A few cardinals, a few more finches and sparrows are my guests this morning at the Backyard Buffet. I can see a squirrel or two off in the neighbor’s trees that are slowly making their way this direction.   My sunporch windows face west and south but a lot of times my squirrels come from the east and gallop across my roof. I get a lot of noise on my sunporch roof as they play up there chasing one another back and forth. Some times it sounds like a football game going on up there and I’ll see two or three of them coming down the willow tree next to the sunporch. It’s great entertainment and a blessing to watch. 

It’s hard to believe that a week ago this morning I was hugging Lisa and her family good bye as we all went our separate ways and back home. Ms. Kate and I had a two day drive and they all had about an hour and a half drive. But, praise God, we all made it home safely and are looking forward to our next visit. We don’t know if tat will be in December, when Matt graduates or next June when all of the family gets together for our next family reunion. 

My sidewalk is a little damp this morning. At some point during the night I did hear it raining, and it was a very gentle rain. Obviously it didn’t rain much because the ground is still brown and dusty. As i said yesterday, we could use the rain. 

We never went to the churches yesterday. Ms. Kate wasn’t feeling very well so we stayed home. We had a load of laundry to do and Ms. Kate made a pot of turkey-noodle soup. A great “fall thing” to do. 

That’s about it for today. I have stuff to get done. I hope you have a wonderful day. Let God hear from you today. 

 Wednesday again????? The days, —- they do continue to roll around, don’t they? I’m not sure what is going to be on the agenda for today. I suspect though that we will go to the churches and run the bulletins and prep for for Sunday. That will take us past the orchard and we can stop and pick up some apples. We planned to do that yesterday but never got around to it. We were entirely too busy doing nothing. LOL

It’s sixty degrees out this morning and the sky is cloudy. The weather dude says that is from the tropical storms down on the Texas/Louisiana border. I expect we will get some showers from that storm maybe tomorrow. We could use some rain, Everything is dry and dusty. We’ve gotten to the point where I don’t think we will be mowing this week. That’s the first time this summer, and it is actually the second day of fall. We are way over average on rainfall for the year. 

I’ve been trying to find a place for Ms. Kate and I to go for our next vacation. I still have three weeks left and can’t find a place that sounds “really great”. We did the somewhat local week and rented a cabin up in Brown County for three days and then went over to Parke County to look at covered bridges. Then we did the trip to the beach with Lisa and her family and that was wonderful. But now we are starting to bump up against fall and winter and right now hurricane season seems to be in full swing which will affect the gulf coast area. Plus with COVID-19 restrictions, it’s hard to know what is open and not open. Add to that, —- the amount of civil unrest and protests and rioting that is going on in any big cities makes it dicey to travel. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for her and I to pack up a bunch of stuff like groceries and clothes and go somewhere else for  week. Might as well stay home if that’s what we are going to do. So, I just don’t know. The cabin thing was nice but there were three of us going to someplace we had not been. I hate to think that I’ll lose three weeks of vacation but I guess it is possible. And —- I don’t want to sound snobby, but, —- we’ve pretty much been everywhere and done everything and trying new adventures is getting physically harder and limiting. I guess it is a blessed problem to have. 

That’s it for today. Have a glorious “Hump Day”!!!

 Tuesday afternoon. I’ve had a “somewhat” busy morning. We gathered the bills together and Ms. Kate wrote the few checks she needed to while I addressed envelopes and found the roll of stamps. We got our Illinois Property tax statement yesterday and I wanted to get that paid right away. The taxes really climbed again this year for Illinois. Their governor is tax happy and the state is broke. Ms. Kate and I own one quarter of a piece of property over there that My cousin farms. My sister owns a quarter and the two cousins own the other half. But taxes for my sister and I were over $1,150.00 this year which is an increase of almost $200.00 from last year. But, I don’t have to do anything with the property or the farming of it. My cousin Alan sends me a “cash-rent” check every year for $5,200.00 and I get to pay taxes. 

Beyond paperwork, I haven’t done a lot so far. Ms. Kate and I are getting ready to go to the orchard and pick up some apples. I don’t know if we will do “U-Pick” or just buy some. But it is apple pie time again and I don’t want to miss out. 

I worked out in my garden yesterday. I pulled up what was left of the dying cucumber plants and threw them in the trash. Then I pulled up four of my tomato plants that had died off and cleared that area. I have four plants left and they are about done, and I have my magical cantaloupe plants still out there. I don’t think many of those cantaloupe are going to actually get ripe, but it isn’t a big deal since they came up on their own and we didn’t even know they were going to. They grew from seeds in my compost pile. I think there are maybe 15 fruits on those vines but it is starting to get cool enough to maybe stop their growth. It would be great to get at least one or two from them anyway. I tell myself they were a gift from God. So maybe God will make sure they finish getting ripe. 

While we are having these cool days. It is also time to go ahead and pull up all of the Black-eyed Susans, cut back the peonies and Iris and put down some Preen to knock back any weeds that may be wanting to come up. Then I’m going to order my garden dirt, go get my blocks and lumber to make my new raised bed and as soon as the last of the tomatoes are gone, build my new bed. By then the leaves will have started to fall and I’m going to collect them and put them on the bottom layer of the raised bed as compost over the winter. There is always something to do. 

Time to decide whether to take a nap or run to the orchard. Decisions, decisions. Have a blessed day. 

 

 Good morning and happy Monday! Are you ready for a brand new week? I certainly am. Can you believe though that this is the last full week of September? I know, right??? My how the world has changed. By now kids should have been in school for a month but school systems across America are still debating on how they are even going to conduct classes. Will it be virtual or in-person learning? Do we shut down an entire school because one child showed up with a fever? Do we make sure the kids don’t touch one another or play together closer than six feet? What the heck kind of society are we continuing to support? It is frustrating to me an old dude with no players in the game; I can’t imagine how the parents must feel. But, enough of that.

I had to leave you for  bit. Ms. Kate had to have her monthly Pro-Time bloodwork done so we got dressed and and went to the doctor’s office so she could get her lab work done. After that we decided to run to McDonalds and pick up some breakfast burritos. I ordered five and we had to “step aside” because they didn’t have them made. So, we waited and we waited, but — we figured they would b nice and hot. —- We figured wrong. It is only five minutes from McDonalds to our house but they were way less than lukewarm which sucks. But here we are, out in the sunporch, eating our cold burritos and watching the guests at the Backyard Buffet. 

Speaking of which, Saturday afternoon we went to Pet Food Center and I picked up another 80 pounds of sunflower seed for my friends. I came home and filled most of the feeders again and have had a lot of happy guests ever since. I noticed that the Goldfinches have started to turn from their beautiful yellow to a dull yellow/green. It is a good sign that the seasons are changing. 

Enough for today. I pray you will have a blessed week. Peace. 

 Good morning and Happy Saturday. We are home from our vacation and today we unpack suitcases and put stuff away. It was a wonderful vacation, full of love and laughter and hugs and visiting. You know, the kind of stuff that families tat love one another do. It is good to be back home and in our own bed again though. I will say though that the bed at the beach house was very comfortable. In fact the whole place was nice and he family all enjoyed it. 

Amanda’s boyfriend brought along his pontoon boat and I got to go fishing in the Emerald Isle sound three days in a row. I only caught one real keeper but had a wonderful time. Her boyfriend, Bryan, took really good care of me on that boat and made sure I had a good time. Bryan lost his grandpa a year ago and he spoiled me in his stead. 

We left Thursday morning and headed back home. It rained on us, really hard at times, all the way from the North Carolina coast to the mountains on the west end of the state. I had prayed that we would have too bad of rain as we traveled through the mountains and God answered that prayer in our favor. The rain really slacked off until we go to TN and then it picked up again, although not as bad, We got west of Newport and eventually the rain stopped. So, we just kept on driving and got as far as Corbin, KY. We stopped at a Comfort Inn at Corbin, the same one we stayed at on the first nigh of our trip. Yesterday we only had about five hours to drive to get home. Our round trip was 1800 miles. 

Today I have to fill all of my bird feeders for sure. Everything out there is empty. It is another beautiful day. It’s kind of hard to realize that south of us a hurricane is ravaging the country. That was part of the reaso for all of the rain that we had Thursday in North Carolina. And out in California wildfires are so bad that the smoke has actually reached us here in Indiana. I can’t imagine what it would be like to try to breathe out there. 

Tomorrow of course, life goes back to normal routine and I’m back to work. I have the service all ready to go. I might run up to the churches today and get the pulpits set up etc. We also need to make a mini-grocery run, so there is a lot to accomplish today. Ms. Kate is still operating on east-coast time and was up at 0630 today. I stayed in bed until 0730 and have been out here in the sunporch since. (Another part of returning to routine life)

I reckon I better get started on my list of tings I need to do so I will drop off. It’s good to be back with you. Have a blessed day. 

 Happy Tuesday afternoon. I’ve had another wonderful day. It’s the second day in a row we have gotten in the boat and gone saltwater is fishing. Amanda’s boyfriend Bryan brought his pontoon boat to the beach house. We gone fishing these past two days out in the sound. Yesterday we caught a couple of flounder but today we got skunked. We caught some “trash fish” but you can’t eat them. Tonight we are having a fish fry. Last night we had fish chowder. The weather has been perfect; high in the mid eighties with plenty of clouds today to keep us from broiling. Yesterday we put the umbrella cover up on the boat because the sun was so bright. 

We have one more day here and then we head home on Thursday. I’m not sure how long it is going to take us butI anticipate that we will run into rain for much of the trip. We have not made any hotel reservation for the return trip and I guess we will just play it by ear. But it has been such a relaxing vacation, and it has been so very good to be with Lisa and all of her family. I’ve had aa good chance to get to know Amanda’s boyfriend and he seems like a good guy. He respects her and makes her happy and as Grandma and Grandpa, that is all we could ask for. 

I’m hearing good news from my home church, Zoar. After six years of a pastoral search, it appears they are really zeroing in on a candidate. I pray that is true and I pray that he is God sent. I guess if everything works out, they could be in place by the end of the year. I know that Pastor Art will miss being the pastor there but I also know he is really ready to finally retire. At 78, he should be considering it. But Zoar is going to miss him. He has been very good for Zoar and the two years I spent as his co-pastor were a God-send to me. I learned so very much from him. He and I still talk at least one a day through Facebook messenger and just because he isn’t preaching, doesn’t mean I will quit going to him for guidance. He and I have become fast friends. 

That’s all for today. I pray you have a blessed evening and a blessed rest of your week. Stay in touch with God. Peace

 Good morning from Emerald Isle, NC. I’m up early this morning for no other reason than to watch the sun come up over the sea horizon. Unfortunately, while the sun will come up, the cloud layer is thick enough to prevent any beautiful display of color. But, ya’ know, that is okay with me. It is sufficient to know that the sun still is coming up and God has given us yet another day with which to make something good happen. 

We arrived here at 1600 yesterday, unpacked the car and settled in. I spent at least two hours last evening just sitting out on a deck at is by the beach and watched the repetitive motion of the waves hitting the beach and listening to the beach sounds of the sand pipers and sea gulls and pelicans. This is exactly what I came to see and hear and experience. It is a moment in time that a person stores in their memory for when life gets overwhelming, and you can exhale and draw upon store memories to relax and gain composure. God gives us those moments.

Our vacation has been fantastic so far. It has been so great to visit with the family. I think we all really needed this. I is worth every penny I paid to rent this place. Yesterday, Ms. Kate and me and Lisa, Gary and Matt came down. Today Amanda, Brian and “Bug” (Caden) , Brian’s son, will arrive. It will get a bit more noisy with a ten year old boy in the house. And Amanda is a constant ball of energy and joy and laughter and love. I think she is 24 now, or maybe 23. It is hard to keep up with them and it seems impossible to  believe that all of our grandchildren are certainly not children anymore. Two of my grandkids are living with their significant others and are not married to them. Whether or I not I approve, is not relevant I guess, it is what it is for young people these days. And while their significant others come with a child or children, they still can’t be considered our great-grandchildren. It’s all new family dynamics and no, I do not approve. But, I love my family, and their family, so we take the package deal for what it is worth. 

The sky is beginning to lighten up and the clouds are going away so what. It is going to be a great day. Have a great Sunday. Take time to give God praise. I’ve already “been to church” today by simply sitting out by the beach and communicating with the marvelous God that crated all that I could see. Blessings.