Revelie has been sounded, at least in my mind, and the Colors are raised today on the new flag pole.  I think it is going to work just fine. Dan and I got both of our poles planted yesteday. I"ll have to rag him today though because the Colonel was up and had the flag flying before the Command Sergeant Major.

It is yet another cool morning at 63° this morning. We are supposed to have this kind of weather all week. And, --- while I do love it, it just isn't normal for it to be this cool for July. It is almost as if the season has jumped ahead. Its weird!

I need to mow the back yard today. It doesn't yet look bad but could "use a trim". And since the pups are going to be here for the weekend, I need to get it mowed before they arrive. They don't like the sounds of lawn equipment. Auggie goes nuts when I use the blower. If he is outside he will bark and bite at the end of the blower. Its fun to watch! I also need to fill all of the feeders again, and water the outside potted plants and garden.

My biggest job of the day though is to write. I have next week's service done but not the sermon. It is also the end of the month and I have my reports to put together and email out to the councils. Since I keep a diary of my activities, that is pretty easy to do. Keeping an activity diary was something I encouraged my young officers and NCOs to do as their commander. That way when it came time to write their efficiency reports, they could hand me their list of accomplishments throughout the past year and I could put together a proper report. I now have to do a report for the congregation at both thesummer and winter congregational meetings so, I use my own advice.

I have lots of activity on the feeders today. There are several Cardinals, a bunch of Goldfinches and common Housefinches, as well as Starlings. The Bluejay announced its arrival and "get out of my way" greeting a bit ago and then flew in and bullied everyone else off of the feeder it wanted. It only grabbed a few bites though and flew off. It all makes for a perfect start to my day, along with my morning coffee.

I give God thanks today for the peace that does exist in the world. It is hard to believe that on the other side of the world war is constantly going on in so many regions. As I sit here peacefully drinking my coffee, people are dying there because of greed and ethnic and religious hatred. Enjoy the peace and freedom that we have in this country and think today of a veteran and or active duty service person who is working to ensure our freedom and peace.

Blessings!