Baffled!

If you have ever dealt with squirrels constantly raiding your birdfeeders before, you will know how frustrating that can be!  We've had up to five squirrels in the yard at the same time, each vying for his/her turn on digging out the choicest seeds from the birdfeeder and hogging all the good ones, leaving only the dregs for the birds.  Lately even the birds have been taking revenge.  Although it is funny that the Bluebirds do not even visit the birdfeeder or eat from it, they do NOT like the squirrels invading their territory near the birdhouse, and so they have been dive-bombing the squirrels every time they are on the bird feeder.  It's been quite comical to watch.

However, comical or not, we've gotten tired of paying for expensive birdseed for the BIRDS, only to have the squirrels totally pig out on them and not giving the birds a chance.  Now don't get me wrong, I know that squirrels are God's creatures too and that they need to eat, but around here where we live they have PLENTY of natural food to eat. We have  oak trees with acorns out the wazoo, and holly berries in the trees, and young pine cones, which they also love to chew up and spit out the core. There is more than enough food for the squirrels and they really do NOT need to eat the birdseed from the feeder.

So, that being said, we finally splurged and bought a "baffle" to put on the bird feeder pole.

That's that black metal coolie hat looking thing above.  It sits on a little bracket that holds it up on the pole, but it also allows it to tilt and swivel so that the squirrel SHOULD not be able to get a footing on it to reach the bird feeder.

It was quite comical watching the squirrel above, calculating and considering just how he might get up that pole and around and over that new thing to get to his beloved birdseed.  Try as he might, he could NOT figure it out (yet).

If you look in the above picture, you can just barely see his tail sticking out from under the baffle, just before he had to slide back down the pole to the ground.  He was definitely baffled.

And so he went and sat on the birdbath and consulted with his "idol", Bobby the Squirrel, asking the wise cement squirrel what he should do.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bluebird sat up on his perching pole and watched the shenanigans, and I do believe I could hear him chuckling as we watched Mr. Squirrel try over and over again unsuccessfully to reach that birdfeeder.

Even Mrs. Bluebird stuck her head out of the house to see what the commotion was all about!

Well, all's well that ends well. 

I know you can't really see it, but there is another bird feeder in the "Secret Garden" that hasn't been "baffled". (yet).  So the squirrels do still have someplace to get their favorite sunflower seeds. I'm not totally inhumane.

So, what else is new?

This morning hubby and I went for our usual morning walk, and it was a little bit chillier than we thought. So we both bundled up in our hoodies, and then I realized that we were "twins", so of course a selfie was in order! LOL.    Aren't we just so funny?

And of course I needed to take some pictures of things that are developing since it is spring.

Do you know what these flowers are?

They are the flower of the "paw-paw" fruit!. Click HERE for a previous post that has a picture of them when they are ripe.  These bushes are showing up all through the woods right now, and by summer or early fall they will have fruit on them that the critters will enjoy.

And I had to check out the wild plum trees scattered throughout the woods. They are finally developing some wild plums!  The only problem is, by the time they are ripe enough to do something with, the birds have already gotten them or they have dropped to the ground. They are quite tart when ripe, so not really like a "real plum".

But I was very happy to see so many different trees are loaded with fruit this year. Last year there were hardly any.

After we finished our walk we headed to the local flea market. Sometimes there are good things and sometime there aren't. Today was my lucky day!  I scored this beautiful real wicker chair for a "song", including the cushion.

It joins my other wicker chairs on the back porch. Mine are the "plastic" kind of wicker, so are less maintenance, but as long as I keep it under shelter it should be fine.  

Now we are all set for a tea party on the porch. Won't you come and join me?  I'm sure I can find some other chairs around here if we need them. The more the merrier!

The same lady where I bought the chair had this lighthouse dishtowel for sale. She just threw it in with the chair! Deal!!  Who can't use another dish towel? Especially such a pretty one?

And for a dollar I bought these two pie stackers:

You may ask what a "pie-stacker" is.  Well, when I saw these they made me think of my mother, because she had these and used them often to carry her wonderful pies to family dinners or pot luck dinners, or wherever anyone was fortunate enough to receive my mother's pies.

See, you stack your pie pans on them (with pie in them of course)

And then you put them in your cake carrier, or in this case, pie carrier:

By the way, those two pyrex pie plates belonged to my mother. I keep them here in this cupboard, right under her pyrex mixing bowls:

Some things are too special to be hidden away...

My mother baked many a delicious pie in those two pie plates, let me tell you. And I know she used those mixing bowls for so many things, probably to mix up her pie crust, bake her macaroni and cheese casserole, put her delicious potato salad in, the list could go on and on.

Now I have to change my name to "Maurleen".  Apparently that's who owned these pie stackers before. 

LOL.

Is that enough stuff for a Saturday? 

We are studying The Proverbs in our Ladies' Bible Study at church right now. Going through the Proverbs is quite an education in how to live (or how not to live). Here's a good one for today:

"A merry heart does good, like medicine,

But a broken spirit dries the bones."

Proverbs 17:22

No matter what is going on, even when we are "baffled" by life's confusion and frustrations, if we try to keep a "merry heart", we will find that we can cope with life so much better.  No one wants to have dried up bones...

Have a blessed and "Merry" day!

 

Wednesday (Actually Tuesday) Wanderings and Unusual Sightings

 My "Wednesday Wanderings" were for the most part seen on Tuesday, so  this seems like a good day to share these interesting and somewhat unusual sightings...most of you won't see them until Wednesday most likely...

This White Egret flew in and landed right in front of this Canadian Goose. At first the goose honked and acted like he was upset for such a close landing,

But then the Egret  got right in his face and he just turned his head and didn't seem to care... 

 The female goose looked up and made sure the egret was not bothering her mate...

And then the two geese just tucked their heads into their feathers and continued their naps...Never saw that happen before...

Talking about something I've never seen before:

From a distance it took me a minute to figure out that it was one cat, walking along the shore, with a very distinct reflection in the pond...If I'd been that cat and looked in the pond and saw that cat looking back at me, it would have scared at least one of my nine lives away...

 Now here's an unusual sight...we've been cooped up so long I've started wearing aprons and grinding our own meat on an old fashioned meat grinder on an old fashioned Hoosier Cupboard...

If I'd known my picture was going to be taken, I would have at least picked out an apron that didn't clash with my top...or vice versa...  What was I doing, you ask? Making ham salad with the remainder of our Easter Ham before it went bad. It was good. What did our old grandmothers say? "Waste not, want not."  Good advice from this old grandma.

Not so unusual, but this is the Memorial Garden Don Juan Rose blooming. It was in the bright sun and looks a little strange, but it was and is beautiful. This is the rose bush I brought with us when we moved, that came from the Memorial Garden at our last house.

Oh, do you know what this is?  These are paw-paws growing on the paw-paw bush over where we take our walks. I've never seen them turn brown before. At our other house they were always green, but these still seem to be okay. Must be a different variety...but still wild and growing in the woods. Click HERE for a picture of them from our previous home and woods.

Need a hand? Or a foot? Does your foot ever feel all prickly like you are walking on something sharp? Maybe you really have a prickly pear cactus foot, or hand, or whatever. It seems to be missing a finger or a toe, whichever...

And speaking of roses...This shadow lady is holding a bouquet of "knock  out roses", and she appears to be either wearing one in her hair or in her teeth...Isn't she lovely? I kind of like her camouflaged pants too.

Talk about unusual sightings: My eyes look a bit droopy here, but I guess because I was looking down at the camera...this is me wearing a mask...which our lovely quilting ladies from our church made! I love the little swans and roses design on this one.   Now I don't have an excuse to stay home.  Thank you, Quilting Ladies!

Okay, enough "unusual sightings" for today. I hope you enjoyed this little wandering around with me.

Now for something more sensible...this is the Psalm we read this morning in our devotions:

Psalm 93

1.  "The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;

The Lord is clothed,

He has girded Himself with strength.

Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.

2.  Your throne is established from of old;

You are from everlasting.

3.  The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

The floods have lifted up their voice;

The floods lift up their waves.

4.  The Lord on high is mightier

than the noise of many waters,

Than the mighty waves of the sea.

5.  Your testimonies are very sure;

Holiness adorns Your house,

O Lord, forever."

Amen.

Nothing so unusual about that! I love verse 1 in particular!  I hope you will be encouraged by these words.

Okay, that's all for now folks. I hope you have a  wonderfully blessed day/night/week. 

Thankful Tuesday!

I kind of took a few days off from blogging...just needed to rest and refocus for a while.  But today I am up bright and early and feel like chatting with my friends.  I know we are all getting weary of this enforced isolation, even though we understand the need for it and pray for those who are suffering and working on the front lines for our behalf.   Today I am very thankful for many things, and thought I wouldn't wait until "Thankful Thursday" to express my thanks. So this will be a "Thankful Tuesday".

 I am thankful for the beauty that surrounds us every day. The birds that sit and sing sweetly in the trees...

 The joy of watching our Canadian Geese come and go, and in this picture, flying back out to his perch on the pond where he keeps guard over his mate as she sits on her nest (out there somewhere but we can't see exactly where)

The signs of new life on our trees...Pine Cones!

And their new spires reaching up to the heavens to praise the God above Who made them. You may notice a few of the pine cones on the new growth make little crosses on the trees...this is a phenomenon you will see every spring just prior to Easter...

Isaiah 55:12

"For you shall go out with joy,

and be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills 

shall break forth into singing before you.

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

I am thankful also to be able to take short walks with my hubby again.  I am not quite up to speed yet, and mostly just walk around a little bit and look at things while he takes his longer walk, but I like to see what is growing new each day.

 These are "Paw Paw" flowers blooming on the wild Paw Paw bushes in the woods. 

 Not sure what kind of insects those are enjoying the nectar of the Paw-Paw flower, but they both seem quite content to "stick together" and enjoy. No, they are not practicing "social distancing", are they? LOL.


I was so happy to see the wild plum trees are loaded with little wild plums, and they are growing every week...

I was also thankful to NOT bump into this lovely little white flowered plant...We call it a "Stinging Nettle", or a "bull nettle".  They grow about ankle high and if you bump into it, you will be very sorry. It will sting like crazy. Good reason NOT to go barefoot in Florida... (among many other reasons that I won't go into)

But back to the list of thankfuls...

I am thankful that I am starting to feel much better and day by day I can see good progress. Thank You, Jesus!

I am thankful for the wonderful bag of books that I was given to read...and am continuing to read every day!! I am up to #10 already!!! (they are quick reads)! I still can't get over how God nudged my friend to bless me that way!

I am thankful that we are retired and on a fixed income (albeit small, but adequate) and not dependent on the stock market or hourly wage jobs to survive during these difficult days.  I pray for those who are not so fortunate that God will provide their every need.

I am thankful that our children are also able to continue working and except for our son's carpentry business, which has slacked off in sales a little, they are still doing well and God is providing their every need.  I am also thankful for the dishwasher they gave us...it is working very well! What a blessing.

I am thankful that so far, as far as I know, all members of our extended family are staying healthy and have not been adversely affected by this virus.  We do know people who have contracted it, but thankfully even they are recovering and God has taken such good care of them. Praise God!!

I am thankful for our church and for dear ones who have taken the time to call or send messages of encouragement around to everyone to stay in touch and keep our faith strong.  Our pastor has sent us good messages of hope, and we are blessed to be part of the Family of God.

Of course we are disappointed that we won't be able to have our usual Easter services, but one of our church family members made an interesting comment the other day that blessed me:

"We are Easter Christians, not Easter Sunday Christians.  We should be celebrating His resurrection everyday. Celebrating the resurrection is celebrating God's love for us. "For God so loved the world". It is also a time to celebrate our love for God. We can show our love through salty service, which is reaching out and helping others. What a great opportunity we have during this "stay at home time"to phone or email a neighbor to see how they are or to just chat. Be creative. How can you use this time to honor God? I look forward to the day we can all gather again at the church and CELEBRATE His love. Remember that we, God's people are the real church, not the building."  Barbara Thorick

I also love that this same friend did exactly what she was encouraging others to so, and called me on the phone just to visit and check up on me to see how I was doing. I love it when people don't just give "lip service" to doing good deeds, but actually follow through and live what they say.  That is a good lesson and example for us to follow as well.

And so, with those thoughts in mind I will close this little post for today.  It gives us some good food for thought...and also a challenge to live out our faith by encouraging others who may be lonely, discouraged or perhaps not doing so well during these days.  We may not be able to visit in person, but we can encourage one another with calls, cards, or other creative ways.

May God fill your life today with His peace, joy, and blessings overflowing. 

Friday Foto Friends - A Day to Remember

Hello Friday Foto Friends

It seems like Friday comes and I have already posted all my interesting pictures throughout the week either here or on Facebook, and then I realize I didn't save much for Friday.  So I went back through the week to see what I might have missed that you would enjoy...So here goes:

We've had a lot of rain lately, with much more to come this weekend.  One morning I noticed these mushrooms on the front lawn, looking like little flowers blooming...

I love to see all the different varieties of mushrooms that appear throughout the year. They are each so unique and interesting...Here's another example from a previous post

One rainy afternoon I decided to sort buttons from my hubby's grandmother's button collection...(Nanny Martin).   I loved looking through them and imagining what dresses or blouses they may have been on...Nanny Martin had four daughters, so she did a LOT of sewing for her girls as you can imagine.

I keep them in this old blue Mason Jar.

 Remember this picture from last Friday?  Do you recall that I told you that the picture was of some "borrowed ancestors" that we really have no clue who they are...

Well, I finally updated this plaque with a picture of "Nanny Martin" when she was a young bride (age 15).  She is the creator of that lovely old quilt, and the scraps of fabric on here are from the quilt...
I also added one of her pins...on the bottom left corner of her picture...it has an aqua gemstone in it (but some of the other smaller stones are missing), and I also added the larger key, which I believe was a key from her house.  So now this picture plaque has more personal meaning and looks nice in the guest room...

Totally changing gears here...This is a Pawpaw bush, and these are young pawpaws developing.  Just thought you'd want to know...they grow wild here in our woods ....and they will get much bigger when they are ripe. The animals apparently like them. I tried one once...they are edible fruit, but not exactly what I like to eat, so the animals are safe to have them...

This Bird Sanctuary birdhouse sits in The Secret Garden.  I've never yet seen a bird go in it, but these two lizards seem to have made it a home. Every time I go by there I see them on it.  Notice, the small one on the left is the female, and the large one on the right is the male. They are very territorial too...

Now, if you have watched the news this past week you may have seen that there have been some large sinkholes forming in The Villages, Florida, which is about an hour's drive from where we live.  I had to make a trip to The Villages this past week to see a specialist for some therapy, and I can tell you that the sinkholes are not the only thing stopping traffic in The Villages.

This Florida Soft-shelled Turtle was also stopping traffic on a busy road in the middle of The Villages.  He had apparently wandered out of a neighboring pond onto the road. Thankfully someone was stopping to put him back in the water...

And here is our friend "Smiley Bear", who stopped by one evening for a drink.  I love how he literally smiled for the camera!!!  (yes, I was inside the house sleeping when this happened. Our wildlife camera had the honor of capturing this lovely photo.  No humans were eaten in the filming of this bear)

Now I know everyone watched the Royal Wedding last Saturday.  I recorded it and watched it later in the day.  Everyone has already posted their favorite pictures of the Prince and his lovely bride, but I thought it would be good to give some attention to the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.  I understand that Prince Philip is almost 97 years old, and he was able to walk in and be a part of this royal wedding.  I think that is pretty remarkable and deserves some applause.

 I think they still make a very handsome couple...and we may not have too many more times to see them together like this...

Oh, and by the way, did any of you wear a hat to the wedding? Here you will see the corner of my  hat as I took this 'selfie' while watching the wedding...Yes, I wore it for the whole wedding. That was the only part of me that was "dressed up", hence you only see the corner of the hat.  The rest of me was sans makeup and in my old house clothes...

 I took a lot of pictures of the wedding, but I really liked this view at the end of the wedding, while they are waiting for their carriage to arrive.  I love all the people watching, and all the chimneys standing at attention in the background...

Switching gears again:  We went to visit a friend in the hospital yesterday, and this was the view from his window...they are adding on to and remodeling the outside of the hospital, so there is scaffolding everywhere...this worker was busily working while we visited...Not sure I'd want workers outside my window while I was recuperating in the hospital....

Also, outside the hospital was this "horse"...If you have ever visited Ocala, Florida, you will know that it is well known for its horse farms and breeding of race horses.  Click here for more information about these painted horse statues, that you will find scattered all over Ocala.    Here is a Pinterest Link to more of them...

This is the plaque for this particular horse, "Mistaken Identity".  Someday I would like to drive around and see how many of these horses I can find to photograph.

I will close with these pictures of this beautiful rose, that was blooming in "The Memorial Garden" this week.

The Memorial Garden was established four years ago in memory of our son, who entered heaven's gates on May 25, 2014.  

I'm afraid the garden is looking a bit jungle-like right now since we've had so much rain, but I was so thrilled to see the rose blooming, as well as the Rose of Sharon bush behind it, which was also planted in memory of Matthew.

Later today we will be participating in a Memorial Service for our daughter-in-law's mother, who passed away several weeks ago.

I trust that you and yours will have a safe and memorable Memorial Day weekend. May we always remember the sacrifices that so many have made for our freedom, as well as take a moment to remember our loved ones who have gone on before us.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord

Is the death of His saints."

Psalm 116:15

Now let us travel over to Deb's Place at Breathing in Grace and see what our other Friday Foto Friends are sharing...

Also, I just learned that "Networked Blogs" is discontinuing its service today. Not sure how that will affect any of us...I believe it mainly was the service that automatically connected my blog to Facebook, so I will have to do that manually.  I have removed it's "widget" from my blog per their instructions, so if you disappeared as a result, it was through no intention of my own.  I truly hope it doesn't disconnect any of my wonderful followers.  Please give me feedback if you know more about how this loss of service will affect our blogs.  I value each and every one of you.