The red bellied woodpecker was back. When the grackles took over, they disappeared. After I figured out how to discourage them, the downy woodpeckers returned. It has been several months since I last saw the larger woodpecker come to feed on my suet cakes. I could never figure out why they call this bird a red bellied woodpecker. The red markings are on its head not its belly but in back of their head. Anyway, I was thrilled to see one today and hope it comes back.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, downy woodpecker, grackles, red bellied woodpecker, suet cakes, the grackles took over for awhile
Posted in beauty, birds, local, nature, seasons, time |
I made sure the turtle made it to the other side. I almost ran over it. It was on the right side of the road. I decided to turn around after driving an hundred feet. It had walked a little further towards the center of the road. It was about a five inch long box turtle. I grabbed it and carried it safely to the other side of the road. It stood motionless for about sixty seconds, decided it was safe and disappeared into the undergrowth.
Tags: box turtle, I made sure no one ran the box turtle, turtle, turtle on the road
Posted in animals, local, nature |
We will have another burst of summer–at least for two days. I was wrong. I thought we would not have any more nights this warm but we are going to: the next two nights will be seventy and seventy-one degrees. Maybe, this will be the last two nights this warm this year. Then the temperature will plummet. By Friday, the high will be seventy and then below seventy the next day. Today and tomorrow it will hover around ninety. We need to spend part of today in a park. These days are numbered. They are not calling for any rain today.
Tags: a park, summer, the final burst of summer, warm temperatures
Posted in local, nature, seasons, time |
Praise the Lord I can feed my seven cats and four dogs. The dogs are large dogs between seventy-five and ninety pounds so it take quite a bit dog food to feed them. The cats are not as bad although we get special cat food for them: one cat needs a certain diet and we can’t feed him that and not the rest of the six cats a cheaper cat food. And that does not include the bird seed I put out and the suet cakes for the woodpeckers. It is only by grace I can do all those things. Some families who are broke or unemployed would love to have the money we spend just on our pets (and bird seed). Praise the Lord for all that.
Tags: bird feeding, bird food, birds, cat food, cats, dog food, dogs, feeding our pets and birds, four dogs, God, large dogs, our provisions are only by grace, our seven cats and four dogs, pets, praise the Lord, seven cats, suet cakes, woodpeckers
Posted in animals, birds, God, life, local, nature, pets, relationships |
It is becoming colder. I am no longer wearing tee shirts and shorts, which I do all summer. Now I am wearing long pants and undershirt and shirt. The next thing I have to put on when it gets even colder is a sweat shirt or sweater. Fall is around the corner. The leaves are starting to fall.
Tags: autumn, Autumn is coming, Fall, It is getting colder, leaves starting to fall, summer, tee shirts and shorts, the switch to long pant and shirts
Posted in local, nature, seasons, time |
“My wife is driving me crazy!” ‘Join the crew.’ my doctor said. It is amazing how the right words spoken at the right moment can validate you. And make you feel like you are not all alone. The worst thing is feeling you are going through something all alone. Or, at least, thinking you are.
Tags: my wife, the right words spoken at the right time, validate, you are not all alone
Posted in balance, local, marriage, relationships |
Give us today our daily bread. The prayer we give every day is God satisfies our daily needs. This is illustrated by one of Jesus’ parables. A farmer had a great crop and he built a gigantic store house. And Jesus came to him and called him a fool. Jesus informed him his time has come. You don’t have to stock up. He will take care of us every day. And it is a day at a time. That should be our prayer: He fulfills all our physical needs a day at a time. Each day you face.
Tags: "give us our daily bread", a day at a time, God, God satisfies, Jesus, no need to stock up, our daily prayer, parable, prayer
Posted in balance, death, God, knowledge&learning, life, mental health, money, relationships, time, wisdom |
The greatest discovery I made today was my “monster” cactus hanging from a tree outside had two buds near the ground. Its tentacles are several inches wide and over three feet long. When my wife bought the cactus months ago, it was flowering. I have been examining the gigantic cactus every day. Each day the two buds grow larger. I don’t think these flowers will be as large as the ones last spring, that were four or five inches wide and three or four inches long. And four days later I spotted two more buds, this time near the top of it just emerging. It is going to be a race to fall. And the colder weather. Let us see how many flowers will emerge before we have to bring the cactus in the house?
Tags: "monster" cactus, cactus, cactus flowers, colder weather, Fall, flowers, my wife, spring, the cactus tentacles were several feet long
Posted in beauty, flowers, local, nature, seasons, time |
The summer is on its way out. Labor Day is today. I noted the low temperature last night was seventy. That might be the highest overnight for the rest of the year. We might have to wait until 2014 to see such temperatures at night. Already the highs are dropping to the seventies and the lows overnight are going to be in the fifties. Summer officially has a few weeks to go. The colder weather is coming. How depressing.
Tags: 70 degrees, autumn, cold weather, Labor Day, overnight lows, summer, Summer is winding down, warm weather
Posted in local, nature, seasons, time |
The grackles finally stopped coming. First, I stopped putting out suet cakes and then limited the birdseed on the ground. Sometimes I would have seven or more grackles feeding on the ground at one time. They crowded out the other birds. Now I have not seen one in weeks. This summer I had a regular visitor of a indigo bunting for the first time. They are such a beautiful bird–aptly named. The downy woodpeckers are now feeding on the suet but I have yet to see a red bellied woodpecker. I am waiting to see how long it will take before they rediscover the suet cakes. I can’t remember the last one I have seen. They are such magnificent colored woodpeckers.
Tags: bird feeding, bird-watching, birds, birdseed, downy woodpeckers, grackles, indigo bunting, red bellied woodpeckers, suet cakes, summer
Posted in beauty, birds, local, nature, seasons, time |
