Good morning and a happy hot Tuesday. It’s gonna be another scorcher today. I got up early today so that I could go out and water my garden first thing before the sun started bearing down on us. My little garden will be happy. Now. We keep getting promises of rain but it either goes around us or dries up before it gets to us. Sunday several of my farmers asked me to pray for rain, as if my prayers are any better than theirs. But, I have prayed for rain. I pray that when the rain does come that it doesn’t come with a  strong storm and lay the corn over. We’ve seen that happen and when it does, the farmer loses the crop because the stalks don’t stand back up on their own. But the stalks are still growing and don’t have any ears on them yet so they aren’t as top-heavy. When I was a kid, farmers used to talk about their corn crop and would look for it to be “knee-high by 4th of July”. With today’s varieties and high yield stuff, it is only the 29th of June and the corn is already over my head. Amazing. 

I’m sitting here waiting for the guy from John Deere dealership to come and get my LT150. They said they would be here ”Tuesday morning”, without a specific time slot. I hate it when they give you “morning” or “afternoon” option because you end up sitting around, delaying other things while you wait on them. True —- they did say I could just park it out front and they would pick it up and I didn’t have to be here, but I don’t think that is a very good option. Anybody could come along and take it and I’d think the dealer picked it up. So, I’ll just stay here and wait. Besides, I want to make sure they understand exactly what I want done to it. (Yes, I know, I’m a control guy.)

I got a call from my Plastic Surgeon this morning to schedule my eye surgery. My eye lids are really sagging and it is affecting my peripheral vision and my night driving. The left one is worse than the right one but she is going too do them both. I’m having it done on the 9th of July. I was really surprised to be able to get it done that quickly, but a slot opened up at the surgery center so they grabbed it. I hope it doesn’t affect me too much because I need to be able to conduct my church service two days later. I’ll probably have some black eyes but as long as they aren’t bandaged, it will be no problem. I’ll just be glad to have it done and over with. 

This afternoon, Ms. Kate and I have some running around to do. It’s “ground chuck sale” day at Fresh market and we need to go pick some up. I also have to go by then University of Evansville Bookstore and pick up a sweatshirt that they are holding for me. And, I need to go by Pet Smart and pick up a couple of bags of Sunflower seed for my squirrels and birds. I have a $143.00 order coming in today by FEDEX from Wild Birds Unlimited that I placed yesterday. I have an expensive hobby don’t I?

Time to drop off and do a few things while I wait. I pray you will have aa wonderful day full of joy and laughter. Peace. 

 Good morning and Happy New Week. I hope your week is going to be filled with wonderful things. I hope my week is going to have a little rain attached to it. So far all we are getting is forecasts and no production. I woke up at 0500 this morning and instead of going back to sleep I should have gotten out of bed and dressed and gone out and watered the garden while it was still the cool of the day. The sun is now high and clear and the temperature is currently 84 and going up to 91. I went out and gathered a few more tomatoes awhile ago and the air was already sultry. Summer is doing it’s job.

How was your weekend? It was uneventful around our house. We had a fairly well attended church service yesterday. I can say the church was half full because most everyone sits on one side of the church. I told the congregation they were in danger of tipping the church over. I find that a fascinating little anomaly that folks will crowd in on one side while the other side gets only about a dozen people in it. Habits are habits I guess. The same thing happens at the other church with the parking lot. People have “their spot” that they park and it is in the middle of the lot so other folks have to maneuver around them to get to a place to park. But, it’s only been like that forever and it won’t change. Habits are habits. I’m just glad that people come. 

We’ve had a bad couple of weeks with out video and camera system. The last two weeks we’ve had no sound on the taping so the video was useless for broadcasting on Facebook or You Tube. The problem is actually two fold; we latch wifi at either church and have to rely on “Hot spots” on folks phones. Secondly, Jacob doesn’t have a really trained backup team. We lost yesterday simply because they had left the mute button on. We’re looking for someone to step up and volunteer for this ministry. Jacob and his family haven’t bee able to take a vacation since the beginning of COVID because he is running the camera etc. But his job takes him out of town on some Sundays. I hope at least a couple of people will step up and give him some help. I wonder if the local high-school has a program for students that teach that kind of thing. Maybe we could get a student or two to come do that for $15.00 a week. It’s a thought worth exploring anyway. I wish my grandson Jon lived here, That is right up his alley of interest.

Ms. Kate and I have a funeral visitation to attend this afternoon. It is for a member of my home church. He was really a nice guy. He has been ready to pass for a long time. He has buried two wives and all of his siblings. Life wasn’t a lot of fun for him anymore, especially since he had to move to an assisted living facility. 

Time for me to get busy. We’re doing laundry today and I need to start working on my July 11th sermon and service. Have a blessed day. Try to stay cool. Peace. 

 Hot and steamy are the best words to describe today. There is a breeze and “Lake wind advisory” in effect though to fool you into thinking it is a beautiful day. And the sky is a bit overcast. So, all-in-all, I reckon it is an okay day. 

Out west in Monmoth, CA my granddaughter Lauren is on her MX Bike and is racing again today. I wish I were there to watch her. The last time I saw her race there was the weekend several years ago when she turned Professional. She’s had a lot of races under her belt since that day and has now been picked up by a professional racing team. She is the only woman on the Kilmarten Racing Team and she keeps the guys on their toes, and they make sure they take good care of her, It is a win-win situation for her, and the money isn’t bad. On her off time, she’s apparently one heck of a motorcycle mechanic. It isn’t the life I would have chosen for her, but it isn’t my job to run her life either. I’m very proud of her dedication to her sport. 

A week ago right now, Ms. Kate and I were about two hours from getting home from our vacation. It was such a wonderful vacation and was so great to get all of the family under one roof even if it were only for a few days. Our next vacation will be in the end of August when we go to Michigan for a military unit reunion. It will be good to see some of those guys again but it doesn’t come close to the family reunion.  After that our next vacation looks like it will be in January to Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. I’m excited about that because that has been on my bucket list for several years. That will still leave us one week of use or lose vacation time so I don’t know what we will do to use that. Maybe some week we can run down to Gatlinburg by ourselves and enjoy a little mountain air. I just don’t want to lose vacation again this year. I lost four of my five weeks last year. Not that it was anyone’s fault particularly, —- there was no where to go because everything was shut down due to COVID. 

Yesterday, we dig up a few of our potatoes, picked a few tomatoes, and cut the Swiss chard and had a delicious dinner. I certainly don’t have a big garden, but what I have has done fairly well. Ms. Kate and I also went to lunch with Bod and Brenda as we had planned. That was nice. Bob seemed to be doing better than he had been for quite awhile. 

That’s all I have for you today. I hope your weekend is blessed. Peace. 

 What a lazy morning I am having. I’ve been sitting here my IPad in my lap, having my coffee, watching the birds, and yes, dozing off for short spells. The only thing that is on my agenda for the day is to meet Bob and Brenda and Andy for lunch at 1130. So, I’m just being a lazy bum this morning. Sure, there is a lot of stuff I could be doing, but I think everyone deserves a lazy bum day once in a while, don’t you? 

It looks like it could rain but it hasn’t yet. It is in the forecast but I think some of the rain that we were expecting has either dried up before it got here or it went around us somehow. I need to go out and fill the bird baths. They are getting gnarly again. I don’t know why birds insist of pooping in their bath water and then drinking it. How uncivilized! So I need to take the hose to both of them and clean them up so they have fresh water. I also have a couple of feeders that could use refilling today. 

Yesterday I brought the little JD around and put it in the garage for pick up on Tuesday morning. It is a pain in the butt to do that. I have to take a section of my fence down because the gate is too narrow for the mower to go through. That picket fence isn’t light and it is well made. I made it myself several years ago. That was a real job. But there is so much grown up in the path to get to it at the point I need to that it is just a PITA. But, I get it done when I need to. 

I think this afternoon I may need to dig my potatoes. The stalks are pretty brown and shriveling up which I think means they ready. I won’t be getting a lot but it will be fun to see how my “flower-pot potato crop” turned out. It was an experiment in resourcefulness. The potatoes we had from the store were at the point of throw them out or plant them so I bought a couple of large flower pots, put some really good potting soil in them and planted them. Yesterday I picked the first pea pod from my little micro rows and I’ve been picking tomatoes all week too. My yellow squash has three fruit on it and several blooms, the cucumbers are finally starting to take off, and the Swiss chard needs to be cut. I just saved myself a walk through the produce section, didn’t I? LOL

I finished up my 4th of July sermon yesterday and have that ready to go. I don’t know what size of a crowd to expect. It could be small because folks will be out of town or I could be surprised and everyone will stay home. Regardless, it is done. 

Okay, I gotta get out of the recliner, quit staring at the squirrels and birds and do something useful. Have yourself a wonderful Friday. I pray you will have time to relax this weekend and enjoy some family time. Don’t forget to take time to attend your house of worship. Take a friend along with yopu and share God’s love and blessings. Peace. 

 Hello there Thursday morning. It’s nice to see you come around again. Seems like it has been a week since I saw you last. 

We have another beautiful morning, (Thank you very much, Lord). However, today is going to be warmer than it has been in the last couple of days. But, it is summer after all and these last few days weather has been very rare for this time of year. We are supposed to be getting rain by this evening and then rain on and off for the next few days. The heat of the day will of course determine whether or not we have storms with the rain. We are in need of rain. We’ve been watering the garden and the potted plants that we have out on the patio. Yesterday I mixed up some |Miracle Gro solution and watered the garden plants. Things were really getting dry and some were wilting pretty badly. I’m going out and check them as soon as I finish this blog. But, I guess my tomatoes are loving this weather because they are starting to put on very nicely. I also need to pick the squash this morning. My peas have blooms on them but I haven’t seen any pods. My potatoes are looking like maybe it about time to dig them up. I think I told you that I planted some sprouting potatoes that we had around here just to see what they would do. Now it is time to check on them. 

The Pileated woodpeckers are back this morning. I can’t see them at the moment because I’m sitting at the  kitchen table, but I heard them them making their arrival announcement a few seconds ago. They always let you know when they are coming in because their song is very distinctive. So far this morning it has been mostly Bluejays, Red-Winged Blackbirds and cardinals at the Backyard Buffet. Not a bad combination. 

I need to open up the side panel on the fence and bring the big JD into the backyard and mow it. Of course, no worse than it looks, I could just take the weed eater around to the back yard and do some trimming. Then I need to take the little LT150 around to the garage and park it. It isn’t running well and I have the dealer coming to pick it up on Tuesday and take it away and fix it. It’s gaining to cast at least $350.00 to fix it but that’s still a lot cheaper than a new one. I might as well go over the front yard too while I’m at it. If it is going to rain for the next few days, I won’t get a chance to mow. I mowed it earlier this week and since it hasn’t rained, it hasn’t grown, but that’s okay. I like riding it. 

I’m half way through my 4th of July sermon. It will have to be a little shorter because that will be communion Sunday too. I’ll try to get that finished up this evening. Tomorrow, we are meeting Bob, Brenda and Andy for lunch. This is the first time we have been able to do that in months. Bob has had so very many health issues and it will be wonderful to see him out again. 

Tome to get busy my friends before it gets hot. Have yourself a pleasant day. Stop and give thanks to your Creator for another day of blessings. Peace. 

 Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. It is promising to be another gorgeous day out side. It is currently 60 degrees, little to no wind, and a basically cloudless sky. Last night the weather folks said that a few clouds will be rolling in from the northwest by this afternoon. But, no rain is predicted until late tomorrow evening. 

Yesterday was beautiful and we took full advantage of it. Two of the azealeas out front had grown out of control and we could hardly see out the kitchen or dining room windows. So, I got out the hedge trimmer and went to work on them and cut them back to window-sill level. It really made a difference and it looks great from the street and yard. There are areas s of the bushes that look a bit naked at the moment but they will leaf back out. I always say that even a bad haircut will grow out. I need to put the decorative fencing back up but that won’t take too long. The only downside to the entire project is that my wrists and hands are really sore this morning. I’ve taken Tylenol a few moments ago and hope they kick in rather quickly. 

Today is going to be another busy one for us. We really need to go to pick up some groceries, not a lot, but  some of the basics like bread and stuff. I’d like to go down to Franklin Street this morning for breakfast at a place I just heard about called the Kite and Key. I saw them advertised the other evening on a local news show that promotes small businesses. They are open for breakfast and lunch every day and looks to be a quaint little place. Any place that specializes in serving breakfast is my kind of place. I love eating breakfast out. I know that is silly because we can easily fix breakfast around here, but there is just something about it that when we do go out for a meal, I like to go somewhere that I can get breakfast all day. We also need to go to the churches today and run our bulletins and get the pulpit set up for Sunday. I think we’ll pack along a picnic lunch to sit out under the tree at the edge of the parking lot and enjoy the beautiful day. Ms. Kate and I like to do things like that, we’re old folks but we like to “be young at heart”, and having a having a picnic lunch out under a shade tree, watching the crops grow and listening to the birds is just a pleasant way to enjoy the world and each other. 

Of all the things that a person can dream about and think about, I woke up this morning thinking about astrophysics. Now this is a topic I know absolutely nothing about, so why I would be thinking about earth rotations and universe rotations and planetary alignment is beyond me. But, it did cause me to pick up my IPad and and start “googling” questions. And while I found some answers, they now mean no more to me than they would have yesterday. I think that is what they call a “brain-fart”. 

My guests are happy in the Backyard Buffet this morning. They have plenty of food, and fresh water. First thing this morning I had my two Pileated Woodpeckers back for breakfast. I didn’t see them yesterday but I did har them. Perhaps it was because I was in the front of the house and most of the feeders are out back. I’ve had my pair of Bluejays here this morning too. It has been a blessed morning while I have my coffee. 

Time for me to wrap it up and get my day started. I hope you can take the time to enjoy this beautiful day and I hope it is a beautiful day wherever you are. Regardless, if you are reading this, God has allowed you to wake up today. How about giving a shout upstairs in gratitude for that blessing. Peace. 

 The vacation that we have been planning and waiting almost patiently for has now come and gone. Was it long enough; —— probably. Did any of us want it to end; —— no. It was everything I hoped it would be, and everything that I think all of us hoped for. 21 people in a wonderful house for a week and I never heard a bit of fuss, nor did they spend time watching tv; —- they were just having a wonderful time getting reacquainted and sharing their lives swimming in the pool, and going to see a few sights together. I have no idea if we will ever be able to get everyone together again but we are already planning for the next reunion two years from now. With God’s blessings, it will happen. 

We’ve all made it home safely and that too is a blessing. Ms. Kate and I only had a seven and a half hour drive each way but some drove from New Hampshire, and others drove from North Carolina, some from Oklahoma and Julie and Jim, like us, drove from Indiana. Unfortunately, those who flew had the actual “bad trips” because of delayed flights and what now adding many hours of frustration to their travels. 

Yesterday was Father’s Day. We had a full church and it was wonderful to be back with the faith family. The blessed thing about our parish is that you can physically and mentally feel the love between the members of both churches and their love for Ms. Kate and I. I personally would love to see the two congregations meld into one congregation. However, I know that isn’t a reality, and that is okay. There is too much history wrapped up in each church, and we have two cemeteries. There are benefits to each church and there are distractions at each church and to make it all work out, —- it would take building a brand new church somewhere in between the two churches. They sit less than a mile apart, and there is no way either congregation has the money to entertain a new facility even if they had the desire. I’m just glad that they like to get together for worship for the three summer months. 

Before we went on vacation, Ms. Kate and I tackled the knockout rose bushed in the front yard and cut them back. I put all of the cutting in the truck bed, tried it down and let it set until yesterday afternoon when we took it to my nephew’s place and dumped it. Next, we gotta’ tackle the azealias out here in front. That’s going to fill up the truck again for sure. They have gotten out of control and we can hardly see out the kitchen or dining room window. 

That’s it my friends. You are caught up on my mundane life. Have a blessed new week. Peace.