Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

 Good Evening Everyone! I hope this finds you doing well and enjoying special blessings of the week. We've been enjoying this week's cool morning temperatures in the mid 50's, and gorgeous sunny and cooler days.  It has actually felt like fall here in north central Florida! Hooray!!

The cup of tea says it well, "Thankful and Blessed".

I am combining two days because I am late on Thursday, and I don't know what tomorrow may bring...so I might as well "kill two birds with one stone".  Oh, maybe not a good way to start this post...but then look...there was this "murder of crows" out on Still Waters Pond this afternoon, and I guess that got me off to a more "sinister" beginning.  LOL.  Sorry about that.

Per Google: A "murder of crows" is the traditional collective noun for a flock of crows, rooted in old folklore and superstitions that associated the scavenging birds with death and battlefields."  It looks like these crows are definitely scavenging for something to eat on top of the dried up muck along the shore of Still Waters Pond.  The water in the background is still quite covered with algae, and I can only pray that we get some rain this weekend to help dissipate the algae and help the pond get back to being a "fresh water pond" again.  

The crows weren't the only ones out there foraging for food along the shore of the "pea soup pond".  Here's our resident Red Shouldered Hawk looking for something to eat...

Isn't that goldenrod plant lovely? Standing there all by itself, looking so proud and golden!

And here's that very handsome Hawk up in the tree! Isn't he gorgeous?

Some of you who are Facebook friends may have already seen some of these pictures the other day, but don't go away. I do have some new ones to show you as well.  I just didn't want the non-Facebook friends to miss out on anything important! 

Yes, sadly, everywhere there is water on the pond, it has been covered in an algae bloom. I looked it up to see if it is toxic, and I don't think this particular algae is toxic. It's just an ordinary algae.  Hopefully it will go away when the rains come.

The Muscovy Ducks don't seem to mind swimming and fishing in it...

My little buddy Blackie and I have been enjoying these beautiful cooler days by spending some time walking around the pond and yard, and sitting in the Secret Memorial Garden watching the birds.

This is my little "Open Window" in the garden...

Actually, this is what that is...and my zinnias are enjoying it so much.

The swing needs some work and I'm afraid to sit on it until it is fixed:

But Blackie and I enjoy sitting on the garden bench together.

This is our shady little sanctuary where we can watch the birds and feel the breeze and just pray and give thanks to the Lord for another day of life and love...

I am thrilled that the holly tree is loaded with holly berries. They are ripening up and getting ready for the migration of the birds heading further south for the winter...usually the Robins and Cedar Waxwings come flying through here in November.

Blackie likes to sharpen his claws and claim this planter box as HIS territory!

Then he lays down in the grass and gives me "the look". LOL.

And then when I am heading back inside the house he loves to run and roll in the white sand in our driveway, hoping I will come tickle his tummy...(which I do with my shoe/foot)

And then he tries to run into the house with me, covered in all that white sand...and well...nope! Not this time, buddy! Go roll in the grass and knock off that sand first! LOL.  He is still such a scamp!

And we love him. He's been one of God's special little blessings to us.

Another blessing this week...we were able to go and cast our ballots for the mid term elections...

We are very thankful to have the freedom and right to vote, and I pray that we never lose that privilege. I'm only sorry I wasn't wearing a RED sweater instead of a blue one. Only because I don't have a red sweater...

Please pray for our country...and please go vote to keep our freedoms intact.

After voting we stopped by our local grocery store, and they had some nice fresh apples on sale. (Fresh from somewhere up north, Michigan, I think, since we don't grow apples here in Florida, boo hoo).

Hubby said he would LOVE an apple pie! 

And it sounded good to me as well...so here you go:

And yes! It was as good as it looked, maybe even better!

Now here's a fall dinner...actually, our son Benton has been eating a lot of meals with us this week because his sweet wifey Rose is in Minnesota visiting her father and family up there, and so he's been over here for supper most evenings.   On this particular night we had Kielbasa and Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes and corn. Now if that isn't a fall dinner, I don't know what is! The only bad part was after that Benton and I had to go to choir practice with a full tummy of some very gassy cabbage! LOL.  

Then last night we had meatloaf, scalloped potatoes and zucchini and onions. This plate was actually tonight's leftovers, so it doesn't look as pretty as it did last night. But it was still really good! 

Well, folks, I just went out and took this picture of the sunset before it totally slipped down behind the trees.  I can see a tiny bit of clear water there on the pond, giving a little bit of a reflection!! Oh, that makes me smile so big!!

Ephesians 1:3

3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..."

Amen.

One more thing to be thankful for...last year's mums continue to bloom! It's the little things that make me smile and say, Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me! Amen.

Good Night and Sweet Dreams.

LEGACY - Updated

This was originally posted just before our last election,  11/4/2012. Although some of the issues are vastly different in this current 2016 election, the underlying foundation is still the same.  We still need to vote based on biblical principles...what do the candidates actually represent...what is their agenda...what do they stand for?  Do they stand for biblical principles...the sanctity of life, our freedoms of religion, speech, right to protect ourselves...or do they represent ideals that will continue to erode away at our priceless freedoms and godly principles?  What kind of legacy will we be leaving for our children and grandchildren if our nation continues on its current path?  Please PRAY about these things and let God guide you as you cast your ballot.  There is so much at stake here, people.

Here is my original post from 2012.  Billy Graham is still a highly respected and revered man of God. His legacy is the kind I want to leave for my family.
Nov. 4, 2012 :

I was so pleased and proud to see this advertisement in our local newspaper today, the "Ocala-Star Banner". Praise God for Billy Graham remaining true to his life-long beliefs. Billy Graham is THE most respected evangelist our nation has ever known. Thank you, Rev. Billy Graham, for standing up for Biblical Values. Regardless of what people may think because of the constant barage of secular-humanistic teaching of our public schools and current governmental trends, it is Biblical Values that has made our nation strong for the first two centuries of its existence. If we turn our backs on our Judeo-Christian heritage, we will suffer the consequences of our own folly. But "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek MY face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I (GOD) will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14. I have refrained from making too many statements during this election season, primarily because I felt that too many statements were being made already and mine would be lost in the shuffle or ridiculed by many (even some "friends"). But seeing this statement today in our newspaper has encouraged me and given me the courage to speak up. I was admonished by a person indirectly when I made the statement that we need to all pray for our nation. That person was offended by that, thinking that I was suggesting that people in America should be forced to pray. No, no one can force another to pray against their will. All I can say is if you really care about your country, if you really care about your family, if you really care about your freedom...even your freedom to pray or not to pray, then you need to most definitely PRAY for this country and this election. We take our freedoms for granted...but we dare not toy with something so precious. We do not realize what a thin line exists between the free America we know and love and a nation that is no longer the "home of the brave and the land of the free." If you haven't already done so, please take the time to PRAY FIRST, AND THEN VOTE ACCORDING TO THE CONVICTIONS GOD PLACES ON YOUR HEART. I hope and pray you will consider this message by Billy Graham when you make your choice. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my opinion. I've listened to many of you over the past months, and have respected your right to express yourself without belittling you. I trust that you will grant me the same respect. "God bless America...Land that I love!"