Sunshine again on this Saturday morning. It was pretty nice most of the day yesterday but of course, eventually we had another storm come through. I did have time to get the front yard mowed again this week and Dan's too. I can't believe how much it grew in just a couple of days. I hope someone got the church yard mowed. I was up there Wednesday and it looked terrible, and of course it has rained everyday since. I would have mowed it myself but I could not figure out how to get that mower started. It is a rather large John Deere ZTR and I've used it before but it has been a couple of seasons ago. I did everything I knew to do but I wonder if the battery might have been almost dead. I'll have to ask one of the guys at church tomorrow. There is someone signed up to mow this week, but I was just going to try to help out. I'm not crazy about ZTR mowers. They take practice to master for sure.

Tomorrow is the last day of July and that means that I only have 120 days until I am retired. On one hand, I'm excited about retirement because it will free up Ms. Kate and I to go and do and not have to worry about being home for this or that. That scenario has been fifty years in the making. But I am really going to miss being there. By the "rules" of the denomination, Ms. Kate and I are supposed to avoid contact with the church and the parishioners for a minimum of a year so as not to interfere with the ministry of the new pastor. That will be hard on us because we truly love these folks. I hope they never get a pastor of that considers it just a job or a paycheck. They deserve much better.

But I am also excited for the churches. New blood and new leadership is good for any organization. I hope they get a pastor that loves them as much as we do and someone who will challenge them spiritually. You know, opening up the Bible and discovering the mysteries that lie within is like looking into the vastness of space. The answers to life that are in the Bible are just never ending and are so open to interpretation. I know people who tell me they have read the Bible several times over and yet, they still will read it again because something in that book will speak to them in a different way and bring new life and new meaning. In our United Church of Christ denomination we say "God is Still Speaking". And that still speaking God is exactly what I hope a new pastor for the parish will continue to introduce to the members. I believe that every day we meet God, we are meeting God for the first time because every time is a whole new experience.

I didn't mean to get into a sermon today; sometimes that just happens. I need to finish up this cup of coffee and go do a few things, the first of which is to fill my bird feeders AGAIN because these flying pigs have cleaned out everything. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Peace.

Sunshine in the morning! It has been a few days since we really saw that with any consistency. Of course there are no guarantees that this will last, although my radar app shows a clear sky. The birds seem to be celebrating it though. we have lots and lots of them out here this morning; mostly sparrows and finches, but what the heck, every bird doesn't have to be a cardinal or a wren for me to enjoy it.

Happy Friday! I know some people say TGIF, Thank God It's Friday, but it doesn't make a lot of difference to me, unless I have something special I have to do. I just give the Lord thanks that I am allowed one more day on His precious earth and hope I use it to the best of my ability.

It isn't as hot this morning temperature wise but boy is it muggy out there. And -- one can tell that it is the end of July by the drone of the cicadas. I seem to recall a horror story that I read one time and the drone of the cicadas played a central role in the story. Or, maybe I didn't read it but thought about it when I was writing some short stories several years ago. I don't know ---- but the idea just popped into my tiny mind while I was outside getting the mail.

So, it is Friday, -- my day off and what shall I do with myself today? Besides sit here and listen to Andre Reiu on my Bose that is. I do need to get the string trimmer out and walk around the yard cleaning up some areas. I also need to put some stuff on my tomatoes and I need to spray for poison ivy and poison oak again. That darned stuff just keeps coming back. The biggest problem has been that I spray it but it rains and washes it off I guess. We need a bit of a dry spell. The weatherman said last night that next week it should dry out ---- but of course that means rising temperatures again, Man --- I'm just never satisfied am I?

The Republican and Democratic Conventions are now over and now the two candidates can get on with the serious mudslinging and name calling and empty promises until Novemebr 7th. Frankly, I'm very worried about what the results of this election will bring to the country. One candidate appears to have no real clue as to any solutions to our national problems other than to call people names and bully people around. He has never held a political office of any kind, and frankly the single biggest draw to him by the people is that he is not part of the political system or part of the "politically correct" establishment that has taken over this country. The other candidate is so corrupt and above the law that she has literally gotten away with things that the average citizen would have already been sentenced to life in prison for. However, everytime a key witness is ready to testify against her --- they suddenly commit suicide or "have a fatal accident".  Neither candidate ever mentions how they are going to pay for all of the things they promise. I have to vote for somebody because it is my right and my duty as a citizen to vote, however this election gives us a choice between drinking from poison cup one or poison cup two. The people of this country need to put a lot of prayer time in before casting their ballot this year because no matter who wins this election --- it will only be with God's help that we survive their time in office. Nuff said about politics.

I have a cantaloupe in my refrigerator that I think I need to cut. I think some fresh fruit sounds good for lunch, don't you?? So, let's jump off of our techno-gadgets and get on with enjoying our Friday. I hope you have the best weekend possible. Peace.

A very good Thursday morning to you. I don't know where you are but here out my sunporch, there is no sun. It has kind of been dripping rain drops all morning; not really what I would call "raining" but I can here the water drops come and go on the roof. We have a front stalled to the south of us and it is dropping buckets of unwanted rain. One town down in Kentucky got seven and a half inches yesterday and they are getting hit again today. As of yesterday, this was the seventh wettest July on record for our area.

The hummingbird has finally discovered the new hummerbar. I'm really glad. Now it needs to tell its buddies that we can feed as many as 24 hummingbirds at a time on that thing. Wouldn't that be something to see? I don't but a couple of hummingbirds but I know people tat get a lot. When I bought mine, I bought two extra for Christmas presents.

I had several doves walking aroun the yard, a couple of robins grabbing worms, some finches, woodpeckers and a squirrel or two, out there. I also had Mr. Fuss-a-Lot, the bluejay out there. Then a stray cat showed up. Mr. Fuss-a-lot sounded the alarm and birds and squirrels went everywhere. The old cat moped on out of the yard with his cover blown. So now everybody is coming back to the buffet.

I need to finish working on the sermon that I have started for the 14th of August.  It is amazing how I get these little bursts of stuff to write and I think it is really going be good; but then I write it down , -- read it to myself, and into the trash can it goes. No wonder it takes me so long to get something done. But, I need to get on it. There is always another one to write when I finish this one.

The rain has stopped for now and the air is totally still. I went out for a couple of minutes and the air was thick and made it tough to breathe. I reckon that defines my outdoor activities for the day and so off to the basement and my office I go. I hope that you have a most blessed day, full of the glory of God. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Peace.

Birds and butterflies, and bees; it's a great combination to start off a sunny Wednesday morning. It is fairly quiet in the backyard buffet this morning despite the fact that I filled the feeders last evening. I really expected that the blackbirds and starlings would be all over the bark butter feeders this morning since I filled them last night. IIt is most likely a case of they haven't discovered them --- yet!

I was sitting out here in the sunporch a couple of nights ago around 12:30am listening to some music and despite the fact that it was pitch dark upside, I could see that one of my feeders was moving around a lot  out there in the pussy willow tree. It wasn't swaying like it would if it was windy, it was kind of jerking around. So, I turned on the outside light and there were not one, --- but two very young raccoons up in the branches of the pussy willow trying to get some sunflower seed out of a feeder. I opened up the back door and fussed at them thinking that would shoo them away. But, the one just sat there resting its little head in the crook of the tree and looked at me, while the other was slowly trying to figure out how to get out of the tree without falling. It was so cute that I was tempted to grab my camera and take a picture of it sitting there; but instead, I grabbed my BB gun and shot it. That hurried them along across the yard and out of the light. It scared them so bad that it was almost five minutes before they came back after I turned of the light. LOL. So, I turned the light back on and shooed them off again and this time they stayed away.

Yesterday was a day of running around and taking care of some business. Ms. Kate had to go to the dentist and have a tooth filled. It was the one that she had a root canal on a couple of weeks ago and they had put in a temporary filling. Yesterday she had the permanent filling put in. We were really glad that she didn't have to have a crown put on. After that, we went to Cold Stone Creamry and had "our lunch". I belong to their birthday club and had a coupon for a free ice cream with the purchase of a like size. And if you know me, --- you know that I don't waste a chance at free ice cream.
We finished our ice cream and then headed out to one of the local hospitals for a visit with one of my parishioners. She seems to be doing fairly well and really hopes to be going home today. I pray she can too.

After we came home I mowed the yards because the grass had gotten thick and tall with all of the rain that we have been having. We are supposed to have more today and tomorrow. We really do not need more rain but that certainly doen't mean we won't get it. But, --- if God could shift it out to California and drop it on some of the forest fires around Los Angeles area and I think it would be a better thing.

I've set here long enough now for the gang to come flying I. I have several cardinals, lots of finches, a couple of woodpeckers and a Robin or two. I guess someone put out the word that the buffet was in fact open for business. A breeze has picked up; I don't know if that has anything to do with them suddenly all flying in or not. But what ever the reason, I'm glad to see them and I thank God for them and the joy they bring. I think I will stop and enjoy them and drink my cup of coffee and offer my word of gratitude to God who made everything possible. Have a wonderful day.

What would we do without a day of thunder and rain and high heat and high humidity. We.ve already had one cloud burst come through and out is sun shiny and thundering. It is supposed to be this way all week long. I don't think that is a good thing at this point.

It's afternoon and I'm just getting around to writing today. I haven't accomplished much except a little office work and I'm helping Ms. Kate do the laundry. It generally doesn't take us more than two loads to get it all done but today we are adding bedding to the mix so that will be an extra load or two including the guest bedding.

Sunday was the usual busy. We had the combined parish worship service, then that was followed by a congregational meeting for the second of my two churches. Then we went home, ate some lunch while Ms. Kate whipped up some deviled eggs for the evening social at the church. We grabbed the eggs and a couple of peach pies that Ms. Kate had made and we went back to the church for a meal, some games, and an evening of fellowship; and then there was just enough time left for me to get back down to Evansville for a hospital visitation before visiting hours were over. It was a satisfactory Sunday.

I have lots of cardinals flying in and out this afternoon. Mr. Fuss-a-lot is here but he has been fairly quiet today. Last evening I was sitting out here after dark and I could see one of my bird feeder in the pussy will trees was moving around quite a bit. I knew there was no wind so I turned on the outside lights and there was Randy the raccoon working hard at a feeder. I opened the door and he quickly took off. At least I caught him before he tore something up again or stole another feeder. The stinking thing!!!

Well, I think I will sit here and listen to a little Gaither on the Bose and the rain on the roof. If that doesn't set up a nap session, I don' know what will. In the mean time,mI hope you have a wonderful afternoon.

Ms. Margaret's mowing crew is out early this morning trying to beat the heat I reckon, although it is already 81 degrees this early in the morning. I think she has a different crew this week. They appear to be a family outfit; a dad and a teenaged girl, maybe 13 years old and an teenaged boy about the same age and they are using self propelled walk behinds. Their dad is using the weed eater. I can't remember the last time I saw young kids out mowing lawns. It's actually a very refreshing sight. And, they are making quick work of Ms. Margaret's yard.

The heat wave is back on again today. Yesterday we had a spot of relief because it rained all day on and off. That kept the heat down. This heat and humidity is supposed to last through Sunday evening and then it's back to more darn rain etc. I don't think my yard has really dried out yet this summer because it rains every two or three days. I know I certainly haven't quit mowing grass yet and neither has anybody else around here.

There isn't much activity in the backyard buffet this morning. It has been very sporadic with mostly sparrows, finches and a wren or two. There are a couple of cardinals out there but they are just sitting and trying to stay cool I think. A couple of butterflies are the only constant motion today. I haven't even had a squirrel here this morning.

I need to go pick up my truck this morning. I decided to go ahead and let them fix both windows since they already had the vehicle. Then I'm going to take it to the car wash and get it cleaned up. It has been a long time since I had that done and the inside of the windshield really has a lot of whatever that film is that clouds them up. I think it is just "exhaled stale air" that collects on them. But, everytime I try to clean them I just streak them up because my arms are too short to really reach it and do a good job. I also have to go to the hardware store and get a one gallon sprayer. We have some but they have all had poison in them and I need one to mix up a batch of "Stop Rot" to spray on my tomatoes. All of this wet weather causes them to get leathery and rot at the bottom. It is a lack of calcium in the plants that does that.  You spray it directly on the plants and the calcium is absorbed through the leaves. It is good for the squash and cucumbers too.

Ms. Kate and I went to the 10:15 pm movie last night to see the new Star Trek movie. I've been a Trekkie since 1965 when the first series started. We got home around 0100 hrs. And, we didn't really get to bed any later than we normally do.

That's my Saturday. What are you going to do with yours? Hopefully you'll get time to relax and rest and take advantage of a Sunday church service somewhere and refresh your soul. C' ya' on Monday I hope. Peace.

Thunder, lightening, and rain were my alarm clock this morning. It had Ben a steady rain for the past hour but the sky is getting brighter now so perhaps we are getting to the back edge of the storm. Although my Accuweather app says rain for at least two more hours, and my Weather Channel Radar app shows a lot of green yet to pass by. Yeh, I'm a bit weather anal I guess.

The rain is light enough that it hasn't stopped the business at the buffet so far. I filled up a bunch of feeders again last evening and the birds have been swooping in and out all morning. It has been mostly small birds; finch, sparrows and downy woodpeckers. The first of the cardinal clan has just arrived and more will follow shortly, I'm quite sure. It seems the send out a scout each time to see if it is clear or not for them. Although, --  I have no idea whether they work in a community fashion or not. I do know that many times I have been filling feeders and I will hear a single Cardinal up somewhere tweeting and then will see more come in for food.

My yard looks great here out back this morning. I went ahead an took the trimmer to it and mowed it yesterday evening after the sun had dropped some. It was looking pretty shaggy and I wanted to get it cleaned up for the weekend. We are in the middle of the third heatwave for the summer and it isn't supposed to get any better until sometime Sunday evening. So, -- I decided to go ahead and get it done as the sun was setting. It didn't take that long and now I can sit back and enjoy.

One of my agenda items today is to go get my truck from the shop. Both of my automatic window switches have gone bad. I had the first one replaced and they called me this morning and said that the other one was bad too and it would be another $250.00 just to fix that one. My truck is under a recall from Dodge for something, I think it is the airbag issue, so I will take my truck to the dealer and have them look at that second door and see also if they have what they need for the recall issue. My local garage is a good shop for oil changes, tires, and that kind of thing, but I don't have the biggest confidence in them for some other stuff. I know we took our last Cadillac to them for an issue and they really hosed the job and I had all kinds of issues with that repair. But, I try to support local family businesses when I can. And, like I said, they are a good family.

"Woody" is back again this morning. That makes every day this week. I can't tell you how glad that makes me. Pilated woodpecker are rare and to have  regular is wonderful. Not, only is this one sitting here, I hear another one up in the tree --- and it just flew down as I was typing. So, I'm going to just sit here and watch them for awhile and give God thanks for an extra handful of blessings this morning. In the mean time I hope you have a wonderful day full of peace and love.