Happy Thursday afternoon, well almost evening. I’ve been busy today and just haven’y Gotten to a point of sitting down to write. What have I accomplished?? I haven’t gotten a lot done but I did get my back yard mowed, I got some stuff done on the computer, and best of all, I made the arrangements for our 2019 family reunion. We’ve all been dancing back and forth with this for six month far as where to go, when to go. Most place won’t take reservations any more that one year out. We had narrowed down a location and a house that everyone seemed to like but it wasn’t open to reservations yet. Then yesterday when I tripped it again, the site said that our desired days were not available/. I was honked off about that. Well, —- it turns out that the days were available, but —- the owners do a Fri - Fri rental and my dates were for a Sat - Sat rental which by computer means the dates were unavailable. So, once I figured that out — I moved our date back one day and it all worked like it should. I am so glad to have that off of my list of things to do. Our last three family reunions have been in Tennessee but this time we are going to Virginia Beach, Virginia. The family now has a year to figure out who is bringing what, who’s going to fly and who is going to drive. Lisa has the short drive this time with only about three hours. Ms. Kate and I and Julie and Jim will have a two day drive to get there, and maybe the same with Josh. Heather and family will fly for sure and we’ll see what Steph and family do.

I still need to go out and mow my front yard and I need to do some weed-eating.  I want to get that done before it rains again. I also need to get my okra seeds planted. This rain and warm weather has made my tomatoes grow. They are already about to top the buckets that I put around them to protect them from the rabbits.. The lettuce is growing like crazy and the beets are doing well too.

I wish you could see all of the beautiful peonies that we have growing around here. They are magnificent; and some of them smell heavenly. We have some white iris that have a wonderful scent too. I do love springtime.

I guess I better quit resting and get busy with the weed eater. Then I think I’ll come in and cut the watermelon that I have in the fridge. That sounds like a refreshing thing to do.

Enjoy your evening and before you go to bed, take some quiet time and give God thanks for this day full of blessings that He has heaped upon you. Peace.

Soggy weather for today. It started raining around 0500 and we will have rain on and off most of the day I think. It rained pretty heavy for awhile but it kind of coms in waves. The garden will love it as will all of the plants and flowers. My backyard guests though aren’t apparently as crazy about it because there aren’t as many as usual. At least we aren’t having storms like the Virginia and DC area were having last night. Neighbor Dan is on vacation there and posted a video last night of the storms. The wind was really whipping and rain was torrential. But, we are to have this kind of off and on rain for the rest of the week. My only concern is for Saturday the 26th when I’m supposed to do an outside wedding. There is no use worrying about it because I can’t control it. I just hope for the couple’s sake the weather dries out and the area will be dry. Brides tend to want what they want and it doesn’t take a lot sometimes to “spoil” a dream wedding for them. But —- in my meeting with them, I did explain that regardless of outside or inside, == they will still be just as married. I’m not sure it was comforting. LOL

We made it out to the stores and I bought a bunch of bird feeding stuff. I need to go buy Pet Food Center and pick up another 80# of sunflower seed. Both of my cans are at half full or less. Last night we went to Menard’s and I bought every bag of the suet pellets that hey had. A bag will only last about a day and a half. The dang black birds and starling just devour it. It is the favorite of a lot of of my birds and we have some battle royals over that feeder between the Cardinals, Woodpeckers, and Blackbirds.

This morning I’ll have my staff meeting with Karen and Pastor Art as we go over the calendar of events. There isn’t too much to discuss as the events really diminish after Pentecost Sunday and Memorial Day. This coming Sunday will be Pentecost. Pastor Art has the sermon. Next weekend will be Memorial Day weekend and I’ll have the sermon. It is supposed to be an outdoor service. Again, let’s hope the weather dries out. But if not, of well. God will provide what God will provide. But, there are part of the country that could use the rain a little more than we can.

I guess I better sign off and get ready to go to the office. I hope you have a truly blessed day and a day full of good thought. Peace.

Hello Tuesday already. It’s a warm sunny morning after a night of a few gentle thunderstorms. I have to give thanks for the rain we received last night. I was going to have to go water my newly planted tomatoes today and probably my patio garden flower garden too. But, God took care of my light work for me and now I can just sit here and enjoy.

I had a busy day yesterday. Office hours stretched out into a shopping trip for some technology shopping and a lunch date with Ms. Kate. Then last evening I had a church council meeting to attend. Those generally go about an hour and a half, — not because we have that much work to do but because we have so much good fellowship doing it. We have a good council and they get along very well. That isn’t always the case at churches. Far too often councils are made up of people that want everything to be done their personal way and the councils end up spending more time fighting than not. I’m very glad to say that I have never had to experience that as a pastor but I know other pastors who have and they are miserable and it often leads to pastors either resigning or being fired. Why fire the pastor you might ask?? Because he’s the “outsider” and not one of the relatives that are sitting on the church board so the problem must be his or her fault. Small groups are some funny animals. But I have been very blessed to not have any of those kind of problems. It must be my winning personality. LOL.

Sunday was Mother’s Day and Ms. Kate and I had a very relaxed day of it. Our daughter Lisa had ordered a “edible arrangement” for Ms. Kate and it was supposed to be delivered on Saturday. But we were gone when they came by which meant that we had to go pick it up on Sunday after church. All of the restaurants were already full by the time we got out of church so — we went to Cold Stone Creamery and had ice-cream for lunch since it was in the area where we had to go pick up her gift. Then, for supper, I asked Ms. Kate where I could take her for dinner and all she wanted was hotdogs from the grill. How easy is that?? The truth is that we are at a point in our lives where ion we want something we go get it and our needs are few. Ya’ just don’t need as much stuff when you get older. So, our gift to each other is usually something that we can do together, even if it is just fixing hotdogs on the grill and sitting around enjoying each other’s company. I give God praise that we are both still alive and can do these things together.

I need to go shopping for bird feed stuff today. I’m either out or low on most of my products and I must keep my buffet guests happy. They are just like party guests — if you feed them — they will come. So, having said that — time to get cleaned up and start my day. I hope your day is pleasant and filled with good things. Peace.

A springtime Saturday and the sky is mostly clear and the temperature is going to be July-like today. That generally ends to thunderstorms sometime in the next forty-eight hours.

My yards are all mowed, including neighbor Dan’s; I spent an inordinate amount of time weed eating yesterday, and the bird feeders are all full. It’s a good morning to sit and relax and be grateful for a life full of blessings.  I’ve had a fair amount of visitors at the Backyard Buffet this morning. At one point I had Cardinals bathing in one birdbath and Blackbirds bathing in the other. There was water going everywhere. Of course that means that I will need to fill the birdbaths again today. I’ve had several Downy Woodpeckers and a couple of Ladderback Woodpeckers here most of the morning. They seem to be very satisfied with me putting out the chunky peanut butter since I can get bark butter. However, I now have a recipe for the bark butter and I need to try to make that.

Ms. Kate and I are having lunch with Bob and Brenda and Andy today again. It’s a “schrooms & beer”  day. On the way out to the tavern I need to stop at the local CO-OP and pick up a half dozen tomato plants to put in the ground today. It is time to get those in the ground. My lettuce is doing really well and my beets are coming up fine too. However, my asparagus isn’t doing much this year and I don’t know why. Maybe it will come around yet. And, I need to see if my okra is coming up yet. I also need to see if the Rouund-up I sprayed yesterday on the dandelions and morning glory’s did any good.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and if you are a mother, I hope you have time to sit back and take it easy and I hope that those you have raised acknowledge the sacrifices you may have made to raise them. I didn’t have a “Hallmark Card” relationship with either of my parents, and there is no law that says it has to be that way. Even though they adopted me and raised me —- I’m not sure it was ever really a “good fit”. My father and I had no interests in common and my mother and I seemed to always be at odds. However —- I’m grateful to them because had they not adopted me — I would not have the wonderful wife and daughters that I have today. God works in mysterious ways and that adoption was the way He chose for me to get to where I am today. I give God all the glory for that.

Time to finish my coffee and get out the door to other adventures today. Have a most blessed weekend. Take time to visit your place of worship and give God some praise and gratitude. Shalomn.

As a former weatherperson used to say here —- ‘The muggys have returned.”  It is only seventy two degrees but the humidity is at seventy-four percent and the temp is to climb to almost ninety degree today. That is pure summertime weather. The Robins and the Starlings are already taking baths this morning.

Today is a red-letter for the family as our son-in-law John Watson retires from the Riverside County Sheriff’s department. While not a sworn police officer, he has worked as a jailer for most of his career and that is more dangerous than being on the streets. More often than not, prisoners have zero respect for authority and figure they have nothing to lose. His particular jail, like most, is over crowded and that always adds to the tension. His advantage is that he treated the prisoners like people,  as opposed to some jailers who have prove they are in charge. I’m giving God praise and gratitude that he wasn’t stabbed or killed and had a successful career. He is a great guy and now he can relax and figure out what his next venture might be. He’s only fifty so I know he will be doing something else. He’s not the kind of person to sit around and do nothing, but I hope he takes some time off before he jumps into a new career. He and Heather plan to do some traveling, but —- she has a few years before she can retire. She runs the Sheriff’s 911 system for the same county.

I have several things to do today. It seems like I didn’t get anything done yesterday. I did fill part of the bird feeders and I BBQ’d some chicken and made a quick trip to the grocery store. But, beyond that and putzing around the house, I can’t tell you what I did. But today, I need to mow the yard, front and back, (and Dan’s) and I have to do some work on the upcoming wedding. I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about all of the questions I didn’t ask of the couple when I met with them. They don’t want a rehearsal and that throws my “system” out of whack. So I need to ask some pertinent questions, especially of the bride.

I have a Robin on the table right outside my window and it is cleaning up the residual from my filling the feeders yesterday. I don’t really have a lot of guests this morning, a couple of Cardinals, a Ladderback Woodpecker, the Robin and the Starlings; and of course a couple of squirrels. What would life be without a squirrel on the bird feeder?? LOL

Thata’s it for this morning. Have a blessed day and share your love with someone. Be the bright spot in someone’s life today. Peace.

Welcome to a blessed Thursday morning. I hope you have had a good morning so far. I have. I’m on my second cup of coffee and just finished a bagel with creamed cheese. I do love bagels in the morning or actually most any time. They even make a good snack when paired with either Philly Creamed Cheese or maybe even a litttle honey butter. It is actually justthe last coupleof years that I have gotten in to eating bagels. But, you know how people’s taste buds change, and I guess that is what happened with me. I used to be a cereal eater for breakfast but now, cereal is my midnight snack. Of course a real breakfast is and always has been a “big breakfast”; eggs, bacon or sausage, biscuits, gravy, hash browns or fried potatos, coffee, and maybe some juice. Top it off with a couple of pancakes and I’ve gone straight to heaven for breakfast.

I had a busy day yesterday. We had our staff meeting and then I did some parishioner visitation and home communion. Then late afternoon I had a couple come in to discuss their wedding that is coming up. Today I need to put together their wedding ceremony. It was interesting to sit and meet with them.  Sometimes, I think I need to read “behind” the words being said. I just pray for them to have a successful marriage.

I have empty feeders out there that I need to do something about for sure. And it appears that I also need to mow my back yard again. That fertilizer that I put on when I replanted the grass is really working. The back yard looks better than it has in a couple of years. I think Ms. Kate is going to want to go to the grocery store today too so I’m not sure what all my day will bring to the table. The wedding service writing is what will take the longest. But, I can save that for this evening if I need to.

I was out in the yard looking around earlier. The peonies, the iris, the snowball bush, the climatis are al becoming the stars of the yard now. The daffodils are done and are at the stage where they just lay over and dry out. In a couple of months I’ll be able to pull the tops off of them. The tulips are also about done. They have dropped most of their petals by now. The lilacs are blooming and making the yard fragrant and the pink and the white dogwoods are also in bloom. My yard just looks fabulous. Every time I walk around in it or work in it, I feel so very blessed. Yes, it is a lot of work, —- but God has enabled me to still be abl to get out there and tend His garden, and I give God all the praise for that. I can’t imagine our yard without flowers.

Tine for me to finish up this cup of coffee and move on to another job of the day. Tomorrow is TGIF day and I pray you will have a wonderful weekend. Go in peace.

Let’s call today “Wonderful Wednesday”. It is a little overcast and promises to get a lot more so with thunderstorms later today. But, that’s all good. It is sixty-one degrees outside and the flowers are blooming, so what is not to like.

But — I want to tell you about our Elephant Encounter at Wilstem ranch that we had yesterday. We were up by 0500 to get ready because the rive was going to be at least an hour and a half and we would lose an hour due to time zone change. We found the place with a little difficulty. There are simply places that you don’t use a GPS to find.

We arrived in plenty of time, checked in, and then went and petted some alpacas and dwarf brahmas and fed them some oats and stuff. Then we went up to the elephant barn. There were maybe fourteen people there. The owners brought in three elephants, one by one and they had us hose them down, scrub the mud and dirt off of them, hose them down again, and then they had the young kids paint their toenails with somethiing. So, Ms. kate and I got to wash three elephants. It was so much fun. The elephants ranged in age from 33 to 44, and were totally relaxed and gentle, and it was very obvious that they had been doing this for a very long time. It took us an hour just to get the three of them washed and then we had another hour of education and an opportunity to take pictures with them.

From there we went to the giraffe barn where these folks had two giraffes. There was an educational session about giraffes and we all had a chance to feed them carrot sticks and take pictures with them. It was a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives. I’ve said before that there is such a thing as having a “spirit animal”, mine would be the elephant. I have always been facinated by these huge gentle beasts. It breaks my heart and makes me furious that poachers kill these animals to the point of extinction just for their ivory tusks.

After we left the ranch, we drove over to Montgomery and had lunch at the Gasthaus Amish Village and restaurant. The food of course was delicious, and it almost always is when eating at an Amish place.

I have a long day today with office hours, in-home visitation and communion, and then a wedding preparation counseling session this evening. The wedding is the last Saturday of the month and I really don’t know the couple or what they have planned or want to plan. So, I’m earning my money today for sure.

I pray your day will be blessed. Well actually, —- I know your day will be blessed; I pray you will recognize the blessings as they flow from God. I wish you peace.