Saturday Wanderings~Another Neighborhood Story

It's Saturday afternoon, and it's raining "cats and dogs" out there...well, maybe just cats. LOL. No dogs in sight right now. And actually the cats are in hiding somewhere out there. Can't say as I blame them. We keep getting bright flashes of lightning and very loud thunder boomers.  If I didn't enjoy watching the storm so much I just might go into hiding myself...

I took these photos after the storm had stopped...can you see the water in the mud ruts that were left from the mower getting stuck the other day?  Now they are all filled up with rain water and Still Waters Pond is being renewed raindrop by raindrop:

Oh, just as I was taking those pictures above, look who came around the pond to come play in the puddles? LOL.  Actually, they are finding tasty morsels of food coming up in the water/mud after the storm...they are happy Sand Hill Cranes!

This picture below is of a neighbor's house way across the road from us, but I can see it from our house, and prior to the storm starting in earnest, and as we could hear the thunder rolling in from a distance, I noticed there were still children swimming in that little swimming pool. I know those kids love to swim every day and if they could they'd stay in there all day long.  But I could hear the thunder, and I was getting a bit nervous about them being in that pool.  I was about a hair's width away from going over there to tell them they'd better get out before lightning strikes them, when I noticed that their mother finally must've come out and told them to get out of the pool because I saw them running into the house just as the storm was about to crash in on top of us. I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the Lord for protecting those children.  I mean, I don't want to be a nosy busy body neighbor, but I definitely did NOT want to have it on my conscience if lightning struck those children...which does happen here in Florida frequently. Just a week or so ago a young man was struck dead by lightning over at New Smyrna Beach. He was on his honeymoon.  So very sad. It's definitely nothing to play around with! So I am very thankful those children got out of the pool when they did.

Now, back to unique encounters with interesting people in the neighborhood...About a week ago I noticed an elderly woman standing in the front yard of the new house next door.  As I just happened to be outside getting our mail, I wandered over there to say hello and see if she had some questions about the house.  No, I am not the realtor, but I have been kind of an "unofficial" security person for the house since the owner/developer lives out of town and we have stayed in communication about anything happening on her property.  The lady said that she was just looking at the house and wondered if it was still for sale (which it was at that time). She asked me if it was okay for her to walk around the property, and I told her it was fine, but I offered to walk around with her because the ground is still quite uneven in places where there are lots of exposed roots and little rough spots in the terrain.  

Well, even though this lady said she was just killing time while she waited for an appointment, she did express some interest in wanting to move to a new house. We ended up having quite a "lengthy conversation" as she told me many things about her life story, including that she is 87 years old and has written many many books! I was enjoying chatting with her as she shared so many interesting things, but after quite a while I told her that I didn't want to keep her from her appointment, which she then looked at her watch and realized she was already late.  I asked her name and told her how much I had enjoyed visiting with her, and she told me her name is "Belle Tilley".  I told her that I love the name Belle,  and especially because one of my mother's older sisters was named Belle.  Anyway, she hurried off for her appointment and I was left with a feeling of how much I wished I could've talked to her longer and especially wished that I had asked her more about the books she had written.  

Do you ever have conversations with perfect strangers like that,  and wish that you could've spent more time with them and had a chance to ask them more questions? I honestly just could not shake that feeling.  She was very articulate, but also quite strong in her opinions and did not mince any words. Belle grew up in rural south Georgia, one of 8 children, and was raised on a farm.  When she was a young woman she left home by herself and headed to Orlando, Florida with nothing but a suitcase to begin a new life striking out on her own.  She reminded me a lot of my dearly departed mother in law...a person with a lot of "character" and true grit.  I told my husband she was from a generation of strong southern hard working women who never met a challenge too difficult to overcome, especially if it meant protecting or providing for their families. And even though her language and manner of speaking at times became quite "colorful", as I said, she minced no words in expressing her beliefs on most every topic...politics, religion, current events and lazy people who steal and lie, (just to name a few)...I had no doubt that she was extremely intelligent and hard working and if she liked you, she'd fight for you no matter what.

So, moving right along. I decided to look her up online and also to see if I could find any information about any books written by someone named "Belle Tilley".  I checked on Amazon, and lo! and Behold!  There were actually quite a few books listed written by a Belle Tilley! However, they were mostly murder mysteries, which kind of surprised me!  But they had been written back in the early 2000's.   I wanted so badly to talk to Belle again to find out if those were her books, but I didn't know how to get in touch with her, so I just prayed for her and also told the Lord that I would love to meet up with her again.  Would you believe that yesterday we were in our local little grocery store, and I turned around and there she was!!  I was so surprised!  Immediately I went over to her and made sure it was her, and that she remembered who I was, and she did after I reminded her of our meeting.  So I asked her about the books she had written, and she told me that yes, she wrote all those murder mysteries back when she first retired.  I told her they were on Amazon, but they were priced rather high (in the $20-$25. dollar range), and she was livid!  She said that she did NOT authorize them to be sold on Amazon, and apparently someone has bought them from her supplier and is reselling them to make a huge profit, and she will not get any royalties from that.  I don't know how that works, but that is what appears has been happening.  She said that she published her books through a self publishing company called www.lulu.com, and they were the only ones authorized to sell them for her.   We didn't have time to talk long in the store, but she said she would bring me a couple of her books as a gift! I thanked her and didn't really expect to see her again anytime soon...but...  

This morning someone was knocking on our front door and when I opened it, there was Belle!  

So I invited her in and she gave me two of her books as she had promised...

I was thrilled, to say the least! And then we sat down and we talked more and more...and again, she shared many more things about her life that were very interesting.  Belle loves to talk and has much to say, and I know she is lonely since her family lives a couple of hours away from her. 

My hubby joined in on the conversation after a while and we also talked about some spiritual issues and concerns she has.  She seems very fit for her age, but I am concerned about some things that are going on with her that become obvious once she starts talking about issues she is having with neighbors and other people  and places...and although I am quite certain she could take care of herself physically,  she is at a stage in life where she could talk herself into some major difficulties with people who are not quite so compassionate and understanding.  

And so I am left with a concern to keep her in my prayers and ask the Lord to keep a close watch over her. I'm not sure if we will meet again, but then again, it seems like God keeps bringing people into our lives for a reason.  I am praying for wisdom regarding this situation and others that have recently been happening.  Here's a good passage from the book of Proverbs:

Proverbs 2:1-8

1 My son, (or daughter!) if you receive my words,

And treasure my commands within you,

2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom,

And apply your heart to understanding;

3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment,

And lift up your voice for understanding,

4 If you seek her as silver,

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

8 He guards the paths of justice,

And preserves the way of His saints."

So be it, Lord.

Amen.

Thank you all for again, another long post with a rather long story. I hope you will keep us and also Belle in your thoughts and prayers as well. She has come across our path for a reason...and that may be it. We never know, but God knows!  

Have a blessed rest of your weekend!

 

After the Rain "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise"

 Sunday morning we woke up to the blessed sound of rain upon the roof!  I felt like doing a dance of praise and thanksgiving.  It is fitting that our choir was singing this song for the Sunday morning worship service:  

"We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise" medley with "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"

Hebrews 13:14-16  NKJV

"14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 

15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 

16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

And even though the rain did not last very long, it was refreshing and delightful, and with it comes the promise of more to come later this week!

It's amazing what a little bit of rain does to encourage even the birds of the air! The Bluebirds came out to sit and enjoy the view of Still Waters Pond...

And also to take a little bath in the birdbath,  after admiring his reflection in the water:

Oh, that feels SO good!!!

And afterwards he sat on the bird feeder and let his fluffy, clean feathers dry in the fresh breezy air:

I'm sorry that I seem to be quite "enamored" with how handsome a cat our Sunshine is.  He's very photogenic and often gives us such wonderful poses without even knowing how much he delights us!

He decided he needed some fresh air, and was actually headed down to the pond to get a little drink from it...

But the Sand Hill Crane family was coming around the bend and stopped Sunshine in his tracks from going any further.  I was watching from inside the house and praying that Sunshine would realize his danger and get out of the way before Papa Crane came after him with his big flapping wings and sharp beak.  Thankfully, right after I took this picture Sunshine got up and ran back up the steps of the porch before the crane got any closer.    Blackie Sue had a similar experience a little earlier, and you never saw a cat run so fast as she did to scoot around and get up those steps before Papa Crane could get to her.  He did flap his wings as she scrambled to get by him, but thankfully she got out of harm's way before any harm was done.   That happened too quickly for me to get any pictures. 

Today I was motivated to plant some little flower plants that I picked up at the Garden/Farm Market on Saturday.  I know this doesn't look like much, but hopefully those plants will all bloom where they are planted and it will make a happy, colorful addition to my butterfly garden for this summer. I hope so, because I sure am hurting tonight from the  digging I did to make this little garden happen.  My neck and back muscles are definitely out of shape.

Hubby was busy with another project while I was doing my planting.  Thankfully he had some help  from a friend with his project, as his was a bit more involved and difficult.  Over the weekend some crazy driver knocked over the mailbox that belongs to our sweet neighbor across the street who is currently still in a nursing home/rehab.  Even if she was at home, she would not be able to do anything about this. 

The mailbox is across the street from her house, and is actually in the front yard of the new house next door to us, which still has not sold and the price has been reduced again.  However, I had a little conversation with the owner of this house and told her in a very kind and friendly manner that if she would go ahead and invest in some landscaping and make the house look less neglected and vacant, it might sell faster and she wouldn't have to keep lowering the price. She agreed with me and said she is looking for someone to do the landscaping now.  I hope she finds someone soon and that the house sells to those special people that I've been praying for to become our neighbors.

So anyway, I'm very thankful for hubby and our friend who took care of this today.  I wish the person who knocked it over would step up and confess and offer to pay for the expenses of repair, (even though they weren't much, but it's the principle of the thing) but I doubt that will happen.  Did you know that deliberately damaging a mailbox is a federal offense, and you could go to jail for 3 years and/or face a fine of up to $250,000 ? Yep!  That's true!  But if a person would just admit to making a mistake and pay for the damages, I think most people would drop those charges.  It's just sad that people, most likely teenagers, think it's fun to do this. They don't realize what a problem it is for people to have to repair these kinds of damages, especially elderly people who have no way to do it themselves.

Among some other things I've been planting lately is this Golden Dewdrop bush.

Interestingly enough, the flowers on this bush are purple, but it will have golden berries eventually. I thought it would be a nice bush to plant in my raised planter that Benton built and gave me, but upon reading up on it just now, I realized that this plant will actually  "grow 10 to 15 feet wide and up to 18 feet tall, depending on growing conditions and pruning frequency."

I don't think it will be staying in the little planter for very long! Now I need to figure out the right place to put it!  Aren't those purple flowers so dainty and pretty? I understand that butterflies will love it.

I am happy to see that this blueberry bush that I planted a few years ago is loaded with berries this year! 

They will probably be ripe enough to eat by June.

And last but not least, this geranium plant is starting to grow again. I repotted it (actually there are two different ones in this pot) into this larger pot, and gave it some good fresh fertilized soil, and it looks so much happier than before.

I am not much of a gardener, so I am always happy whenever anything grows and actually gets flowers and/or berries on it!

I started out this post with the song "We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise into the house of the Lord..."   and I feel like these things are all special sacrifices of praise. I praise the Lord for His kindness in sending us rain...even if it was just a little...there's more coming we trust and believe...and so we "sacrifice" our time and energy to plant things that will be beautiful and enjoyable to us as well as to the birds, butterflies and bees, which will also help pollinate other flowers and bushes all around. We 'sacrifice' our time and energy to repair something for a dear friend and neighbor who is unable to do things for herself right now. We give thanks to God for the strength and ability to do these things, even if my muscles are hurting tonight. It's a good kind of hurt when you know you've accomplished something.

We give thanks to the Lord for the peaceful and pleasant ending to a good day on Still Waters Pond.  

Sunshine is in his favorite spot, resting up for whatever the nighttime may bring...See Mr. Sand Hill Crane in the background? He's up here for a final hunt for food before retiring.  Mama and young "Trumpet" are already settled over on the nest island for the night.

Blackie Sue is in her favorite spot on the blue chair that someone dropped off of a pickup truck right onto our front lawn, and so it became "her chair".  And everyday that goes by I am more convinced that she had a "false pregnancy". She is starting to slim back down again and doesn't look as big in her tummy as before.  Unless something changes, we have an appointment to have her "fixed" next week. Then we won't have to worry about that issue anymore.  I am very thankful that it has turned out this way, even though it would've been fun to see her kittens...it is really for the best for all concerned that she's not having any.

Here's a good passage to end this post for today from the book of Ecclesiastes...

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-11 NKJV

Everything Has Its Time

"1 To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

3 A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

4 A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones,

And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace,

And a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to gain,

And a time to lose;

A time to keep,

And a time to throw away;

7 A time to tear,

And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence,

And a time to speak;

8 A time to love,

And a time to hate;

A time of war,

And a time of peace.

The God-Given Task

9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 

10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 

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."

So until next time, good night and be blessed my friends.

Saturday Wanderings

 Here it is Saturday again...and really there isn't much new to report, except the great news that we finally got some good rain this evening!  I was enjoying it so much I had to take a few pictures, of course!

I always enjoy watching the rain coming down on Still Waters Pond...every drop helps replenish the waters in the pond, reviving and restoring it to good health once again.

I went out and sat on the porch to listen to the rain, but I soon discovered that I was bothering the local birds by my presence there. This is Mrs. Bluebird, waiting for me to leave so she can go back inside her nest in the birdhouse. They don't like to enter the birdhouse when anyone (or any other creature) is watching. It's a security thing. They don't want anyone to know they are feeding babies in there, but I definitely do believe they are.

And then, Mrs. Ruby Throated Hummingbird kept flying up to the birdfeeder, but wouldn't come any closer when she saw me sitting there on the porch. She flew back and forth a few times, but wouldn't eat as long as I was there.

So, I finally had to leave the porch and go back inside the house to watch the rain so the wildlife could carry on without interference.   

The rain lasted for a nice little while and then finally stopped, but if my phone weather app is correct, we can expect more later on tonight, which will be very much appreciated.

Speaking of wildlife...This very young gray squirrel was sitting up in the tree like this for quite a while yesterday afternoon.  I just thought he was cute like this, with his tail curled up over his head.

I mentioned the neighborhood cat in my last Tuesday 4 post HERE the other day, and said I was concerned that she might be "expecting".  Well, I still don't know about that, but I discovered her (him?) hiding in these bushes yesterday afternoon, just lazily sleeping on this log. She wouldn't come out because actually the kids were here and they were taking the pups for a walk just then, so she stayed hidden here.

She really didn't seem to care one way or the other and just relaxed there on that log.

And then early this morning we looked out on our back porch, and there she was!

Actually, I think she was keeping her eye on that birdhouse, because I know there are baby birds in there now as mama and papa Bluebird keep coming and going, apparently feeding some new youngsters.

She just kept a close watch on the birdhouse...

And then suddenly she jumped down off the porch onto the ground and caught something and ate it. It wasn't a bird, but it may have been a frog or a lizard or some kind of tiny critter that only she could see. She sure has good eyesight!

So anyway, I debated on shooing her away, but after a little while she disappeared and I haven't seen her since all day, so I guess here again I just have to let nature do what nature does and leave well enough alone.  Besides, I think Mama and Papa Bluebird will drive her away if she gets too close to their nest. They are very vigilant!  

Thank you for those who asked about my hubby's eye exam yesterday. We had a good visit with the eye surgeon and she gave him a more thorough examination. However, she is going to be referring him to a different surgeon as it does appear that he is going to have to have some surgery on the cornea, and she doesn't do that particular kind of surgery. They will have to address this issue before they can tackle the cataracts.  After examining his eye she said she was surprised he could see out of that eye at all, but praise God, yes,  he can see pretty well, all things considered. Had our optometrist not referred him to this Ophthalmologist, we would have never known that he had this problem at all. So I give thanks to the Lord for His leading us before things progressed too far along.

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good

 to those who love God, 

to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Well, tomorrow is Sunday, and it will be another full day with Sunday School and church, and then the kids are coming over after church and we are going to make spaghetti for lunch.  We always enjoy these family times together and are so very thankful they are nearby to spend time with.  Actually, they will be heading out to Minnesota for a few weeks, to go visit Rose's Dad and extended family there,  so we will be missing them while they are gone. We are happy they are able to do this and pray for their traveling mercies.   (but we will be happy when they get safely back home again).

After the rain...

Well, "Day is dying in the west..."   reminded me of this old hymn:

Day is dying in the west, Heav’n is touching earth with rest, Wait and worship while the night Sets her evening lamps alight Through all the sky. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heav’n and earth are full of Thee! Heav’n and earth are praising Thee, O Lord, most high! Lord of life, beneath the dome Of the universe, Thy home, Gather us, who seek Thy face, To the fold of Thy embrace, For Thou art nigh. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heav’n and earth are full of Thee! Heav’n and earth are praising Thee, O Lord, most high! While the deepening shadows fall, Heart of love, enfolding all, Through the glory and the grace Of the stars that veil Thy face, Our hearts ascend. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heav’n and earth are full of Thee! Heav’n and earth are praising Thee, O Lord, most high! When forever from our sight pass the stars, the day, the night, Lord of angels, on our eyes let eternal morning rise and shadows end. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heav’n and earth are full of Thee! Heav’n and earth are praising Thee, O Lord, most high!

• Mrs. Bluebird says good-night!

Good Night!

"Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of Hosts!
Heav’n and earth are full of Thee!
Heav’n and earth are praising Thee,
O Lord, most high!"

Saturday Wanderings...Some of Us need Rain, and Some Don't!

 Happy Saturday Morning everyone! (it was morning when I started writing this post, but it's been a long day! LOL)  No, we are not "wandering" all over the state of Florida, but I wanted to share this map to give some perspective on where we live as opposed to where all the flooding is going on in our state.  Many people have expressed their concern for us and those living in Florida this week, and we do appreciate it greatly.  However, where I live, we have not had any rain except for one nice rain shower early one morning this week, but that was it. Other than that it has been dry as a bone and there are even brush fires in the area because it has been so dry!

You may wonder how that can be when you've seen all the horrible flooding going on in our state this week.  Well, that's because all of the rain has been mostly in the southern third of the state, mostly south of the Tampa area.  We live in the north central portion of the state, east of Gainesville.  (see my circled area below on the map).

The state of Florida is very long, 447 miles from top to bottom. HERE is a link to the Wikipedia page on Florida for all the details.

We do pray for any of our friends who live in the flooded areas or who have loved ones there. And although we certainly do need the rain in our part of the state, we are thankful not to have it in such an overabundance.  However, the risk of fire is real, and so we pray for at least enough rain to stem the tide of drought that is creeping up on us.

I started writing this post this morning, and then got busy with other things and am just now getting back to it at 6:00 p.m.  Our blogging friend Linda at Just Linda, lives about an hour south of us. She wrote on her Facebook page a few minutes ago that they were finally getting some rain. I asked her to please send some up to us.  And within a 1/2 hour it started to rain here!  Not very heavy, but at least it is trying!  Thank you, Linda! LOL.  And thank You, God, for hearing our prayers!

Still Waters Pond, you can see how dry it is getting.

Rain clouds rolling in!  Praise the Lord for even a little bit!

A few minutes later it was coming down in earnest! Yay! Praise the Lord!

We truly are thankful for the rain!

So what did we do today? Well this morning before it got too hot we took a little ride back down to the boat ramp at Kenwood.  Here's a few pictures from this morning:

The Pickerel Weed seems to be in full bloom in the water now.

Isn't it pretty?

That bumblebee was checking out every flower. Sorry it's blurry, but he was in a hurry!

The Yellow Water Lilies were also popping up everywhere.

All shades of green reflecting in the water...so cool and pretty on this warm humid day...

And these are hatched turtle eggs!  These freshwater turtle eggs were buried in the dirt probably about two months ago, and now they are hatching and the baby turtles head for the water...

There were a lot of these all over the shore along the water canal. I wish I could've seen the baby turtles!

Oh, here comes a boat back into the boat ramp. He was coming quite fast...I'm glad he was able to slow down and stop in time!

I love this big old Live Oak tree. I posted this on my Facebook page today with this verse...

Psalm 46:10 NKJV

10 Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

So after that we headed back home for the rest of the day.  I had bought some fresh peaches at the grocery store yesterday and decided to make a peach cobbler to have for tomorrow after Sunday dinner. The kids are all coming over after church so we can be together for Father's Day.

However, hubby said he wanted sample it tonight, and so we did. It is very good! And there's still plenty left for tomorrow. LOL.

HERE's a link to a previous post about Father's Day.  Maybe I should wait and repost that tomorrow, but in case I get too busy and forget, here it is tonight.

Praying that tomorrow is a blessed day for you and yours and all the wonderful fathers out there.

,