Friday Foto Friends and Thursday Blessings

 I am writing on Thursday afternoon and sharing blessings and Friday fotos. Tomorrow, Friday, will be a busy day, as it is our oldest son's birthday and we will be having him and his wife for supper along with some other special guests, so I will be busy making lasagna!  My daughter in love will be helping me and she is also baking his birthday cake, so we will have a fun afternoon doing this together.  

That is one of our biggest blessings...having our kids living nearby so we can enjoy doing things together.  Like, for instance, they brought the "grandpuppies" over to inspect the new porch the other night. Sorry, this is just a rear view of Sugar and Spice, but they were busy checking things out and couldn't be bothered to turn around and smile for "Grandma". LOL.

Little by little we are getting the porch furniture back on "deck", and I am trying to think about ways to make it more welcoming and comfortable.

Some pumpkin spice candles on the tables will be nice when the weather cools down a little bit more so we can sit out there and enjoy the view.

I need a few more chairs for when company comes, so we will watch for some Labor Day sales at Home Depot or Lowes to see if they have any good bargains. Sometimes they do have end of summer outdoor furniture sales. That is how we got these tables last year for $15.00 a piece. Yes, that's what I said.  It pays to watch for the bargains! The wicker chairs we've had for many years. They were a gift from a dear friend when we moved into a new house with a front porch many moons ago. More blessings...

Speaking of porch guests...This is "Lizardo"...and he lives on our back porch that used to be a deck. He seems quite content there, but somehow he lost his tail. Poor Lizardo! Now we call him "Stumpy".  These lizards do often lose their tails in combat. 

"The main reason a lizard loses its tail is to defend itself. When a lizard detaches its tail, the tail whips around and wiggles on the ground. Nerves from the lizard's body are still firing and communicating with each other. ... Most lizards can only lose their tails so many times before they can't regrow them anymore." From "Ask Dr. Universe"

And then, not to be left out, we have special visitors on our front deck as well.  This morning I looked out the window, which was covered in steamy humidity moisture, and saw this creature on the hummingbird feeder. I thought to myself, "That's the funniest looking hummingbird I've ever seen".  Of course, it is a green tree frog, and actually there were two of them. One was still on the feeder, and this one acted like he wanted to come inside for breakfast!  

Don't you just love that you can almost see right through these little creatures. I wish you could have seen his heart beating ...I could!  Amazing!

Of course, he left a smeary bunch of footprints all over the window that I will have to go clean up later.

Here he is, up above the window, getting ready to hide and sleep for the day, and come back out tonight to eat bugs.

Moving along to a new less slimy subject...

Anyone need a "new boat"?  This lovely speed boat sits out in the woods where we take our walks.

No, it isn't in anyone's yard. No, it isn't even near any water.

I believe this boat was someone's "Final Straw"...

Yes, whatever happened, it was bad enough that they just dragged this boat out into the woods and left it there to become a collection place for old tires and weeds to grow up in.

I can almost hear someone saying, "Well that's the Final Straw! I'm done with you!"

Isn't it amazing the things you can discover hidden out in the woods? Every day is an adventure.

This is how it looks from the back porch right now as I am writing...we just had a thunderstorm roll through:

Here's a better view of the clouds:

Okay, to finish this up with some words of praise from our devotions this morning...which we read on the back porch by the way! Yay!  

Psalm 145:1-7

1.  "I will extol You, my God, O King;

and I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2.  Every day I will bless You,

and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3.  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

and His greatness is unsearchable.

4.  One generation shall praise Your works to another,

and shall declare Your mighty acts.

5.  I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,

and on Your wondrous works.

6.  Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,

and I will declare Your greatness.

7.  They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,

and shall sing of Your righteousness."

Amen.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were in the path of Hurricane Laura and have been affected by her high winds and water. Praying for those who have lost their homes and possibly even family members. May the Lord be with them in their time of recovery and healing.  Amen.