Tuesday 4~ Friendly Chat and Other Updates

"So Dora.. how's life lately?"

 Okay, let's start out with updates about Hurricane Debby, since my post last night I wasn't able to add pictures and had to cut it short due to Wifi/Internet issues due to the storm. Thankfully that did finally get settled and everything has been fine today.  Hurricane Debby blew through here pretty quickly, and by this morning all we are having is a few intermittent light showers and a nice breezy day.  The sun is even trying to shine as I write this at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.   Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but we had some things to take care of this morning and this is the first time I've felt like sitting down at my computer and writing.

I promised you some pictures of Still Waters Pond during and after the storm.  Many of you already saw them on Facebook.  I can't seem to post the videos here, so here's the latest photos:

This was during the storm:

And here is how Still Waters Pond looks today:

I took this picture from over at the "new house" next door lot:

Speaking of which, nothing has been done since I last wrote about the house next door. The storm came along and that took care of anymore work being done until things settle down and dry out. So I promise there will be more to come when there's some new action.

I did see this beautiful butterfly while I was over there. He was flitting all around, but this was the only time he settled long enough for me to get a picture. This is a Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly. Isn't he beautiful?  I do wish I could have gotten some more pictures, but he's busy doing what butterflies do before their time is up. So I let him enjoy his freedom and happy life.

He was a beautiful gift after the storm. And yes, we are very very thankful for all the ways God watched over us during the storm. We know that many people have not been so fortunate and are dealing with flooding and no power and downed trees.  Our hearts go out to them, and we pray for their safety first of all, and then for their homes to be restored. For many it may be a long time. When it comes to storms, we take nothing for granted, and try to be prepared, but everything else is left up to God.

Therefore, we are always extremely thankful when we come out on the other side with little damage and no major issues to deal with. 

One of the things I was doing this morning was re-caulking our kitchen sink.  Yesterday I discovered some water underneath the sink. After we checked everything to do with the plumbing, we could not find any leaks. I finally decided that the water must have come from around the caulking at the back of the sink, as it was in very poor repair and needed to be replaced.  I didn't feel like tackling that job yesterday (and yes, I do these kinds of jobs. I tend to be more of the "handyman" type than my hubby, so it just works out better if I do it.)  So anyway, I got busy this morning and stripped off all the old caulking from all around the sink, and then put in the new. It looked so nice I felt like I had a new sink!  After that I went and did my bathroom sink, but I haven't taken any pictures of that. Just suffice it to say, it also needed to be done and it looks much better now as well!

So now, let's move on to today's Tuesday 4, shall we?

Friendly Chat

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. With just four questions each week we hope to change the world!

Well, okay, we can't change the world but we do hope to help you have something to blog about, think about and talk about. I hope everyone in Florida is okay with the storm Debby! Be safe friends.

So, let's take our tea or coffee and sit down together and have a friendly chat about life........

1. If you were or are married, did or do you enjoy being married? If you are not married are you content and happy in that life?

In about 10 days from now we will have been married for 55 years. Yes, I can say that I have enjoyed being married, and am extremely thankful for the man God chose for me. We actually often talk about how we know that God brought us together and that He had specific plans for our lives and went to great lengths to bring it all to pass.   Our life has not been perfectly rosy and always wonderful by any means. We have had many many trials and difficulties and sorrows during these 55 years, but through it all God has been with us, oftentimes carrying us through the hard places and giving us strength to keep going.  Without the Lord leading us in our lives, we may not have made it through these 55 years.  But our faith in God was often stronger than our faith in ourselves, and our commitment to Him was greater than even our vows to each other, and so we persevered through the hardships and we are so very thankful that God kept us moving forward  even when we wanted to quit. We give all glory to God for His mercy and grace and love.

2. What are the best parts of your life today? What were the best things about your life in the past?

The best parts of my life today?  Well, I am mostly healthy, my issues are minor compared to what so many have to endure. My hubby is mostly healthy too, and we are both very grateful to God for our health and well being. We have a strong faith, a good family and home, and we love each other very much.  I'd say that also goes for the best things in my life in the past.  I am VERY thankful for the family God chose for me from the time I was conceived until this very moment.

3. What more could you add to your life to make it better, or conversely, what could you remove to make it better for you?

I really don't know how to answer this...I am very thankful and content with my life right now. Obviously, if we could live without any pain or other hardships, that would be nice, but I believe many of these things come into our lives to make us stronger and help us to grow in our faith.  I honestly can't say that I'd change a thing.

4. If you work... are you really pleased in your job or would you like something better? If you are retired is it all you hoped it would be and how could it be better for you?

We are retired. We are thankful to be retired, and thankful that God has provided for us so we can survive financially. We never had the kind of jobs that provided for a good retirement income. We mostly served in small churches with no pension plan. We both managed to work enough years for the state to get a very small state retirement amount to supplement our Social Security. If we could have changed anything, it would have been to have managed a better financial plan for retirement, but again, GOD has taken care of us and has seen to it that we have everything we need. We have a good house over our heads and our bills are paid every month. We have our health and we have each other and we enjoy every day that God gives us.  We would have loved to be able to do more traveling, but that just hasn't been possible for us financially.  We are looking forward to a trip in October to the mountains for a few days with our kids, and then on to a wedding of my great-nephew in North Carolina, where we will get to see most of our extended family.  So that will be a lovely time and we are very thankful to be able to do that.  

Scripture verse for today from a daily devotional I read is appropriate to close this out:

Romans 8:28

New King James Version

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Amen.

Saturday Wanderings...Come Along for a Nature Walk with Me...

Happy Saturday!  I thought you might enjoy something a little different this evening. Why don't you come along on a nature walk with me?  There are so many different things to see!

This morning we took a walk at our usual walking place in the woods, and this lovely butterfly was accompanying us along the way. I loved how he flew beside us and before us, and all around us. I literally asked him to please stop long enough for me to take his picture, and so he did! He stayed on the ground like this for about a minute, allowing me to enjoy his magnificent colors and markings! And then he flew back up into the air and continued on his journey, leading the way for us along the road. Sometimes I do wonder about butterflies, don't you?  If anything, he was God's special little gift to us this morning to brighten our path and bring smiles of joy to our faces!  What a blessing!

Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly  (Click that link for more information about him)

The next thing I wanted to see was this Hawthorn tree, to see if its berries are developing, and yes, they certainly are!

Florida Hawthorn Tree Berries

These are the Hawthorn Tree flowers, back in early March! I thought I had already shared these with you, but I can't find a record of it.  That was about the same time that my computer died, and so I was limited on what I was able to post for while, so I guess these photos were left out. Glad I still had them in my phone so I could share them now!

This information below is from the Florida Native Plant Society Blog

"Hawthorns belong to the Rose Family, along with the plums, cherries, serviceberries, and crabapples. Roses are revered for their beautiful 5-petal flowers, which are often present in the spring, and the production of nutritious fruit, generally high in vitamin C. Florida’s hawthorns all produce white blooms; either solitary, in small clusters, or in large masses across the canopy. 

 The fruit are variable in color, size, and time of year that they ripen. Like true roses (Rosa spp.), hawthorn fruit are often called “hips”. Most are rather bland in taste, but an entire industry has been built in the South around the hips of the mayhaw (C. aestivalis) and its close relatives (C. opaca and C. rufula). Hawthorn hips are also frequently available in natural food stores for use in teas and as nutritional supplements."

Also along the way we are starting to see these Pricklypear Cactus flowers starting to bloom! They are so beautiful, but please don't get pricked by the thorns! That would not be very pleasant!

Pricklypear Cactus  (click on that link to the Florida Wildflower Foundation for more information)

Now, back in our neighborhood I have been enjoying the discovery of these amazing huge Live Oak trees on the property next door.

Live Oak Tree (click link for more information from the University of Florida Gardening Solutions website)

This Live Oak tree above is on the lot beside the lot that was just cleared next to us, and the pictures below I have already shown you, but they are also Live Oaks that are on the lot that was cleared. I do hope they won't have to cut down too many of these trees in order to build the house on the lot. They provide such beautiful shade and many of the trees on this property appear to be quite old.  

Here is another picture of Mother Goose, sitting on her nest, patiently waiting for the arrival of her babies. Doesn't she look peaceful and calm sitting there? A perfect example of what a mother's love looks like.  According to what I've been reading, the mother goose does NOT leave the nest at all during this month of waiting, nor does she eat. Apparently the goose who comes begging for bird seed at our door is the father, not the mother! And he is always in a bit of a hurry because he has to get back to his station in the water nearby her nest.   

We have become a bit more lenient in this regard. He literally stands there and it looks like he is trying to speak to us. He doesn't make any sound or hiss, he just opens his mouth and it looks like he is saying food please?  So we have given in and have been tossing him a little bit of birdseed when he comes begging so politely.  It's only for a short period of time, and then they will be off to their further adventures. We decided it's the least we can do to help out a young father in distress...LOL.  

Speaking of birds in distress...Since so much of the habitat was cut down on the lot, the birds have been rather noisy and active.  I fear there may have been some nests destroyed in the process or at least their favorite hiding places.  

This male Cardinal was hopping around this morning on the ground where there used to be more bushes.  I just happened to be out for an early morning stroll over to see what was going on with the goose nest and saw this fellow too.  Hopefully the birds will all get back to some kind of normalcy soon.

Speaking of hungry critters...LOL. Today was really sweet. Our kids were all here for a grilled BBQ chicken lunch.  Scott came home and Benton and Rose and the grandpups came over, and Scott grilled the chicken for us. We had salad,  deviled eggs, and boiled new potatoes with sour cream and cheese, and also some coleslaw.   There was no special occasion...just a happy and thankful family to all be together.  I baked a blueberry pie, using some of the blueberries I had frozen a little while ago after getting them fresh from the blueberry farm.  I didn't take any pictures of us all together, but here's what's left of the pie:  

Yes, it was delicious, eaten when it was still warm with vanilla ice cream! 

I think I will close on that note!

Here's a good thought for today:

Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 

7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

One more thought, please keep the people in the paths of those horrific tornadoes in your thoughts and prayers. I know of one of our blogging friends in particular, Betsy, from "The Simple Life of a Queen", who lives in Omaha, NE, and the storms were very close to her and her family. Thankfullly, they are all safe and no damage to their homes, but the severe damage is all around them, so their lives will be greatly affected by all of the storm aftermath.  There may be others that we don't know about, so let us keep them in our prayers.

 

Memorial Day Photos

Yes, Memorial Day is a day set aside to remember those who have fallen in service to our country...I believe it started after the Civil War, to honor the memory of all those who sacrificed their lives in that terrible war between our states...and then of course there were subsequent wars, the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan...did I leave anyone out? Too many wars...too many sacrifices...but Oh! How we thank those who gave their all for us, so that we can continue to live in freedom and peace. May we never forget...and may we always work to protect these freedoms that many take for granted and don't truly appreciate.  I watched a documentary on North Korea this afternoon, and it made me really stop and give thanks to God that we live in the United States of America, the "land of the free, and the home of the brave!"  I saw on the news that one family in North Korea, including a 2 year old child, were put in prison because they were caught reading the Bible. I am sure they are not the only ones, but can you even begin to imagine such a thing? And yet, if we are not diligent to protect our freedoms, that could be our nation.  May we always remember the motto, "In God We Trust"...and never let anyone, whether from outside our country or from within, take away that great freedom to put our trust in God and be able to read our Bibles openly and share God's Word with anyone. 

We were blessed and happy to celebrate this day with our church family at what has become a new annual tradition Memorial Day picnic:

Lots of great food and fellowship...

Happy people having a good time together

What a blessing to have the freedom to gather like this! Again, may we never take these freedoms for granted!

Back on the home front, we have a lesson going on in Nest Building 101:

Mrs. Bluebird has been very industriously bringing straw and grass and pine needles to build a new nest in the bird house again...

I believe this is the same couple that already had a brood of babies in this same house earlier this spring. This will be their second batch for the year!

But Mrs. Bluebird seems to be having some difficulty in fitting the nesting material through the door...

Maybe she is still a bit new at this...perhaps I'm wrong about it being the same couple as before and also from the last couple of years...she really is having a time with these grasses...

She looks around for Mr. Bluebird as if to say, "Where's a man when you need him??"

She keeps trying to figure it out...

"I don't remember having this much trouble the last time!! Maybe I need to get a different kind of grass!"

"Let me get back up here on top of the house again and look this situation over!"

"Okay, I'm going to try one more time! Maybe if I just plunge right in it will work out this time!"

"Success!!! I got the straw in the house!! Now to go find some more! Where is that man of mine anyway???"

"Oh, there you are!! Where were you when I needed you?"  LOL.

"Okay, now we've got to get busy and get this nest ready! I think it's time to lay some eggs!"

Meanwhile, down below the birdhouse in the butterfly garden, there's a beautiful visitor:

This is a Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly, enjoying the Lantana flowers that I planted in the garden.

This may be picture overload, but how often do we get to capture pictures of these beauties before they fly away?

Oh, look, a bunny with a nest and eggs...!

Must be the Easter Bunny, but he's a bit too late for Easter!  Actually, those are two bluebird eggs that did not hatch from the other birdhouse. I cleaned it out yesterday since that family had fledged a few weeks ago, and was surprised to find these two eggs still in the nest.  That happened last year too. Sometimes not all the eggs are viable and so they are left in the nest.   I like to put them in the garden for as long as they will last. 

One last picture of the beautiful butterfly before he flew on to other places and flowers...

Meanwhile, the Sand Hill Crane family came by for a visit:

Yes, those last two are Pat and Val, our "St. Patrick's Day" colts...They are two and a half months old, and you can barely tell them apart from their parents:

They still don't have the red head, and they are still a little more tawny brown than gray, but they are just about as big...

We do see them using their wings more often now and flying short distances. I am not sure if they can fly quite as high as their parents yet, but they are definitely getting stronger every day.  This was the last view of them as they waded on around the pond and then back to their nightly nesting place for bedtime.

All the while that I'm enjoying watching nature at work, there is also another kind of work in the treetops going on around us:

Our neighbors have rented a big lift truck for the weekend (they are in construction business, and they know what they are doing), and they are trimming back lots of trees from around their house.

As we get into the hurricane season, which starts in June, they are concerned about a lot of branches that were too close to their house and hanging over their roof.

Some of the trees are actually on our side of the fence, but the branches hang over onto their side and over their house.  They volunteered to take care of them, but just asked our permission to do so. Of course we said sure, as they were not asking us for any money to do so and they are doing all the work.

These trees below were water oaks, and they were quite dead inside the trunk. They said when they cut into them water just poured out of them, because once they start to die, they rot from inside out and they fill up with water.  Although I will miss the shade of these trees in our side yard, I am thankful that we don't have to worry about them falling on our neighbor's house.

I guess that's all I've got for today.  Here's a pleasant view of some pretty pink wildflowers along the shore of our Still Waters Pond...

And it appears that this female Cardinal is bowing her head in prayer at the close of this wonderful Memorial Day....maybe we should join in...

I do thank you all for your very kind comments on my previous post.  Your thoughts and prayers made this time a bit easier for us to bear.  We have had some other things going on in the background that I won't go into, but God knows all about it, and we always have to remind ourselves that God is in control always.  

"But I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able, to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day..." 2 Timothy 1:12

I know not why God’s wondrous grace

To me He hath made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love

Redeemed me for His own.

Refrain:

But “I know Whom I have believed,

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto Him against that day.”

I know not how this saving faith

To me He did impart,

Nor how believing in His Word

Wrought peace within my heart.

Refrain

I know not how the Spirit moves,

Convincing men of sin,

Revealing Jesus through the Word,

Creating faith in Him.

Refrain

I know not when my Lord may come,

At night or noonday fair,

Nor if I walk the vale with Him,

Or meet Him in the air.

Refrain:

But “I know Whom I have believed,

And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed

Unto Him against that day.”

I hope you have had a blessed and peaceful Memorial Day weekend.  And praise be to God again for all those who gave it all so that we could have so much to be thankful for.

Remember that Jesus paid it all for all of mankind...

I hear the savior say

Thy strength indeed is small

Child of weakness watch and pray

Find in me thine all in all

Refrain:

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power and thine alone

Came and changed the lepers spots

And it melt the heart of stone

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

And when before the throne

I stand in him complete

Jesus died my soul to save

My lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all

All to him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow