Archive | July, 2016

Baby Animals in our Back Yard

11 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

Mockingbird

 

Three mocking birds are having another fiesta this morning in the elderberry bushes. One is a juvenile and the other two are adults. They eat, sing, and dive in faux aerial combat. Now I see the young one trying to get to the elderberries behind the property-line fence. The tall bushy plants are considered weeds, even though the berries may be used to make wine and for a natural remedy. When people ask if we ever harvest them, we tell them, no, we have plenty to eat, and a lot of remedies, but the birds love and need the berries for food.

A young Mockingbird goes for a clump of berries. Her beak darts and her wings flap. She darts and flaps again and again and misses every time. Finally she gives up. She will have to wait to see how her parents and the woodpeckers eat hanging upside down clinging to the berries.

I love to see baby animals learning from their parents and teaching themselves by trial and error. God made them to become exactly what He designed them to be.

Oh, wait –there’s a juvenile Cardinal. I’ve him before, learning to bathe, and to land of the bird-feeder just right. Because he’s male and in the process of turning into a red-bird, his feathers are a handsome blend of red and brown patches. He flies to the elderberry bush and starts to try for a berry when whoosh, an adult mockingbird skims over his head frightening him away.

I suppose the mockingbirds believe that the elderberry bush is their exclusive territory, and why not, they certainly do enough singing for their supper.

Though I love and appreciate the exuberant Mockingbird praise, I haven’t always done so. When we lived in an upstairs apartment in Inglewood, California I was a stay- at- home mom with our first child. With the windows open, we could hear all the sounds from outside. I have to admit I didn’t notice the birds until they started to whine like our little dog. I’m sure he whined because he needed to get out, but I never had to take my home dog for a walk because he was free to go anywhere in town and to follow us kids around all day. So Smoky suffered a lack of exercise and the Mockingbirds got a new sound, and I suffered frustration day after day and blamed the mockingbirds when I should have looked to myself for a solution.

Now, fifty years later I have learned to walk dogs and to appreciate Mockingbirds who praise the Lord all the day long. We’re especially charmed when a Mockingbird takes up a post at the tip-top of a tree or street lamp and sings so that his enthusiasm lifts him off the perch and gravity brings him back down. Now that’s the joy of the Lord!

 

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Family Treasures~Part 6

10 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

There are some family treasures that are treasures to me, but I don’t have them with me. But I would like to tell you about them.

I’ve mentioned before that my Dad worked in church work (Southern Baptist) all his working career. Looking at some of those in the “religious” field these days, you might get the idea that all pastors (my Dad was not a pastor) and church workers are rolling in the bucks. Let me tell you – it is NOT so!!

Consequently, being the farm boy he was in the beginning of his life, he would go deer hunting every season to bring his family meat to eat. We really ate well. Occasionally, Mom would go with him and they would bag two deer – we REALLY ate well those years.

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And then, when my brother, Bill, was old enough to hunt with Daddy, he would go along, and they usually bagged two deer, again. I’ve used these pictures in other musings, but they bear repeating for this posting.

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One thing I’ve failed to mention is that Daddy eventually began butchering his kill. Albuquerque is cold in the winter, so Daddy would hang the deer in the garage, skin it, then butcher it. He didn’t always do that. At first, he would take the deer to a local butcher and have it done there. But somewhere along the way, Daddy discovered that he was not getting “his” meat back. Don’t know who was getting it, but it wasn’t us. So one year he set a test – he put a straw under the tongue of the deer. And guess what? The straw wasn’t there when he went to pick up his meat. That was the last time he let anyone else butcher his meat.

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One little footnote here – if you have ever wanted to cook venison, the recipe usually calls for soaking it in milk or something else overnight before cooking. Well, let me tell you…New Mexico deer eat only the “good stuff” in the mountains – pine nuts, etc.   So there is no “gamey” taste to the venison. Mother would make roasts, steaks, and the best chili I’ve ever had, out of that venison!! After butchering, the meat was wrapped and stored in our freezer until she was ready to cook it. Yum..

I know that in previous musings I mentioned that one year Daddy bagged an elk. Those things are HUGE!! Lots of good meat for our freezer that year.

What I’ve not mentioned is that Daddy had a stuffed deer head on our dining room wall. I don’t know why – except it was always just “there” – part of the woodwork of growing up in that house. It may have been the first deer Daddy ever bagged – I’m not sure. What irritates me is that, after looking through ALL the pictures and slides from my growing up, I cannot find one single picture of that deer head!

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What’s kind of funny is that there is a deer head in every Cracker Barrel we’ve ever been in. And the one in the restaurant near our house had one that could have been hanging on our wall! Here’s a picture of it………see the “ripple” on it’s neck? That is exactly like our deer head had! (I took this picture are our Cracker Barrel!) None of the deer heads in the other Cracker Barrel’s we’ve been to has the “ripple.” This one reminds me of the one I grew up with.

So, even though I don’t have the picture of our actual deer head, this one will do. This one is an 8-point buck, just like the one at our house.   Who knows – perhaps Cracker Barrel acquired theirs from my family. Stranger things have happened.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The perfect hope for happiness. 

9 Jul

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

His Way

07-01-16 hope

No airplane flight has ever been boring for me. I hear stories and details from fellow passengers that make me think, surprise me at times but more often, they become fodder for my writing.

Here is the latest one: “Oh, I was really hoping this would be the one,” the woman seated beside me in the plane related as she sipped her coffee. “but didn’t happen. He was just another jerk. I married two of them already…don’t need another one.”

With disgust in her voice she detailed how for months and months she did all she could to find her soul mate, her partner for life, the husband to make her happy.

And each time she hoped God would send the right one. She hoped the matching website she signed up would render positive results. And to make it more urgent, she told me that, she hoped, really hoped her time clock would slow down a bit.

She wasn’t alone. King David might have been on the same search. However, His version of Christian Mingle was probably more effective as he had relationships galore. But sadly, he wasn’t the purest of them all. He was flawed, he failed, he lied, he cheated and he even murdered.

Yet…are you ready…God called him “a man after His own heart.”

How could that be! Possibly, one of those nights, like so many nights before, David drank yet another glass of sorrow and regret. As he dropped to his knees, his hope surged. But his hope was different than the woman on the plane. This is what he said:

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:3-5)

David finally got it right. He found the only hope for his happiness and meaning. What an example of a ghastly life with a glorious ending. That’s because David put his hope in God, the one who forgives, the one who provides and the one who brings our deepest desire to reality.

How about you…may I ask in whom or in what are you placing your hope these days?

Janet

Source: The perfect hope for happiness. | Janet Perez Eckles

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Through it All

8 Jul

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

Louise Gibson

 

 

 

It is easy to be pleasant
when life flows by like a song.
But the person worthwhile is one who will smile
when everything goes wrong.

 

For the test of the heart is trouble,
and it always comes with the years.
The smile that is worth the praises of earth
Is the smile that shines through the tears.

 

If you want to be happy, begin where you are.
Don’t wait for some rapture that’s future and far.
Begin to be joyous, determine to be glad.
And soon you’ll forget that you ever were sad.

 

Through it all, keep looking up.
That’s where our future lies.
Jesus bids us to come unto Him.
His peace is our ultimate prize.

 

“When they were discouraged, I smiled and that
encouraged them and lightened their spirits.”
(Job 29:24)

 

Rainbow over grass

 

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Crazy Hot Weather

7 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

The weather here in our area has been crazy hot.  Fortunately, here in the North Carolina mountains, one can escape the worst of the heat by heading to the higher elevations. Our daughter, Rebekah, has been visiting the last week and we have revisited some of our favorite cool spots. Our first escape was to Wayah Bald and the fire tower. It’s elevation is around a mile high and a nice breeze was stirring the air. I didn’t take a picture from the fire tower as we have a lot of those, but now I regret not snapping a fresh one. We did picnic at one of the concrete picnic tables tucked into the woods.

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We had planned a 4th of July picnic at another favorite, Standing Indian Campground, but we didn’t get motivated to get moving so I declared it a PJ day.  A good time was had by all. : )

The following day began with rain, but we decided to proceed with our planned visit to Standing Indian. In the mountains, it can be raining on one mountain and dry as a bone on the other. We did run into some scattered showers, but not enough to ruin our day. At 3,880 feet, Standing Indian doesn’t have the elevation of Wayah Bald, but the rain had left a cool breeze so we were quite comfortable. In fact, we had to don our lightweight jackets for a time. At Wayah, we took sandwiches but since we knew Standing Indian had a spacious pavilion, we decided to grill hot dogs. We have a battered Volcano Grill and love it. It folds up nicely and runs on your choice of three types of fuel.

On Wednesday we made a new discovery, Mud Creek Falls,  an easily accessible waterfall in Sky Valley, Georgia. We learned of it from friends but had not yet made the trip to see it. Since Rebekah was up here visiting and writing, it seemed like a good time to explore. We made a couple of wrong turns but once we found it, we realized it was very easy to get to. The falls are perfect for folks who can’t walk far,as you can view them from your car. There are also three picnic tables where you can enjoy a meal to the music of the water. Since we had breakfast out, we didn’t pack a lunch.

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On the way home, we stopped by Georgia’s Black Rock Mountain State Park. At a previous visit the ranger had told us to return at the end of June for a spectacular Rhododendron display. We must have been too late, but it was still fun to drive through the park and stop off at some overlooks.

One thing we saw at a couple of the parks was the awesome kindness of leaving a walking stick that was picked up along the way, next to a trail marker or collection box for someone else to use.

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The temps have cooled down and it’s not so crazy hot. Rebekah is working on her seventh novel while she is visiting. She has decided that five hours of “exploring” and five hours of writing is the perfect combination. I have read the first half of her new novel, which is a sequel to Jessie and I can’t wait for her to finish it.

While we were at Mud Creek Falls, my husband pointed out an incredible tree, whose roots were laced into a large boulder. Immediately these words flowed into my heart, what are you rooted into, are you rooted into me, the solid rock?  It looks like the dirt has been washed away from the roots but the tree is firmly planted on the solid rock.

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My 2016 Mid-West Trip~ Part 1

6 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

 

Day 1 (Saturday)

Because of a couple severe health issues, it’s been almost a year since my last “Museum Discovery Trip” (as I call them), and I was looking forward to this trip with great anticipation. However, after today, I’ve decided I will never fly on the weekend again. The lines were extra-long everywhere I needed to go. It took 1½ hours from the time DiVoran dropped me off at the Southwest curbside check-in, then through security, and finally to the departure gate. Now I know why the airlines suggest you arrived at the airport two hours before your flight; so you can hurry up and wait!

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Once we got in the air, it only took 20 minutes longer to fly from Orlando to New Orleans then it took me to get from curbside check-in to the departure gate. I have to admit it was a very nice flight, and the peanuts were fresh. I thought the over-water final approach to the New Orleans International Airport was going to end up with us having to swim the last mile or so. We kept getting lower and closer to the water! It reminded me of a similar feeling I have had; that of the long over-water final approach, over San Francisco Bay, to the San Francisco airport.

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Once I retrieved my suitcase, it was a very long walk from baggage claim to the rental car facility. At the Thrifty Rental Car counter I discovered my reservation had been made for a “Special Rate” (what was that?). When I got to the pickup area, the agent took one look at my reservation slip and pointed to three SUV’s and said, “Take your pick.” That was a new experience for me. I had my choice of a Jeep Renegade, a Jeep Compass or a Jeep Patriot. After a quick call to my son-in-law (a Jeep owner) for his recommendation, I chose the top-of-the-line Patriot.

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After checking out the New Orleans street map and getting Greta (my Garmin) set up and running, my first stop was to visit The National World War II Museum there in New Orleans. There was a huge amount of construction going on around the museum and it took me some time to find a parking place. I was surprised to see that the museum was made up of three large buildings (called pavilions), and the construction was for their new fourth pavilion).

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I discovered that each pavilion was filled with a variety of authentic memorabilia from each of the U.S. military services that took part in that conflict. I realized I was not going to be able to see everything in detail in the time I had left before they closed. I asked about their reduced price “Day After” ticket, but it was only good for one week, and I wouldn’t be back for two weeks. So, I hurried through each level of each pavilion. It would take hours, if not days, for a person to read all of the information displayed and viewed all of the many short movies on each level of each pavilion. I was familiar with much of the information presented in two of the three pavilions.

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The third pavilion was the one I was looking for; it had the museum’s aircraft displayed. There was a German Me-109 hanging from the ceiling of the foyer and six other nicely restored aircraft, all hanging from the ceiling of that third pavilion. There was a P-51 Mustang, a TBM Avenger, a SBD Dauntless dive bomber, a F4U Corsair, a B-25 Mitchell bomber and a B-17 Flying Fortress. I could hardly believe the strength that pavilion’s roof structure must have, to keep all six of those airplanes suspended from its ceiling.

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As it happened, just across the street from where I parked was Louisiana’s Civil War Museum. Since I’m not a Civil War Buff, and it was raining by the time I got back to my car, I elected not to take the time to go through this museum.

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My next stop was to visit the Cars of Yesteryears Museum in Metairie. I had to drive through several blocks of heavily flooded streets, and when I got to the museum it was closed for the weekend. Since it looked like it was going to continue to rain the rest of the afternoon, I decided to go on over to the motel in La Place, LA and try to dry out there.

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After I got checked in at the motel and dried out, I got dining recommendations from the desk clerk, and headed for supper at The Pier 51 Seafood Restaurant just down the road from the motel.  I had Cajun style crawfish, jumbo shrimp, and a house salad with ranch dressing. Boy was that an experience!  I had always wanted to try Cajun prepared crawfish. A local sitting next to me at the bar, with a huge tray of crayfish, graciously instructed me on how to properly peel and eat the crayfish. In my opinion, its more trouble than it’s worth. Also, the Cajun boil they use is a little too spicy for me.

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With a full tummy and a good night’s sleep tonight, I’ll be on my way to Houston, Texas first thing tomorrow morning.

—–To Be Continued—–

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America

5 Jul

A Life to Live

Melody Hendrix

“And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.”
Lee Greenwood
AMERICA

 

I am retired and enjoying life. My hobbies are my 5 grandchildren, son and daughter, and my loving husband. I am a photographer and extreme nature lover. I love spending time in my garden or in the wilderness connected to God my Creator.

Melody

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Independence Day Fireworks

4 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Chapter 32 Fireworks

Fireworks are so exciting! Because he’s a pyromaniac, Bill loves them even more than I do. We knew the father and uncle of a family who every year bought bags full of fireworks and got together to blow them up on the Fourth of July. Not long ago, Bill and I were invited to that party. The kids danced and whooped as sparks boogied around their feet. An adult brought out lawn chairs for Bill and me assuring us that we sat well out of the line of fire. Two dogs stayed in the house, and I could hear the big one barking. I knew the tea-cup poodle, who was my friend, would be shivering with fear. She’d go up against any big dog anytime, but loud noises scared her. Suddenly a feisty spark landed on my bare arm, and that was enough fireworks for me. I went into the house to comfort the poor dogs and sang to them while the outside part of the gathering lasted.

Most July Fourths we drove to whatever body of water the town elders selected to reflect their extravagances. When I was a kid, our tiny community raised the money for a grand display. The town leaders went to the other side of the reservoir and arranged the fireworks for the show. The only hitch was that, as we heard later, a match fell into the main box and then all the combustibles exploded in bursts of color and sound. Unforgettable!

I can’t omit the other sort of fireworks, though it was not on Independence Day. I experienced it when Bill got a visitor’s pass for me to go out by the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) to watch the launch of the Apollo Twelve. The team of engineers he worked with effected the separation of the first stage from the second stage on the moon-landing vehicle by installing the explosives that separated the two parts. On this launch day the orange and white exhaust-plume against the blue sky was gorgeous, but the hurrahs of the crowd and the pulsating roar of the engines that seemed to shake the entire planet under my feet and travel though my body were so meaningful and unexpected that they made me want to cry.

Because of my fear, the fireworks loving family were kind enough not to ask us back for that particular holiday. Since we don’t have kids around anymore we don’t get in the car and go to wherever the pyrotechnics are. We may watch a few on Face Book or T. V., and we hear them from the neighborhood into the early morning hours, but that’s it. It’s not that we don’t appreciate all the reasons we are still an independent country, it’s just that we have found another way to be independent no matter where we are. We do it by learning to depend on Christ Jesus, Our Father, and the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and guidance through all the joys and troubles of life. We know that dependence by many people in the past and present is the answer to the question, what has made America the greatest country in the world. “God bless America,” land that I love. May He stand beside her and guide her through the night with His light from above and within.

 

“God Bless America,” Kate Smith

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Family Treasures~Part 5

3 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

Last time, I introduced some things that were in my Aunt Jessie’s house. Since she and Granny lived so close to us, I spent a great deal of time at her house. When she died, I wished I could have just taken everything in her house and put it in mine. But then Fred said, “where would we put it?” and I had to let it all go. That’s probably the hardest part of it all – letting it go.

Jessie’s house
The stair-step divider between the dining room and the living room – Christmas candles made by Jessie
Jessie and her Geisha dol
The table top was one piece of wood

As I mentioned before, Aunt Jessie never married, and so “things” became the focus of her life.

Jessie told me this was a Duncan Phyfe drop-leaf table.
An antique display cabinet – dressed for Christmas

 

Grandpa started her on the road to loving antiques, and she never quit. She would go to estate sales around Albuquerque and pick up what she wanted. Occasionally, I would go with her on these jaunts. She furnished her house with some REALLY good antique furniture. She was, at one time, the President of the Antique Club in Albuquerque. After she died, Mother was given the name of an estate auctioneer that might be of some help to us. He came to Jessie’s house, and his gaze was going from this-to-that the entire time he was talking to us. He finally blurted out: “this is some of the best Victorian I’ve ever seen!” Jessie really knew her stuff.

 

We held the auction – and the auctioneer suggested we hold it in her house, as it was the best setting to showcase what was there, and so we did. He advertised the auction in papers in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Colorado. From what we understand, there were about 500 people who came for the auction – and they did, indeed, sell everything “down to the carpet.”

While I don’t have any of these antiques in my house now, here are some of the beautiful things Jessie had. We know they are scattered to four winds now, but we hope and pray that everyone who found something, loves and enjoys them as much as she did.

The table top was one piece of wood
Jessie told me this was a Duncan Phyfe drop-leaf table.
An antique display cabinet – dressed for Christmas
A cherry-wood china cabine
An old pump organ and an antique wind-up record player
An old pump organ and an antique wind-up record player
The dresser in Jessie’s bedroom
The dresser in Granny’s room, with an ice-cream chair
An old “Secretary” with green leather pad

 

All these “things” remind me of my Aunt Jessie, whenever I see them. They might not have been in my parent’s house, but they are still family treasures to me.

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Three questions we must ask before reaching the final destination of life. 

2 Jul

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

His Way

06-24-16 checklistTurbulence made us shake and jostle up and down and from side to side. We were about 20 minutes before landing in Orlando when the announcement came:

“Ladies and gentlemen, turbulence is too severe for us to walk down the aisle,” the flight attendant said. “We’ll go with the honor system. Please make sure your seat belt is on, bags stowed under the seat, tables are secured and your seat is in the upright position. And please look to the person beside you and make sure they have also complied.”

Look to the person beside us? Good idea. We can hold each other accountable.

“Make sure you, yourself have complied first before checking others,” the flight attendant added.

Makes sense. Before we try to correct the person beside us, we have to do a self-check first.

The check list is important as we all encounter life’s turbulence. Whether it’s slight or severe, without exception, we all approach the final destination. And being wise, sharp and alert, and recognizing our human vulnerability in situations out of our control, we prepare.

And in the preparation, fear leaves, anxiety is gone and peace soothes our heart when we answer these three questions:

  1. Are we secure in Jesus our Savior? If so, we’re guaranteed life eternal, and we prepare the attire for the journey: “As God’s chose people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)
  2. Do we have any baggage of resentment stowed away in our heart? “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)
  3. What do we hold high, above all? “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:14)

In the turbulence of our days and in the fast pace of this world, our final destination may be closer than we think…so…how would you answer these three questions?

Janet

Source: Three questions we must ask before reaching the final destination of life. | Janet Perez Eckles

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