Thursday Thankfulness/Friday Foto Friends

 Happy First Day of Spring!  It's getting late in the day, so most of you probably won't see this until Friday! Although I am always surprised to see when I post something that I think is late at night, when I wake up in the morning so many have already commented on it! There must be a lot of night owls out there in blogland! LOL.

Just wondering how you all spent the first day of spring? How was your weather?  It was kind of cool and cloudy and became very windy here today, so not a very good day to be out and about.  However, I did make one trek around Still Waters Pond to check on the Sand Hill Crane family and see if the other egg had hatched yet.  Here's what I found:

Finally I got there in time for the "changing of the guard" between Mama and Papa Crane! One was leaving and the other was settling back in on the nest...and no, the other egg has not hatched yet!

I am thinking this is Mama Crane leaving the nest for her afternoon break, and Papa Crane is staying with the baby and tending to the egg. It's really hard to tell them apart, but I think the one staying behind looks a little bigger than the other one.

OH, I've decided to name the first baby colt, "Spring", since he/she has made his debut in time for the first day of spring.  I know I said I would name them after a President since Mama first sat on the nest on President's Day, but I am thinking I will name the new baby when it arrives after one of our former Presidents. You will have to wait and see which one.

So Papa Crane stood there for a while and looked at baby Spring, and also checked out the egg for any signs of hatching...

And then he and Baby Spring laid down for a nice little nap until Mama Crane comes back to take over.

Such a sweet picture of love and trust for this first day of Spring.

Psalm 36:7-9

"7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,

And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.

9 For with You is the fountain of life;

In Your light we see light."

Now I promised you some more pictures from our wonderful visit with Terri, "Your Friend From Florida"and her son Joey yesterday.  So here we go!  Thank you, Terri, for sending me the majority of these photos from your camera! I think you had the best pictures! And for those of you who are friends with both Terri and me, you will probably be seeing these pictures twice! So bear with us! We are both happy to have this little story to tell!

Terri and Joey

Terri and Your's Truly...and yes, we are on the dock at one of our favorite places to dine, "Corky Bells", on the St. John's River.

Hubby, me, Rose and Benton

Rose and Benton again!

Joey and my hubby John

Yours Truly and Terri with Lady Gator

And thank you to our waitress for taking this group photo while we waited for our lunch, which became "Lupper", as Terri called it.  Something sometime between lunch and supper...as apparently because it was such a beautiful day, half of everyone in the county and beyond decided to come and dine at Corky Bells on this day...and let's just say that we ended up having a very nice LONG visit while we waited to be seated and then to be finally fed. But it was all good and we were very thankful to get this table in the bar because it was going to be a very long time to get a seat out on the deck as originally requested.

But God was in control, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together and the food was excellent too.

You may wonder why Terri and her son drove the long 2 &1/2 hour drive to come and visit with us all? Well, apart from the fact that we are such good friends having met through this blogging adventure in person for the first time back in 2017, when Terri and her husband Joe passed through our town and paid us a wonderful visit, but also because Terri had a special project in mind that she needed help with.  

As most of you know, our son Benton and his lovely wife Rose do a lot of woodworking and furniture refinishing.  Terri has a lovely antique cedar chest that was her mother's, and she would like to have it refinished and then give it to her niece.  So she asked Benton if he could refinish the chest, and he said he would be happy to, and so she and her son Joey, who happened to be visiting her, came up to visit and to bring the chest with them!  Sadly, we didn't get a picture of the hope chest, but Benton has promised to take some before and after pictures so Terri can have them to share later.

So now you know the "rest of the story"!  And I thank Terri for being so outgoing and friendly in pursuing meeting other bloggers in person.  She has set a good example of us, and I am trying to get around and do more of that as well, as God brings people together. Thankfully, we live in the same state, so it's not too difficult to get together occasionally, but for many of you dear ones out there in blogland, I'm afraid our meetings will probably always be here in "cyber-space", unless somehow God brings us all together someday.  

So now I must close for today, but hopefully there will be some other exciting news tomorrow, so stay tuned!  You just never know what might be developing here in "Pamela's Wild Kingdom!"  LOL.

Psalm 46:10  NKJV

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

   

Saturday Wanderings...Some of Us need Rain, and Some Don't!

 Happy Saturday Morning everyone! (it was morning when I started writing this post, but it's been a long day! LOL)  No, we are not "wandering" all over the state of Florida, but I wanted to share this map to give some perspective on where we live as opposed to where all the flooding is going on in our state.  Many people have expressed their concern for us and those living in Florida this week, and we do appreciate it greatly.  However, where I live, we have not had any rain except for one nice rain shower early one morning this week, but that was it. Other than that it has been dry as a bone and there are even brush fires in the area because it has been so dry!

You may wonder how that can be when you've seen all the horrible flooding going on in our state this week.  Well, that's because all of the rain has been mostly in the southern third of the state, mostly south of the Tampa area.  We live in the north central portion of the state, east of Gainesville.  (see my circled area below on the map).

The state of Florida is very long, 447 miles from top to bottom. HERE is a link to the Wikipedia page on Florida for all the details.

We do pray for any of our friends who live in the flooded areas or who have loved ones there. And although we certainly do need the rain in our part of the state, we are thankful not to have it in such an overabundance.  However, the risk of fire is real, and so we pray for at least enough rain to stem the tide of drought that is creeping up on us.

I started writing this post this morning, and then got busy with other things and am just now getting back to it at 6:00 p.m.  Our blogging friend Linda at Just Linda, lives about an hour south of us. She wrote on her Facebook page a few minutes ago that they were finally getting some rain. I asked her to please send some up to us.  And within a 1/2 hour it started to rain here!  Not very heavy, but at least it is trying!  Thank you, Linda! LOL.  And thank You, God, for hearing our prayers!

Still Waters Pond, you can see how dry it is getting.

Rain clouds rolling in!  Praise the Lord for even a little bit!

A few minutes later it was coming down in earnest! Yay! Praise the Lord!

We truly are thankful for the rain!

So what did we do today? Well this morning before it got too hot we took a little ride back down to the boat ramp at Kenwood.  Here's a few pictures from this morning:

The Pickerel Weed seems to be in full bloom in the water now.

Isn't it pretty?

That bumblebee was checking out every flower. Sorry it's blurry, but he was in a hurry!

The Yellow Water Lilies were also popping up everywhere.

All shades of green reflecting in the water...so cool and pretty on this warm humid day...

And these are hatched turtle eggs!  These freshwater turtle eggs were buried in the dirt probably about two months ago, and now they are hatching and the baby turtles head for the water...

There were a lot of these all over the shore along the water canal. I wish I could've seen the baby turtles!

Oh, here comes a boat back into the boat ramp. He was coming quite fast...I'm glad he was able to slow down and stop in time!

I love this big old Live Oak tree. I posted this on my Facebook page today with this verse...

Psalm 46:10 NKJV

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

So after that we headed back home for the rest of the day.  I had bought some fresh peaches at the grocery store yesterday and decided to make a peach cobbler to have for tomorrow after Sunday dinner. The kids are all coming over after church so we can be together for Father's Day.

However, hubby said he wanted sample it tonight, and so we did. It is very good! And there's still plenty left for tomorrow. LOL.

HERE's a link to a previous post about Father's Day.  Maybe I should wait and repost that tomorrow, but in case I get too busy and forget, here it is tonight.

Praying that tomorrow is a blessed day for you and yours and all the wonderful fathers out there.

,

Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 It's a beautiful day today...sun is shining and it's only about 85 degrees, which is better than the 90's of the previous week. Thankfully we've had some nice rain this week, which helps everything look greener and prettier.  Still Waters Pond is in its dry phase, which usually happens this time every year, but as soon as the summer rains start back up regularly, the pond will rejoice and be glad.  I caught this picture of our Sand Hill Crane Family "just passing through" the other evening...

I shared this picture with these verses on Facebook:

Hebrews 13:14-16

New Living Translation

"14 For this world is not our permanent home; 

we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God."

Yesterday I went over to the lot next door and took some pictures of the big pine trees that they have marked to be cut down in preparation for the new house.  Many of these trees have been there for probably fifty years or more...they are so huge! It made me kind of sad, so I wanted to "preserve their memory" at least in photos, as once they are gone, the beauty and shade and homes for the birds and wildlife that they provided will be lost forever.   So I hope you won't mind if I share a few pictures of trees.  The trees with the green ribbons on them are the ones that will be removed.

I Chronicles 16:31-33

"31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;

And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”

32 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;

Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.

33 Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,

For He is coming to judge the earth."

This shows the top of that tree above. Its branches go out a long distance, even over to our property next door. I will miss this tree...

These three tall pines will be removed, but there will be a better view of Still Waters Pond and Goose Island once they are removed.

Looking out toward the street:

This area goes around the side of Still Waters Pond, and there is such a lovely breeze under these trees:

Look at those branches on this huge tree...

Right now the sun shines through the treetops, but when they are gone the sun will flood this spot with light. It might be a good thing in the long run, but I personally prefer the shade they provide.

This is another very large tree. I would like to count the "rings" on these tree trunks once they are cut open, to see just how old they are. I wonder if that will be possible...

Looking over across the little canal portion of Still Waters Pond that goes around Goose Island:

Another view of Goose Island. I call it that because that is where the Canada Geese built their nest.

Thank you for bearing with me while I probably am boring you with so many pictures of trees. I am mainly doing this for my own memory, as I want to remember how beautiful this is before it is changed forever.  I still pray for the people who will live here on this lot, and hope that they will truly appreciate the beauty that will hopefully still be preserved as much as possible.

Speaking of neighbors and houses and trees:

I have named this little house "Magnolia Cottage", because that is a huge magnolia tree in front of it. I should have taken a picture when it had more blossoms, but I didn't think of it then.  This is the little house across the street that was brought in and placed there a couple of years ago. I thought I wrote about it then, but I can't find any reference to it.  I remember writing that I was a bit disappointed because I thought they would put a new house on this empty lot, and instead this older manufactured home was brought in that needed a LOT of work to refurbish it. It has taken this man who brought it here a couple of years to get it ready to sell. He worked on it in his spare time, plus had lots of delays for inspections and had to put in a new septic system, etc., so it has been a long process.  Originally he told me that his daughter was going to live there, but since it has taken so long she has found another place, and so now I am of the assumption that he is going to sell it. It has been completely restored inside and out, and is a cute little cottage house.  So I am praying for these potential new neighbors as well.  

Now onto other things...Some of you have asked about my "new glasses" that I mentioned were giving me some difficulty.  Well, I went back to the eye doctor the other day, and he checked the prescription and said it was correct. He suggested (as I figured he would), that I wear them for another week and see how they do. Maybe my 'brain' just needs to get used to them he said... Well, time will tell.  The jury is still out. When I try to read my right eye continues to get very strained.  So we shall see what develops.

My other issue that I mentioned is still a "work in progress", LOL.  I am working on diet and also taking some "supplemental" help as suggested by the doctor. I am also looking at more natural ways of correcting the problem. I am thankful for friends who have given some excellent advice, and hopefully things will "work out" for the best very soon. 

I will close with these thoughts for today...and pray that you and yours have a lovely rest of your week. 

Amen.

Good November Tuesday 4 Morning to you...

Good Morning! Not only is it Tuesday, but it is the first day of November! 

And as per my normal routine at the beginning of a new month, I turn the pages on my calendars to see what's there...and this picture on my Country Seasons calendar with paintings by John Sloane really caught my eye and took my breath away...

That scene just seemed to leap at me from a place deep inside my childhood memories.  When I was a little girl we lived on a farm in Pennsylvania. Now, I didn't live so long ago that we dressed like the ladies above, but everything else is the way I remember it. Me, being the youngest of four children, had the glorious joy of having my Mama all to myself on those lovely days while my other siblings were off to school. I don't remember a lot from those days because this was all before I turned six, because by then we had moved to Florida and I started school as well.  But until then, every day my Mama and I and our faithful dog Laddie, would take a walk down the long lane to the mailbox and back to get the mail. I doubt that we carried picnic baskets as it wasn't quite that long of a walk that we needed to stop for lunch (lol), but it was a beautiful walk past the fields and some woods, and it seemed pretty long to me! Those are sweet and precious memories to me and I feel so blessed to have had that special time with my Mama and our sweet doggy.  Once we moved to Florida everything seemed to change.

When we sold the farm, the animals all went with it. Our dear Laddie was given to the new farm owner and left behind when we packed up our remaining belongings and headed south to a new world. When we arrived in Florida we no longer had the vast expanse of fields and woods to explore, and certainly no long lane to walk together each day for the mail.  We moved our family of six into a small two bedroom apartment temporarily until more permanent housing could be secured. And soon my Mama had to go to work to help support our family, and I went to school with the rest of my siblings each day. It was the beginning of a new life for our family...one that had its ups and downs like it does for everyone. 

Eventually my daddy was able to build us a home in the country, but it still wasn't the same as the farm. My Mama continued to work as a secretary for the rest of her working days, but she always longed for the farm in her heart and talked about it often. But life was good and God blessed our family in so many ways.

So now we come to today's Tuesday 4, which is about PETS.  

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday

Let's talk about pets okay? Some people love them, some can't be bothered and some dislike them. Where do you stand?  



1 Do you have pets? No, we do not have any pets currently. We have moved a lot in our lifetime, and when we had pets, it seemed like we ended up having to give them away because we were moving to a location that would not allow them or for some other reason, and so after too many heartbreaks over our dear pets, we just gave up on having them.  We do have our son and daughter in law's two sweet Pekinese pups, which we call our "Grandpups", Sugar and Spice.  They come to visit us frequently, or we go to visit them at their house, and that helps fill the "pet" void in our lives.

 

2. Did you have a pet growing up? Tell us about it please. See my opening story about Laddie at the farm. At that farm we also had other dogs and cats.  Bullet was an older Beagle, and we also had Cherry, a young Beagle pup.  Cherry sadly got run over by a tractor or something, and Bullet was old and I think he died of old age before we left the farm. My sister had lots of cats (she still does...she's the cat person in the family).  When we moved to Florida we did eventually get another Beagle, "Colonel", and I loved him so much.  But something happened to him...we were never sure...he disappeared around hunting season and could have been stolen, or he used to swim in the canal where there were possibly alligators. I prefer to think he was stolen by a hunter as he enjoyed hunting squirrels and rabbits all the time.  

We were not permitted to have pets in the house, so they had to live outdoors, which of course was not ideal in Florida where there were other predators about, so having pets really wasn't a real pleasant situation for us.

3. Are pets too much trouble, or , do you find neighbors pets to be a problem?

Here are some pictures of our neighborhood kitty, who showed up for Halloween last night...I don't know who she belongs to...another neighbor feeds her, but I don't know that she really has a "home".

She likes to sit under our bird feeder and watch the birds come and go, hoping for an "opportunity".

So from that perspective, I find her to be a bit of a problem, but not enough to be mean. The cat is friendly and actually came and rubbed my legs while I was sitting on the porch waiting for trick or treaters last night...so there you go...

4. Do you think dogs make good housemates, watchdogs? Do you think women living alone need a dog for security or companionship?  I think dogs do make good housemates/watchdogs. If I lived alone I might consider having one.  But for our current situation we are better off not having that responsibility or extra commitment.

You can click HERE to see what our other friends have to say about this subject.

Now back to November....the month to express our "Thankfulness".

I will soon be exchanging the more Octoberish decorations for the Pilgrims and Turkeys, but not today. Gotta get a move on...

My Teapot calendar has this pretty Japanese teapot for November:

And has this to say about tea, which I tend to agree with. I don't drink wine or coffee, but occasionally love a good cup of hot Ovaltine. (I can't drink pure chocolate).

Most of all, we should in every month look for opportunities to 

"Be still and know that I am God..."

 

And to give Him the glory and honor and praise for all that He has created for us to enjoy in this life.

We are blessed with so much beauty and majesty around us, and yes, even sweet pets can be a reason to be thankful and give Him praise. They are a gift to us from God for us to enjoy while we can.

Happy November Everyone!

Here's Lily Grace, wishing you all a Happy Halloween from last night...

and a few other of our goblins...

A great time was had by all.

Bye for now!!