A nice Thursday morning greets me this morning. The sun is shining and making the red on the cardinals even more brilliant. The temperature is currently in the low 70's and only going to the low 80's so it should be a nice day.

My day is starting to fill up though. I need to get ready and go to the Wildbirds and Things for stuff and then to the Pet Food Center to get more stuff. My supply of bird food products has dwindlesd to next to nothing. Ms. Kate handed me  $100.00 bill last night and I said "Now I can afford to go to the bird food store', and she said "then I better give you another one!" Such is the life of a bird lover, and the life of a guy who likes to watch the world from the sunporch.

Some of the phlox is really starting to bloom out nicely now. That should provide more nectar for the hummingbirds. Between the bees and the hummingbirds, those blooms get pretty worn out.

Yesterday was a fun day. Ms. Kate and I got up early and we went blueberry picking. There is a U Pick place about 30 miles from here. We've never actually gone to the place and picked the berries before. We generally have just stopped by their farm and bought from their coolers. But, it was a beautiful day and we needed the exercise so we went. The plants were loaded with berries. Blueberries are so easy to pick and the plants had so many berries on them that we picked about fourteen pounds in about 40 minutes. The next thing we need to check on is the local peaches. They should be coming on about now. We usually put up a bunch of peaches in the freezer, but I still have a freezer full. But a fresh peach pie or two would be good. Or maybe Ms. Kate would make a peach and blueberry pie.

I got a call this morning from a very good friend asking me if I could possibly do a funeral on Monday morning. Monday is they 4th of July and Julie will be here but -- friends do for friends and the man that is being buried has no church affiliation. So, I agreed which means I have a funeral to put together today. Saturday I have a wedding to do so our visit with Julie is really messed up. But --- we take what we can get out of life and make the most of it.

It is time for me to get busy. I hope you have a great Thursday. Take a few minutes today and be grateful for what God has put before you. Peace.

It's a nice Tuesday morning. My morning started early with a visitation at a hospital for one of my parishioners who is having knee replacement this morning. Her surgery was scheduled for 0730 and the hospital staff was on top of it and took her almost a half an hour early. But we had time for prayer before she went in.

My day really started right when I got about a block from my house and as I topped the hill, there was a large doe standing in the road. That is only the second deer I have seen in this neighborhood in the 15 years we have lived here. She wasn't much concerned about me. She kind of trotted off to the side of the road into a yard and stood there and looked at me. I'm betting somebody is losing their petunias!

I mowed the yards yesterday evening, or at least the front yard and Dan's yard. It really didn't need it but I just wanted to drive my new JD. But now we look manicured out front. I'll do the back yard tomorrow. It just doesn't need it except for a few weeds that are popped up.

So what to do with the rest of this beautiful 93 degree day. I'll probably stay out of it for the most part. I do have some more writing to do; (there's always writing to do and reports to write and services to plan) and I'll no doubt take a nap this afternoon. I didn't sleep all that well last night because I knew I had to be up early. My brain has its own internal clock that makes sure I'm awake. Ms. Kate didn't do any better. I went to bed around 1100 hrs and went to sleep right away. I knew she was going to go play her Klondike game for awhile before bed because that is what she does. But, I woke at 0200 and the light was still on in her office. She had started working on some greeting cards that she wanted to get done and was still at it. I told her it was time to get to bed an she did. Then my alarm went off at 0530 and I got up. She got up around 0900 so I imagine that we will both have a case of the droopy eyelids before long. In fact, mine are already wanting to close.

Julie is on her way to Cleveland, OH for a conference so I ask God for safe passage for her. It is an almost six hour drive but if she flew, it would be a ten hour flight with plane changes etc. So, she has elected to drive. I don't blame her one bit, except that Ohio is one of those states that I hate to drive through. There is always so much road construction that it seems to take forever to get anywhere.

That is my tamale for today. I hope you have a great day. Peace.

Happy Monday. Welcome to another week of opportunities to be of service to God and mankind. I pray it is going to be a great week for all of you. I know my week is packed with activities and things I need to get done. But, for the moment, I 'm sitting here watching my birds and enjoying my cup of coffee.

The Lord sent about three inches of blessed rain last night and it is still cloudy this morning. The radar shows that the rain has pretty well passed us although I can still hear the thunder in the southern sky. Unfortunately, it appears that the rain will miss our farm ground over in southern Illinois. My cousin had to replant the corn on it this spring because it got flooded out and now we can't buy a rain cloud. Tis the life of a farmer. But, the farmers in the parish should be happy. As I expected, yesterday a couple of them said I wasn't doing a very good job of getting rain in here. And as usual, I reminded them I'm in sales --- not production. Yeh, it's an old, old preacher's joke.

I filled all of the birdfeeders yesterday so all winged and furry critters should be happy this morning. I know at least one squirrel is because it has been out there eating for a good long time this morning. The rest of the feeders have birds coming in and out. The cardinal group will be in here in about fifteen minutes. I can pretty well time their arrival every day. The robins are happy because the worms have come to the surface. They are hopping all over the yard snatching up breakfast. A friend of mine sent me a posting on my Facebook page about a new hummingbird feeder that is called a Hummerbar. It hangs horizontally, is two feet long and has a dozen or so ports in it spaced just far enough apart for plenty of birds. I have ordered one now and look forward to getting it and putting it up. We only have one or two hummers again this year but maybe this will bring more. Plus, I just planted a new butterfly bush and they really like those. We'll see what we see. I have talked to several people that say their hummer population has decreased this year. But, thank you to Jean Des Rocher for the heads up about the Hummerbar.

The phlox is just starting to bloom here in the flowerbeds. Now that I cleaned the bed out, it can get more nourishment. The hummingbirds really like tha phlox too and it stays blooming a long time.

The neighborhood was noisy first thing this morning as the next door neighbor had a large tree taken out. Well, I haven't gone out to see if they took it all the way down or not or just had it trimmed. It was an elm tree and had a lot of issues; so I hope they took it out.

Tomorrow morning I need to be at the hospital around 0630 because one of my parishioners is having knee replacement surgery. That will be an awfully early morning for this guy who likes to go to bed late and then sleep late. Ms. Kate and I generally don't go to bed before 0100 and then get up between 0730 and 0830.

It has started to rain again, not hard, but the sound of the raindrops on the roof of the sunroom is sufficient to cause a fellow to close his eyes. I better get up and move or I'll be wondering how it got to be 1000 hrs. I pray you will have a great day full of peace in your soul and mind. God always walks with you, so don't worry about living life alone. Shalomn.

Saturday morning, 82 degrees on the way to 93 with humidity. If you listen carefully, you can hear the corn and the tomatoes grow. We could use some rain. Some of my farmers are getting nervous and I'll bet that is the number one comment I'l hear tomorrow at church: --- "Pastor John, -- we need some rain"; like I'm any closer to the source than they are. LOL

Yes, I missed writing to you yesterday. Ms. Kate and I took a day trip yesterday. We began the morning with taking Ms. Kate for her monthly blood work, then we went to her sister's house and picked up a rose to take to Julie's house. We had a rug that had been here in the sunporch and we took it out and put in a new one a few weeks ago. I had asked Julie if she wanted it for her patio and she did. So, I rolled it up and we took it to her place which is 120 miles from here. I have also been hungry for some Habachi food so wwe went to an excellent place in Julie's area for a great lunch. So, we planted her new rose, carried in her rug, went to eat, then to Lowe's for Ms. Kate to buy a couple of plants for our flowerbed; --- and the headed home. We got home, planted our new plants and took a nap! The day was full enough.

The backyard has gone from really pretty to looking a bit bedraggled. We still have some lilies blooming but their season is about done. The hydrangeas are holding their own but that is about it. With the heat, everything just looks a bit sad. I'm going to go out and spray some weed killer on some poison oak I saw yesterday and I need to fill bird feeders again today as well as the birdbaths. Between the splashing caused by the birds bathing and the evaporatin caused by the heat, filling those bird baths is a daily event. So far the front yard flowerbeds are looking pretty good. Again, we only have lilies blooming but they are hanging in there pretty well. I could mow today although I really could let it go this week. And, since we are in an ozone alert day --- I think I'll just not add to the ozone with my mower even though I did get my new JD back from the dealer.

I had some bread that had gone stale here in the kitchen so I threw it out in the yard for the birds. So far the blackbirds have pecked at it a few times and a couple of finches have tried it but they don't appear to be terribly interested. They are still trying to get the last bits of stuff out of the bark butter feeders. They are indeed spoiled. I still need to go get some more sunflower seed. It is at a good price now too. Pet Food Store had 40# bags for $14.95 the other day. I would have picked a couple up but the back of the Caddy was already full. I can tell I'm getting older because a 40# bag is a lot easier to handle than a 50# bag these days. Or maybe --- I'm just getting lazy.

That's it for this Saturday morning. I pray your weekend will be most excellent. I certainly plan for mine to be. My next week will be a busy one culminating in the 4th of July! So, if you can think of nothing else to be thankful for this morning --- give God thanks that you live in a free country and give God thanks for all of the people that have sacrificed to keep it that way. Peace.

It is already hot today, but there is a stiff wind blowing. The heat index is supposed to reach 100 - 105 by afternoon. There is a heat advisory in effect until evening which means stay out of it unless you have to be out in it. We are also once again told to expect the possibility for a severe storm. So, welcome to a Thursday summer morning in southern Indiana.

I went out first thing this morning and I filled the bark butter feeders. I just ran out of time yesterday to get it done. But, there are very few birds out there this morning. I suspect they may be siting up in leaf protected shade due to the heat. I heard a Pilated woodpecker in the area first thing this morning which is why I hurried up and filled those feeders. But it hasn't come around. So far all I have seen is a couple of cardinals and three or four finches, and one downy woodpecker who seemed quite satisfied that I had filled his favorite feeder. He landed on it as I was walking away from it. Of course the starlings will be here before you know it. They are a bunch of greedy gobblers on the bark butter.

Ms. Kate's nephew, Kevin, came by last evening and we went over the trip he has planned to go on with his girlfriend. They are leaving sometime today and they are terribly disorganized about it all. But, we laid out a route for them that will take them to the Badlands, the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons and back down and to Oklahoma City and then home. We've done that route several times and will travel vicariously with them.

I'm supposed to get my John Deere back today from the dealer. I need to get out there in the garage and make some storage room some place for the new snow blade and its attachments before they get here. In the last couple of years we have just used the garage as a catch all for boxes of inherited stuff from relatives that passed away. The place is a disorganized mess and I keep putting it off hoping a garage cleaning fairy might come along and feel sorry for me and make it all disappear. But it appears I'm left to do it myself. Poop! We keep saying "we're going to have to go through all of that", but never do. Many of the boxes contain loose pictures from the family. They are poor quality at best and frankly, no body really wants them but it seems a shame to throw one's family history away. So they sit in boxes through another generation when really nobody cares and they get tossed in a dumpster.  Ms. Kate is a scrap booker and has created lots of beautiful albums of our trips and family, and my entire military career. But in this digital photography age, even that hobby has died out to a great extent and people just store their picture "on the cloud". I'm glad we won't know what is going to happen to all of Ms. Kate's beautiful hours and days of work. But --- I have no doubt that some day --- they too will become of no value to anybody.

Ms. Kate just fixed my breakfast for me so I'm dropping off and going to enjoy that before I get busy. Have a great day. Stay in a cool place if possible, and thank God for a beautiful day.  Peace.

Wednesday has come around once again and I'm very glad. I think it would totally suck if the world ended on a Tueday. It would just leave everything so incomplete wouldn't it??

It is already 84 degrees this morning and going to 95 today. For the third day in a row we have been told to expect the possibility of severe thunderstorms but so far the only water we have seen came out of my garden hose as I filled the bird baths up again and watered the garden. If it doesn't rain today I really need to water again because the weatherman has now said our weather "will improve" and the rain will be holding off for a few days.

I can tell this weather and heat has affected the critters. The birds tend to sit with their wings partly flared to allow for air and cooling, and they sit with their beaks partly open. The robins, cardinals, blackbirds, and a few finches are all vying for time in the birdbaths too. So, ---  I need to keep those full. The squirrels walk differently in the grass too. They seem to be walking more "bow-legged" as if to keep their bellies up and out of the grass. And they spend a lot of time just drapped over a limb. I guess today I will fill the bark butter feeders up again and pull some of the seed cakes out of the refrigerator and fill some of those feeders too. While I'm at it I might as well top off the rest of the feeders too.

But, first, my day is full because it is Wednesday and we all know that means going to the churches and running the bulletins, going to the nursing homes, and then I have a pre-marriage counseling session this evening for a wedding I'm doing on the 2nd of July.  Then, this evening my nephew is coming over to talk to Ms, Kate and I about their trip "out west". They are leaving tomorrow morning and will be gone for two week. They know we've done the "out west" traveling many times and now we are planning their trip for them. With two weeks, --- they can see and do the Black Hills, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons fairly well and then head on back home. I'd like to route them somehow to go through Oklahoma City too so they can go to the Muir Federal Bulding national Memorial. I believe every American should see that. It is the ultimate representation of the destruction and horror that people can do to one another because of hate and ignorance.

So, I need a second cup of coffee and then I need to get myself busy. I lift up prayers this morning for folks who are running from out of control forest fires in the western part of the nation. Many folks have already lost homes. I haven't heard of any loss of life so far and my prayer is that we don't. I also pray that your day will be full of blessings. If you have no other good thoughts today --- just know that I said a prayer for you and your peace of mind. Shalomn.

Avulsion Fracture: that's what has been diagnosed for our Ms. Lauren. I did some research on it and while it is serious, it should completely heal given time and rest. This is the result of the accident she had on her Moto-cross bike . She is now in a sling that completely immobilizes her shoulder and will be for the next four weeks. The "given time and rest" part will be the hardest part for Lauren. We all know that she will be back on that bike at the very first chance. And ---  luckily, her next race isn't until late August.

I'm sitting in the waiting room at the orthopedic doctor's office waiting on Ms. Kate. She's been in there for quite a while. I thought she came in for just another shot in her hand but obviously it is more than that.

My IPad keyboard has been giving me fits. I planned to write this while she was in the doctor's office, but my keyboard quit. I have no idea why but now it is working again and I just saw Ms. Kate come out of the office. So, I'll finish this when I get back home. Now I need to take Ms. Kate to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then to Fresh Market for some groceries.

That was a nice break. We did go to Cracker Barrel. I was in the mood for pancakes  and I love their peach-covered pancakes. Ms. Kate had their meatloaf which in my mind was a waste because she makes the best meatloaf I know of.

The blue jays and the blackbirds have been busy around here this morning. I filled up all of the bark butter feeders last evening and they are totally stripped by this afternoon. When we left the house this morning there were three or four blackbirds out there having at it. And just now there were two big blue jays finishing them off. So, they are just going to have to suck rope because I'm not going out and filling them again today. There is plenty of other food out there. I bought some different cakes for the suet feeders yesterday and was going to fill all of those up. I could easily put out eight at a time. But, when I opened the first one last night it was so soft that I could hardly even get it out of the container without spooning it out. So, I put the rest of them in the refrigerator to let them harden up before I use it. I generally buy the "non-melting" kind but I didn't pay attention that this time because it was on sale. Now I know why.

Enough for today. First, --- I absolutely must offer thanks to the Lord that Ms. Lauren wasn't hurt worse than she was. Her Go-Pro camera caught her shadow as she was thrown across those handle bars. It is a scarey sight because the next thing you see is just a shot of her wrist and hand as she lay there in the dirt motionless. Now I ask for complete healing and a healthy dose of patience to be shed her way.

Have a most blessed day!