Good morning! I missed being here on the porch yesterday, --- but I had to take my 97 year old mother to the eye doctor and to run some other errands. After that, one thing led to another and before you know it --- the day is done. So, I'm starting early today just in case the world goes nuts or something.

I think writing is my main task today. But, before I begin in my office, We must get out and vote. It is mid-term election day in America. Locally our biggest race is for sheriff. But even if the only office being voted for was "dog catcher", we should exercise our American right to vote. Our neighbor state, Kentucky, has the hottest national race going on. They are voting for a Senate seat. The political ads have been non-stop and horribly nasty. Millions of dollars have been spent on both sides to secure that seat. Lies and half truths are spread with no hint of shame. We have empty food banks all over this country and politicians and their cronies spend money like it is water for political power to tell us how much they "care about the American people". Well, don't tell me; --- show me. ----- OK, I'll get off of my personal soap box.

It is 51° this morning and cloudy and windy. We'll have rain by noon which is another reason to get out this morning. I'm not a fan of gloomy days
as you can most likely tell. But my menagerie of birds outside does brighten up the day. It is mostly Cardinals and Finches so far this morning, although I had a large Woodpecker come through a few minutes ago. I'm a tad early for the "rush" of birds that will fly in around 0900. That's all good, I'll be here with my coffee cup for awhile yet.

While I was out running around yesterday, Ms. Kate was home doing the laundry and working up the remainder of a buschel of apples for applesauce. We had picked these a couple of weeks ago in the orchard. She had made a few pies for us and now it was time to work the rest of them up. I tried some of it last night and it is delicious. So, this morning I think it will be homemade bread, fresh applesauce, and steel cut oats for breakfast. How yumm is all of that sounding to you?

My prayers go out this morning in gratitude to be able to live in a free country. God has blessed this nation so much and the people seemingly work so hard to ignore that fact sometimes. We bog ourselves down in our personal opinions so deeply that we forget to look up to the God that has made it all possible. So I thank God for what God has done for us as a nation and for me personally. May God continue to bless America and may we always be a nation that cares about and cares for the rest of this world. Have a blessed day.