It is a cool brilliant morning again. I don't see a cloud in the sky althugh the prediction is for clouds and a shower or two to move in later today. But for now I'll enjoy the sunshine and all the morning songs of the birds.

The wind and or breeze has caused the Maple tree seeds to start falling so the sidewalks and everything else is getting covered with those little "helicopter" seeds that whirl to earth. Nature just keeps on giving us presents. A few years ago both my neighbor and I had Sweet Gum trees in our yard. Those things constantly were dropping gum balls in the yard to the point it was dangerous to walk for fear of twisting an ankle if we stepped on one. Fortuntely we have gotten rid  of them. However, I still constantly fight the residual from all of the seeds they dropped over the years.

There is a rabbit sitting six feet from me right now just outside of the doors to the sunporch. Every spring I have one that stays in the daffodils and lilies and has her young bunnies in there. Its good cover and certainly there is plenty to eat. As long as they don't eat the potted plants or the garden, we'll be friends.

Last night I brought in the two bark butter feeders and filled them. But rather than put them out and having the raccoon suck them clean, I waited until this morning to put them out. The result is that I have had a steady stream of what I call the "pointed bill" birds such as Woodpeckers of two varieties, Titmouse, Starlings, Nuthatch, and of course the Mockingbird. This morning I also have three or maybe four Robins hopping around out there grabbing breakfast. As soon as the grass dries some more I need to mow today. The rain really made it grow. It would be great if we could have a week or ten days with no rain about now so we could get the remainder of our planting done. Of course the farmers are saying the same thing. Sunday we only had a couple of the men in church because they were all out in the fields planting corn.

It is time to stop and give thanks to God for the constant blessings that rain down on me. I may be the richest person I know. My life is full of love and loved ones and friends. I have my faith to sustain me and God who guides me and watches over me. I am truly blessed. I hope you feel that way about your life too. Stuff is just stuff; but love is the very essence of life.

Wow! This morning is as bright as yesterday was cloudy. What a beautiful morning. I don't see but can hear a couple of Mockingbirds singing their hearts out not too far away. So, the air is filled with bird song this morning singing their own version of praise to God for such a beautiful day.

Friends on Facebook this morning talk of close calls with strong storms and tornados. I thank the Lord that they are safe. This round of storms has caused at least eighteen deaths and millions of dollars in destruction and lost homes. My prayers are certainly with those in the paths of these things. Our area was once again spared, although we have been hit many times in the past. It just shows how powerless we humans really are in the natural scheme of God's creation. Our scriptures tell us that God gave us dominion over the earth.   But --- that is like giving a man control over a wild lion; --- if we feed it and treat it right, just maybe it won't eat us. But, there is never a guarantee. As a species on this earth, we need to take better care of this earth.

The hydrangias and the phlox are really starting to grow out here in the flower beds. It is starting to look like an unkempt English garden once again. The iris are fully up and producing buds and a bloom here and there. The azelias are blooming beautifully, the lilacs smell wonderful, along with hyacenths. The rain has made the earth fresh and clean once again. Sitting here in the sunporch, I am surrounded by beauty and blessings. I love my life.

It is obviously breakfat time at the backyard buffet. The Cardinals are swooping in and out. The Finches of all varieties are here as are the Downy Woodpeckers and of course the Bluejays, and Starlings. I haven't seen a Robin yet this morning but I do have one squirrel out there filling his jaws and belly with sunflower seed. I waded out there last evening and topped off everything, so let them have at it. I'll sit here and enjoy the pleaure of their company and song.

My day has begun beautifully and I hope yours has too. I offer up prayers for my friends and loved ones with health concerns and pray for strength and healing wherever it can happen. God walks with us every step of every day. I hope you feel His presence. Give away your smiles today, afterall, they are free and constantly renewable.

It is again a rainy morning out there and promises to be this way on and off for the majority of the week. April will close out this week being the wettest April on record here in this area.

We are between showers at the moment and as I look out the windows, the picture just could not be more beautiful. The pink and the white dogwoods and the redbud trees are in full bloom across the way; the lilacs are in full bloom and the scent is heavenly. The tulips are on the wane but still looking fairly good too. And --- the flittering in and out of the bright yellow Goldfinches and the Cardinals just adds to the grandeur of the setting. God is so good and I am so endowed with His blessings.

My prayers go out this morning for all the victims of the deadly tornados that went through Arkansas an Missouri. The current storms that are wreaking havoc across the nation have destroyed so many homes and lives and it appears we are going to get more as they continue their path eastward to the Atlantic ocean. I pray there will be no more deaths from them. Heather will be flying to Orlando Florida this morning which means she will be flying either through or at least very close to these storms. So, I pray for a safe trip for her too.

I would like to be able to sit out here for another hour today but unfortunately I need to take the car to the shop this morning for some work. So, I better stop here. May God fill your day with love and blessings. My blessings cup is already running over this morning.

It has been a rainy, cool and windy morning so far as I sit out here with my coffee. But now the sun is starting to brighten the day and the showers have passed. Perhaps today will be a beautiful one after all.

This morning I have four Downy Woodpeckers vying for food where there isn't any. They like the bark butter paste and I'm out of it. There is, however, the same thing in pellet form out there for them as well as a suet ring hanging on a different pole. The suet ring was on the ground this morning so I don't know what got into that. Most likely that raccoon, or perhaps the wind was strong enough to take it down. But --- I'm betting on the raccoon.

It is Friday and that is my "offical" day off along with Saturday. However, my Saturday is ruined this week because I have a class to attend in the morning. But it is only for four hours and I guess I can handle it. This happens five times a year.

I never cease to be amazed at the agility of squirrels. This morning I have one that hangs by one rear foot as it bends around the feeders to get some seed and then pulls its self back up to eat them. They absolutely must have stomach muscles of iron.

My prayers go out this morning for loved ones and friends. I learned yesterday of an aquaintence that has developed alzheimers. He and his wife ran a favorite bed and breakfast over in Eaton, Ohio. She has closed the business down because his condition was affecting the guests. This morning I received another request for prayers for the mother of a paritioner who has severe liver cancer. It has not been a good week for news of loved ones and friends. And yet, I constantly remember that God walks every step of our lives with us. We never walk dark paths alone. That thought gives me comfort and I hope it does the same for all of them and for you too. God is good and constantly showers us with blessings, including that silly old squirrel that sits out there and amuses me.

Have a wonderful day.

The day is a bit more normal today as I absord the news from two nights ago about Byron into it's proper niche in my life. Isn't it amazing how we can do that? Once we get past the initial shock of something, I think we create a mental working file to store the data, then read and process each new bit of information as it comes in. This ability is a blessing. Were we not able to do so, then instead of a working file, our mental process would halt to a single object and that would become an obsession, creating a roadblock with no ability to move on with life. Again, God is good.

Something from the nocturnal world of critters has developed a real taste for "bark butter". I have two feeders that are made strictly for that kind of bird food. It is a paste like product made mainly from peanut butter, I think, and is mainly used to attract Woodpeckers. I just filled those two feeders yesterday evening and they were full as late as midnight --- but they are cleaned out completely this morning. I think our local raccoon or opposum has developed a new taste. It would be interesting to watch because the feeders are hung so that it would be precarious to either to eat from them. Hmmmmm! We have a mystery.

Today we go to the churches to run the weekly bulletins and to mow the churchyard at St. Lucas. We are expecting a warm day so it should be pleasant out there on the mower. I'll have to retrain myself on using that church mower. It is a great mower but it is a ZTR type that uses levers rather than a steering wheel. I got off into the bean field with it for a few seconds last year while I was learning to use it. I hope I have better luck this time.

Ms. Kate and I went to the greenhouse yesterday and picked up all of the plants that she had ordered a couple of weeks ago. The wallet is a couple of hundred bucks lighter but the yard and some of these planters will look great. We need to get the weedkiller put on where it is needed, and it is time to get the plants in the ground.

I was finally able to get my thoughts together enough last evening to start on my sermon for next week. I hate to not be at least a week ahead on things because I never know when a funeral or something or another crisis might pop up. I'm just not a last minute guy.

So, the Cardinals are happy this morning as are all of the other critters and birds who are singing their songs today. My prayers are prayers of gratitude. God has again entrusted me with another day to celebrate life and the blessings that surround me. As the scriptures say, "This is the day that the Lord had made. Let us us rejoice and be glad in it.". I hope each moment of your day brings you another moment of peace and happiness.

I'm up earlier than usual this morning, so is Ms. Kate.  While I might tell myself I don't know why, --- I know it is because our hearts are heavier this morning. My sister called last evening with the doctor's report on Byron and none of it was good. The doctors confirmed bone cancer in his ribs, pelvis, and sternum, as we'll as cancer in his stomach and some lymph glands. So my heart is heavy as I share their heartbreak, and feelings of anger, unfainess, frustration, and knowlege of the physical issues that Byron is going to face in the fight to maintain quality of life. They have been through this with his mother and with our father. We have also been through this with my brother-in-law Kenny. My prayers for strength, courage, and peace within their hearts go out to them this morning and in the hopefully, coming years. The doctors have at least told them a "five year plan" is not above a possibility. So, let's take that and run with it. The reality of life is that we have no guarantees of longevity and death eventually catches us all. It is the belief and expectation of rejoining our loved ones on the other side of the veil that separates life and death that provides the peace within our soul. God is good --- all the time.

The notation at the top of my Nook says it is 46 degrees this .morning. but, the sun is shining brightly, the flowers are blooming beautifully, and there are birds and squirrels all around the yard. At least two of our azelias are in full bloom across the yard and make for a marvelous picture. Yesterday I got the snow blade off of the John Deere and the mower deck put on. I mowed our front yard and the neighbor's yard too. Today I need to mow my back yard. I have to do that with my little mower because the back yard is fenced in and I can't get the JD back here. It only takes me about twenty minutes and the walking is good exercise.

We need to go to the landscape garden and pick up a bunch of plants that Ms. Kate has ordered. I'm not sure where all of those are going --- but I bet I'll find out soon enough. Tomorrow's schedule includes mowing the church yard an running the weeks bulletins. It seems there is never a shortage of things that need doing.

So, --- while my thoughts this morning started out dark, my time out here on the porch has brightened them. God has a way of doing that if we will just take the time to sit down and talk it out. I give God thanks for every day I have on this earth and I count each moment with my family as a blessing that was given freely and totally undeserved.

May your day be filled with love and peace.

It is a comfortably cool morning with bright sunshine a a blue sky. A gentle wind is blowing out the showers that we had last night. The earth smells clean. The showers and breeze though are also taking the blooms off of the Bradford Pear trees so it looks a little like a light snow has fallen beneath those trees. The season creeps along and nature changes as it should.

I'm up and showered a bit earlier this morning. (Not early for those who are already behind the wheel or at work) We have the air condition service man coming for our spring service this morning. I didn't think it appropriate for me to be siiting here in my pajamas when he gets here. Besides, I had a good night's sleep.

I filled the feeders again yesterday evening so there should be some satisfied critters today. I have a Downy Woodpecker just out the door that is certainly munching or pecking away at the feeder. The Titmouse takes turns eating at the same feeder as the Woodpecker. The Mockingbird doesn't take a turn, it just bullies in and eats off of the same feeder too. It is a little early, by about half an hour
, until the bigger birds come swooping in. The squirrels haven't shown up either. It truly is peaceful when they aren't here.

There are some chores I need to do today and then I need to sit and work on sermons for the month. I give up a lot a writing opportunity every morning by sitting out here on the porch. But sitting out here in communion with God and His glorious nature is far too important to give it up. It puts my day right and gives me the time to make a conscious decision that I will have a good day and I will be thankful for the blessings in my life. It puts my mnd and soul at peace. I wish everybody had the time or opportunity to do this.

Take the time to make someone smile today. Be the reason someone is having a better day. You are the messenger for God. A kind word, gesture, or smile will speak volumes more than a preacher's sermon.

Have a blessed day.