Thursday Thankfulness and Friday Foto Friends

Good Thursday Evening!  I started working on this post earlier today, but things got busy and now here it is 6:00 p.m. and I am just getting ready to finish it!  It's been a good day, however, so I'm not complaining!

Today was the first day of this week that we didn't have anything actually scheduled to do, so I declared it a "day off".  When you are retired, that is pretty funny, but as most of you who are retired know, life gets pretty doggone busy when you are retired and it's sometimes hard to actually have a day that you have nothing scheduled at all! No Doctor Appointments,  no busy yard work to do, no church meetings, no scheduled shopping trips for groceries or other important items...a real day off to do as we please! Whoopee!  So what did we do?

Well, we decided to to take a walk in a different location than our usual woods walk.  Lately there has been a couple camping out in their camper (on their own empty lot), but they are kind of right in the middle of the area we like to walk, and we just don't feel comfortable walking back and forth in front of them when they may be just getting up and walking around doing their private camping routine.  Yes, this is actually a platted residential neighborhood, but it has never been developed with any houses, so the lots are mostly wooded. They have purchased a small lot and have decided to camp out on it in their camper until they can figure out how to build a home there.  It's okay to do so for a limited period of time, but they have to be planning to build within a scheduled time period. We'll see how that goes. No one seems to be enforcing those rules, and people are popping up in campers and/or tents all over through the woods out here.  At least these people do own the lot, or at least they said they do, and we have no reason not to believe them. But be that as it may, we just decided it was time to look for another place to do our regular walk.

So we went to our town's old historic area where they have created a walking trail on the old railroad bed.  It's actually very nice, paved, and well maintained.  This morning it was a tad cooler and kind of cloudy, so it made for a lovely time and place to walk.

I'd forgotten how lovely this area is in the late summer/early fall.  Here's what we saw along the way:

Coral Vine..."The Coral Vine is a rapidly growing, tropical climbing vine with tuberous roots. The vine is evergreen in tropical climates but deciduous in cooler climates. The leaves are pale green and somewhat arrow-shaped. The flowers are coral-pink clusters that bloom from spring to fall. The flowers may also be red or white depending on the cultivar. The tendrils and the vining habit help the plant to attach itself to arbors, trellises, fences, or walls. This fast-growing vine may grow 8-10 feet in a season. The Coral Vine is classified as a weed in the United States because of its aggressive growth. It has been classified as invasive species in Florida. 

The Coral Vine is a native of Mexico and Central America. It is typically found along roadsides, coastal cliffs, coastal forests, disturbed areas, and tropical and subtropical areas. The vine can grow up to 40 feet high in its native habitats and climbs up into the canopy of trees and spreads rapidly into the forests. It is able to survive in arid conditions. "

You can see sprouts and vines of this coral vine climbing up the trees all along the way. There used to be an old home in this location,  but it had to be moved when the highway was widened, and so now there are remnants of flowers blooming where once very old houses stood for over a hundred years.

Lantana "The most common lantana is a non-native species, Lantana camara. It is easy to find in local nurseries and garden supply stores. That said, choosing the right lantana variety is not always so simple. The UF/IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants lists Lantana camara as invasive. This means UF/IFAS does not recommend it for North, Central, or South Florida. It quickly invades disturbed sites and is toxic to livestock. Gardeners should take care when choosing a lantana for the landscape."

I love wildflowers, don't you? Even if they are considered "invasive", they have their own special kind of beauty, and they serve a delightful purpose in making our walk so very pleasant.

Luke 8:15

New King James Version

"But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

Truly our pathway was perfectly beautiful this morning. I love the moss hanging in the old live oak trees, don't you?

And this sycamore tree is full and beautiful, but will soon be turning golden brown and dropping is huge lives all over the ground. I'm glad we got here before that happened!

That red thing beside the trail in the above picture is actually this:

Our city has placed several of these different kinds of exercise equipment along the trail for aspiring fitness folks to take advantage of without having to have a membership to a fitness club!

So of course I had to try it:

yes, it was harder than it looked...let's move on to the next thing...LOL.

I was enjoying the flora and fauna along the trail as well:

Firebush "Hummingbirds and butterflies enjoy the nectar in the flowers. The small, black, glossy fruits are rounded and can be eaten. There is a continuous crop of these seedy fruits and birds are quite fond of them. The sap has been used to treat skin rashes. The firebush can be used as a foundation plant for large buildings and is superb when placed in the background of a mass of shrubs in a border. It is excellent in a mass planting and functions well as a screen or border. A hedge of firebush will need regular clipping. Flowers are often removed during this process."

Hubby said "Let's keep walking..."

I just had to stop and enjoy the beauty around us...

Like this "Beauty Berry Bush".

Beauty Berry  Beautyberry’s native habitat is open meadows, thickets, woodlands and margins of ponds, ditches and streams. In the spring, green leaves emerge on upright arching stems. Clusters of small flowers bloom on the stems during the late spring and early summer. Clusters of purplish to bluish berries develop August through October and encircle the stem. A pink-fruited and several white-fruited forms have been found. The fruits may last through early winter. They are a good food source for songbirds and small mammals. The leaves, when crushed, produce a chemical that can repel mosquitos, ticks, and fire ants. 

Oh look!  A couple of Sand Hill Cranes flew over head! No, I don't believe they are our resident Crane Family from Still Waters Pond, but they may be related!  Who knows?

Sand Hill Cranes high in flight above us

Isaiah 40: 29-31

29 He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

There's a lovely park for the children alongside this trail. I love the train playground equipment:

Actually we are out of order in our pictures as this particular piece of equipment was at the end of our trail, but it doesn't really matter...here it is...

Hubby is posing for the picture, but I had to talk him into actually getting on the equipment and trying it out:

He never did actually put his feet on it and try to push it like it is supposed to be done.

But I did!  

If you watch my face you can tell it wasn't as easy as it looked!

You have to push down with your feet to raise your body up...

It felt like my hip was going to come out of its socket, so I decided I'd better quit while I was ahead!

James 4:10

New King James Version

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Help!

I'm glad hubby John and the Lord lifted me up,  because that one was much harder than I thought!  I'm thankful He gave me strength to make it back down the trail to our car! LOL.

"Thank you for helping me get up, now give me that camera and stop taking my picture! LOL"

Psalm 103:1-5

"1 Praise the Lord, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the Lord, my soul,

and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

Oh, but there was another item to try out. Actually, we did this one before that last one. This one was much easier...

Stairsteps...even I could manage that!

Easy Peasy!

Is this what you're supposed to do???

Not sure what to do here... LOL.

Oh, this makes more sense! LOL.

I think I can manage...

I did it!  LOL.

1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV 

"Look to the Lord and his strength;

seek his face always."

Oh, here's a lovely flower along the trail...

Last Crape Myrtle blossom of summer

And this is the view looking out toward the lake from the trail. Again, there used to be an ancient house there on that site, with that view, long before the highway had to be four-laned to handle all the traffic going east to west across the state. Actually the old house that stood here was moved across that lake to another lot and is still waiting for someone to restore it. (click on that link for more about that story)

Still a beautiful sight.

Speaking of houses being moved! Just as we were getting back into our car we saw this house being moved down the highway....

Of course it was in sections:     We are seeing more and more of this every day around this area. Our quiet little town is growing rapidly, and our peaceful places to walk may soon be all taken away because of so many people!

Back on the home front, when we got back home there was some activity going on with the new house next door!

Finally someone came and covered up that huge drain field for the septic system!

That bobcat was just going to town moving all that dirt over those drain pipes...

I stayed out of the way and came back outside after he was done and gone, and here's how it looked:

Oh, and look! Someone finally brought some steps to get up inside this house! (Of course it is locked, but still...it's progress!)

Back door

And the Front Door:

That mound will be covered with grass seed or sod soon and it will look much better!

And here's how Goose Island on Still Waters Pond looked from that back yard today:  

And then later as I was starting to write this, we got a walloping of a rain storm! This is our view of Still Waters Pond over the past several hours.  We've already gotten over an inch of rain and I don't think it's done yet.  I posted a video on Facebook of the rain and the sound of it on the metal roof of our porch. I couldn't post it here as it was too long I guess.

Anyway, the rain was much needed and appreciated, so I will give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! 

All in all it was a beautiful day, and we are thankful for the strength that God gives us to take walks and enjoy His creation all around us. Yesterday hubby and I actually mowed all of the yard, which was a big job, but God have us the strength to do that,  and on Monday we did all of that tree trimming with our son's help, and again, God gave us the strength.  It feels good to get out and accomplish things rather than give in to our tired old bodies all the time.  Lately I've been having a lot of trouble with arthritis pain, especially at night and in the morning, so I am trying harder to keep moving and not let it take over my body.  "Strength" is my One Word for 2024, and as we get closer to the end of the year I am looking back and trying to see where God has used that word in my life to help me during the year, and also where I am learning to lean on His strength and become stronger in the process. It's not just physical strength I am talking about, but also spiritual strength.  Sometimes it is easier to just give in to giving up, and that's when I need God's power even more. I am so thankful for God's "everlasting consolation and good hope by grace...whereby "He comforts our hearts and establishes us in every good word and work":

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17  New King James Version

"16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 

17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work."

I am so very thankful for God's Word, the Bible, where there is instruction and encouragement for every good word and work!  I could not make it without Him and His Word.

And with that I will close this long post for tonight. I hope you have had a lovely day. I'll be checking in with you as I am able.  God bless you each and every one!