Back "Porch" Living!

Remember I told you HERE last week that our handyman "Billy" was working on a major project on our back deck...Well, work he has done all week/weekend long, and today I think the "project" is finally finished!

This is a "before picture" of our deck, before anything was done. We had this deck built last summer before we moved into our house so we would have a back entrance into the house and also have a place to sit and watch the activities on "Still Waters Pond".

 

And we certainly have enjoyed it. You've seen many pictures throughout the year of the geese, herons, sunsets, etc. But what you haven't probably noticed is that the afternoon sun gets extremely bright on our back deck, as it faces west.  And the backside of our house gets extremely hot from the hot sun beating down on it all afternoon, with no shade to break the sun's rays. We end up having to close our blinds for most of the afternoon, which spoils the whole purpose for living on the pond in the first place.

Our electric bill this summer was much higher than we anticipated, and we think it is because of the constant radiant heat bearing down on the house, causing the air conditioning to run constantly. Yes, we do live in Florida, so that is par for the course. But enough is enough!

And so, when we met "Billy" the handyman and he said that he could build us a roof over our deck, we decided to take him up on it, and this would be an "Anniversary Gift" to each other and to our house, since we just had our 51st wedding anniversary and we also celebrated our one year anniversary of living here in this house!

Here is Billy and one of his sons, who came to help "Pops" do the job.

They worked diligently in the blistering sun all weekend long to get this job done.

It was exciting to see the difference it made already as each panel of the metal roof was added. I was sitting inside in my little den looking out the window and could feel the difference right away...

We did leave one section open at this end so that we can use our BBQ grill on the deck and not have to worry about burning the roof down!

And here is the finished roof! Complete with two ceiling fans w/lights!  

And now I can stand under the shade and look out at the pond! 

And this is looking out from our living room through the glass doors, which now we don't have to cover in the middle of the day!  There may be times when the glare is too bright off the pond and we may still have to close the blinds for a little while, but we can tell a difference in the heat against the windows and the wall already!! Hooray!! Mission Accomplished!

I will post more pictures when we finish  setting up our deck , I mean porch furniture and adding some homey, comfy touches. (I think by adding the roof we can now call it a "porch" instead of a deck,  right? I like the sound of a "porch" so much better.)  We are debating also about painting or staining, but that will come later on. In the meantime, we are just rejoicing in having this wonderful shady spot...and can't wait for fall so we can really enjoy it!  (the heat and humidity are still a bit too high to spend too much time out there right now, but fall is coming!)

Thinking about the sun and the shade reminds me of these verses from Psalm 121

5.  "The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

6.  The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7.  The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8.  The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in

from this time forth, and even forevermore."

Good Night my friends!

Sweet Dreams!

Friday Foto Friends: Just a Country Porch Will Do...UPDATED 8-24-2017

Hello Friday Foto Friends!  I didn't have any new pictures to share this week, 

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: 

Since I wrote this last night we had some "Breaking News" early this morning...PUN intended:

Around 6:30 a.m. our son was getting ready for work and heard a crashing, tearing sound at the end of our back courtyard.  You know, the area where we recently put up a brand new fence? 

Well, it was still kind of dark, so it was difficult to see what was going on...but after waking up my hubby, the two fearless warriors stepped out into the yard to see what was the matter. Apparently they scared the intruder away...but upon further inspection it was quite obvious that we had a bear trying to tear his way into our courtyard:

 It is not quite yet understood if this was an attempted "kidnapping" of the little girl in the garden...

 Or merely an attempt of a hungry bear to snatch a few paws full of bird seed and run:

Upon further investigation of our security wildlife camera we found pictures of this character hanging around the watering hole earlier this week:

So we are on high alert for the would-be kidnapper/birdseed thief...and have taken extra precautions to prevent such a terrible crime from happening again. 

(Note to birds: Bird Feeder will be removed from garden until further notice)

We now return you to your previously scheduled programming:

(Written last night 8/24/17)

So thought I'd go back in time and share one of my favorite old posts, originally written in 2013, updated again in 2015, and now brought up to date again for 2017.  As I write this it is really too hot to sit out on the porch, but hopefully fall will come early and we'll be able to enjoy this lovely place again!

How many of you would love a porch like this?????   ( Original Post 5/17/2013:)

No, this isn't a picture of my front porch..yet...but it is a picture of what I'd love to have for a front porch someday!   (copied from Pinterest)


This was our porch in the fall of 2012

This was the  porch at Christmas  2012:

Looking out from the porch in winter (we live in Florida...)  2013

And this was our porch in the spring of 2013:

And THIS is ONE of the inhabitants of our porch in spring!  Isn't he charming?

He started to show us his "colors", note the red throaty look peeping out from under his chin...He thinks we want to get cozy with him...or he may think we want to fight...

On  5/17/2013 I wrote the following with the picture below:  Someday I hope to add on to our porch to stretch it out to cover the front door and level up the floor, so it will be very similar to the porch shown at the top of the page:       

(Our porch in 2013)

When we first moved to this house in 2012, there was no porch at all: 

No Porch, no flowers or shrubs...and lots of bright, hot sun in the afternoon (western exposure)  Thank the Lord for those sycamore trees in the summertime...but they are bare all winter...
and it still gets pretty hot out there!

I wrote in May of 2013:  "So, as you can see, we HAVE made some progress in the 1 &1/2 years since we moved to our "Camp in the Woods" house in 2012.  I figure if we can add a section of porch per year, by the time we live here 5 years, we should have a porch all the way across the front!  That would be my dream porch...but I'll settle for a porch across the front door and maybe the two living room windows. It doesn't have to be fancy...just a country porch will do..."

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, I guess I wanted to share my little "dream porch" with you.  You already heard about my little "dream cabin" that I want to build someday...

Why?  My real dream is to have the kind of place where people love to sit a spell and visit...you know what I mean...a rocking chair and a swing on the porch...just sit back, relax, watch the birds, bears, and lizards...and ENJOY being together...like the good old days. 

I suppose this isn't the first time I've told you about this front porch idea.  Click on this link for more thoughts on this topic and some pictures of some of the wildlife viewed from the front porch:  "Life Is So Much Better from a Front Porch"   

It's that time of year when life IS so much better viewed from a front porch...I find it difficult to come back inside each evening...but the porch is where I often get the inspiration I need to come back inside and write to you...so here I am!  (UPDATE: I originally wrote this in May of 2013...yes, spring, fall, and winter are the best times to sit on our front porch. Summer is just too hot...so I am looking forward to fall now as I write this in late August 2017)

I hope you will come sit on my front porch with me again sometime.  The best time of day is early in the morning when the birds are just waking up, and then in the early evening, as the sun goes down behind the trees and the birds sing their last songs of the day as they gather in their food for the night and settle back into their little nests hidden among the trees surrounding us.

Afterthoughts:  Where do YOU like to go to relax in the early mornings, evenings, or during the day if you are home?  Or, if you work, do you have a special place where you can take a mini-vacation break to rest for a few minutes away from the computer, phone and busy-ness of the day?  If you don't have such a place in your life now, look for one...create a space just for you and your mate, friends, neighbors, or you alone...a place to reflect, rest, and re-create...and listen to the sounds of God's world around you. Ahhhhh....just breathe!  (that was a "Calgon take me away" moment, created just for you and me.)
Blessings to you today....

NOW FOR THE UPDATE, 8/24/2017:

This picture of the front of our house was taken in 2015..quite a difference!

In the early months of 2015 we finally added this section of the front porch...and today I can say that my dreams of a large country porch are finally coming true!

(Pictures taken in February of 2015, hence the trees are bare)

I wrote this in February, 2015: "And just a couple of hours ago, all these chairs were filled with happy people, sitting and talking and laughing and enjoying a warm, sunny February afternoon in Florida!  I neglected to take any pictures while our friends were here...but that's okay...the echos of laughter still remain in my heart and memory...and I wanted to write about it before it slipped away.  I don't think it will soon dissipate in my mind...it was such a glorious time of sweet fellowship with dear friends who have been with us throughout the years during good times and hard times....the kind of friends who love unconditionally...and bring hugs and smiles and food and willing hands to help in time of need...the very best kind of friends to have.  It was very fitting that they should be the first to celebrate our new porch with us."

Now I hope someday YOU will come and sit a spell with us too!

Click on picture to go to "Ben's Country Woodshop", Creator of these signs

Y'all Come!

This picture was taken this evening, 8/24/17...looks a little messy right now, but just as soon as it cools down I hope to be spending a lot more time out here again.
Sure wish you'd come and sit a spell!

We could have tea time together!!

Don't worry, we'll make sure the bears aren't invited to our tea-party!!

Okay, now hop on over to Deb's front porch at Breathing In Grace and check out what our other Friday Foto Friends are sharing!  Have a blessed a glorious day! 

I Saw the Light!

I know some of you are probably wondering what this picture is all about.  It is rather unusual, isn't it?  Well, that is the new view from my front porch.  One evening as I was relaxing and rocking in my new rocking chair,

my eyes were suddenly blinded by this bright light shining through the trees.

 I thought to myself, "Hmmm, that's never happened before in this spot. Something is different!"  After a few minutes of exploration in the wooded area directly in front of the porch, I discovered that an old tree had blown down, which knocked over another smaller tree, causing its leafy abundance to be pinned to the ground and creating an empty spot in the foliage where it once stood. Even though we removed the dead tree from the top of the young tree, it was too late to save it.

Quite frankly, I am not too happy about this new vista from my porch, as it truly does leave an opening for the evening sun to shine rather too brightly and directly into my line of sight.  This is somewhat annoying to me...it has disturbed my peaceful, secluded and shady haven where I try to unwind and relax at the end of a stressful day.  I mean, I've worked so hard to create this space so I can sit here and watch the birds, listen to the sounds of nature surrounding me...and now this extremely bright shaft of evening sunlight is piercing through the cool shadows of dusk and infiltrating my serenity with an unsettling aura of blazing glaring light.  

What to do, what to do?  I cannot replace the tree that quickly....and I certainly don't want to hang some kind of shade to obscure the light, as that would block out other lovely trees as well, and I might miss a bird flitting to and fro as it gathers its last seeds of the evening before retiring for the night. 

I know some of you are probably saying, "She thinks she has problems? Hasn't she noticed that the world is in chaos and people are being flooded out of their homes and would love to see the light of day...others are dying, starving, hurting...and she's worried about the sunlight bothering her as she rocks on her porch?"  Yes, I have noticed...part of the reason I love to sit on the porch in the evening is to avoid watching the evening news. But that's another whole subject. (Added note: I not only NOTICE the news of the world and country, but I often use this time on the porch to pray for those affected. I am not ignoring their plight...but prayer is the only real weapon I have that can do anything about it right now.)

There must be some kind of lesson here for me...and as I've been writing this, I've been asking the Lord just what this is all about.  The message I'm hearing in my heart is this:

"I don't want you to get too comfortable or shut away from the rest of the world entirely.  I still have work for you to do.  There are people who need the light that you possess."

II Corinthians 4:6-7 says,

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us."

See, I've been wanting more and more to get ready to "retire" and to sit back and enjoy life for awhile.  There is nothing wrong with that...I've certainly earned it.  (even if there is no money to back it up).  But I think what I am hearing is that my so-called retirement, when it ever comes, will not be one of just fun and games and doing what I want to do. I'm not supposed to get too comfortable in my rocking chair on the front porch and watch the world go by.  God has opened a new window of light to get my focused attention on Him and His plan.  I don't know exactly what that plan is today, but I have a feeling that it will be revealed in due time.  Meanwhile, I'll just get some sunglasses to wear while I rock on the porch and follow the rest of the "Porch Rules"...

Please pray or sing the words to this old familiar hymn with me:

"Open my eyes, that I may see

Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready, my God, Thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Open my ears, that I may hear

Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;

And while the wave-notes fall on my ear,

Everything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready my God, Thy will to see;

Open my ears, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

Open my mouth, and let me bear

Gladly the warm truth everywhere;

Open my heart, and let me prepare

Love with Thy children thus to share.

Silently now I wait for Thee,

Ready my God, Thy will to see;

Open my heart, illumine me, 

Spirit divine!

Written by Charles H. Scott, 1923

Yes, Lord, "Silently now I wait for Thee...Ready my God, Thy will to see; Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine!"  AMEN.

Why Wait for Dreams to Come True?

Click on this link to a previous story about my "dream cabin"    and then please come back here to finish this story.  No, I don't have the 'dream cabin' yet.  But the dream is still there in my heart, perhaps even more so than before.

And possibly in some ways we are actually getting closer to the reality of what this "dream cabin" was intended to do even without the cabin. It just may be that the cabin isn't really the important instrument necessary to practice the kind of hospitality we long to provide for those in need of some encouragement, fellowship, friendship, or comfort.  Maybe it isn't even the "country porch" that I desire that is required      "to have the kind of place where people love to sit a spell and visit...you know what I mean...a rocking chair and a swing on the porch...just sit back, relax, watch the birds, bears, and lizards...and ENJOY being together...like the good old days."  

Signs created by Ben's Country Woodshop

 I think what I am coming to realize is that it doesn't take a special building, porch, or even the perfect location to create a place where people can feel loved, cherished, nourished, comforted, encouraged, and appreciated.  What it takes is opening our doors and welcoming people in, regardless of what our house looks like, or whether or not we live in the woods, or by a lake, or in the city or in an apartment building. What it takes is to have open hearts and open homes...and the desire to put aside our own problems and inadequacies and be present in the lives of others who may be searching, lonely, or broken-hearted.  To open our doors when someone knocks who may be hungry, thirsty, or a stranger in need of someone to care. (See Matthew 25:35-46)  

To remember what it says in Hebrews 13:1-2 ~ 

"Let brotherly love continue.  Do not forget to entertain strangers,

for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."

And in Romans 12:10-13: 

"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer,

distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality."

I guess what I am trying to say is "Why Wait for Dreams to Come True" to practice hospitality, encouragement, and brotherly love? Isn't that something we should be doing all the time anyway? After all, why should I expect God to make all my dreams come true when I'm not even doing the things I say I will do once my dreams do come true? I need to live in the present...and practice those things that I know are right and good and acceptable to God now, "which is your reasonable service..."  (Romans 12:1)   I have not been promised tomorrow anyway...so I'd best be proving what is "that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" today.  (Romans 12:2)

No, I haven't given up on the dream to one day have the kind of place I have described before, but I'm not going to wait for my dream to come true to be doing what I know I ought to be doing anyway.  All I ask is that the Lord give me discernment to know when He is sending people my way, and that He will help me to be available in mind, spirit, and heart...and to be present to the need that is presented. Sometimes I'm a bit blind and preoccupied with my own problems and I may miss the blessing of being there for someone else. I don't want to miss God's blessing because I am waiting for everything to be in order and perfect before I will open my heart to help someone else. I don't want to wait for dreams to come true...I want to be a part of the living dream that is already happening if I'd just open my eyes.

How about you? What dreams are you waiting on to come true? Could it be that the dream is already a reality, but perhaps not exactly the way you thought it should be?  Ask God to open your eyes to see what He wants you to see right now. You may be surprised to see that your dreams are not that far from reality too! 

Have a blessed night my friend, and "sweet dreams."