Wednesday Treasures and Thankfulness.

Happy February!!  Wow! Can you believe we are already here? I know, January seemed like it would never end, but now February is here and I can't believe it! 

I love the John Sloane Country Seasons calendar pictures. This one says, "From Sun to Sun"...we know a farmer's work is never done.

Speaking of the sun, here was our sunrise this morning...a foggy start to the day, but it has been a bright hot sunny day for the rest of the day, reaching up above 80 degrees on February 1st.

This Yellow Bellied Slider turtle was out on the marshy sand bar sunning himself in the bright afternoon sunshine:

And the Great Blue Heron was on the other side of the pond fishing, but happened to notice the turtle...

And so he flew over to pay him a visit...I'm not too sure the turtle appreciated the call because he slithered away...

And the Heron flew up into the tree where he could watch him from afar...

I think the Heron is saying something in this picture...his mouth is open...maybe he's calling in reinforcements, I don't know...

This gives you a better idea of how far away he really was from me...do you still see him out there?

That's why I am thankful for a zoom lens on my real camera!

Also I can see this little bird  out there on Still Waters Pond catching bugs on the lily pads...

And I can see Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird building their nest in the birdhouse...

Mr. Bluebird stands guard while Mrs. Bluebird builds the nest...

They are so beautiful and fun to watch, even if they do chase away the other birds from nearby while they are at the birdfeeder...

Isn't he beautiful?

Oh, can you see the Goldfinch sitting on the shepherd's hook? I think she's hoping for a tea party...

Speaking of which...here is the picture from the Tea Pots calendar for February...

"A teapot conveys a sense of cosiness and homeliness..." (see below)

Yes, I believe it does. That's probably why I collect them...

Oh, I still haven't put out any decorations for Valentine's Day yet...just haven't had time, so that will be another post for another day...

Here is the Thomas Kinkade pictures/verses for February. So tranquil and lovely...

Praise God for this verse below:

And this is a new calendar given to me from my sweet DIL.  I've put it in my bathroom where I can see it each day and keep up with appointments, etc.  What a lovely garden...  And btw, please keep my DIL and her family in your prayers. Her stepmother passed away this morning, leaving behind her husband, Rose's father, who is not very well either. They live in Minnesota, so it's a long way from here, and Rose is very concerned for her father. She does have several other siblings, but still she feels a responsibility and great concern for his well being. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers on their behalf.

Speaking of my bathroom...hubby took this picture of me this morning...early before makeup, hair, and dress-up for the day's activities. But I asked him to take it so I can tell you about my Dr. appointment that I had yesterday morning...

If you recall my post from last week,, I told you about having two MRI's. One on my shoulder, and one on my Thoracic spine.  So I got the reports yesterday... The spine is fine, except for some general "mild degenerative changes", but nothing "remarkable"  The shoulder is another story. I have some "mild tendinopathy of the supraspinatus", "questionable longitudinal split tear of the long head of the biceps tendon within the bicipital groove", "partial-thickness tear of the anterior superior labrum", and "moderate osteoarthritis of the AC joint with associated capsular hypertrophy and small AC joint effusion.  Associated mild subacromial and subdeltoid edema/bursa formation."  Those of you who have any medical background may interpret. Long story short, there are some small tears in the bicep and other tendon in the shoulder, etc.  The Doctor gave me two shots of cortisone in the shoulder and taped it up with this special tape to help hold it in place better, and also has prescribed physical therapy. He doesn't feel I will need any surgery, unless it doesn't heal properly in a reasonable amount of time. I am very thankful for that and am already beginning to feel some relief from the shots. PT will start probably in a week.

Re: the CPAP machine saga...I have discontinued use right now because I came down with a seasonal allergy, scratchy throat and sinus drainage issues, making it difficult to wear the breathing machine thingy, so I will try to start over next week, or as soon as I feel up to it. Quite frankly, I would not call it a "sleep machine". I barely slept a wink while trying to use it. I think it will take some getting used to. Time will tell...

Moving along to other events around the neighborhood:

 Way back in September I mentioned that a new Dollar General was being built in our neighborhood.  Well, today was the official opening of that new store:

And so of course we had to go check it out. It's quite handy...actually within walking distance from our house. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Time will tell. I told hubby we ought to get a golf cart so we can just scoot over there anytime...but I don't see that happening anytime soon. LOL.

(That's hubby walking in and I am up in the TV screen in the doorway!)

It's very clean and neat (for now), and a bit larger I'd say than the other two stores that are each within 2.5 miles in either direction.  There has been a lot of talk in our town about why do we need another Dollar General so close to the others...and the only answer I can come up with is they, the CEO's of Dollar General, must know something that we don't know. Growth is coming to our little town whether we like it or not, so we might as well get used to it.  Oh, and regarding my request for a traffic signal, well, that hasn't happened, and I doubt it will, unless they see an uptick in serious accidents at this intersection...which, sadly, I am sure they will. I just pray it never involves anyone I know or love. 

Speaking of accidents...

You probably can't really see it in these pictures, but that red reflector/tail light has a crack in it, and there are paint chips flaking off of the bumper of our car. The crack in the reflector is is where we had to glue that little piece back on after I accidentally backed into someone at our Ladies' Bible Study the other day. As we were leaving, my friend in the car next to me backed out, and I thought she was gone, so I started to back out as well. Suddenly I felt something hit hard behind my car, and realized that my friend's car was still there! I stopped my car and jumped out, and then saw that not only had I backed into her front bumper, but she had backed into the door of a car that was parked perpendicularly behind her. Thankfully none of the damage was severe and no one was hurt, just some scratches on our vehicles, and a dent to my pride!   It was clearly my fault...I did not actually turn around and look to be sure her car was gone when I started to back up. She was in my blind spot, and my neck doesn't turn well anyway, and so I never saw her there. Thankfully we are all okay and the damage wasn't enough to call insurance or police. Whew! That was a close one!

Thank You, Lord, for your mercy and protection for all of us!

These verses were read in our morning devotions today, and I found verses 11, 12 and 13 especially applicable to my situation (with my "hands that hang down...and that what is lame may not be dislocated bye rather be healed"), but the whole passage is valuable...

Hebrews 12:11-15

11 "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; 

nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 

13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 

15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;"

Some great words of wisdom there for us to consider tonight.

Yes, it is now night. Time to put this to rest.

All in all, I just want to thank the Lord for His protection, love, mercy and grace...and His healing power. 

And let us "pursue peace with all people, and holiness..."

Good night dear friends, and God bless you all.

Saturday Odds and Ends and Surprise Endings

Happy Saturday to you!  Since I didn't post a "Friday Foto Friends" post yesterday, I thought today would be a good day to tie up a few loose ends of photos from the week for your enjoyment and edification. That's a big word that means: 

"ed·i·fi·ca·tion

/ˌedəfəˈkāSH(ə)n/

Learn to pronounce

noun

FORMAL

1. the instruction or improvement of a person morally or intellectually.

   "the idea that art's main purpose is to supply moral uplift and edification"

I don't know how much this post will improve you morally or intellectually, but hopefully it will be entertaining and somewhat educational...

This wind whirligig was blowing in the wind the other day.  There's a story behind this and if I can find it I will link it.   Here's the original post that led to our interest in this particular kind of item...(but I will warn you it is a beautiful, yet difficult story to read)  and another post that tells about when we received this gift.  Anyway, it was originally given to us  by my sister in memory of our son Matthew.  Now it is getting old and a bit bent out of shape and needs to be overhauled a bit, but it does still work and I enjoy watching it spin in the wind. As we approach the 8th anniversary of our son's passing next week (May 25th, 2014) I guess this has been in the back of my mind a lot.

Now I will switch gears a bit to something educational:

This Yellow-bellied slider (turtle) came on shore last evening, and was busily digging into the ground with her hind legs. apparently digging a place to lay her eggs. (But I didn't know that at the time).

Isn't she interesting? Look a that design on her shell. Do you see the face in the markings?

I think that is very remarkable.  Anyway, she hid her head in the shell when I first showed up to take her picture....

And she got very still, hoping I would go away I think.

But when she realized I was not going anywhere while I spoke softly to her, she got a little more brave and poked her nose out at me to have a better look...

She kept moving her mouth around as if she was trying to tell me something.  She didn't seem afraid anymore.

I was obviously fascinated and just kept taking pictures while I talked to her and she seemed to be listening.

It could be that she was trying to say to me, "Why don't you go away and leave me alone. Can't you see I'm trying to lay some eggs here???"

Well, I did leave her alone and I went on about my business, but I kept an eye on her out of the corner of my eye.  After a while she turned around and headed straight back to the pond.

Then I went and looked at where she'd been to see what I could see, and this is what I saw:

These holes are actually kind of deep. But I couldn't tell if there were any eggs inside them. And she didn't make any attempt to cover them up. I don't know if she just gave up because of my interruptions, or if she really didn't have any eggs to lay. I checked again this morning, and it still looks the same. So, unless she comes back again, I don't expect there will be any eggs in that nest...unless they are down there and I can't see them.  I guess if I see her again I will just ignore her and let her do her own thing...

Down on the shore of Still Waters Pond are these pretty little Marsh Pink flowers. 

And then these other pretty yellow wildflowers. I don't remember their name, but it doesn't really matter. They are just so pretty growing along the shore...

Usually we keep this section of the shore line cut back, but we haven't done so yet this spring, and I like having the wild flowers growing there anyway. However, we will probably have to clean it up soon or we won't be able to see the pond!

Walking on around the pond I found these blackberries growing. The birds usually eat them before I can get to them, so I just let them have them. There are too many stickers on the stems anyway to make it worth my while to pick them.  There really aren't that many of them...not enough for a cobbler...so let the birds have them!

Speaking of birds and flowers and such...Little Miss Lily Grace helped me plant a few more flowers in our butterfly garden this morning:

She even has her own garden tools to use. I found these in a box in the shed among some other craft supplies. I forgot I had them. They are just right for Lily to use! She was a big help!!

We need to do a little more weeding and cleaning up around there, but this is an all-natural butterfly garden.  If it looks too sterile, the butterflies won't think it's for them. LOL. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Little by little it is coming together. Now if we could get some good consistent rains it would help things grow better.  That yellow flower plant doesn't look too good, but it is actually okay. I think I need to just cut it back and let it start over.

A little later I looked out my window and saw Mrs. Bluebird sticking her head out of her "open window", enjoying the view of the garden outside her house.

She seems to approve!  I've noticed that she is spending more time in the birdhouse these days, so I am assuming that she is sitting on some eggs.  I'm sure it gets hot in there, so she likes to poke her head out and look around frequently.  I'm glad we've provided a nice garden for her to enjoy while she waits for her babies to be born.

Now I'm sure you are wondering about this "Closed Door"...I told you this would be some odds and ends or loose ends, didn't I?  Well, this closed door is actually someone's trash thrown out in the woods where we like to walk. People are so lazy and inconsiderate. There is a dump right down the road from there where they could take their trash, but they don't want to be bothered and have to pay a fee, so they just dump their trash in the woods.  That makes me very angry, but it does make for some interesting pictures.

And with that, I will close this door on this post for today.

Here's Proverb for today regarding learning something new:

Proverbs 18:15

"The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge,

And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."

HOLD THE PRESSES:

Just as I was ready to publish this post I looked out my window again and saw another amazing sight!

This Florida Soft Shell Turtle, a totally different kind than yesterday's turtle, was hurrying up the bank to my freshly dug garden...

She seemed to be in quite a big hurry...

She was examining all of the freshly dug dirt for a perfect spot...

I'm glad she gave us a nice view of herself so we could see what she looked like before...

Because she immediately, as if in a very big hurry, started digging up the dirt and practically covering herself with it as she dug...

Of course I am thinking "there goes my flowers..."

But I wasn't about to stop this lady with an urgent mission...

She turned over rocks and uprooted plants...

Reminded me of an army tank moving through the garden, or a bulldozer...

She kind of went all around and back again...

I guess she decided t his was the right place to lay her eggs...

By the way she was moving, I feel quite certain that is exactly what she was doing...

And then, just as quickly as she came she was gone.  I went outside to see what I could see, and this is how it looks...neatly covered up...but I did have to put a flower plant back in place and turn the stone back over...and now we will just have to wait and see what develops.

Two different turtles in two days...what next??? Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Days of Our Turtle Lives..."

Until then, be happy and enjoy your weekend.

I'm wondering if you can top these stories?

LOL.  Never a dull moment by Still Waters Pond! 

Oh, I didn't get a picture, but Mrs. Bluebird sat on top of her house and watched the whole episode. She was very interested in what that creature was doing in her pretty new garden too. But she didn't attempt to drive her away. I think she could see, like I did, that this lady was on a mission and she was not going to be driven away until she had accomplished her task!

Isn't God's Creation amazing?

Okay...Good Night for now. (unless another turtle shows up to lay her eggs!)