Saturday Lovelies

Well, today was my "lucky" day! I don't really believe in luck, so I will change that to say today was my "blessed" day!  I hadn't really planned on going outside as it was bright, hot, and I was feeling lazy. But I noticed something in the yard that needed to be fixed and I thought I'd better take care of it before the rains started back up again. I started to step out the back door, and then I stopped and said to myself..."Oh wait...you'd better get your camera! Don't ever go outside without your camera!"  (Yes, Pam! You know better than that!) Actually, I think it must have been God reminding me, because He had a little surprise waiting for me that I was totally unaware of until I got all the way outside.

This:

Yes, this beautiful Monarch Butterfly, enjoying her dinner on the milkweed flowers in the butterfly garden!  They are such a rare sighting that it is always such a surprise and a joy when it happens! 

And if I had gone out into the yard without my camera, I would have missed it! Well, I would have seen the butterfly, but then I couldn't have shared it with you!!

2 Corinthians 12:10 NKJV

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, 

in persecutions, in distresses, 

for Christ’s sake. 

For when I am weak, then I am strong."

So, aren't you glad God reminded me to go back and get my camera?

Some people may scoff and say that wasn't really God talking to you...it was just you talking to you...

Well, think whatever you want, but I know better. God knows how forgetful I am and that I need reminders to do even the most mundane things sometimes.

He wanted to bless me and also bless you today with these pictures...and so I am so happy I listened to His voice reminding me to go back and get my camera. Remember, "Listen" is my "One Word" for 2023. I'm learning, Lord!

Aren't you glad?  Look at that beautiful butterfly!!! I just noticed that she has hair going down her spine! Isn't that amazing? I never knew that before!

Ezekiel 36:26 NKJV

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; 

I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."

I am so thankful she stayed around a while and put on a good show for us!

Isaiah 43:18-19

18 “Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?"

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

old things have passed away; 

behold, all things have become new."

How often do we see a butterfly and really get to watch it and enjoy it for those few fleeting moments? And better yet, to capture those moments so they can be enjoyed again and again?

This was the last photo (below), before she flew away. But did you notice the little bonus in this picture?  Yes, there is a little skipper butterfly on another flower just beyond her! Not sure what kind it is...it was much smaller and I didn't even notice it until I saw this picture!  But it made me smile when I saw it! An added little blessing!  * later identified as a Phaon Crescent.   See added picture below the next photo.

*The Phaon Crescent:

Now, here's a couple of other added blessings...I took these pictures yesterday of Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird sitting in the tree above their house.  Daddy Bluebird had just brought Mama a juicy grasshopper to eat. She's been spending a lot of time inside the nest, and I have a feeling the eggs may have hatched already or are getting close to hatching, because she is staying close to home now.

So she was thankful that Mr. Bluebird had brought her something to eat, and she came outside for a minute to get some fresh air. It's been awfully hot in that house, I can well imagine!

Now, here's something new.  Remember I told you a week or so ago that I bought an outdoor wildlife camera?  Well, I've been trying to figure it out. It's been a little frustrating and hasn't really taken many pictures of any value.  But I finally got one that was interesting enough to show you. It is a video, so you will have to click on the arrow to see it.   In this video you will see a big black crow on top of the birdhouse, and as he peeks his head in the door to look inside, Mr. Bluebird flies out of the tree to bop him and drive him away! You can see the bluebird chasing him away. Hopefully the crow got the message and won't come messing around the birdhouse anymore.

2 Thessalonians 3:3

"But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one."

Amen.

Well, I guess that's all I've got for today. I hope you enjoyed this little nature show. 

Have a blessed and beautiful weekend!

And Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.

Me and My Daddy...Sunday Afternoon Nap.

 

Time for Nature

I should probably save this post for Friday Foto Friends, but when I have a bunch of pictures I want to share, I hate to wait too long!  Summertime is a good time for enjoying nature all around us, and this week has been a good example of that.  So I will share these pictures today, and I have included some kind of link with each picture...either to a site that gives more information about the item in the photo, or a link to a previous post that I have written about a similar item.  I guess you could call this Pam's Nature Academy!  I hope you will enjoy these interesting photos!

https://spiderid.com/spider/pisauridae/dolomedes/triton/  I saw this "six-spotted fishing spider" sitting on top of the water at the pond, resting on a floating plastic lid.

We watched two Ospreys flying about early one morning...here they are in the trees:

 https://www.naturesacademy.org/florida-feature/florida-feature-osprey-nesting-season-begun/

This is a young Swallow-tailed Kite...who was calling from the tree to its parents, who were flying around...https://www.naturesacademy.org/florida-feature/florida-feature-swallow-tailed-kite/

This White tailed deer was foraging for her supper one evening...https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/deer/

We woke up this morning to these Rain Lilies, which popped up after the rain and bloomed like magic!  My hubby called them lilies of hope, because made us feel hopeful...

https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-zephyranthes-atamasca/

I watched this Bumblebee enjoying his breakfast on the Rose of Sharon flower in the Memorial Garden
https://www.sunstatepest.com/fun-facts-about-bumblebees/ 

 This wild milkweed plant has popped up again. Just waiting for it to bloom. See THIS LINK for a previous post about this plant.

 The wild grape vines are quite prolific again this year, and it looks like it might be a good year for the wild grape crop.  Click HERE for a previous post about this. 

While at the pond I noticed this beautiful blue dragonfly again.  Click HERE for a previous post about dragonflies and their significance.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed these little nature lessons.  There is so much beauty around us to explore, if we just open our eyes to see. 

"God saw all that He had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:31

How many of you remember this little song?

Words: Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander, Hymns for Little Children, 1848; original title: "Maker of Heaven and Earth." Alexander is believed to have written these lyrics at Markree Castle, near Sligo, Ireland.

Music: "Royal Oak," 17th Century English melody; arranged by Martin Fallas Shaw, 1915

Refrain

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors,
And made their tiny wings.

Refrain

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

Refrain

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden:
God made them every one.

Refrain

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
We gather every day.

Refrain

God gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Refrain

Friday Foto Friends...Seasons of Life

Written on Thursday evening...for Friday Foto Friends.

Hello! Life has been rather crazy here this week, as most of you already know.  My  95 year old mother in law, "Nanny",  is still among the living, but barely. Every morning we expect a call from the nursing home telling us she passed in the night...but so far she is hanging on and we make the hour's drive in every day to see her and tell her we love her and try to soothe and comfort her when she is having extreme agitation.  Thankfully the meds they give help, but there are moments when they don't...so we sing hymns, hold her hands and talk softly to her and soon she calms down and drifts back to sleep.  We can't stay all day, so we tiptoe out after she falls asleep and go on about our business and wait for the call.  This has been our routine all week.  She is a strong woman, and for whatever reason, her time to let go just hasn't happened yet.  In God's perfect timing she will make the transition from this life to the next...and not a moment sooner.

I have been watching this rose develop, bud and bloom on my Don Juan Rose bush this past week. I had said to myself last week when I saw it beginning to form that it would be "Nanny's Rose", and that when it fully bloomed, she would probably be in heaven.  That was what came to my mind, because I've noticed that these roses in our memorial garden  seem to  bloom especially for special people on special days.  (click on the links for examples)  This is another example.

But the rose blossomed, and because of the extreme heat and dryness this week, it started to die very quickly...

And so I cut it and brought it inside and put it in water to see if it would revive, but as you can see, the sun damage was pretty severe.

And God said to me, "Who do you think you are, to be able to say on this day or that day so and so will happen? You are not Me, and you do not know the plans that I have for you or for "Nanny"...so please just rest in Me, and let Me show you what is best."

And so we wait, and I feel somewhat admonished...and yet comforted that God has shown me again that He is truly in control in all things...His timing is always perfect, and it is not up to me to know the times or the seasons  (even Jesus told His disciples this in Acts 1:7, just before the day of Pentecost)

"It  is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority."

But it is up to me to trust Him, and go about doing whatever needs to be done...and leave these important issues and moments in the lives of our loved ones up to Him...and to just be patient and wait on Him.

Same thing with my brother...he has been in ICU all week after a serious complication to his Acute Leukemia happened. He is battling a severe fungal lung infection, and has been on a respirator and under sedation since Monday. But each day is showing new signs of improvement, and they are hoping to take him off of the respirator possibly tonight or tomorrow.  I know many of you are Facebook friends and you have already been watching the progress all week and praying...and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You are such a blessing to me. The prayer support means so much.

I had to submit some DNA samples this week, to be tested for a possible match in the event that he should need a bone marrow transplant.  My other two siblings also are being tested. We hope and pray that he won't need to have this done, but we are ready to do our part if it should come to that.

I will try to keep you posted throughout these next days regarding the state of things here, but if you don't hear from me often, just keep praying. I am sorry I haven't been able to get around and visit you all like I'd like. I try to take a peek now and then, but with the daily journey to and from the nursing home and trying to keep up with "life in general", some things have to be set aside. You all understand that.  

Here are a few more pictures I've managed to snap as we've taken a our early morning or evening walks. That is a time of relaxation and regrouping our thoughts as hubby and I walk together.  Very therapeutic...and I thank the Lord for those times.

 Evening Sun reflected on the neighborhood pond.  The golden glow of the sun tells me that summer is fleeting and fall is on its way...

 That same spiderweb a day later (See A Fragile Thread) 

 This Milkweed Plant popped up again in the same place since last year...just waiting for it to bloom...

Coral bean plant...now you see why it is named the coral bean plant! Those red "bean" seeds are poisonous...but the flower in the spring was beautiful:

Then: (spring)

NOW: (late summer)

Neighborhood Deer...I sometimes think he's a pet...he just hangs around...

I believe he is a yearling who is now on his own as the parent deer have a new family to raise...

I know you probably can't see what I see in this picture of the little pine tree, but one morning it was all sparkly with the dew and the sun shining through, and I told hubby that it reminded me of a little Christmas tree, all decked out with lights and icicles...and for some reason that thought made me happy and gave me hope...

Life goes on...the seasons of life come and go...Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter...

One more thing...

Remember this pillow?

Yes, that is the pillow I made for my husband's cousin Janice last summer for her birthday.

It came back to me this week. One year later, Janice is in heaven, and her immediate family returned it back to me.  I made this especially for Janice from the vintage embroidery that I found among her grandmother's things when we  cleaned out Nanny's house. Janice always had poodles, and so this just seemed to be meant for her.  

Now it is in our guest room, which has reminders of my hubby's grandmother, his mother, and now his cousin.

These familiar words of King Solomon seem to fit here:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11

"To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven;

A time to be born,

and a time to die;

A time to plant, 

And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill,

and a time to heal;

A time to break down,

and a time to build up;

A time to weep,

and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

A time to cast a way stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain,

and a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

and a time to speak;

A time to love,

and a time to hate;

A time of war,

and a time of peace."

11.  "He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Also He has put eternity in their hearts,

except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

Thank you for "bearing" with me 

on this little seasonal journey today...I hope this wasn't too depressing of a post...if it was, let me end with a happy picture:

Yes, that is "yours truly", riding on my retirement tractor! Yes, that is the same little pool that the bear is drinking out of above...

Okay, I'm calling it a night...you will see this in the morning, Lord willing...

Now let us drive our little tractor over  to Deb's place at Breathing in Grace and see what our other Friday Foto Friends have plowed up for us to enjoy!  Have a blessed day...and hug your loved ones and tell them you love them!!!