Wednesday Treasures...A little "Rest for your Souls"

Happy Wednesday Morning! Welcome to my "Wednesday Treasures" for this week! This is the day I like to share special treasures that I find, either inside or outside of my home. Today will be a mixture of both.

Let's start with a verse for the day, which I believe goes along well with the things I see, and also for where we may be in our Lenten Journey leading up to Easter.  

Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

"28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The rosebush that I recently planted is blooming again. I was afraid that some of the buds would be hurt by a late frost we had last week, and although some of the  edges of the petals are a little bit frost bit, that didn't stop the roses from blooming beautifully to give us such delight! This is how looks this morning

And this is how it looked yesterday morning...

Yes, there are two of them, and even though the frost did a little damage, they are blooming for the glory of God...and their fragrance is exquisite!

I thank the Lord for these little blessings...every blossom is a gift...

And here's another "gift", or "treasure"...Yes, that's Blackie, who came to visit me here in my little "Room With A View" while I was working h ere this morning...He just loves to be near us, wherever we are. Right now he's sleeping in Daddy's lap, but you've seen pictures of that before...

You may be getting tired of the pictures of the wisteria...but everytime I see them they are such a joy to me, I have to take their picture. We saw these in another location on our morning walk yesterday, growing there on an old homesite in our historic section of our little town, where they had to tear down or move the old houses to widen the highway you see there in the background...

I just love that these flowers continue to bloom every year in spite of the fact that the house where they were planted is long gone and the persons who tended  and cared for these plants are no longer there or even living to see the fruit of their labors from so many years ago. The flowers continue to grow and flourish and bless us today.  I wish those dear ones who planted these wisteria could see that what they did so long ago still matters and gives joy and delight today!  Oh! That my life could be that kind of treasure even long after I am gone...what we do here today does truly matter!!!

I wonder if all those trucks and people passing by on the highway even take notice of this beautiful treasure that is gracing the byway?  I did...I first saw it from the highway, and I knew I had to come see it up close and personal!  Yes, friends, the things we leave behind us do have a lasting impact on others who may pass by in the future!  Something to really think about, isn't it?

And speaking of our historical downtown, do you remember when I shared with you about this old building that used to be a general store for many many years, and was literally almost falling down in disrepair, and I kept hoping and praying that someone would come along and restore it???

Here's a link to a previous story about "The Brush General Store"

And here's another one! I've been obsessed with this store for a while! That link tells more of the history of the store, with some old pictures from way back in it's heyday!

Well, I was excited to see painters out working on it last week, and when I drove by last night on my way to choir practice, it appeared they were done painting, and look how lovely it is:

Now I am just waiting to see what the new owners are planning to do with it! I hope it will be something fun and exciting!

Back home to our house and the still very dry Still Waters Pond...some of you have asked about our Sand Hill Cranes. Normally this time of year they would have already been nesting and have had one or two baby "colts" by now.  However, this year, due to the very dry pond, they were unable to build their nest as usual. I think they may have tried to, but because there's no water surrounding their nesting area, they were accessible to predators who could literally walk across the pond to get to their nest, and I think that is exactly what happened, so our Sand Hill Crane couple is childless this spring. I don't know if they will try again if/when the pond ever gets any water...I assume they will just wait until next spring and try again then...hopefully! I miss watch the new baby "colts" growing up in our yard as they have for most every year we have lived here.

But anyway, here are some pictures of our couple standing out in the dry pond yesterday morning...

I hope they have another chance next year! Please pray for rain! We are supposed to get some later today, but it doesn't look like it will be much, if any.

This was the sunrise yesterday morning. Today it is too dark and cloudy, and I don't expect to see the sun all day...but there's still sunshine in my heart...

I hope you enjoyed these "treasures" today, and that this little time spent enjoying God's creation together was a time of "rest for your soul".

Have a blessed rest of your day and week.

 

Friday Foto Friends: It's Spring Finally!

 Happy Friday everyone! And Happy First Day of Spring!!! I bet many of you thought it would never get here...and you may still be wondering if it really is spring!  Here in Florida where we live, although it has been quite cool for us this week, it has now warmed up nicely and it definitely feels like spring! Hooray!!

And so today I finally got my veggies planted in the new planter boxes that Benton built for me!

Here's Benton and hubby just after they dumped all the bags of potting soil in the planters for me:

Next was my job...to plant the veggies that were starting to grow out of control in the kitchen:

I may still have the plants too close together. I really don't know what I'm doing.  There's zucchini on the left, and yellow summer squash on the right. (above). There are six plants of each.

And these (above) are the four beefsteak tomato plants.  Hopefully the cages will help them grow big and strong and tall.  Those of you who are experienced gardeners may say that these are all too close together. Time will tell. If I have to get more planters and spread them out more, I know just who to call!

Some of you may remember my dil Rose's sister Sherrie, who came down from Minnesota several years ago and stayed with Rose and Benton for several months. We sort of adopted her into our family as another daughter. Anyway, she's back down for a week's vacation visit, and today she really wanted to go visit a dear friend from our church who is currently spending some time in rehab following a serious illness.  So here we all are, l to r: Sherrie, Opal, yours truly, and my sweet dil Rose.

Opal was our pianist at our church for many years,  until she had a stroke last January (2025), and she has been recuperating ever since.  This old baby grand piano bookshelf (below) is in the lobby of the rehab center where she is staying. It used to be the piano in the lobby, but it didn't work anymore, so they "repurposed" it into this lovely bookshelf/shadow box.  If you notice in the picture above, there is another piano in the background, and Opal has been actually playing that one again as a part of her physical therapy. I was hoping we could get her to play today, but she really just wanted to visit, which was fine with us.

I love it when things that are no longer able to be used for their original purpose can be repurposed/rehabilitated into something lovely and useful once again. I'm glad when God does that with us as well.  

Sweet Sherrie made this pot holder for me...because she remembered that my "One Word" for 2024 was "Strength". I love this very thoughtful gift, and I will treasure it, as well as the message, and the messenger always!

Hubby and I went for a walk last evening past this old palm tree that is covered with so many vines of so many different kinds of flowers, which each take their turn to bloom in the spring. Right now it is more lovely wisteria...

Who would think anything so beautiful could come out of this mess of tangled up vines on an old dead tree?

There's also some of this beautiful purple lantana growing on the same tree...must be time for the purple spring flowers to bloom!

What a beautiful transformation!!

Further down the walkway is this old oak tree, which has this interesting "burl", or fungus in the trunk.

I've shared this tree before HERE, but I noticed that it is continuing to change as the days go by. 

It now looks like it is opening up more to the inside of the tree trunk, and it would be a great hiding place for some gnomes or hobbits. I wonder????

I do see a strange kind of face looking out at me there below...LOL.

As I said before in the other post about these "deformities" or "Burls" in the tree, they can actually be recreated into magnificent bowls with the skillful hands of a talented woodworker and a good working knowledge of a lathe.

Isaiah 42:16

I will bring the blind by a way they did not know;

I will lead them in paths they have not known.

I will make darkness light before them,

And crooked places straight.

These things I will do for them,

And not forsake them.

Springtime is a time for renewal and change and repurposing or recreating not just things, but our own bodies and minds and spirits, as we yield ourselves to the transforming power of God's Holy Spirit in our lives. 

Here's an old song that some of you may remember. It's interesting, hubby started singing this song this morning and we were trying to remember all the verses.  You just don't get to sing these great old hymns much anymore...so you may want to sing along...

Higher Ground

By: Johnson Oatman, Jr. 1898

1. I'm pressing on the upward way,

New heights I'm gaining every day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,

By faith, on Heaven's table land;

A higher plane than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2. My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Tho' some may dwell where these abound,

My pray'r, my aim is higher ground.

(Refrain)

3. I want to live above the world,

Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

(Refrain)

4. I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found,

Lord, lead me on to higher ground.

(Refrain)

I hope you enjoyed singing along with that old hymn, and perhaps that will be a prayer for you as we begin this spring season of renewal and transformation!  

Have a blessed and wonderful Spring time!!!

Wednesday Blessings!

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I hope your day has been extra special for you! I know mine has...and here's one of the reasons why:

This smiling group of people you may recognize, at least some of them...yes, we are blogging friends and we brought along some of our favorite subjects for our blogs...hubbies!

Left to right there is Mari Bruins, a.k.a. My Little Corner of the World and her hubby Bob, who traveled all the way from western Michigan to visit Your Friend From Florida, Terri D'Orsaneo, and she instigated this little get together with your's truly and my hubby John on the back row, and we met up at the Cracker Barrel in Ocala with Barbara Mims and her hubby Gary, a.k.a. Journal Memories.  We had such a great visit!  One thing I have discovered since joining this "blogging family", is that bloggers are a wonderful group of people to know!  It sure would be fun to meet ALL of you someday too!!   Thank you. Terri, for being the one with the true gift of hospitality to help bring us all together! What a blessing!!  Oh, and speaking of blessings... Mari brought us each a jar of these wonderful "Cherry Berry" Jam preserves, straight from her part of western Michigan, where the best kind of tart cherries are grown...the kind that make the best cherry pies.  I can't wait to try this on a fresh hot biscuit!  Thank you, Mari!!!

Today is another special day, because it is also the birthday of our "baby" son, Scott! However, because he is working and living a couple of hours away, we will not be celebrating together until Sunday afternoon.  Still, we called and sang Happy Birthday to  him this morning before he went to work.  I just can't believe my "baby" is 49 years old already!!!

Speaking of "babies"...our current "baby" Blackie was helping me in my office/Room with a View" early this morning...He likes to check out the waste basket to see if I threw anything important away...

I think he was actually trying to climb inside and sit a while, but he soon gave up and moved on to other things. It really is a lot like having a toddler in the house again...gotta watch every move they make! LOL.

Speaking of "children", here's my "Big Baby Boy"...the oldest, a.k.a Ben & Rose's Country Woodshop...

and these are two of the planters he has made for me to grow my new vegetable garden.  I will use these for the zucchini and yellow (summer) squash plants.  He's still making one for my tomato plants.

He also picked up some dirt for me so I can get started...but since we were busy today in addition to the fact that there was a frost this morning, I decided to wait until possibly tomorrow afternoon to do the planting. I have an my annual eye appointment in the morning, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Meanwhile, I have all these things growing in my kitchen that need to get planted before they get too big!

Meanwhile,  I took these pictures Sunday morning next to our church parking lot. The purple wisteria vine is growing profusely and blooming beautifully, although I think it might even do better if it had been pruned a bit before it started blooming. Still, it is quite lovely,  and I will close this post with these thoughts tonight from John's Gospel:

John 15:1-10

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 

8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 

10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Amen.

Good Night my friends! I hope you have a blessed and glorious rest of your week.

 

Friday Foto Friends is Back!

I am so happy that our friend Debbie over at Breathing in Grace has opened the link back up for our Friday Foto Friends to gather!    I hope all our friends got the message and are working on something special to link up today!  I knew about it, but was so busy yesterday that I forgot to work on my post last night, so now I have to hurry up and come up with something this morning...and I think I've already used most of my best pictures from this week in other posts. So bear with me while I go search for some good pictures to share with you.  Meanwhile...you can go over to the link for Friday Foto Friends  and see what everyone else has been doing.  But be sure to come back here and check on whatever I come up with, okay? Okay.

Now that that is settled, let me see what I can share with you today:

In our morning walk yesterday I saw this bird up in a tree, and at first I wondered if it was an eagle because of the white head, but upon closer inspection I realized it was one of the Swallow Tailed Kites that we've seen flying around overhead this past week.  (You can click on that link for more information on this interesting bird and his habits...it helped explain what we have been witnessing the past few days)

 Isn't he pretty?

 A little later I noticed that the birds kept flying around and over this tree that I could see from our kitchen window...and there is one of the birds sitting in the tree...presumably this is where they are building a nest...

I hope so, because I can watch them from the kitchen while washing dishes and cooking.  However, I need to look through binoculars or the zoom lens of my camera to see them this close...

I could hear them calling to each other when I stepped outside and looked up at the sky...At first I could only see three of them, but after watching for awhile I realized there were actually four chasing each other around and around...

 It was fun to watch. They are so graceful as they glide up and around, swooping low and back up again like a beautiful dance. 

It's still a little too early this morning for me to go check and see if they are still out there...but maybe later when we take our walk we will see them again.  I'll be sure to give you updates!

Now for something else:

 We also walked to the neighborhood "pond" during our morning walk, and this White Egret was looking for his breakfast...I'm sure he's sitting at a bountiful breakfast buffet right there in the middle of that marshy area of the pond.

Back to our house...I am just marveling at the beauty of our wisteria blossoms this year!  They have been so lush and beautiful!

So I will leave it at that.  I thought perhaps I could run around outside this morning and capture some new pictures, but it is a little cooler out than I realized, about 43 this morning, which is cool for this time of year...and I'm just waking up and don't need to get myself quite that awake just yet!! LOL.

Speaking of being awake...as anyone else had a difficult time adjusting to the time change this past week?  I know I have, and every morning I find that I just want to stay in bed a little bit longer because it is still dark outside and my body clock refuses to adapt!!!  I do wish they'd leave the time alone and let us old folks enjoy our beauty sleep! LOL.

Here's some thoughts from God's Word to think about this morning as we wake up:

Romans 13:10-12

10.  "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

11.  And do this, knowing the time,

that now it is high time to awake out of sleep;

for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

12.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.

Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness,

and let us put on the armor of light."

In thinking about our neighbors, last week I asked you to pray for one of our neighbors.  Thank you for praying.  Our dear neighbor, April, peacefully passed on to be with the Lord not long after we prayed for her.  Thankfully her loved ones were able to be with her as she passed.  So, thank you for praying. It was her time to go meet the Lord, and I believe our prayers helped her to go in peace. Now may the Lord give comfort to her loved ones and dear friends.


Okay, with those thoughts in mind, let us go on over and visit with our friends at Breathing in Grace for our Friday Foto Friends re-gathering! Thank you so much, Debbie, for bringing us back together again. We've missed you!!!

Friday Foto Friends Birds, Bees, Blooms, and Reflections

Spring is definitely busting out all over here in Florida! Even though the official arrival of the Vernal Equinox is not until next Wednesday, March 20th, someone forgot to tell the flowers, birds, and bees that they needed to wait!

This fat bumblebee was making his rounds around the wild blackberry bushes blooming along the road.  I had to be careful while taking his picture to make sure he wasn't coming in my face to give me a "buzz"...

I love the natural beauty of these blossoms...

And then we have apple blossoms on the little tree in our yard...even though we never get apples, it is nice to see the blossoms...

The azaleas have been putting on quite a show this year! This particular mass of blossoms is better than I've ever seen it in all the years we've lived here!  What is amazing, I don't have to do anything to these hardy old bushes...they just keep coming back year after year.  I wonder what would have happened if I had taken care of them???

Talk about perfection! This Pink Perfection Camellia is doubly perfect!!!

And here's some more getting ready to bloom...

Now, on to the birds:  This is the Female Eastern Towhee coming by for a quick drink of water...

Isn't she pretty?

I love how she is showing off her colors for me.

Here is her mate...this picture was from a few weeks ago. I've never managed to see them both together, but aren't their colors interesting?

Now back to the flowers again...the purple wisteria is opening up and showing off all over our back fence around the Memorial Garden...

Aren't they beautiful?

Here again, I really don't have to do much for these flowering vines to come back every year...we've cut them back a few times, but they grow right back...so lovely...

I paid a little visit to the neighborhood pond to check on the Sand Hill Crane Family.  Here they are on the island where they have their nest.  The two babies are apparently sleeping under the wing of the mama bird, and the father is standing guard over his family...

I wouldn't have known the babies (colts) had already hatched if I hadn't seen them out walking around last week.  I love how they come back to the island every night to sleep, tucked safely under their mother's wings...

Psalm 91:4 (NKJV)

"He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler"

.

Reminds me of this old hymn:

"Under His Wings"

As I sat there looking around the pond, my heart was a bit heavy for one of our neighbors who lives over on that side of the pond:

My friend has lived here on this little cove for quite a few years, and dearly loves this place. She has been a protector of the wildlife as well as all the neighborhood pets and animals, flora and fauna.

A wonderful neighbor and friend.

She has been battling cancer for quite a while, and has now been

taken to a Hospice House.  We know that once a person reaches this stage, they most

likely don't return home to their earthly house again, unless there is an unexpected rally and change of condition.  

So my heart was a bit heavy, thinking about how she loves this place, and I sat there on the little dock and lifted her up in prayer...praying that her remaining days will be sweet and comfortable, and that when the angels are dispatched to carry her home, she will truly be ready and waiting.

 Such an interesting reflection of the clouds on the water...

reminds me of the circle of life..

heaven really isn't that far away,

and we should all be sure that we are ready to go to our heavenly home.

We may not have the opportunity to prepare for our last days...the Lord could come at any moment...or He could send His angels to call us homeward when we least expect it.

So during this time of Lent, it is a good time to reflect on the condition of our own hearts and be sure that we are ready to "go home" when the Lord calls.

Personally, I am eagerly looking forward to that day. I just pray that all my family and friends are ready as well.

Okay...moving on...I do pray that you will have a wonderful day and weekend. Thank you for visiting here today.  We don't currently have a "Friday Foto Friends" linkup, but I imagine that many of our friends are still posting some lovely pictures about their week today...so why not go visiting around and see?

I know I promised that I will be posting updates on "Pamela's Victorian Cottage"...and I intend to do  that soon....believe me, it is still quite a work in progress, and you will be surprised to see all the "home improvements" that have been made this week...but I wanted to get a few more things done before I posted any more pictures. So stay tuned for the next episode. I know you don't want to miss it!  :)   Bye Bye for now folks!!