It is a gray Friday morning, one of those might or might not rain kind of days. Forecaster says rain tonight and lots more tomorrow. I have outside work to get done today so I hope the rain holds off. I still have plants to put in the ground and I need to move my potatoes that I have growing in the garden. They are really looking good but I need to move them to get them away from where I’m planting the tomatoes. Garden experts say that potatoes and tomatoes are not good garden companions. I didn’t know that until my potatoes were already coming up. There is an opportunity too learn something new everyday it would seem. 

I’m “taking the day off” today. That just means that I’m not doing any church work, it doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything at all. It just means I can get some of my “home work” done like planting these plants, mowing the yard, changing the lightbulbs in the south hallway that burned out. Basically it is a honey-do list that Ms. Kate and I have to work on together. The good part is that she will be out there doing it with me; until she gets cold that is. It is a damp 53 degrees out there so she won’t want to be out there very long. Frankly, as long as she tells me where she wants stuff, that is all I really need. 

I had a special blessing this morning out in the Backyard Buffet. I had my first Pileated Woodpecker come though in at least nine months. I think I saw the last one in July of last year. I always get thrilled when the big guys come through. They are so big and their call is so very distinctive. I hear them in the area every once in a while but they haven’t been in my yard. Last year I had one here and it spent all morning pecking on an old and mostly dead Redbud tree in the southwest corner of my yard. He ate quite a large hole in it too. There must have been a lot of bugs in there. He didn’t stay long today; ate a little from one of my feeders, then flew over to one of the Tulip Poplar trees and pecked round and left. 

Tomorrow morning I will be spending the entire morning in a Zoom meeting with the Evansville Tri-State Association of our church denomination. It is their spring meeting and I think they are having a tough time getting a quorum to sign up for the meeting. It is mentally about the same pain level as having your fingernails pulled out but I’ll play the political game and sign in. At least since it is a Zoom meeting I can be comfortably dressed and have my coffee pot available. I have a Zoom class coming up on the 15th of May that will go 6 hours. Ugh!!!!!! Just shoot me now. More political gaming. It is a “Boundary Awareness” class to remind all of us pastors not to sexually harass people. The denomination hold these classes because they fill an insurance requirement. If some pastor is stupid enough to not keep his pants on or make sexual remarks to anybody, the church is covered in case that person want to sue the church. As I said — political posturing. But, if you refuse to attend or just don’t attend, the hierarchy of the church can make life very miserableness for you. For me, being a lay minister instead of an ordained minister, it means they can refuse me authorization to be a pastor and take my churches away from me. So, I play the political game. It’s just six hours of my life that I will attend in my sweats  and with my coffee pot. 

That’s about all I have for today. Have a blessed weekend. Peace.