A good day

Red Amaryllis

UGH. . .I had such a good day. . .well, actually a couple of good days, but today was particularly nice.
I love spring, it always puts me in a good mood. Which of course is mainly due to all my new baby plants popping up through the soil and the old friends who're putting on new growth. It's good to see everyone after the winter.


Got a few new plants from different places. It's always entertaining to go to the garden department (at any store), but it's even more so when you realize that EVERYBODY ELSE has the same idea! Lol. . .spring fever.

Pineapple Sage

Lavender, Kitty, and Bromeliad

Bird feeder  from Russ and Lana

Anyways, took a few pics of my plants and yard to share. . .The Pineapple Sage is so cool. It actually smells like pineapple when you rub the leaves! The lavender I picked up at Wal-Mart the other day, and the kitty is actually a watering can that my brother Russ and his wife Lana sent me for Christmas (which consequently did not arrive until March!). They also sent me the adorable little bird feeder which the sparrows and warblers adore!

Leya, my niece!

They think that I really needed gifts for Christmas, but they got me the best one when they had little Leya back in September! Isn't she adorable! :)

The next section includes pics of my adventure with my parents on our trip to Lake Panasoffkee to pick up some new Murcott trees for dad's grove.

UH, YUM!! :)

We first went to The Speckled Butterbean in Webster, which is located on the grounds of the flea market there. GOOD FOOD, if you like homegrown southern style.


 

Then, we wandered (because it was twelve o'clock and we weren't due at the nursery until 1:30p). I love wandering with mom. We always have the best adventures. Dad on the other hand, he has a hard time not having a particular destination in mind. Drives him crazy! :)

We still ended up getting to the nursery early, but they were more than willing to accommodate us (and do what southerners do best, trade stories). So, while he did that, mom and I sat in the car. . .and waited. We get in so much trouble when you leave us alone like that!

Fox Squirrel

Anyways, on the way back home I managed to catch this shot of a fox squirrel and one of the Phlox that line the highway (mom's request).

Phlox along the road

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

Praise the Lord! Psalm 150:6

Holy Week Prayer Stations

So I haven't taken any pictures. I know. . .you're saying, then why would I bother to read this. . .blogs are all about the pictures you share!
Well tough cookies. . .I don't have any. . .
Anyways, I've been having a good couple of days. . .had Youth Sunday this past weekend. . .that was fun, but a lot of work. The kids always pull through and do a great job, which just amps up their good exposure to the church congregation. . .

Bags of sin at the cross

Holy Week is coming up, and we've decided to do prayer stations again this year. . .now there's where I could throw you a bone and put some pictures in. . .however, they're old, taken about four years ago. . .but, I'll allow them.

Holy Communion

Prayer Braids

Caring for our community

Good Graffiti

 So here's how they work. . .
we set up the Fellowship Hall, a Sunday School classroom, the chapel, and the sanctuary with different interactive stations. Each participant carries along a booklet that tell them about each station. This includes scripture, a brief devotional, instructions on the station activity, and a prayer. Participants slowly move from station to station, taking as much time as they'd like. The stations in the Fellowship Hall are all pretty generic and touch mainly on personal prayer and faith. The stations after that all follow the Life and Death and Resurrection of Christ. Hence the name "journey through Holy Week". Included among these are a foot-washing station and the Last Supper, or Holy Communion.

Danny, Richard, and I spend a month ahead of time coming up with station ideas, putting together the booklet, and making sure we have enough supplies (mainly white candles). Then the Tuesday before we spend about eight hours getting everything put together and set up. . .lots of fun.
Well, that's the main thing on my plate. . .beside two Sunday's of worship and then four services during Holy Week. Lol.

Developments

Ok. . .I can officially let the word out. . .I went for a job interview today.
I didn't get the job. I had already decided that I wasn't going to take it, even if it had been offered to me.
I have a feeling that it would have been. Oh well.

It was for a digital media specialist at Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa, FL. That's right, Tampa, which is according to my calculations 1 1/2 hours from my house.

You ask, what's the big deal, move to Tampa, or even Lakeland (which is the in between city).
Put it simply, I don't want to. I don't want to move further away from my family, I don't want to move out of my house. Well really my yard. Just the thought of leaving my yard and all my plants slightly breaks my heart.
And I know it's fully possible for me to move to somewhere else and have a yard full of other new plants. . .I didn't say that all of my reasoning was rational! :)
My more rational reasons are that I don't feel like I can move too far away from my mom and her situation, both health and business wise. 

But anyways. . .mom and I drove down to scope out the location and how to get there this past Saturday.  In the process of spending all the extra gas and miles on the car, we also decided to make a day of it and head down to Ft. Desoto park in St. Petersburg.


Mom checking out the museum

Ibis bathing in the freshwater well

We've always loved that park. Mom and Dad used to take us there camping during the summer. It's also a great place to see migrating and shore birds.

We stopped at a new little museum that they've built to mimic an army barrack from the turn of the century, first.  It had a ton of information (almost too much), but it was still very interesting. Outside the museum there was a little fresh water well which had attracted all kinds of birds.

Shoreline plants

Mom "tilting"

Willet in the surf

We then made our way down to the fishing pier. This is where I captured shots of the shore life, including sea oats and all kinds of birds.
The Willet picture is one of my favorites, and it's a total accident. Well an accident in the sense of I was holding the camera and taking pictures the way that you do when you can barely see because it's so bright out. Well, anyways, I loved it once I saw it.

We also checked out a few hiking areas, although mom really couldn't go onto any of the trails, we still took the time to look for birds.

Saw a few interesting warblers, but mainly it was just a very beautiful day to be outside!

Lots to make up for. . .

Ugh. . .so sorry it has taken this long for me to sit down and write something. It hasn’t even been that busy around here. I just haven’t had the oomph to write anything. 

Not to say that I haven’t been doing anything. 

There was the Pancake dinner three weeks ago. Then there was the Ash Wednesday Service two weeks ago. Then mom, Julie, and I attended a festival the Saturday after that. Add that all up and throw in the bi-annual Rummage Sale at church and you get a general idea of why I haven’t felt much like writing.

So, here’s some pics.

 Btw, the festival we went to was the Great Southern Cracker Roadshow and was sponsored by the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway. There were eco-tourism hikes and boat rides during the morning hours, and then the festival followed at the Pioneer Arts Settlement in Barberville, FL. All in all, it was a lot of fun!

Oakland Nature Preserve

Yesterday was one of those "it's so beautiful you can't stay inside" kind of days. So. . .mom and I got ourselves a lunch from Subway and made our way to Oakland Nature Preserve. 

 Here's some pics I took along our trip down the boardwalk through the wetlands. 

 

There's a bird feeder area before you get to the boardwalk, and this is where the Painted Buntings and Cardinals like to hang out. It's almost a guarantee during the winter months to be able to spot something interesting here.

 

Mom taught me a long time ago how to make the "psh psh shhh" noise that always seems to intrigue birds. Little guys like this warbler/vireo fly in closer to get a look to see what type of bird is making the noise.

 

The Maple Trees have been all confused this winter, so in the midst of dropping their fall leaves they're now blooming and dropping their seed winglets as well.

Little Carolina Anoles could be seen along the boardwalk peeping over the rails or hanging out on the fencing.

 

Mom's wheelchair includes the "tilt" feature which allows her to lean back and relieve pressure. We've sort of started a new tradition of taking "tilting" pictures in different locations. 

 These shots come from down at the lake pavilion. 

The park is located on the wetland and shore area 

of Lake Apopka. 

We were on our way back to the van when I heard this Red Tail Hawk screaming in annoyance. 

Watching as he took off from his perch I realized that he/she was annoyed by the Bald Eagle that was sitting in a nearby tree. As I began taking pictures of said Eagle, some people walked down the boardwalk. 

I pointed out the Eagle and the fact that the hawk was trying to scare off the larger bird. That was when they informed me that the Eagle was very likely the same bird that they had just released in the parking lot. And. . .the guy I was actually talking to turned out to be the director of the Florida Audubon Society. Pretty cool. 

Especially since neither him nor the lady who was with him managed to capture a photo of the bird. So, I emailed them mine. Anyways, here's the article on the Eagle. She was injured back in October, and became the 439th bird to be rehabilitated and released by the 

Audubon Birds of Prey Center.

Snapshots of an early spring

Figured I'd post a few pictures here. 

As we all know, it's been unseasonably warm here. 

So all the plants think that it's the right time 

for them to start bursting forth. 

Azaleas are confused

The azaleas in one part of the yard are blooming. 

The azaleas in my yard however, they're still waiting.

 

The peach trees in the side of the yard have been blooming on an off all winter. Mom says most likely they're going to die. Oh well, I'll still enjoy the blooms while I can.  

The Peach tree is all out of whack

Then there's the plethora of birds that make their way through my yard and the field across the street.

Bluebird (from a great distance)

I wish I had clearer shots.

Sharp-Shinned Hawk

 I was excited about getting the pic of the bluebird. I'd been telling my mom that they were down at my house, drawn there by the huge open field across the street. She wasn't inclined to believe me, so I had to get photographic proof. The Sharp-Shinned Hawk photo was captured because I was trying to get a clearer/better lit pic of a bluebird. 

The disturbing thing is, the hawk is most likely hanging out there in order to catch either a bluebird 

or other small bird for his lunch.

Think you're hot stuff huh?

I'll have to work on getting some shots of the woodpeckers, warblers, squirrels, and rabbits that make their home in my yard. For now, enjoy this pic of one of my yard dwelling green anoles.

The owl is a painting I did on a patio stone, and it's sitting on the "tongue" of my trailer. Brave, brave little lizard!

 

Ashes

Ash Wednesday graphic by ME

Well, it's February 1st. That means that Ash Wednesday is not that far away.
That's right folks, Christmas may have only been a few weeks ago, but for those of us who work for the church it's full speed ahead into LENT!

Which means I, as the only person brave enough (you can come up with your own additional adjectives) have to get on with making more ashes for Ash Wednesday.

Palm Ashes

Now usually a church will just purchase ashes from a reputable source like Cokesbury or the Christian Bookstore. These ashes were supposedly made by burning the palm fronds from last years Palm Sunday celebrations. It's supposed to represent the circle that we make each year and to remind us of our own human frailties. Which is all fine and good.

But we don't purchase our ashes each year. Instead I take it upon myself to acquire them the old fashioned way. By burning things!

I wanted to show you a picture here of the actual fire, but I thought it might be better to keep my mind occupied with making sure the flames didn't get out of hand. So instead picture in your mind me sitting outside in front of an aluminum foil pan filled with. . .dried palm fronds? Nope.

I found this out a couple of years ago.  You have to think way ahead of the game in order to have palm fronds that are dried out enough to burn. That's part of the wonder of most palms. They don't burn really well. Unless they are extremely dead. Plus, when it comes to grinding them up and making them into ash, you have to have A LOT of burnt up palm fronds. You might be asking yourself, "why doesn't she just use the palm fronds from worship each year? Or the palm crosses that everyone seems to have?"

This is because
 1. We only use a few palm fronds in worship each year.
 2. The palm crosses don't burn.
       They must coat them with something.

So last year I was desperate because I'd forgotten that I needed to make more ash. I searched in vain for dead palm trees around my house.

Nothing.

However, there was plenty of dead grass.

Well, there it is. The big secret is out.
I use grass for ashes each year.
Laugh all you want. It serves the purpose just fine.

Anyways, here's a few pics of the process after the fire.

Details of process
After burning the grass (very carefully, and do not leave fire unattended) in the foil pan, I let the ashes cool. Then I scoop them with a plastic spoon into my mortar bowl. We had these in the church resource room left over from one of our Vacation Bible Schools. With the pestle (quartz rock) I grind the burnt grass down into a fine powder. However, because the grass doesn't burn evenly (nothing really does unless you can burn it REALLY FAST) I still have to sift it. Scooping the ash into the sifter, I then move it around with the plastic spoon, trying to get as much of the fine ash into my specialized plastic ziploc bag. Fancy, right?

That's pretty much it. Well, I mean besides going and washing all the ash off my hands (and face, if my nose itched!)

On Ash Wednesday at our worship service, this ash will be mixed with oil (sometimes scented with Frankincense) until it forms a black gritty gel.

Well, now you know how much fun I get to have working at a church. Is any of this part of my job description?
No. I do it because I know how and because it is for the Glory of the Lord.