play it when he comes home, so it will stay there until he has a house of his own to move it to someday.

Here he is playing it at my parents' home when he was about 11. That was where you'd find him everytime we went there.  He doesn't read music, but he makes it up as he goes, and it's actually quite nice. I wish he'd taken piano lessons when he was young...but he calls this his "therapy".

Here's Scott a few years ago when we were in the process of moving and had our stuff stored at the church parsonage where we stayed until we closed on this house...(another long story).

I am very thankful for our family and for these sweet memories.  

Well, it's getting late, and I need to wrap this up.  If you wanted to join in the Thursday 6, it's not too late. Click HERE for the questions.  Thank you, Syl, for coming up with the questions for the week! I enjoyed this!

Psalm 100  NKJV

A Song of Praise for the Lord’s Faithfulness to His People

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

"1 Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

3 Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

5 For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations."

Monday Monday~Time to Prepare

 Here it is Monday evening, and I haven't written anything yet!  We've had a bit of a busy day...prepping for Hurricane Milton, which is scheduled to arrive in our state sometime late Wednesday evening or overnight Thursday morning.  If you've been watching the news, you will see that it is currently a Category 5 storm, but it is still in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and moving slowly toward the peninsula of Florida. It is scheduled (at this time) to make landfall somewhere near Tampa Bay, maybe a little north, or maybe a little south, but hopefully by then it will have slowed down to a Category 3, which is still huge, and it will wreak havoc on the Gulf Coast with strong storm surges again in areas already hit hard by Hurricane Helene two weeks prior.  This storm is supposed to move across the state rather than going up the coast, which means it will come barreling in our direction. However, the current prediction is that it will slow down and be more of a Category 1 as it crosses the state, but it may move very slowly, which means it will have more time to dump more rain and blow high winds all around while it lingers over us.  Therefore, even though we are more inland and north of the main impact zone, we could still get sustained 60-75 mph winds, which most likely will do some major tree damage and we can expect to have widespread power outages.  (I'm beginning to sound like a weatherman! We spend so much time watching them, we are being programmed...)

So anyway, we went to the store this morning and stocked up on some food/paper goods items, and then came home and put things away again from the yard...bird feeders, wind chimes, small items that could blow away, etc.  Then we went to our Bible Studies this afternoon and did more talking about what's going on that doing our Bible Study very seriously. But we encouraged one another and prayed for our situation and basically prepared ourselves mentally and spiritually for what is coming.

Speaking of bird feeders, I put ours up on the back porch under shelter for now, but left out where the birds could still find them and eat, and also where we could watch them from inside the house.  I enjoyed just sitting and watching and snapping a few pictures for a while, which was very relaxing and calming:

Male Cardinal

Carolina Chickadee

Male Cardinal and Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Male Cardinal

Female Cardinal

Carolina Chickadee

Two Carolina Chickadees!

I enjoyed watching them so much! I hope you did too!

Yesterday was our grandson Noah's 25th birthday!  We tried to call him, but he had to work, so we just left him a message on the phone and sang Happy Birthday to him.  But happily, he called us back this evening and we had a nice long conversation.  Here's the latest picture of him, posted by his mother on Facebook yesterday.  Someone said he must be a James Bond fan because of his gesture.  But my son said, no, it would be an Austin Powers gesture...I don't know anything about that, but apparently he was just being funny and cute.  He reminds me so much of his father, our son Matthew, who was always doing something funny and cute. Anyway, I'm just so glad we were able to talk with him. That means so much to us, and hopefully it did to him as well.

Also yesterday evening our "kids" (Benton and Rose) came over and we had bratwurst with peppers and onions on it for supper.  Then we played some of that game, "Deer in the Headlights", and discussed Hurricane strategy.   If things get too wild and rough, we may go over to their house, as they have a solid concrete block home, whereas we live in a manufactured home.  However, we have a generator and they don't, plus we have city water and they have a well, so we would have water and electricity via generator, but they would have solid concrete walls, but no water or power.  We shall see what we end up needing the most. Praying mostly that we will all be safe no matter what condition our utilities are in.  

While the kids were here, of course the grandpups came over too. They were being their usual cute selves.

Here's Sugar...and this is her habit when she knows she is about to be fed:  She runs with her tennis ball in her mouth and goes to her "dinner mat" and waits for her food. It's really comical...she will run and find that ball as soon as she hears someone say something about coming to eat...

And here's Spice....She doesn't bother with the tennis ball, but she just waits for the food. Sometimes she tends to be very finicky  and doesn't eat everything, but Sugar will usually take care of any of her leftovers. Their personalities and little habits are such fun to watch.

Here is the link to our church service yesterday.  I am linking it because I wanted you to hear the choir singing "Let Us Break Bread Together". (it's at the very beginning).

Yesterday, our Pastor and wife were away on vacation. The sermon on this video was actually from a message he preached last year, since they were away this week and did not record a new sermon. (And we had a guest speaker preach for the service on Sunday.)  But the song we recorded during our choir practice last week.  Anyway, I tell you all of this because even though I am singing with the choir in this video, in reality on Sunday morning, I was directing the choir.  Our Pastor's wife is also our choir and worship leader, and since they were going away, I was asked to fill in for her.  So on Sunday morning I directed the choir when they sang this song.  Thankfully it was a very easy song to sing and direct, and everything went well.  I also had to lead the congregational singing and make all the announcements, etc., basically everything except for the things that the Pastor does, like pray and preach and lead the Communion service. We had a few little snafu's at the beginning when the sound system would not work properly, and our usual sound technician was also on vacation.  Another person had been trained to operate the system, but for some reason things didn't go exactly as planned, however we did manage to find a microphone that worked and the service carried on without a hitch from then on.  I give thanks and glory to God for getting us through it all, and I'm also thankful our Pastor and wife will be back next Sunday! LOL. It certainly made me appreciate everything they do every Sunday even more! And they truly deserved and needed to have a break!  (It also made me thankful that my hubby and I are now retired from the pastoral ministry, because we had to do all those things before every week as well for many years! But we were younger then and had a lot more energy!)  Actually, I am very thankful to God that I was able to serve in this way, and I really did enjoy every minute.  But my Sunday afternoon nap felt real good! LOL. 

 "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God..."

2 Corinthians 3:5

Well folks, "Lord willin' and the creek don't rise," I hope to write again tomorrow for the Tuesday 4 meme, and then I will be getting things ready for Hurricane Milton to make his way through on Wednesday and Thursday.  Hopefully I will still be able to communicate with you during that time, but please just be praying for everyone in the path of this storm. There are quite a few of us bloggers here in Florida, and I pray we will all be safe and sound and able to talk about our experiences when it's over.

"I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

Psalm 4:8  NKJV