It Was A Foggy Saturday Morning!

I started writing this post early this morning when it looked like this outside: 

We've had a lot of these foggy mornings lately, and my heart goes out to those who have to drive in it. It may not be as bad as a snow storm, but the visibility can be just as bad in some places. 

I much prefer to drive when it looks like this, which was yesterday morning:

And I also prefer to be home when the sun is setting in the west like it did last night:

It can be brutal heading west when the sun is going down, so it's much nicer to just stay here and enjoy watching it over "Still NO Waters Pond".  I do miss the beautiful reflections we used to get on the water during the sunsets.  Hopefully we will get some spring rains that will bring the pond back to its natural beauty.  We are supposed to get some rain tomorrow and again sometime during next week, along with a drop in the temperatures again...back into the 40's and high 30's in the mornings, and 50's and 60's for the high. Today it's 83 degrees right now. No wonder people keep getting sick!

I finally got all the Christmas decorations and the tree down and put away yesterday.  So instead of the tree in front of this window, here's the view now:

Oh, wait! Who's that???  Blackie? Where did YOU come from??? You're supposed to be on the outside looking in, not the inside looking out! LOL!

I wanted to thank you all for your input regarding flea treatments, etc. for Blackie.  I did zero in on one that sounds affordable and safe for an outside/inside cat. One of my very old friends from many years ago sent me a private message to tell me what she uses for their inside/outside cat. She reads my blog, but never comments on here, so it was a surprise to get an email from her with just the information I needed.  I ordered it from Amazon and it came today and we already applied it to Blackie's back of the neck...and he promptly went outside and rolled in the sand and now the spot has sand stuck on it, but hopefully that won't affect the effectiveness of the treatment. He does love to roll in the sand!!!!

I don't foresee Blackie becoming a full time indoor cat anytime soon, but we do enjoy letting him come inside for a few minutes and explore, and then I scoop him up and give him some snuggles and put him back outside (until the next time he manages to scoot in the door when we open it). For now he's happy and so are we with that arrangement.  Time will tell what will develop.

As I was cleaning off the kitchen counter where  so much of the Christmas decorations were, I rediscovered this little knicknack...

Here's what it says:

Amen!!

The little saying above that says "Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark" actually came from a Chinese Fortune Cookie, and I kept it because it spoke to me. 

It reminds me of this verse from Hebrews 11:1:

"1.  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

To me, that means that faith is having confidence that the things God has promised in His Word will indeed happen, even when I can't see them yet.   And so, like the bird who can "feel the light and sing while the dawn is still dark", I too can sing and smile with confidence that what God has promised to us, He will deliver.  

Even though the Christmas items have mostly been put away, there's still little reminders here and there...like that cup full of Christmas candy that no one seems to want to eat...

And I still haven't taken down the Christmas cards that were strung up on the room divider in the foyer...

We did enjoy receiving so many lovely cards. There were a few more that didn't make it on this arrangement because I just got lazy, but we enjoyed them just the same. LOL.

I know we didn't get as many as usual, but I didn't send out as many as usual either, because I was sick most of the month of December. I feel blessed that we somehow still managed to have Christmas at all! God is good, and we are very thankful. And as someone said recently in their blog (I'd have to go back and check to see who it was), we need to keep the Christmas spirit going on into the New Year and all year long, and continue in the spirit of love and kindness and generosity and hope and joy and peace and faith!

On another note, after the fog lifted we took a little ride this morning. Remember last week when we went to the Kenwood Boat Ramp and saw how little water was there?  Well, yesterday someone told me that if we took another little road right next to that location, we would be able to drive all the way to where the water is and where the boaters can still put in their boats and go out into what's left of the river/lake and go fishing or take a boat ride.  And so this morning we decided to ride down there and see it for ourselves, and here's what we discovered:

You can see a lot of trucks/boat trailers lined up along the shore...and there were a lot more than this, so they are out there somewhere in that water having a great day hopefully and catching whatever fish are there!

Normally there was water all the way to the tree lines, and when they release the water again in March all this bare ground will be covered in water again.

It was fascinating to see all the mussel shells all over the ground.  

There were a lot of water birds along the shore finding something good to eat.  Also, in the distance, if you notice all those tree stumps...those are cypress tree knees and or/trunks, from where they cut the trees years ago to create this reservoir.  The water in the middle is apparently the original river that flows through there naturally.

This place is fascinating to me...it's like being on a different planet! LOL.

That's an interesting cloud floating up in the sky (below).  Kind of looks like an angel!  You can also see there was still some fog lingering along the top of the water.  

I hope you enjoyed these photos. I really enjoyed being there. It was a unique experience.

After we left the river/lake/resesrvoir ?,  we stopped in at the Deep Creek Game Farm and Trading Post. Our son was there selling his garden planter/containers, so we visited with him a while, and then I went around to the different vendors and into the Trading Post store.  Out of everything there to look at, this is the main thing that caught my attention...can you guess why?

I was really tempted to buy it as it really wasn't very expensive, but to be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with the giant sea turtle flying into the window, so I decided to pass it up. I loved the church and the window and everything else about it, however.  It's still tempting because it goes along with my blog so perfectly, but I am proud of myself for not giving into temptation.  It's just kind of a strange painting I think.

Still, the theme makes one think, doesn't it?  "When God closes a door, He opens a window". That's the quote that got me started on this blog some 16 years ago.  HERE is a LINK to that very first blog post.

And the verse mentioned in that post goes along very well with the pictures above of the "rivers in the desert".    I know I've often quoted these verses, but they bear repeating as we are still beginning a new year, hopefully filled with many "new things",  and roads in the wilderness and rivers in the desert of wherever we may find ourselves from time to time.  

Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV

18 “Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert."

May we be like that little bird, who "feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark."  Amen? Amen.

And also, "Just as God gives the birds an abundance of seeds, He sends us His blessings and cares for our needs."   Amen,  and Praise the Lord!

It's almost dark now, and I've  finally finished this post. I hope you have a blessed and wonderful evening and "SONday" tomorrow.  

Tuesday 4~ The End of the Year

I'm a day late, but it's still The End of the Year!!

 The End of the Year

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 in the new year. We wish you a very Happy New Year!


January is named for Janus the two faced god who looked into the past and future. Some believe he was Noah who may have been worshipped by his progeny. He certainly looked into the pre flood world and the new world.

The Anglo Saxons called January Wulfsmoanth meaning Month of the Wolf and the Wolf moon appears in January.

1. January 1, 1892 Ellis Island opened it's doors. Did any of your relations enter the United States through Ellis Island? If not, do you know your family's history?

I really don't know about Ellis Island, if any of our family ancestors came that way. I know my paternal Great-Grandfather and his mother and others did migrate from Germany, and I'm not sure what year, but I am quite sure it was before 1892.  And I know that my paternal Grandmother's ancestors were also here before then, as one Great-Great-Great Grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, and her maternal grandfather fought in the Civil War.  I have done some family ancestry research, the one most prominently done was about my paternal Grandmother, and I have shared her history HERE before, "Elva's Story~ A Story of Sacrifice and Love.  I especially wanted to remember her again right now as December 27th would have been her 130th birthday, and her story is so very special.

2. January's birth stone is garnet and the flower is the carnation. Do you have favorite gem stones or flowers? 

My birthstone is Sapphire (blue), for September, and that is my favorite gemstone.  This is the birthstone ring my hubby gave me many years ago...before the Princess Diana ring was so popular! It is a very dark sapphire, so much so that I wasn't sure it was a sapphire until I read the link above about the darker sapphires actually being considered the best! I didn't know that! So now I love it even more! LOL. Really, I love it already because my hubby gave it to me totally by surprise! That is a blessing in itself!

The other ring is my mother's wedding and engagement ring set.  I was blessed to be given this by my father right when my mother passed away. He told me to take it off her finger and keep it. Later I was pleased that my other siblings confirmed that it was okay with them that I should keep Mom's rings. So I wear them proudly and thankfully in loving memory of my mother.

 Flowers? Well, there are so many I can't name them all.  Roses, lilacs, peonies, and simple summer flowers like daisies and sunflowers and zinnias, and so many others. I love most wildflowers too! The Blue Aster is my birthmonth flower (September).

3. January 6 is Epiphany. Many take that day as the final day of the Christmas celebration and take down their decor. What about you?

My family tradition growing up was to always wait until January 6th to take down our tree and decorations, but I always thought it was because January 6th is my mother's birthday! She said they always waited until her birthday to take down the tree, but I don't know if she ever made the connection with it being Epiphany! Maybe she did, but I was too young to understand that.  As an adult in our own home, we have often waited until January 6th, but lately I've usually wanted it cleaned up before then, so often it comes down right after New Year's Day.  I don't like to do it on the holiday itself, as we may have company or we may be doing something special, so I usually wait until after.

4. There is some scientific evidence that January can set the tone for your entire year. What do you think of this? Do you make resolutions, etc? Do you pick a word of the year or have any traditions like that?

I don't make resolutions as I know that I most likely won't keep them, so why stress myself?  However, I have for the past several years selected a "One Word" for the year, and I have seen how God has used that word in my life throughout the year to help me to grow in a certain area of my life, whether spiritual or physical or other.  For 2025 my One Word has been "Wisdom".  These verses from Proverbs 2:1-11 have been my guide throughout the year:

Proverbs 2:1-11 NLT

The Benefits of Wisdom

2 My child, listen to what I say,

and treasure my commands.

2 Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

3 Cry out for insight,

and ask for understanding.

4 Search for them as you would for silver;

seek them like hidden treasures.

5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,

and you will gain knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord grants wisdom!

From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.

He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

8 He guards the paths of the just

and protects those who are faithful to him.

9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,

and you will find the right way to go.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will fill you with joy.

11 Wise choices will watch over you.

Understanding will keep you safe.

I have not zeroed in on my new One Word yet for this year,  but hopefully by tomorrow I will have a better idea of what it might be. However, I normally do not reveal it until January 1st.  Right now I am still praying about it.  I do believe the Lord will help me discover it between now and then.

Click HERE for a previous post on this same topic.

Now, if you want to join in the fun, you can CLICK HERE and visit with others who are also playing along!  Happy New Year!

Here's some other good thoughts from Isaiah the Prophet as we approach the New Year...

Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV

18 “Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert."

On another note...last night we celebrated our sweet Daughter in love's birthday. They came over and made homemade pizzas  (no picture of that, however), and then we had birthday cake and ice cream.  Rose is such a sweet sweet person, and she is such a wonderful blessing to our family.  Here's a few pictures of the celebration:

I changed the table decor from Christmas to birthday in her honor:

We always take pictures of people blowing out their candles! That's a family tradition!

Rose loves to work in her garden, and so she needed some new gloves. They actually have roses on them...

And she loves to feed the birds and needed a new bird feeder that was somewhat squirrel proof. Time will tell...and who doesn't love a soft new cozy blanket...especially when it dipped down to freezing last night?

All in all it was a lovely little family party.  Hubby was feeling well enough to join us but still has a bit of a cough, so he had to stay away a distance...and I am mostly better and thankful for that...

Okay, now we are ready to begin the big festivities of seeing in the New Year, right here from our couch...well, most likely from our bed because we never stay up that late!  So so long 2025, and we will see you all next year!!  

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” ’

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 It's that week in between Christmas and New Years Day, when we try to play catch up on the "normal stuff" after the Christmas rush and activities, and prepare our minds and hearts and bodies for whatever may lie ahead in the New Year.  2023 is soon becoming a "Closed Door", and 2024 is now an "Open Window", with a brand new blank slate waiting to be filled with whatever adventures God has in store for us.  Peering through the window right now I can't see too far ahead.  There's still a kind of a veil between now and then...

Scenes from my walk to the shore of Still Waters Pond through the woodsy veil.

But soon the veil will begin to open and we will be able to see what new adventures await us...

(I enjoyed a little walk down through the woods to the pond...the foliage is dying out and it is easier to get through now without having so many branches and vines in the way)

Still a little challenging, but isn't that the way life is?  There will always be challenges in our pathway, but "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Much better view!

Looking around in another direction, toward the little island in Still Waters Pond:

 One of my favorite Scripture passages for the New Year:

Isaiah 43: 18-19

18 "Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert."

Today was rather cloudy all day, with intermittent bouts of light rain. It was in the low 60's most of the day, but cooler weather is on its way. The next few days will see lows in the low 40's/high 30's and highs in the 50's and low 60's.  So for us here in Florida, winter is upon us.  It seems as though the birds are well aware that change is on the way. There was a LOT of bird activity out on the feeders and in the trees around us. Here's a few of the visitors we had today:

Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird stop by periodically to check on things at "their spring and summer home".  They seem to still lay claim to this house even though they are not staying in it during the winter.  But whenever any other bird shows any interest in it they somehow swoop in from somewhere and drive them off...

Like this unsuspecting Carolina Chickadee. He likes to poke his head in the house and look around once in a while,

 but the Bluebirds always manage to drive him away pretty quick...

It's like they are standing guard over the house from somewhere in the treetops even though they don't need it right now...but they are not about to rent it out to "strangers".

I don't know if you can see him or not, but there is a "Yellow-Rumped Warbler" in that tree below. How do I know? Because I can see the yellow spot on his rump!  Look very closely:

Mr. Bluebird is checking things out in the house...making sure there are no squatters inside.

Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird are having a conversation about their house...

After a while they took off for wherever they are roosting in the trees in the meantime.

Sometime later there was another visitor coming by to check out the house:

A female Red-Bellied Woodpecker must have heard the news that this house was vacant and came to see for herself:

She seemed to like the roof top patio...

But soon she noticed there were some juicy bugs on that pine tree just beyond, so she decided to go check that out:

She inspected the trunk up and down and I am sure she found some good afternoon snacks...

After her snack she also took off for other trees in other places around the pond...

And Mr. Carolina Chickadee flew back in for a short visit before he took off again also...

There were other birds flying in and out all afternoon, like Cardinals and Doves and Tufted Titmouse, but these were the only ones that I managed to get pictures of. Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten anything else done today!  

So, what else did I do? Not really a whole lot.  Well, this morning we drove into town to Walmart so I could do some shopping for our upcoming weekend family Christmas event here on Saturday. Just as I was finishing up our shopping I got a text from my sister that if at all possible it would be better for everyone else there if we could do it on Monday, New Year's Day, instead of Saturday.  So I checked with our family members on this end, and it appears that will be okay for them, so the "party" has been moved to Monday!  Thankfully the food I bought will keep until then.  We will be doing mostly things like finger foods and veggie and/or fruit platters, Charcuterie style, if you know what that means.  It's a new term that I've been learning about in the past year.  I am anxious to use one of my Christmas gifts:

"Bless the food before us, the family beside us, & the love between us".
Amen!

Isn't it beautiful?  It was a gift from Benton and Rose, and no, they didn't make it. (I asked that question right off, LOL). It really is amazing, and it will be such a joy to use! I intend to put crackers around the edges in that indented area, and cheeses/sliced summer sausage in the middle. 

And now that we will be gathering on New Year's Day I guess we will have to have some black-eyed peas too...it's a southern tradition.  So I will probably make the usual "Hoppin' John"., which has the black eyed peas and rice combined. Now that I think of it, we probably need some Collard Greens and Cornbread as well. Might as well do it up right.  LOL.  So much for simple "finger food" and platters,  etc.  But it will all be fun and good...it always is when family and friends gather in love and harmony.

We will also be celebrating Rose's birthday on Saturday, but that will just be the immediate family. We plan to go out to eat...Rose's choice...so we shall see what she decides!

I guess that's enough for today's Thursday Thankfulness post, which is also for tomorrow's Friday Foto Friends. Maybe I didn't say what all I was thankful for...but if you read between the lines I think you can see that I am very thankful for all of the above events and people and God's creation all around us. I am also thankful that our family has made it safely through 2023, even with a few health issues here and there, but we are arriving on the doorstep of 2024 with renewed health and strength and so much to be thankful for! God has been very kind and good to us and we are very thankful indeed.

I'll try to check back in after our Saturday event and then again after our Monday event.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!