January —Brrrr

The first day of January began with this beautiful sunrise! I love walking through the kitchen in the morning and seeing these beautiful skies. On this particular day I watched (and took pictures) minute by minute as the sun crested the horizon. So meaningful!

The majority of these days have had some really pretty sunrises. I call this the ripple effect. 

A couple days later...here was another one! I also love seeing the yellow lights glowing in my neighbors house as they were getting ready to go to school and work! (That is where my neighbor girl lives that cares for me!) She calls and looks in on me everyday. Plus, she cleans and meal preps for me. That keeps my freezer full. 

Sunday, turned out cold and snowy. We did clean down in the basement. Which was nice, she got it all vacuumed and organized.

Monday was the aftermaths of Sunday’s s now.  Sometime late Sunday night my snow removal people came and cleaned my walks and driveway. At least their happy to see it snow. LOL Tom put this thermometer on this tree many years ago. That way we could out the kitchen window and see how hot or cold it was outside! 

And of course the birds were hitting the feeders hard with the snow and cold.

I haven’t done too much this month—-which I can’t believe is half over already! Went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned and have a cavity—which I have to get filled in February. I also got a perm that same day! 

It seems I have a lot to do...just takes me much longer to get it done.  How about you? Do you feel you’ve slowed down? Or has the world sped up? 

I got a new computer, as I was using Version 7 which they no longer support or update-sad. So now I have Version 10. It is somewhat different but not too bad.  Seemed like when V-10 came out there were a lot of issues. But hoping they got all the bugs out of it by now!!

"Ms.Winter" is doing good. As always she's great company for me. She loves to play, especially with hair ties. They keep her busy for quite awhile. She loves to play fetch. I throw it and back she comes and drops it right in front of me...smart cat! 

But speaking of Ms.Winter...she is tired and looking at me—like aren’t we going to bed anytime soon? Ha! So....I guess it’s time.

Hope all is well in your little corner of the world.

Bye for now...

Birds & Answer

A bird in a cage. Do you see the chick-a-dee in the round squirrel proof feeder? Always amazies me how they squeeze through those wires and get in there!!! 

Even the big Downy woodpecker has been at the feeder. There have been several of the smaller ones there too. Maybe his sons??? Ha!

This was why they were hitting the feeders!! This is about all we got. Not much...,thank goodness! Today we woke up to ice!!! Ugggg Schools started late, which was the responsible thing to do. But our temps never got very high today, so we’ve still got ice on sidewalks etc. 

Here was my birthday cake!! One of the ladies from our Bible Study made it for me!!! She left me a couple pieces and I finished it off today for lunch. It’s was so delicious and very thoughtful of her!!! (No candles-as I would have had way too many!!) 

My daughter shared this with me Sunday night. She said, “I looked out the bedroom window before church this morning and look at the visitor we had..  I must admit I felt a sense of love, weird huh..  Like Tom was here..  Crazy...  I very rarely see a Cardinal...

My house is full of cardinals, which I will show you in another post. Their suppose to be a symbol of a loved one who has passed. So to me it’s Tom!!!

Now to the answer you’ve all been waiting for......😁 My favorite, of course was the picture!!! Love those Grand Girls!!!!!

What is your weather like in your little corner of the world?? I’d love to hear. 

Bye for now....

A New Bird at the Feeder

When I saw this bird at the feeder I had no idea exactly what it was.. So, I asked on FB, and got a reply from a friend that it was a Warbler!! Later, I found out it is a Blackpoll Warbler, as it has yellow/orange legs and feet! They should not be this far north at this time of the year. So not sure what's going on with them, as there was one here again this morning.

We've also been having some beautiful sun rises in the mornings ...and of course that means I have been up early to see them...lol. 

And when I'm looking out the window at them.. I also see this little fat guy! ~smile~ Our temperatures have been pretty nice too..  I had some appointments this week, and the first one was on a very windy day.. We had gusts up to 50 mph! So I was thankful I had a friend take me. The others on Thursday I drove, and all went well. But the high was only 34 degrees...so was a bit nippy out there! I had won a dozen donuts, so stopped and picked them up...they had done a variety of their pastries....I shared them with the ladies at our Bible Study Friday morning! Yumm...they all loved them! 

Speaking of winning! I won this first chapter of Susan Branches, soon to be published new book "Enchanted"! Trust me, you are going to want to get this one!! I am so anxious now to continue on with the book!!

Hope you're all well and are escaping some of this winter weather this weekend. It is to be south of us. So very little of any snow here.

More as it happens and God bless!!

Happy Pre Thanksgiving

My grandson came by one day and put some feeders out my office window!!! What a wonderful surprise. He is so thoughtful. Guess who found them, ha! How brave he was-he looked right at me!!! 

Here it is (before my friend Krystal moved the screen up!) Oh yes, and she washed the window too... as you can tell by the previous picture!!! I did see some chick-a-dee’s & nut hatches at the feeder yesterday. But they are flighty- they zip in and back out before I can get a picture! Ha!!

Speaking of squirrels- I saw 5 of them on the back patio tonight. I did notice a couple of them were small, must have been babies. There isn’t much to eat as we don’t put much on the ground, due to the deer☹️ 

I did spot them the other morning in the neighbors yard. But I think they still stop by to see if I’ve put anything out for them-to no avail. 

We had turtle doves all summer, but haven’t seen any for a long time. Not sure what they do in the winter. Do you know???

Well, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with love and gratitude!! We all have something to be thankful for....wheather it’s as simple as the roof over our heads to as big as our family. And remember Gods grace and love. 

Blessings to you all. 

Bye for now. 

Days Gone By

Look at my granddaughter Lacey along with her daughters Lorelai and Maggie. Don’t you just love their hats? The girls Meme made them. My daughter in love, Vicky is so gifted. At first when I saw them I thought they were store bought, then was so surprised to find out Vicky had made them !!!!

Monday Lorelai’s school had a Veterans Day program and her Meme (Vicky) went to it again this year!! Everyone is so proud of Vicky and honored to have her in our family.

And of course Lorelai had to give her Papa a big ((hug)) for being there and bringing Meme-lol

They were home this weekend, so I had a long “Mommy do’s” list for Randy. We did watch a little football in between his other commitments. Sorry to say both teams lost. ☹️🏈

Lacey sent me this picture this morning. They are donating their pine tree to the town. It’s a big deal. Every year the town puts up a tree in the center of the town. They had been on a waiting list for several

years.  I think they have a parade and a tree lighting ceremony! I will share more pictures after they light the tree !!!

I believe this is a sparrow! Even though he’s just a sparrow-he has pretty markings on him. 😊

How is your weather?? Ours is promising. It is to warm up tomorrow to a big high of  45 degrees. I hope yours is better where you live. 

Bye for now...

It’s a Rainy Day in the City

Yes, it has been raining all day. And it was cold, our high was only 43. Not sure if you can see it, but the blue house still has a chimney and I love seeing smoke float out of it!! Most houses have PVC pipe coming out the side of their house. This is just nostalgic for me😊

I know this is not a very good picture of this Blue Jay, but was kind of excited when I saw it fly in!!! And of course it flew out just as fast!!!

I told you in my last post about our first snow, it was on October 14th☹️ We only got .06, but who wants cold and snow that early -ugggg

I have had some pretty colors out my window !!! These are the neighbors trees, I have mostly Ash and they drop their leaves early. (As you can see)

I did get out and about the other day and no snow or rain - thank goodness but... I had thought about wearing this new sweater coat I had just gotten. It is so pretty in all fall colors. So as I was getting dressed I looked at the weather on my phone and it said it felt like 25 degrees.  Another ugggg. So instead I wore my coat and scarf to keep warm. But later it really was pretty nice out. I even stopped at a store and did a little shopping. That was unusual for me😁 Seemed nice though. Then I stopped at BK and got and got a $3 meal. I sat in their parking lot and ate it (while it was hot) I did get a little boo hoo thinking of the many times Tom and I did the same thing. I don’t think a person ever gets over missing a loved one. 

Well, I need to change the few clocks I have that don’t automatically do it themselves and my calendars.  Can you believe it’s November already??? Where did October go????

Bye for now. ...

Happy Halloween

I had visitors this afternoon.... She (the clown) scared me almost to death when she walked in.  I didn't even realized it was my friend/caregiver.. ha! Then I knew when her children followed her in. It is always fun when they come by, especially on Halloween!! ha! ha! I thought their costumes were amazing... 

A couple days before my twin great granddaughters came by. They were selling popcorn for a school fundraiser.. And of course grandma wanted to buy some.. This popcorn is amazing...we used to buy it at the Farmers Market, as they had a booth down there. Tom would say, lets try this one and this one..ha! It's a wonder we didn't gain a million pounds!! ~smile~

Normally whenever kids come to the door to sell their items for school I buy them, as I know what it's like to do that. It takes courage to knock on that door!! I don't remember doing this, but my girlfriend Mary, told me I sold hers along with mine, as she didn't have the nerve to try and sell them..ha ha  Did you ever do that??

Another bird....we call it a "snow bird", because it has a dark body, with a white belly..Their official name is a 'dark eyed Junco'. They too are pretty though.

Our weather has been pretty nice. I have to get out tomorrow morning. But it sounds like we're to get some rain/snow tomorrow night. I feel it's way too early for that again. I will share pictures of our first snow we had tomorrow.

Bye for now... 

How Many Firemen Does it Take??

How many firemen does it take to change a battery in a smoke detector?? Three !!! Their words, not mine!! Ha! Last Friday I heard a little chirp going off, and I thought “oh, no!!” A battery is going out in one of my smoke detectors. Then I remembered how we got them. A few years ago the news media mentioned that the fire department would come out and install them for anyone who needs them. At that time Tom wasn’t able to climb a ladder anymore to change the batteries etc. So they came and installed several around the house. So, I thought -maybe they would come back and change the batteries!! (Never know unless you try, right?) Well, the minute she answered the phone she said “absolutely”. Is it okay if they come out right now? I said, sure, as I was just watching a Hallmark movie!! smile (private joke-as I love Hallmark movies-ha!) Anyway...I thought. Oh my, I have to let my neighbors know why the fireengine would be coming to my house. I got one told but not the other...before they got here. So almost as soon as they pulled up, here comes my neighbor. Are you okay, etc ??? (I’m so blessed to have such caring neighbors!) When they left I told them, it’s kind of nice to come without having an ambulance involved, huh? They agreed, as they said they’d been here many times before. (Between Tom, Karen and myself !!!) Does your fire department offer free smoke detectors?? 

We did stop putting out feed in the pans on the ground and the deer stopped coming. Some ways it’s sad, but other ways it is saving my yard. I snapped this picture the other day as I was walking through the front room!!! I have several cardinals this year. One day I saw 3 Papa’s and a couple Mama’s. That, to me is awesome!! I’ve got lots of birds out here this year!!! I will put up pictures off and on..so you can see them! 

Here are a couple Downey woodpeckers eating away at the Birdola seed block!! Papa has the red on his head and I’m thinking it’s a baby on the other side. Soooo cooool!!!

Time to get busy and start my day! Have a blessed SONday!!n

Bye for now!!!

What To Do

A couple weeks ago after Bible Study, the ladies were excited to see the mama dear and her twins, a boy and a girl, outside on our patio. They were eating the birdseed I had out there.

The next morning, when I looked out the window I saw the yard was all tore up! Apparently it was the deer fighting, digging into the yard with their hoofes. I think they call it  roofing I’m not sure it’s the male deer, I guess. That time of the year so they say. Ugggg

The night before, my neighbor girl caught this picture of them laying out there in the same spot actually. They have become so domesticated that they don’t fear people anymore. It’s cute but dangerous too as they are still wild animals.

So, I made decision not to put birdseed out on the patio anymore. We do have plenty of hanging feeder’s for the birds, but a lot of the ground feeders really enjoyed the seed that was on the ground out there for them and, the squirrels and rabbits liked it too. But, I can’t allow them to come and dig up my yard like that.  This week when we had Bible study, one of the ladies said she didn’t care if they dug up her yard as she was still going to feed them no matter what. So I’m thinking, did I do the right thing? Or should I continue to feed them? But in the back of my mind I can just hear Tom saying “don’t feed them”!! We can’t have that yard all tore up. So I guess my question is to all of you is, would you keep feeding them so they keep coming around? Or would you just stop putting feed out on the ground where they could get to it?

How is your weather? Ours has been rainy and cool for the past couple days. We woke up to this, this morning. Not a good day to get out. The next couple of days we’re supposed to get up to like 3 inches I believe of rain. It’s not good for the farmers and they’re trying to get their crops out. But I’m hoping the rain will come to an end and it’ll dry up so that they can get in the fields. I hope none of you are in the latest hurricane that will be coming on to shore along the Florida coast line. Let’s all send good thoughts and/or prayers for them.

Bye for now ...

It's Summer...or is it? It was Spring or was it?/

Hello there.. Sorry it's been a whole month since I've put up a post. Yep, spring is gone and summer is here! Well, at least that is what the calendar says!! But I wonder sometimes. Our spring had record highs into the 100 degrees!! I'm still shocked by those days. I miss my cool spring rains and temperatures. But, here we are into summer and we've been having lower temps and rain! Actually, we're having flooding in the area....then tonight it has been pouring, with lots of lightening..sad I feel so bad for those who are evacuating their homes due to the flooding.

As you can see by my picture I've had lots of birds at my feeders this year. A couple nights ago there were 8 mourning doves out there eating. I couldn't hardly believe my eyes!! I guess they know a good place when they see it...ha! ha! I'm even getting Cardinals again. We put out some seed that they like. I always wonder....how do they know when you change the food?? God must have given the some superior senses!! 

I know it's really hard to tell, but there is one dove on the deck railing, 4 at the first feeder, 2 at the other feed and one by the wheel barrow! Eight....can you believe it??

There was even this bunny rabbit at the pan eating the seed. (I think it was eating the corn). It looks like it's hiding here. smile...

My son was playing this weekend at a couple different places.  They were both outside. This was the first one where they played around 3 or so. Then they jumped in their vehicles and headed off to the next one a few hours away..ha! It was a busy day for them. His wife went with him, they stayed overnight last night, then drove into the city this morning. It was soooo nice to see them. Randy is the lead guitarist and is on the right side in the red plaid  shit. He loves his music! One of these days I will share a video. (I just need to figure out how to do it.)

My daughter Brenda is going through some medical issues and I would really appreciate prayers for her. I just hope she'll feel the comfort and love that only our God can provide.

Thank you again for all your good thoughts coming our way and try to enjoy yourselves where ever you are on this planet that we all call home..

Bye for now...

Bunny & Birds

 I have had such a hard time catching a shot of the Orioles, but I did get this one. I haven't seen any for a few days. But as soon as they come back I'll try again!! smile..

 

The other day I looked across the street and saw these two bunny rabbits sitting in the neighbors yard. Look at them...one was looking one way and the other one was looking the other direction.. I'm wondering if they had a family somewhere in between them. I saw a show one time on how rabbits hide their babies in the ground, such as in the middle of the yard. They cover them with fur & grass. She nurses them for about 5 minutes a day, their milk is very rich and lasts them all day. It is just amazing..

Speaking of babies...our cute little wren house we bought at the Farmers Market last year is occupied this year!! Smile... I kept hearing her sing from morning till night.. The other day when I was leaving I saw her fly in and saw a little stick protruding out. I love it!!!

 

We had a bird bath for years, as time went by the top kept getting knocked off and chipped, until finally it got broke in half...sad... (Not sure if it was the turkeys or the deer!) Then I saw a way to use it as a birdfeeder. (Theresa, at The Run Around Ranch told me about doing this.) Well, I finally got someone to make it, and the storm we had blew it away... sad... I need to have someone check out back to see if they can find it.

This little Mama sits out in our yard about the same time every morning. I bet she has babies out there too... Exciting...

 

Sorry I've been among the missing, I hope to get better at posting again.

 

I'd really appreciate prayers for my SIL, she's still in the hospital.

 

Blessings....