Post Hurricane Thoughts

 In the Beginning there were five trees: This is how it looked along the shore of Still Waters Pond not long after we moved here over 5 years ago...there were five skinny pine trees down on the waterfront...

and even though we loved the view, these two trees on the right were growing rapidly and were actually making us a bit nervous about how big they would get and possibly some day fall and hit our house or porch...

And so we had those two cut down, and you can read more about it in this link: First two trees were cut HERE.  So that left us with three trees, which is what we've enjoyed for the past few years, and the birds love to sit in their branches and come back and forth for their food at the feeders.  

This was the view one bright sunny morning just a few  days before Hurricane Milton blew through.

And then THIS was the view the morning after Hurricane Milton blew through...I already told you about this HERE, and yes, we were very thankful that this one tree was really the only damage we sustained in the storm, apart from lots of little branches blown all over the yard from other trees, but nothing else significant.

And then there were two:

That is the view now on the shore of Still Waters Pond after we had some wonderful help from our son this morning:

And finally it was down:

Then came the job of hauling all the tree debris over to our debris pile on the other side of the lot. Hubby and son worked very hard to get it all over there. Also, a LOT of that debris under the pine branches were the many branches hubby and I raked up and moved there yesterday morning.  The pile is growing, and I'm not sure what the next step is, but eventually we will figure out how to dispose of them all. But that's for another day. 

There was so much sticky sap running from this stump that it was difficult to count the rings to tell how old it was. I may have to wait a while for it to dry up and then look again.

Meanwhile, Rose and I were in the kitchen cooking up a storm of our own! The original plan was that we were going to go to the church for the monthly Agape Potluck lunch at noon today, so we were making a Penne Pasta with meat sauce dish and also a pan of brownies to take with us.

However, the tree cutting and moving, etc., took a little longer than expected, and the guys were very tired by the time they got done. I took one look at my hubby's face and knew he was exhausted and overheated (even though it was a lovely low 70's degree morning, but they worked up a sweat hauling those logs), and Benton was sweaty and tired too, and neither one of them were really in the mood or able to get cleaned up soon enough and go to the church for lunch.  So we changed plans and decided that they would go home and have a light lunch and rest, and we would do the same here, and then they will come back over later for supper and we will eat the Penne Pasta w/ meat sauce and brownies ourselves! I felt bad about missing the luncheon, but sometimes you just gotta do what is best for the homefolks.  

Speaking of a cooler morning...we have had delightfully cool mornings and very pleasant days ever since Hurricane Milton blew through here. Thankfully that is a good thing for those who are working tirelessly to connect electricity for everyone, and all of the heavy clean up that is being done where there was so much horrific damages to homes and businesses and lives.  We cannot complain about our one tree that got hit, when people have lost everything they had...

I actually had to put on my flannel shirt this morning while we had our morning tea/coffee and breakfast before the "fire". That fire is not for real...it wasn't THAT cold, but it just set the mood for this fall morning.

This was yesterday morning's sunrise...so bright and beautiful...hard to believe just 48 hours before such a horrific storm was howling through our state.

I loved how the sunlight was shining through our bedroom window...

Psalm 43:3-4

"3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!

Let them lead me;

Let them bring me to Your holy hill

And to Your tabernacle.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God,

To God my exceeding joy;

And on the harp I will praise You,

O God, my God."

The day after the storm we took a walk in the woods, and I was so thrilled to see these lovely wildflowers blooming...note the bumblebee...I stayed out of his way!

Saw this cute Common Buckeye Butterfly flitting about, and he stopped to pose for me:

The "Blazing Star" flowers are blooming too...

Do you see the little bee on this one? I almost didn't!!

And these lovely yellow wild flowers were everywhere...A kind of wild coreopsis, I think...

So I brought home a bouquet and put it on the kitchen counter.

Within a few minutes I remembered why I don't bring these particular wildflowers inside the house. They have a very strong strange odor that is not very pleasant and they also affect my sinuses and eyes, so outside they went:

And they look lovely on our back porch table.  (As long as I am not sitting out there they can stay! LOL)

I guess some wildflowers are meant to "bloom where they are planted" and just stay there! LOL.

They aren't meant to become bouquets in fancy places! But aren't they absolutely gorgeous out along the roadways and in the woods? That is where they are meant to be...God created them just for that purpose, and to be a source of food and pollen for the bees and butterflies! So I should just let them stay where they belong and enjoy them there.  Lesson learned.

Yesterday, after raking up the front yard of all the branches from those big old oak trees, I went around back and started putting all the bird feeders and lawn ornaments/bird baths back in place.  I bleached the bird baths and washed off all the other things before putting them back...

And as I was washing off this little tea pot out popped this little head from the spout!

He wiggled around and squirmed in the spout and I felt like he was trying to tell me something!

Of course I was quite startled by his appearance, and put the teapot down on the ground and waited for him to work his way out of the spout. It actually took him a minute or two, as I believe he was actually stuck in there!  Once he finally came out onto the ground, he just sat there rather stunned for a while, and eventually started wiggling his feet and toes and tail and managed to crawl away! I really do believe he had gotten himself stuck in there and he was trying to thank me for helping him out by running water in the pot and providing moisture for him to slip on out.   At least that's what I think he was trying to say! Soon he ran away to another place and I'm sure he had a story to tell his friends about how he rode out the hurricane inside the spout of a teapot!!   

Isn't there a story or saying about a "tempest in a teapot", or something like that?

"Tempest in a teapot (American English), or also phrased as storm in a teacup (British English), or tempest in a teacup, is an idiom meaning a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion." Click here for more information about that saying  

Perhaps the lizard might have exaggerated his story a bit to get the attention of his peers...who knows? Sounds like a great story to me!

After I finished my chores down by the shore (rhymes!), I went and sat down in the swing in the Memorial/Secret Garden and just rested and relaxed and listened to the sounds of the birds, and gave thanks to the Lord that everything was okay once again for us here. 

Tonight as promised, Rose and Benton came over and we ate the Penne Pasta and brownies as planned, and afterwards Rose and I enjoyed once again watching the sunset over Still Waters Pond:

These verses from Psalm 136 came to mind to me as I was looking at these pictures again just now:

1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.
4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Amen.

With that I will close for tonight. My heart is filled with thanksgiving and praise, but also with prayer for those who are still suffering. I still can't get over how much so many others are still hurting and struggling to get back to some kind of normal. My heart goes out to them and I pray that God will comfort them in their sufferings and help them find some sense of His peace for their lives once again.  

And thank you to so many of you who have mentioned the people of our state and also the Carolinas and Georgia in your thoughts and prayers. Your prayers are very much appreciated for sure! Thank you.

Friday Foto Friends

Good Friday Morning, Friends!

I hope you are having a wonderful post-Easter week.

When I think of the week following Easter morning, I always think about the story of the men on the Road to Emmaus.

You can read the full story HERE from Luke 24:13-35

But here are the first few verses to set the stage for the story:

"13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him."

I love this picture of Jesus walking with the two men...and also I love this cut glass "rock" with the cross in the center. I think of that as the empty tomb, and the cross in the distance, to remind us of what Jesus did for us on Calvary...and how He is no longer in that tomb...and as He walked with the men on the road to Emmaus, they did not recognize Him until later when He gave thanks and broke the bread with them at suppertime, and then He vanished out of their sight. It makes me wonder just how often Jesus has come very near to us in this life, and we were too burdened down with our grief or cares of this world and we did not recognize Him until after He blessed us and then "vanished" from our sight...and in hindsight we realize we had actually been in the Presence of the Lord and did not know it...just something to ponder on this Friday morning after Easter.

But now on to my pictures for the week.  I really didn't have a lot except for what "Lily Grace" shared with you so excitedly last night.  But  here are a few other highlights from our week. Nothing quite as exciting as that was...

I am sure you recognize this picture from my header above. You may even be tired of seeing that same picture there every day. I don't change my header often because I feel like it is a kind of identity photo for the theme of my blog, and sitting there looking out at Still Waters Pond is such a joy and blessing to me that I want to share it with you as well.

Well, anyway, why am I showing you this picture again when it is already up there, you may ask?

Well, because those chairs are what I wanted to show you.  You can't really tell it from the picture above, but the Adirondack chairs, which I brought with us from our former home, were becoming very faded and dried out and needed a new coat of stain to preserve them. I've had the paint for a while, but was just waiting for the right weather and time to embark on such a venture.

I had some lovely "before and during and after" pictures to share with you, but somehow when I was transferring my pictures from my phone to the computer, I accidentally deleted them. My hubby had so graciously taken pictures of me with my stained paint shirt on, holding my paintbrush, and working so hard on these chairs, and I wanted you to see me hard at work so you don't think I just sit around lounging in these chairs all day looking at the pond (even though I would Love to do just that). But they are gone into never never land never to be recalled...so all we have are these pictures of the chairs almost completely done.

I still have to finish staining the bottoms so they will be completely covered and preserved...

But I am so sore from all the stooping and bending and moving that I had to give myself a couple of days to recuperate before I tackled the final finishing touches. Maybe today...

Meanwhile, I've been enjoyed watching "Father Goose", and sometimes "Mother Goose" as they come and dine in our yard on the birdseeds that fall to the ground under the birdfeeder.

But mostly "Mother Goose" sits on her nest over on the island. I don't know if she really has any eggs yet or not, as from what I read, they never leave the nest once they start incubating the eggs...but she does come over to the shore at least once a day for a seed snack, while Father Goose stands by on guard.

Last night I went outside to take those pictures of the chairs so I would have something to share with you today, and I didn't even notice Father Goose right there in front of me.  He actually lowered his head and started to hiss at me as I was a bit too close, but then I very carefully, all the while talking softly to him, went over to the bird feeder and shook a few more seeds out on the ground for him.  He backed away for a minute until I was gone, all the while with his head lowered and sticking out his tongue at me...and I hurried away before he decided to attack...but he just went right to the seeds as soon as I was past and seemed very grateful for the treat. He didn't even look up when I came back by on my way back in the house. Whew! That was a close one!

This funny Father Goose was standing across the street from our house when we came home from the store yesterday...not sure why he was over there, but as soon as we got home he flew right over my head as I was going into the house and flew over the house and landed back in the pond.

This is where he likes to spend much of the day...right there along our shore, nibbling at grasses and coming up on shore to eat the seeds.  I do hope "Mother Goose" is going to surprise us with some babies this time!

Okay, now here's something you don't see every day...a lizard who is shedding his skin:

Yes, that is what they thin white stuff is around his neck. At first I thought he had some kind of paper or plastic stuck on him, but then I realized he was just shedding, as all reptiles do!

I had some really cool pictures of a big tree frog, who I accidentally put my hand on when I was opening up the umbrella on our front porch one morning. 

He was sleeping up under the umbrella and when I reached in to crank it open, I put my hand right on him. I screamed and he jumped, and then when I recovered my wits enough I got my camera and took some great photos of him as he was stuck on the wall of the house recovering from his shock...but those pictures were also with the ones I accidentally deleted.  And they were so good!

So I just went outside now to take those pictures of the umbrella above so you would know what I was talking about, and decided to end this post with a picture of the sun rising in the east and our American Flag flying on the front of the house as it does every day, weather permitting.

I hope and pray that you and yours will have a blessed and wonderful weekend.

And don't forget to watch for those possible encounters with Jesus as you 

"walk on the road to Emmaus" in your daily living. You may be surprised to find that He is walking with you when you least expect Him.