Wednesday Treasures and the Photo Challenge a day late

 

I am a day late, and most always always a dollar short! LOL.  I started writing this yesterday, and then we made a trip to Walmart, came home, had lunch, took a brief power nap, took hubby to the PCP for his pre-op appointment for the upcoming cataract surgery. We were blessed to be able to get in on such short notice, because the pre-op needs to be done no later than one week prior to the surgery, and his surgery is set for August 6th, which we only found out about on Tuesday! So, with a quick call to our PCP Tuesday afternoon, they had him in on Wednesday afternoon! One of the "perks" of small town living and having a doctor's office that always tries to take care of its patients in a timely manner.

So now it is Thursday morning, and I am in a bit of a rush this morning as well. We are having someone come over for lunch today, and I've been cleaning house and making preparations for that. I will share more about this special day in a later post, because it is something special that I hinted at last week.  So stay tuned!

Meanwhile, yesterday's Photo-a-day challenge was a "TREE".  So here is my favorite tree at the Kenwood Boat Ramp where we like to go take walks...

Psalm 1:1-3

"1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

And whose hope is the Lord.

8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

These are the trees around our "Still Waters Pond".  Even though the pond is still very dry, the trees continue to grow and flourish.  They have not "been anxious in the year of drought", and their leaves are still green.

Matthew 7:17-18: "So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit." 

This is the bottlebrush bush/tree that I planted several years ago, and it has grown beautifully this year in spite of the drought. The birds and bees and hummingbirds all love to come and delight in the nectar of the beautiful red flowers that have bloomed better this year than ever!

Here's a picture of that bush during one of the few rainstorms we had this past week:

Well, duty calls. I have a lot to get done before noon today, so I will leave this for now. I don't have a picture to share, but Blackie either brought in or one came in with him this morning, a little salamander type lizard. He chased it around the house for a few minutes until finally the lizard had to give up.  I shooed both Blackie and the poor lifeless lizard out the door, and that's where Blackie is staying for now. LOL. 

So with that I will bid your adieu.  Perhaps that picture could be my "Ordinary Moment" for today's photo challenge.  Although Blackie is anything but "ordinary"! LOL.  Have a blessed day everyone. 

Wednesday "Treasures" and Delights

 This is truly a "Wednesday Treasure".  This is the 2nd blooming of these Amaryllis plants this spring!

These are a few of the things in which I delight! (My "One Word" for 2022)

Fresh "real chicken eggs"...a gift from a lady at our church we lovingly call "The Egg Lady". She brings several dozens of eggs to share with people at church every time her hens are happily producing. These look like beautiful Easter eggs to me:

Our blueberry bushes are producing! Not quite as many as I would like, but at least they are trying!

These are two different varieties of blueberries.  Maybe I will have enough for some blueberry muffins. Or just eat them fresh on my cereal and yogurt! 

Now here's something extra special:

This comment below just popped up from 12 years ago on my Facebook Memories, right when I needed it most! 12 years ago when our son Matthew Steiner wrote this he had just been (very sadly) diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. He asked his then 10 yr. old son to pray for him, and this is what he prayed (see full message from my Facebook memories below).

Matthew posted this morning: "Last night, I asked Noah to pray that God would calm my nerves. He prayed, "Lord, yesterday dad was a teepee. The day before, he was a wigwam. Help him tomorrow to not be two tents".   That's our 10 yr. old grandson Noah...what a sweetheart! He knows how to keep things in perspective! "

What I found so wonderful about seeing this memory pop up today was that I'd just been to the Doctor this morning, after having a CT Scan for some constant headaches that I've been having lately. Thankfully, nothing serious showed up on the scan, but the Doctor said my headaches are most likely being caused by "tension". Apparently I am being "two tents", as our grandson Noah Steiner called it when he was 10. So I am claiming this prayer for myself today. Lord, I'd rather be a teepee or a wigwam than two tents! Thank You, Jesus, for this blessing today, out of the "mouth of babes". Noah Steiner is 22 now...and I don't know if he's on Facebook because he's traveling somewhere out in the desert of southwest USA, camping out...but he has a camper, not a teepee or a wigwam or "two tents". LOL  

I am very very thankful that the diagnosis is a tension headache rather than something else more serious. The doctor is prescribing some medication that is more specific for this type of headache, so I'm praying that will help.  I didn't realize I was being "two tents".  So please pray that I will be able to relax and just rest in the Lord.  Of course, recalling this memory about our son Matthew brought back some unhappy memories, but I know he is completely healed today and enjoying the peace of heaven. There is no need for him to ever be "two tents" again.    

This is a picture of Matthew with Noah, probably right about that same time.  They both took Tae Kwon Doh together until Matthew had to start chemo.  He fought valiantly for four years until the Lord called him home.

Switching gears on to a little bit of happy news from here at Still Waters Pond:  

I am having to deal with a bit of "empty nest syndrome".  We noticed that the Mama and Papa Bluebird were no longer coming back and forth feeding the babies in the birdhouse. After a full day of no action I realized that the babies must have left the nest sometime when I wasn't looking...Here's what the inside of the birdhouse looks like now:

Apparently they must have made it safely out of the nest and on to their new life in the treetops.  I saw no signs of any traumatic issues around the nest or on the ground, so I am thankful to know they are on their way! But I do miss all the daily activity surrounding the birdhouse.  Hopefully the parents will come back in a few weeks and start another brood. Last year they did three times!

I wasn't sure if this was Daniel Boone (a.k.a. "Bobby the Squirrel") wearing a "coon-skin hat", or our neighborhood squirrel pretending to be "The Thinker". He sat in this pose for quite a while, so of course I figured he wanted me to take his picture. After this he left and was off to the treetops again.

Thankfully our Sand Hill Crane family are still hanging around, and we get to watch the antics of "Colt" as he continues to grow and grow and grow...

However, they are spending more and more of the day wandering around the neighborhood and not as much time in our yard.

We mostly see them in the early morning as they come ashore from their night on the island, and then again in the late afternoon, as it appears "Colt" is taking his evening bath, splish-splashing around and cooling off before they head back to the island for the night.

Other major news:

I got some new glasses after I don't know how many years:

(don't look too closely... I was having a bad hair day as well as a headache)

Here's what they look like on the "arms":  

They are rather plain and simple, if you ask me. I liked my older ones better, but didn't have that option this time. The important thing is to be able to see better. I'm still adjusting to that as well! LOL.

But here's some good things to think about as we close this out for the night:

This came from this little devotional book that I love to quote from now and then:

I need not be "two tents" about my future or my present...when I place my trust in the Lord, I can be confident that He will take care of every need I may have, and I know He will never disappoint me.

Thank You, Jesus, for this promise. I can rest confidently in You.

Amen.

 

Friday Foto Friends, Fellowship, Flowers, New Life

Hello Friday Foto Friends: I am writing on Thursday night as I will be busy Friday morning.  We have had a very active week, but it's all good.  What pictures would you like to see?  Let me scroll back through the pictures of the week and see how this turns out...

The purple wisteria vine in the Memorial Garden is just starting to bud out...this is the first of the blossoms just beginning...

 I love how they all of a sudden just pop out of nowhere!! The vines look dry and dead...and then all of a sudden, presto! It's blooming!!!

I sat in the Secret Garden for a little while early this morning...things are starting to green  up more and more...and the little azalea plants that I planted last spring are starting to really bloom.

"Be Still and KNOW that I am God..."

Psalm 46:10   

(I'm trying hard to do just that, Lord...I need Your help!)

This azalea plant was different in that it has two different colors on one plant!!  Pretty!

 So many of the others I planted are plain white. Not sure I realized that last year...but am thinking these were leftovers and I just wanted to plant whatever could be found.  They are still pretty and make me smile.

 What I love about this little plant is that it was one of several that were planted on the front side of our house, which is too hot and sunny, and they were dying. So last year I transplanted them into the Secret Garden, which is cool and shady, and now they are beginning to thrive!  There IS something very special about The Secret Garden...

This is an ancient azalea bush in the backyard that blooms every year without any assistance from me! My kind of plant! And it is just getting started on its blossoms...

If you recall my little tea party last week Click HERE For that story, I showed you this delightful February teacup and said that it was to be a gift for a friend whose birthday was this week...and I hoped that she wasn't reading my post last week or it would spoil the surprise!  So, Wednesday we had a birthday party for my friend here after our morning Bible Study, and she opened this gift...and no! She had not read my post last week, so she was surprised. I don't know whether I should be insulted or not that she doesn't read my blog...LOL.  Just kidding...and actually, we are having another gathering for her tomorrow (Friday) with "family"...so she will be celebrating a lot! I told her to bring her tea cup and open it again since that was the only gift I had for her! LOL.  We do have a lot of fun.

After opening  gifts here at the house our Bible Study group went to lunch at a seafood restaurant on the St. John's River.  We love to walk down on the dock and look at the river, boats, alligators, etc.  One of my friends said she couldn't walk down on the dock because her shoes were uncomfortable and she didn't think she could make it down the steps to the dock in them. We compared shoe sizes and determined that maybe I could wear her uncomfortable fancy shoes and she could wear my comfy Skechers so that she could walk down with us.  Here I am wearing her fancy pumps with my socks.  It was just too cute to pass up! Ha ha.

And here we girls are down on the dock. We exchanged shoes back again when we got back inside...(no picture of that)

Today (Thursday) Hubby and I went to visit his mother at the nursing home. When we arrived she was having her hair and nails done in the salon.  I'd say she looks pretty wonderful for almost 95 years old, wouldn't you? Here she is with the beautician.

Now, back to the wildlife here:

This picture is actually of a "trap" to catch an alligator in the pond where the Sand Hill Crane has her nest.  We think there may be more than one gator, but they are not real large, so if caught they will be relocated to another location.  An alligator trapper man came and set this up...it is baited with some rancid beef...and they say it should work...but so far no gator has taken the bait.

Thankfully, as of this evening, mama crane is still safely sitting on the nest.  I understand that it takes about 32 days for the eggs to hatch...I don't know exactly when they started the nest...but I've been watching for at least two weeks.  I will keep you posted.  Just praying the gator(s) are trapped before the baby cranes are born.  The gator keeps hanging around the nest, waiting...

Some thoughts from God's Word ... (we read this passage this morning in our devotions)

Jeremiah 17:7-10

7.  "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

and whose hope is the Lord.

8.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

which spreads out its roots by the river,

and will not fear when heat comes;

but its leaf will be green,

and will not be anxious in the year of drought,

nor will cease from yielding fruit.

9.  The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

10.  I, the Lord, search the heart,

I test the mind,

Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings."

Certainly some thoughts to ponder in light of the events of the past month.  

Well, friends, I pray you have a wonderful weekend, filled with the Joy of the Lord and many happy moments with those you love.  Please stop over at our friend Deb's place on Friday  at Breathing in Grace and check out what others are sharing for Friday Foto Friends this week.