Tuesday 4~The Four Seasons

 

Four Seasons, Four Questions

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...


1. Do you have a favorite day of the week and how about a favorite month of the year? Why?

Hmmm, favorite day of the week...since I am retired, all the days are pretty much the same. I do love Sunday, however, because we go to church and worship the Lord, sing songs of praise, have fellowship with our friends in Christ, and then usually we have some family here for lunch, which is always nice!  This past Sunday our "kids" were all here, but I didn't take one picture! Imagine that! And we had ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, salad, potatoes, rolls, and watermelon!  It was a lovely day.  So yes, Sunday is my favorite day.  

My favorite month?  Well, September is my birth month, and so that has always been a special month for me.  But right after that comes October, and I probably love the season of October even more than September. 

To quote my favorite character, "Anne of Green Gables"...

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? " 

2. What’s the most beautiful or magical thing about each of the four seasons?

Oh goodness:

Spring: The end of winter and the beginning of new life once again. Flowers blooming, birds singing and building their nests, all of nature seems to come back to life. 

Here's some wildflowers from our walk the other day...

The Bluebirds and Cardinals have all been very active...

Summer:

Well, what can I say?  Summer tends to make me go crazy with the heat! LOL:

This was at our church Memorial Day Picnic yesterday, when it was about 90 degrees in the shade, but at least there was a nice breeze and some cloud cover...but no rain...

And thank you all for your kind and supportive comments on my post yesterday.  Staying busy and being with special people made it a much more bearable day.

Here's hubby hamming it up...

And son Benton was there too, but sadly Rose had a headache and wasn't able to go. It was definitely too hot to be outside with a headache...

One of the highlights of the day was our church family singing "America The Beautiful" together at the beginning of the picnic...

As far as the rest of summer goes...we stay indoors in the air conditioning a LOT, because of the high heat and humidity.  And although we need rain, we pray for no bad hurricanes to hit our country this summer.

Fall:  Ahhhhh, the summer fades and the air begins to change to less humidity and cooler temperatures. Our "fall" isn't as dramatic of a change here in Florida as it is further north, but still there are subtle changes and we are very grateful for them.  It is also a time when we normally try to take a little trip north to the mountains where the leaves are beautiful and the air is cool and crisp like the apples we find at the orchards there...but we are not too sure about going this fall. It's just getting too expensive, so we will see.

Winter:  I love the Christmas holiday season and all that it means, Advent, the celebration of the Birth of Christ, family time, the lights, the trees, the beauty all around.   Thankfully here in Florida, our winters are more like fall up north...cool and wonderful. We can get out more and do more.

3. Summer is coming... what does this mean in your life? How will things change, stay the same ,etc?

I think I already answered that above.  No major changes expected, but we must always be prepared for hurricanes here in Florida. When I was a child, summer was wonderful! We'd take a vacation and go up north to visit relatives and camp in the campgrounds all the way up and back through the Smoky Mountains. Those were very happy times for me as a child.  We don't do that now. I sometimes wish we could, but I don't see it happening...So mostly we stay home and try to stay cool.

4. What do you look forward to in each season?

Again, I think I already answered that in #2.   So since this post is already too long, I will leave it at that...Each season has it's own beauty and magic and wonder.  We just have to look for the beauty and enjoy it.  

I will close with this passage from Ecclesiastes chapter 3:

"1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him."

Whatever season of life you may be in, look for the blessings and joy in life, no matter the weather or the storms in life...keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and He will carry you through.  

Friday Foto Friends~Winter in Florida!

"Season's Greetings from Still Waters Pond"

Some special friends have flown in for a visit:

Oh wait! I think The Canada Geese brought some other folks with them from way up north...the Ring Necked Ducks have arrived for the winter:

At first I thought there was just a couple of females and one male

But then the next day there appeared to be a crowd...

They must be multiplying already! LOL!

I could watch these little ducks all day. They just swim around and round in a circle and then when they are ready they dive down in the water and find food to eat and then pop back up again...kind of like they are playing a game:

It's so much fun to see what winter visitors, or "Snow Birds" we will have come back each year.

I wanted to thank you all for your kind words and prayers for my hubby and me this week as we were a little under the weather.  We both ended up going to the Doctor earlier in the week, and he gave my hubby a big old shot in the "gluteus maximus", along with some pills to take. Gave me some too, to help ward off whatever was trying to catch me. It seemed to work and thankfully we are both feeling much much better now. We are now pretty much back on schedule for all things Christmas...finished up our shopping and got most of the wrapping done today. Tomorrow we will make sure it's all done and maybe think about doing a little baking. However, I am hoping our son Scott will come prepared to do his annual cookie baking when he comes on Sunday. He's the best cookie baker in the family and loves to do it as a gift for the family. But we shall see what he is able to do. He's been working practically 7 days a week and he may just want to "crash" when he gets here. Either way, we are thankful to be ready for Christmas as much as possible.  Sunday will be a busy day, with Sunday School and church in the morning, including the performance of our choir's Christmas Cantata, "The Christmas Story", and then we will go back in the evening for a candlelight Christmas Eve service. I love that this will set the tone for experiencing the true meaning of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Savior!

These nativities are in the foyer of our church.

Because we had been feeling kind of cooped up all week we decided to take a little ride down to the Kenwood Boat Ramp again, to see how it looks now in "winter", as opposed to the way it looked a few weeks ago in "autumn".  This will help people who are not from here in Florida to see that yes, we do have a change in seasons...maybe not as pronounced as it is up north, but changes do take place, none the less.

Now:

Then:

Now:

Then:

Now...you can really see the tannins in the water from the decaying of the cypress trees in winter, plus also after that big rain storm we had last week...

Then:

Now:

Then:

Now:

I think there is a certain kind of beauty in every season, don't you? Kind of like life...many of us are perhaps entering the winter season of our lives...maybe some are still in the autumn or summer...I don't think there are too many of us still in the spring of our lives...when we were probably most productive, raising our babies or starting our careers, new beginnings...but regardless of what season of life we are currently living, as long as we have breath...we need to make the most of it...enjoy whatever God has given us to the fullest.  Perhaps all some can do is sit in a chair or maybe even a bed, and read or write...but if that is what we can do...we can share our thoughts with each other and encourage one another in our journey of life. We can pray for one another and help lift up the weary.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says it best:

"24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

As we approach the end of another year, we aren't too sure what may lie ahead for each of us.  But one thing we can do is look for ways to encourage one another and try to do our very best to be a friend to others who may need a friend.  If you are looking for a gift to give here at Christmas time...perhaps that is the best present of all...your "presence", in whatever way that is possible for you.  I appreciate each and every one of you and your gifts of thoughtfulness and kindness and words of wisdom and yes, even your gifts of laughter and funny memes to make us laugh and smile on what might be a dreary day. You are each one unique and special. Thank you for using your gifts here in blogland. You are a blessing to us!

If I don't get back again before Christmas,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!

 

 

Friday Foto Friends...Seasons of Life

Written on Thursday evening...for Friday Foto Friends.

Hello! Life has been rather crazy here this week, as most of you already know.  My  95 year old mother in law, "Nanny",  is still among the living, but barely. Every morning we expect a call from the nursing home telling us she passed in the night...but so far she is hanging on and we make the hour's drive in every day to see her and tell her we love her and try to soothe and comfort her when she is having extreme agitation.  Thankfully the meds they give help, but there are moments when they don't...so we sing hymns, hold her hands and talk softly to her and soon she calms down and drifts back to sleep.  We can't stay all day, so we tiptoe out after she falls asleep and go on about our business and wait for the call.  This has been our routine all week.  She is a strong woman, and for whatever reason, her time to let go just hasn't happened yet.  In God's perfect timing she will make the transition from this life to the next...and not a moment sooner.

I have been watching this rose develop, bud and bloom on my Don Juan Rose bush this past week. I had said to myself last week when I saw it beginning to form that it would be "Nanny's Rose", and that when it fully bloomed, she would probably be in heaven.  That was what came to my mind, because I've noticed that these roses in our memorial garden  seem to  bloom especially for special people on special days.  (click on the links for examples)  This is another example.

But the rose blossomed, and because of the extreme heat and dryness this week, it started to die very quickly...

And so I cut it and brought it inside and put it in water to see if it would revive, but as you can see, the sun damage was pretty severe.

And God said to me, "Who do you think you are, to be able to say on this day or that day so and so will happen? You are not Me, and you do not know the plans that I have for you or for "Nanny"...so please just rest in Me, and let Me show you what is best."

And so we wait, and I feel somewhat admonished...and yet comforted that God has shown me again that He is truly in control in all things...His timing is always perfect, and it is not up to me to know the times or the seasons  (even Jesus told His disciples this in Acts 1:7, just before the day of Pentecost)

"It  is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority."

But it is up to me to trust Him, and go about doing whatever needs to be done...and leave these important issues and moments in the lives of our loved ones up to Him...and to just be patient and wait on Him.

Same thing with my brother...he has been in ICU all week after a serious complication to his Acute Leukemia happened. He is battling a severe fungal lung infection, and has been on a respirator and under sedation since Monday. But each day is showing new signs of improvement, and they are hoping to take him off of the respirator possibly tonight or tomorrow.  I know many of you are Facebook friends and you have already been watching the progress all week and praying...and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You are such a blessing to me. The prayer support means so much.

I had to submit some DNA samples this week, to be tested for a possible match in the event that he should need a bone marrow transplant.  My other two siblings also are being tested. We hope and pray that he won't need to have this done, but we are ready to do our part if it should come to that.

I will try to keep you posted throughout these next days regarding the state of things here, but if you don't hear from me often, just keep praying. I am sorry I haven't been able to get around and visit you all like I'd like. I try to take a peek now and then, but with the daily journey to and from the nursing home and trying to keep up with "life in general", some things have to be set aside. You all understand that.  

Here are a few more pictures I've managed to snap as we've taken a our early morning or evening walks. That is a time of relaxation and regrouping our thoughts as hubby and I walk together.  Very therapeutic...and I thank the Lord for those times.

 Evening Sun reflected on the neighborhood pond.  The golden glow of the sun tells me that summer is fleeting and fall is on its way...

 That same spiderweb a day later (See A Fragile Thread) 

 This Milkweed Plant popped up again in the same place since last year...just waiting for it to bloom...

Coral bean plant...now you see why it is named the coral bean plant! Those red "bean" seeds are poisonous...but the flower in the spring was beautiful:

Then: (spring)

NOW: (late summer)

Neighborhood Deer...I sometimes think he's a pet...he just hangs around...

I believe he is a yearling who is now on his own as the parent deer have a new family to raise...

I know you probably can't see what I see in this picture of the little pine tree, but one morning it was all sparkly with the dew and the sun shining through, and I told hubby that it reminded me of a little Christmas tree, all decked out with lights and icicles...and for some reason that thought made me happy and gave me hope...

Life goes on...the seasons of life come and go...Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter...

One more thing...

Remember this pillow?

Yes, that is the pillow I made for my husband's cousin Janice last summer for her birthday.

It came back to me this week. One year later, Janice is in heaven, and her immediate family returned it back to me.  I made this especially for Janice from the vintage embroidery that I found among her grandmother's things when we  cleaned out Nanny's house. Janice always had poodles, and so this just seemed to be meant for her.  

Now it is in our guest room, which has reminders of my hubby's grandmother, his mother, and now his cousin.

These familiar words of King Solomon seem to fit here:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11

"To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven;

A time to be born,

and a time to die;

A time to plant, 

And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,

and a time to heal;

A time to break down,

and a time to build up;

A time to weep,

and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

A time to cast a way stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain,

and a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

and a time to speak;

A time to love,

and a time to hate;

A time of war,

and a time of peace."

11.  "He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Also He has put eternity in their hearts,

except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

Thank you for "bearing" with me 

on this little seasonal journey today...I hope this wasn't too depressing of a post...if it was, let me end with a happy picture:

Yes, that is "yours truly", riding on my retirement tractor! Yes, that is the same little pool that the bear is drinking out of above...

Okay, I'm calling it a night...you will see this in the morning, Lord willing...

Now let us drive our little tractor over  to Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and see what our other Friday Foto Friends have plowed up for us to enjoy!  Have a blessed day...and hug your loved ones and tell them you love them!!!