Happy sunny Friday morning! It is fifty six degrees on its way to seventy with a nice breeze that will make  it feel just a bit cooler. There is just enough breeze for me to hear the constant song of the Corinthian chimes.

Isn’t it a wonderful thing that God doesn’t put a quota on the amount of blessings that one can receive in a day. It isn’t even 0900 and I’m already having a fully blessed day. Just look at this:
I woke up which means God gave me another day of life.
I was got out of bed; (I have a comfortable bed, in a warm home, and I’m totally mobile.)
Ms. Kate’s cold is vastly improved; (the medicine she got yesterday is working.)
It’s a bright sunny day; (God’s beauty is surrounding me everywhere I look)
Via Facebook, I know all of my girls are up and starting their day; (God has protected them and their families through the night)
I have a wife who loves me and a marriage that has lasted 52 years and shows no signs of weakening.
I’m serving as pastor of a church and being allowed to preach Christ’s gospel.
I have peace in my soul, I have love my heart, and I know I am loved.
I have a hot cup of coffee beside me and a Backyard Buffet full of guests.
I know my relationship with God is strong and I know that I am saved by the grace of God and the salvation that comes through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
All of this and like I said —- it isn’t even 9:00 in the morning yet. No wonder I love my life.

My stubborn love of my life did actually go to the doctor yesterday and was prescribed some good medicine. At bed time she was still feeling awful and decided to sleep in the recliner just so she wouldn’t keep me awake with her coughing. But at some point during the night she came to bed and. Actually slept pretty good. I heard her get up two or three times butin between those times, she seemed to rest well. She is much better this morning. Of course, had she gone to the doctor a few days ago, ———. But, I won’t say “I told you so.”

I mowed the yards yesterday and they look good. Today I have several things I need to do. I still haven’t had time to get to Lowes for my mulch and will do that today. They have it on sale again this weekend so now it the time to do it. I still have a bit of prep work to do before I spread some of it. I also will pick up the potting soil while I’m there. Maybe I can get the plants put in their proper pots today. Beyond that, I need to go to the grocery store and I need to get a haircut but the haircut could wait until tomorrow or even next week if need be.

So, with all of that to do, I best get busy. I would ask for you to offer prayers for our girl Steph and her family. They have a beloved family pet that is dying and the grief is as real as if it were a human family member. So I’m offering prayers of comfort for them.  Keep the faith my friends. never forget that God loves you and is always walking with you. Shalomn.

I think it may have rained again last night. When I finally went to bed, my Accuweather app said that rain woud be starting in 61 minutes. I never heard it if it did. When I goto bed I’m usually sleeping within about three to five minutes. But, it was cloudy when I walked out here with my coffee cup this morning and the sidewalk appear to be recently dried, if you know what I mean. I’m waiting fo thr sun to pop through the clouds and brighten up this day. It is supposed to go to sixty-six today which while not overly warm, will be comfortable enough if I decide to do some yard work today.

Ms. Kate still is not doing any better. She coughed most of the night. I know she is miserable and the over the counter medicines she is using seems to be doing her no good. But, I have bugged her and bugged her about calling her doctor and she doesn’t do it so I’ll just let her decide how much longer she wants to be miserable; danged stubborn little German. She’s just like her mom and her sister.

My azealia bushes on my west fence are blooming beautifully now. I walked around the yard yesterday and saw that the peonies are all getting buds on them too. I’m also looking at my two neighbors Maple trees and I can see that the “helicopters” are going to start flying really soon and they are loaded with them. It’s just somethng else to add to the list of things to clean up out of the yard or they will take root. I don’t need a million maple trees taking root in my yard and flowerbeds. I’m still fighting the occasional Black Gum tree that sprouts up in the flowerbed. My neighbor and I got rid of our Gum tres years ago, but those gum balls still show up once in a while. I think ,ost everyone in he neighborhood has gotten rid of their Gum trees because they are a mess to fool with. I have a Tulip Poplar that sprouted up in a flowerbed maybe four years ago and I transplanted it out in my front yard to provide some future sun shade in the morning. It is doing really well. We call it “Harley” because Julie buried her dog Harley’s ashes at the base of the tree.

It is Thursday and I think I’m going to go to Lowes or Home Depot and get mulch today and a couple of bags of potting soil. Maybe I can get some of the flowers planted in their respective pots today. Tat sounds like a good chore for the day. I also need to mow my back yard. I’ll set my blade at it’s highest setting. I just need to trim off the tops of the grass that is showing up through the straw. It is really looking shaggy out there.

So, that is my plans for the day. Some will get done and others will wait for tomorrow. All of this of course will wait until after coffee and meditation time. I hope you have good things planned for your day too. Peace.

It’s a new day and a new color! Today’s color is “Bright”. Bright sunshine. Bright blue, and bright colors on my cardinals and goldfinches. What a pleasant way to start my day. I haven’t checked the temperature yet this morning but I’m guessing it to be around forty five out there, perhaps even fifty.

I’m up early this morning because I wanted to write before I head out to the office. It is Wednesday so that means staff meeting. Pastor Art is back from Alabama. He was attending a memorial service for his brother-in-law. Our meeting only takes about an hour at the most. Then I’ll drop by a nursing home and do a visitation with Don Sander for a few minutes. Next week I want to do a full round of visitations and take communion to some folks. Those are generally pretty good experiences.

Ms. Kate says she is feeling better and she seems to be resting better from her cold. It just takes her longer to get over stuff than it does me. She can’t penicillin or penicillin related drugs so that slows down recovery. When I get a bad one, I can go to the doctor and he gives me a shot and I’m back to normal in a day. Unfortunately Ms. Kate does not have that luxury.

I filled my bird feeders again yesterday afternoon. I hadn’t even finished and the cardinals were on the feeders. This morning I have several cardinals again and of course a starling or two. So far the squirrels haven’t come down to eat. They will be here by 0830 though. With the rain we have had, I don’t have to fill the bird baths. I wish you could see the red on this red-headed woodpecker as it glistens in the sun. It is beautiful. I have a new Facebook friend who is a “bird photographer” and she put some award winning pictures of birds on the web every day. She is a cousin to Pastor Art and he hooked us up because he knows how I like my birds. Yesterday she had some pictures of Tanagers and some Indigo Buntings that she took. They were spectacular. She is a professional “birder” giving the Latin names for them and everything. I’m just a guy who likes to sit in my recliner and watch them and am willing to pay the cost of the food to get them here. I never sit out here in the sunporch without thinking about my mother-in-law. She loved her birds like I do and she would have loved to have been able to sit out here and watch them. In fact, it is thanks to her that I have this sun porch. We used the money that we received from her estate to build it on to the house, and built it with her in mind.

Myexperiment of putting out peanut butter on the Bark butter paste feeders had kind of worked. The birds have cleaned out some of those feeders but they aren’t crazy about it. The bad part is that I really can’t continue to do it if the temperature gets too warm because it will just melt out and drip off. So, I’m still looking for solutions.

Time to shower and shave and get serious about going to the office. I pray your day will be bright and sunny and full of love and laughter. Look around you today and find something to laugh about. It is great for the soul and it is great for your mental health. Far too many people are walking around today looking for somethng to fight about and grump about. Think pleasant thoughts and count your blessings. Give thanks for friends, and love, and know that I have said a prayer for you today. Shalomn.

The color of the day has not changed from yesterday. It has rained again on and off for most of the night and most of this morning. It hasn’t been a hard rain so maybe we have gotten an inch or an inch and a half over the last thirty six hours. But, it is now 12:30 pm and the sky appears to clearing jusst a bit. It has been “perfect rain” for my potted plants that I set outside to get watered. Although I did have to move a couple of them because it wasn’t raining hard enough to reach them.

I have a lot of cardinal here at the moment, maybe a dozen, and they are having a good lunch, as is the red-headed woodpecker that is on the suet feeder. With the exception of a starling and a robin, that is about it for now. There will be a lot more varieties coming in shortly; the noon to one timeframe is when they come in. Then it will thin out until around 1600 hours and they will all start coming in for supper.

I just checked the garden and the lettuce is really coming up now. I don’t see any beets coming up yet. I’m not sure what their germination period is. Here inside the sun porch the Biltmore Ballgown tree has at least five new blooms on it. That thing has bloomed constantly since last fall when we brought it in the house. And my geraniums are still blooming. I’ve never seen geraniums bloom constantly year around, but these have bloomed that way now for years. I think in another month it will be time to move all of these pots back outside for the summer. It’s a cycle I know, but it makes Ms. Kate happy.

Speaking of which, she has been suffering with a terrible cough and congestion “thing” now for almost four days. She treating it with OTC stuff and I’m trying to get her to go to see DoctorJackson; but so I far —- she’s going to do it her little German stubborn way. It may be a spring cold or sinus spring crud but I worry about her. We have been very fortunate this winter not have come down with anything like this. So, say a prayer for her. I know she feels like she has to go to the doctor for so many things that she doesn’t want to go in for something else. And, I have to admit, that I avoid doctor’s as long as I can too.

I got a start on my Mother’s Day stuff last night. I have the worship service prepared but have yet to decide what to do my sermon on. It isn’t that I don’t think there are good things to say about motherhood and it’s relationship to God; it is just that I think it has all been said a million times and I don’t want to bore people or say somethiing that is just blah! The words will come —- it just takes time.

That is all I have for you today. Nothing inspirational or witty comes to mind. Maybe it is because I’m sitting here with a full and satisfied tummy and I can feel the drowsies moving in. So, I’ll just wish you a pleasant afternoon and a good evening. Keep the faith and stay in touch with God. Peace.

Grey is the color of the day as we start another week. It has rained a light rain most of the night and I think it is supposed to rain on and off most of the night. I woke up around 0130 for a necessary run and went out to the sun porch. There in the pussy willow tree was Randy Raccoon having a nocturnal snack at my expense. I opened the door and explained that the restaurant was closed and that he should probably move on. So, --- it went waddling away, looking back over its shoulders to make sure I was still there and was serious. Of course, it probably waited in the bushes until I left and came back and finished his meal.

We had a great Saturday and the Sunday wasn't bad either for weather. Now we are looking at another week of below normal temperatures and rain chances every day this week except Thursday. I would think that if we keep having these cool days, the definition of "normal temperatures" is going to change. The good thing though is that it seems like just maybe we are getting past the chance of hard freeze. I moved the potted plants that we have bought out to the patio. This light rain will be perfect for them and it will also be perfect for my newly planted grass. I think the new grass may be coming up but I'm not sure. I know what little grass was left in my yard is certainly coming through the straw.

Ms. Kate and I went to yet another nursery on Saturday and she bought some more plants. I just need to get a couple of bags of potting soil so we can fill some of the large pots that I have and make living bouquets for the patio. I know they are going to look really nice. I think I could also go ahead and plant some of the things in the ground by now because the ground should be warm enough. One of the plants is a "tree peony". Hopefully this time it will live. I bought one once before and it died. I don't know but maybe I didn't do something right in the planting. She also bought some petunias which I love. The first year we lived in this house we planted some "wave petunias" and they were fabulous. They spread all over the flower bed and we had a lot of compliments on them. But since then we have not had a great amount of luck with them. But --- as soon as the rain appears to be over I guess we'll get out and do some more yard and flowerbed work. Got to keep the place looking good.

We had a great attendance at church yesterday, (75). Our attendance has steadily gone up by twos and threes. That is always great to see. And we are picking up new members every now and then. So, we press on doing God's work and sharing God's word, and let God give the push that they me need to become active members. I'm just blessed to be a small part of any of it.

I hope your day is going to be brighter than the weather outside my window. If it is cloudy outside, take time and give thanks to the Lord for your blessings. That should brighten up your life on the inside. Peace.

It is Coffee and Cardinals time once again at the Back yard Buffet. The wind is picking up right now and the Corinthian chimes are doing their job quite well. My feeders are full and the birds have been enjoying them for the last hour. But now, I see the squirrels are heading this way through the tree branches. It won’t be long before the leaves will be thick enough that I won’t be able to see them over in the neighbor’s trees. The trees are all leafing out quite well now. That will work really well for the cardinals. They like to habitat where there is easy cover fro them to hide in. My Fire Bushes provide just the right stuff for them.

I’m trying something new with my birds. I’ve told you the saga of not being able to get my Barkl Butter with paying an exorbitant price for it through the internet. Yesterday I used the very last of it. So I had two feeders left with nothing in them and I bought some JIF extra crunchy peanut butter and have put that in the holes of these feeders. I’m hoping it will work. The main ingredient for the bark butter was peanut butter so let’s see what happens. he worst that can happen is that they don’t eat it and I’ll have a mess to clean up from those feeders. It is worth the try. And, if they really like it —- it is a lot cheaper than what I was using.

Yesterday afternoon my young neighbor came over to to do the job I had for him of raking up all of the leaves and stuff on the air south side of the back yard. I have a really hard time getting that area because of low branches etc. He did in an hour what it would have taken me most of the afternoon to do. He’s an eager kid and so very polite. I’m hoping he stays interested because I have several projects he could help me with. It was nice to see that area all cleaned up this morning.

We have a new lawn center opening up this morning and I need to go see what they are going to be carrying. It would be great if they are going to carry mulch. I need at least two cubic yards yet. So, I’m going to drop over there this morning. The neat thing is that it is only about five miles from here.

Time to go take advantage of this beautiful day. I pray your day will be blessed and full of God’s goodness. Don’t forget to share it when you receive it. Peace.

It is TGIF day. But then I think I have a TGI for every day. But welcome to Cardinals and Coffee time once again here I the sim porch. Bright sunshine this morning and about 45 degrees greets me along with a few guests. The cardinals are in fact here as are the woodpeckers, goldfinches, house finches, robins and I think I saw a red breasted grosbeak.The grosbeak migrate through twic a year and only stay for a few days. Their song is almost like the mewing of a kitten. There is a red headed woodpecker  out on one of the feeders that is sitting there warning off a mockingbird. Some times we have some real battles between “the sharp beaks” as I call them. That would be the larger woodpeckers, the starlings, and the mockingbirds.

Did you ever have a lazy day dedicated only to yourself? I did absolutely nothing yesterday. It was cold and blustery outside so I didn’t go out at all other than to get the mail. That of course means I did’t even fill my feeders, and yet they still seem to have food this morning. But I spent my day either playing computer games or watching television, or napping or reading. I didn’t even get out of my sweats for the day. All of this laziness though just means that I need to get my butt busy today. Oh, and I did get my vehicles license plates renewed, — but that was done on-line too. So today I have to feed my birds, go to Lowes, and go to Spectrum and sign up for HBO. We don’t normally take any premium channels but there is a special series that I like on HBO that is coming back again called Westworld. So, I go and sign up for it for the duration of the series and then I cancel HBO again. Westworld was a movie that was put out back I think in the late seventies. It is hard to follow if you aren’t into science fiction but I like it.

Ms. Kate made me an apple pie last evening. I am a pie loving guy; —- but her apple pies and or peach pies are to die for. They are thick, and sweet and she puts about fifty years of love in between those two crusts. Can you guess what I’ll be having for my breakfast? No, it doesn’t help with my desire to lose a few pounds but ya’ know what? —- I’m seventy three, almost seventy four, and I’m never again going to be the slim young buck I was at one point in my life. I’ve got a lot less years to go than what I have lived so I’ll just keep on having my piece of pie if I want to.

I wish you could see this cardinal sitting out here on the bird bath. The sun is hitting it just right and it is a brilliant red. It is my morning blessing from the great God above that today is once again going to be full of blessings. I think it is time I got busy enjoying it. Have a blessed day yourself. Peace.