Good morning! This morning's blog is brought to you "The Bold and the Brave"; a local drama being played out in my backyard at the bark butter feeder. I had a huge pilated woodpecker come in this morning and attached itself to the bark butter feeder. For some unknown reason a chickadee just didn't like that. Now, the chickadee never eats at that feeder and the woodpecker was probably twenty times bigger than the chickadee. But, -- I sat here for five full minutes as that chickadee continually buzzed that woodpecker. It didn't seem to bother the woodpecker much as it would just duck it's head and keep on eating. Eventually, it ate it's fill and flew off. But, now that it is gone, the chickadee has come back and forth to that feeder, pecked off a bite or two and then flies away. Strange things --- they be happening in my yard this morning.

We did some more yard work yesterday. Thing are starting to look fairly squared away. We put in a couple of petunia beds yesterday and planted the tree peony. I have to move a couple of plants yet this week from one of the beds. We are have a 16 kw generator being installed for the house and they will be putting a concrete pad where a couple of our plants currently are. We seldom lose power in this house but I'm paranoid that we will lose power during a storm some time and our sump pumps won't work. Having been through one flood disaster with this house, I don't ever want that to happen again. We travel enough that when we do, --- I don't want to worry about the house when we are gone. Several years ago we lost power and I was bailing the sump wells and filling five gallon buckets and having to carry them up stairs to dump them as fast as I could. So, pay the money and eliminate the worry. I'm getting too old for that stuff. The new generator will run off of our gas line so I don't have to even worry about butane tanks.

The yard is filled with birdsong this morning. It is so pleasant to sit out here and listen to that. I need to cut my time short this morning though. Ms. Kate and I need to run to Sam's this morning. We want to pick up some fruit and veggies. Then I have to go to the churches today yet and run the bulletins. Plus, we have another appointment yet today to go to. So, today's schedule will be full.

As always I start my day off with prayers of gratitudevfor another God-given day to do something for someone else. There is always some one who can use your help and that help may be as little as a smile. Treasure this day, God gave it to you.