Its 31° and a tad cloudy this morning. I'm up before the alarm clock this morning. I really don't like alarm clocks; I think they are rude. Consequently, my internal alarm almost always wakes me before the mechanical alarm goes off. Fortunately, I seldom have a reason to set an alarm more than just on Sunday. But this morning I have a meeting to attend, so it is early coffee today.

When I think about that; --- what a change my life has made from my "former life". My life in the Air Force was so regimented. Most days began with a staff meeting at some level, whether it be squadron, group, or wing. Those generally began no later than eight o'clock. Of course the rule of thumb in the military is that if you arrive on time, you're late! That meant that you were actually in the office by 0715 or so. If you were prone to exercise, like I had to be in order to meet the weight standards, then you had to be up way before that. It wasn't unusual in those days to see me on the walking track by 0530 so I could walk between five and seven miles before work, get home and showered, and into the office by 0715. And, of course, being the commander , it was "important" that the troops saw you there already when they arrived. We convinced ourselves that was showing leadership. Yep, my life has certainly changed. Well, --- sort of; I still drive Ms. Kate nuts by having to be everywhere at least fifteen minutes early. After all, if you're on time --- you're late.

My prayers go out this morning for all those folks up in New England who are in the midst of yet another snow storm that could drop as much as another foot on them. Boston currently has 74 inches on the ground. They have no where to put any more snow when they shovel it. I heard on the news last night that they were considering dumping snow into the ocean, which "sounds like" a good idea, but it is illegal to do that because of all the toxic crap we have on our streets. People are in real danger at this point because of roofs caving in, fires starting and no way to get fire trucks to them, ambulance routes being closed off because of snow, and if course the usual traffic hazards of multiple car accidents. So Lord, if you could dial it back a little, we would really appreciate it.

It is certainly peaceful in the back yard this morning. Only a few Starlings have been here and a couple of Robins. It is too early for my normal gang. I can see that I am going to have to fill a few feeders when I get home from my meeting. The bark butter and the nyger thistle seed is all gone. But, there is enough on the ground to feed them for a week if they will just clean it up,

Winter is coming back this week and my daffodils are going to get their early shoots trimmed a bit by the cold. But they can handle it. No rain is in the forecast so maybe tomorrow we will get Ms. Kate's bulbs in the ground.

It is Tuesday which is a day with no particular distinction. So why not make this one special by taking time to call a loved one, or by doing something nice for someone, and by taking some time to count your blessings. If you are alive and up then God has handed you another day to use for His glory. Make use of every minute of it by doing something that pleases God.