37° this morning! What's up with that? But, the Robin doesn't care --- he's taking his bath anyway.

I'm blogging early and quickly this morning and I have an all day class today. I'm not even sure what it is a class on, --- but it fills some of my continued education requirements, and I must have thought it would be interesting at the time I signed up for it. Isn't it amazing what things we do just to fill a square. I'm not saying I'm past learning something new; I'd just rather do something else. So, I hope the class is entertaining at least.

Mr. Fuss-a-lot, the Blue Jay is here this morning. I haven't seen one for awhile. Actually I think it must be a different one than usual because it looks a bit smaller and isn't making any calls or shreaks this morning. There aren't many birds out there yet this morning. I'm too early for them. I need to make sure I top off the feeders this afternoon. We are supposed to get some showers overnight and then by Saturday night we are to have our first freeze. It won't be a hard freeze but we'll wake up to 30° come Sunday morning; right on time for November.

My prayers go out this morning for the family of a parishioner who lost a father last night. I don't know the man who passed, but I understand the death to be unexpected. These are the times when people ask "why" and search for answers that are often slow in coming or never come. So, I ask for comfort for their hearts and spirits.

And--- while I've got God on the line, I'll ask for peace of mind for Ms. Charlotte, my 101 year old parishioner who is in a nursing home with alzheimers and for another parishioner who is also in the nursing home with onset of dementia. The "golden years" that we say we are looking forward to, far too often turn out to be nothing more than tarnished and dull brass.

And, --- assuming God is still open for more requests, ( and God always is), I' ll say a prayer for you and for me. It's a fact that I have more blessings in my life than leaves in my yard and I must give God thanks for all of them, for those blessings include you.

Time to go to class! Have a blessed day.

The coffee sure tastes good this morning on a chilly 46° morning. I don't know what the temperature is here in the sun porch but it is certainly a lot warmer than that. I've not put a thermometer out here. Maybe I need to pick a cheap one up somewhere. Come to think of it, I don't know when I last saw one of those little cheap wall thermometers other than in an antique store. I may need to stop at Menards or Rural King today while I'm out and about.

The sun is shing brightly this morning. I don't see a cloud anywhere. The rain and gusts of wind did bring down a lot more leaves but nothing that a quick trip with the lawn mower can't fix. We are at least a week away from the last of the leaf fall in this yard.

It is small bird time at the feeders right now. Lots and lots of Finches are picking out their sunflower seeds and their thistle seeds. The small Downy Woodpeckers have also been coming in and out. It will be another fifteen minutes until the Cardinals, Doves, and other larger birds will get here. Sunday we start Daylight Saving Time and that will change what I see when I come out here because I will be an hour later by sunlght time. I'm not sure why we hold on to that tradition of changing our clocks twice a year. There was a time some fifty or sixty years ago when it made sense, but not any longer.

Today's agenda includes doing parishioner visits in two different towns, going to the churches and running the bulletins and the monthly newsletter, and staying for choir practice. It will be a long day. Tomorrow I will be in class all day. Some weeks are just one thing after another. But, we all have those weeks don't we? Luckily, I have my sermons done for the next two Sundays. However I'm not really pleased with the one for the 9th of November, which is Veteran's Day weekend. I think it needs a lot of attention and rewrite. So, there you go; I'm making more work for myself.

I can't quit today without mentioning once again the importance of giving God praise for all that I see and have. A Cardinal sits there on a feeder, maybe five yards from my chair. The sun has made its red feathers almost glisten in the sunlight. What a beautiful creature God made there. And, you know, --- each one of us can be like that Cardinal. We can simply go about our daily business, doing what God intends us to do to the best of our ability, and we we never know when we may be used by God to be an inspiration to someone. We just might be the one that the Light of God shines off of and brings someone to a decision to stop and pray. A simple Red Bird did that for me today. Imagine what God can do with you and me. Have a blessed day!

I was up before the sun today for what ever reason; not that one can tell that the sun is actually up yet. It is a rainy morning out there and the rain kind of just comes in small waves. It is very pleasant to sit here in my recliner and listen to it and yes, doze off to it for little snatches of peaceful extra sleeep. Knowing that my cup of coffee will get cold is reason enough to stay semi-awake.

I am certainly glad that I got the back yard cleaned up again from the leaves. As predicted, the one tulip poplar is now totally devoid of leaves. The fact that we had a day where the wind gusted to 40 mph for most of the morning took care of that. So, I ran the little lawn mower over the back yard and mulched the leaves right into the grass. Today's rain will help eliminate any dust from that and also begin the final decomposition process, which in turn adds nutrients back into my soil. Other leaves that I gather through the leaf vaccuum end up in the compost pile to make good nutrients for the flowerbeds and garden. God sure designed some great processes when making this world.

Ms. Kate and I have several things going on today. She is heading out this morning to get a perm. This afternoon we have two other appointments to take care of and I need to get to Office Depot and get ink for my printer. I started getting that "low ink" message last night and discovered that I didn't have any more.

The birds are just now coming from out of where ever it is they go at nght. I had at least a half dozen Cardinals fly in at one time. I guess someone sounded bird revelle somewhere out in the bushes or trees because not only the Cardinal, but also the Finches, Chickadees, Sparrows, and Downy Woodpeckers have arrived simultaneously. So suddenly the backyard is a flurry of wings flittering back and forth from feeder to feeder. I filled most everything up again yesterday afternoon so there is plenty to go around.

I suspect my farmers are not thrilled with this rain. Most that I talk to indicate they are pretty well done with bringing in their corn but now they need to get the soybeans harvested.  But a day off of the machinery will give them a day to clean up implements and take care of some other need to do work. I ask God for a safe harvest for all of them.

The predicted "cold front"  has arrived as I sit here. The wind has picked up and leaves are flying off of the trees. My yard that was clean ten minutes ago, is getting leaf covered once again. But --- that's all good. Let's get it over with. My coffee cup is empty and I need to refill and just sit, reflect, and enjoy God's show for awhile yet, then it will be time to get busy. Have a blessed day. I've said a prayer just for you today. Trust in its power.

O happy day! What a great morning it is. It is a a warm, (6!°) sunny morning, with a stiff breeze blowing. My tulip poplar that was 40% de-nuded on Saturday is more than 85% clear today. That is a lot of leaves to clean up today and I need to do it today because we are expecting rain tonight, and I don't want them to get all wet and yucky to clean up. Dry leaves are easy, wet ones are just a mess. The other poplar is just starting to shed, but the neighbor's maple leaves are also coming here to rest.

I am on a mental and spiritual high yet this morning. Yesterday my two churches jointly celebrated Pastor's Appreciation Sunday. The St. Lucas congregation had prepared the entire service, featuring my favorite scriptures, and hymns. There were duets sung and special instrumental music played, all featuring songs that I love. There were words of love and support and encouragement throughout the service and throughout the day. It was then topped off with a meal catered by my favorite restaurant. You know, --- our denomination allows and encourages their ministers to take a ninety-day sabbatical once every five years to rest and rejuvenate the pastor's mind and spirit. Well, --- the parish totally accomplished that for me with one Sunday morning worship service, a wonderful faith family meal, and a day of love and support for me and for Ms. Kate. And the best part was that Our daughter Julie and hubby Jim knew all about it and surprised us by pulling into the church parkng lot right behind us. Yep, I'm still on a high!

I'm also on a high because Sheilla and Byron had such a good weekend. They made it to their grandson's confirmation and had a good visit there. But more importantly, Byron is feeling well enough to make those trips and he is eating well again. The dramaic drop in his PSA number has had a dramatic affect on his mental outlook too. So I give God all praise for that turn around and also ask for continued progress.

It is supposed to get 85° today and Ms. Kate and I talked about doing a top down road trip. But, I think we'll be out in the yard instead, making use of God's gift of a warm sunny day. There is still so much to do and we can play another day. But, I still have time to sit here through another cup of coffee and watch my Cardinals and Finches, and Robins as they enjoy the back yard bounty. Afterall, why hurry peace? Life didn't hand me any lemons today at all. Instead,  God gave me a blessed pitcher of sweet lemonade. Grab a glass and come join me. We'll sit and count our blessings together.

The morning is rapidly getting away from me. However, --- it is a beautiful Saturday morning and I am very comfortable here in the sunporch. When I first came out here with my coffee I thougt perhaps we might be getting some rain. However, the sky has cleared and the sun is shining and it has risen to 61° out there.

It hasn't been all sitting around. I went out a while ago and refilled some of the feeders here close to the house and cleaned the leaves out of the bird baths, not that they will stay cleared very long. I've also made a pan if cinnamon rolls for our breakfast. Yes, of course they were from a can. I prefer the orange ones but this was what we had.

The leaves are falling like crazy this morning from the female poplar tree. It always gets it leaves first and loses them first. And, the leaves are smaller than the male tree. Of course, I'm only guessing that one is a male and one is a female. I know there are male and female holly trees, so why not tulip poplar trees? The female has lost probably 40% of its leaves while the male still hasn't started to shed.

Ms. Kate and I had a great work day yesterday and got some good work done. We even had time to jump in the convertable and do some errand running. It had climbed up to almost 70° and we had to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Today we need to go to the Wildbirds and Things and pickup a couple of feeders. Normally I don't buy my feeders there because while they are good quality they are really expensive. But they have a sale going and who can resist that? Besides its another convertable riding day. However, we can't spend all of our day having fun, we got yard work to do.

The phlox, the iris, and the peonies are all cut off now for the winter out in the back yard. Ms. Kate also trimmed up all of the potted plants and they now reside here in the sunporch for the winter. So bring on the frost. We are ready for it. I hope to get the peonies and iris out front all cut off today. There is still a 100' bed along the west fence that needs tending and another along the north side of the house. I'm planning to do major surgery to the spirea and the crepe myrtle on the north side.  Both are way overgrown.

Time for me to get busy. This is to nice of a day to not get something accomplished, although, I'd easily sit here doing nothing for another hour. Here's hoping you have a totally relaxed and blessed day. I certainly intend to.

This week is rapidly coming to a close, isn't it? It doesn't matter whether you end your week with Saturday or Sunday, this one is about done. Happy Friday morning!

It is a happy Friday morning around our house and family. In fact it is an extremely blessed morning. We learned yesterday afternoon that my brother-in-law, Byron, got wonderful news from his oncologist. His cancer numbers had dropped from 641 last month down to 61. I don't know all the particulars of PSA numbers except they should be less than 5. I think my highest PSA Reading has been a .09 or 1. The bottom line though is that it at least looks as though the Provenge treatments he took have done some real damage to the cancer cells. So this morning we pray prayers of overwhelming gratitude. And --- we are so grateful to all of you for your prayers. This morning they are on the way to St. Louis to celebrate a grandson's Confirmation. It is the perfect way to also celebrate their good news. After all, everything begins and ends with God.

It is a fifty three degree, somewhat cloudy morning. The sun is trying to burst through the thin cloud layer. This morning we have Cardinals, Finches, Robins, and Woodpeckers of two varieties munching at the feeders. I heard the loud rat-a-tat-tat of a Woodpecker while ago and as loud as it was and as far away as it was, could only mean that it was one of the Pilated Woodpeckers. I really hope it stops by here for a snack.

Ms. Kate and I plan to get out in the flowerbeds today after we have finished all of our morning rituals of checking emails, reading Facebook, playing our silly computer games like Bingo Bash and Crimnal Case, and me writing my blog. By that time the sun will have dried off the dew and warmed the temperature enough to be comfortable. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be really nice days and a couple of good days in the fresh air will feel good.

As I write this morning, I have a CD playing of the Cantata that we are going to do for Christmas. I hope that I'll learn my part better if I listen to the recording several times. Our choir is small, only about twelve voices. But --- we do like to sing, and don't mind takng on a cantata. My only regret is that when we do cantatas, that tends to be all we work on. Consequently, we end up only singing a couple of times a year. I guess that is what happens when you have more love than talent. I just give God praise that these twelve or so have chosen the choir as a ministry. I believe every human being should choose at least one way in their life to serve God, who has provided so very much to each us.

My coffee. Is gone, the music has finished, and the temperature outside has now risen to 56°. I guess these are all clues that I need to vacate the recliner and get productive. I hope your day is full of joy. God loves you and Christ walks with you. How much better can it get than that?

I have a very happy Wren this morning. Last evening I put out a fresh seed cylinder in the "caged" feeder. This feeder is designed to keep the squirrels out and it does a fairly good job. The wire cage is opened enough for the smaller birds to get in but it keeps out the larger birds like Grackels, Cardinals, Blue Jays, etc. The new seed cylinder is composed mainly of nuts and seeds and my Wren is all over it like it just doesn't know where to start. For awhile the squirrels had learned to hang on it and pull the cylinder to one side from the bottom so they could eat it. But, I put a plate under the cylinder holder and that stopped that. It is amazing what I have to think up just to prove I'm smarter than a squirrel.

It was 41° this morning outside when I came out into the sunporch. Our sunporch, while fully enclosedm isn't heated. We keep the sliding door going out here closed or mostly closed when we aren't out here to keep our heat and air conditioning bill down. So, it is pretty cool out here in the mornings like today, but it is still warm enough to protect the potted plants. So, Ms. Kate made a couple of "throw over" covers for us to cover with. It does make it very comfortable. Coming out here on a cool morning with my cup of coffee and snuggling under my cover in my recliner is a perfect recipe for dozing back off to sleep. It has been known to happen.

I finished the first of the two sermons I was working on last night. Now, I need to put my thoughts together and work on the next one. But, it is too nice of a day to stick myself in he office. Today's high temp is to be only 61° but I have enough moving around doing yard work that I doubt I will feel cool. The sermon will have to wait until "second shift". I started working on stuff for Advent services last night too. November 29th is I believe the first Sunday of Advent and in terms of planning, isn't that far off.

This afternoon we need to go make a home visit for a friend from church. She just got home from the hospital and Ms. Kate wants to drop off some of the chicken noodle soup that she made. And, -- we also need to go to another parishioner's house because Ms. Kate want to raid their turnip patch. She does love her fresh turnips, and Bob raises some of the best around. Then, it will be time for choir practice. We are working on the Christmas Cantata. It is going fairly well so far, but is a long, long way from ready to present.

My coffee cup is empty and my birds are apparently full for now because they have come and gone. They will come in for a second round in about 30 minutes. This is a day that the Lord has made, take time to rejoice in it. Count your blessings and share your love. God has given you another day in which to do good for somebody. Have a blessed day.