Jesus is Risen!

Couldn't have happened soon enough.
I was so wiped after Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday. I'm still not totally sure how I made it to bed on Sunday night.

Anyways, here's a few bits that I caught between Thursday and Sunday with my phone. Nothing life altering, just little things.

Filling communion cups for prayer stations

Good Friday black and crown of thorns

We had prayer stations set up on Thursday and Friday, and then had a "Tenebrae" service on Friday evening.
Saturday was actually my "free" day, although I still ended up having to take mom to the Lion's Club Easter Egg Hunt down at Lake Apopka. She had fun organizing the Special Needs egg hunt which took place in the parking lot.

Resurrection Sunday started at O Dark Thirty, meaning I got up at 5:00a to walk Toby and get ready for the Sunrise Service.  I dress the cross during Holy Week, so it gets changed from purple, to black, to white.

Sunrise was followed by the 9:00a service, Sunday School, and the 11:15a service.  Then I WAS FREE.
Oh PRAISEALLEUIA!!!!

I was so tired by this point, my whole body ached.

Went home for Easter lunch with mom and dad.  Then it was off to Lake Hickory Nut to hang out with the Branom family.

Toby goes just about everywhere with me. Therein, he got to come out to the lake with me. His current favorite thing to do is "chase lizards". So he was in pure heaven hanging out on Terril and Louise's back porch.

As long as I kept an eye on him I was able to let him have fun and spend time talking with Steve, Julie, Louise, and Jesse. Julie and I stood out on the dock and watched the shell crackers and brim get chased around by huge bass. I could just hear summer coming as the cicadas began to sing in the trees.

Oh, and I thoroughly enjoyed both Julie's grape salad and Louise's REALLY GOOD banana pudding. YUM!

A few more shots, just so you can fully understand how much I'm enjoying being free of the cold of winter and the stress of Holy Week.

I can smell spring in these shots.

Any clue what kind of spider this is?

Mom's flowers are GORGEOUS right now!

Walking Toby in SHORTS!!

Green Anoles peeking out EVERYWHERE!!

Toby, lizard hunting, AGAIN!

I've got dirt under my finger nails most days now.
Happy and Warm days to you all!!

St. Patty's Day

So first off, we spent the day before St. Patty's Day driving down to cousin Peggy's on the west coast (South of Sarasota).  It's become a tradition to get together and have corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. 

Jamie got voted to drive. I did catch a pic of mom sleeping in the back seat, lol.

She'll hate me for putting this up.

Donia (Peggy's daughter) and Peggy

Aunt Joyce, Bumpa, and Dad (who's behind Bumpa)

 The pics above are of the family gathered on the side porch. 

Mom can't get inside the trailer, 

but the weather was nice and very enjoyable. 

In other news, the amaryllis opened up, finally.

Oh, and I'm going up to visit Russ and Lana in July. I'm flying up on the 4th, hanging out with them for a few days and then joining up with the TNT youth group. They're going to be on a mission trip to Staten Island, NY.

So, I'll end with some Leya pics. The first is of her on the playground near Russ and Lana's place in Secaucus, NJ. She loves the slide!

 

She also loves to play with her mommy's phone! Leya self-portrait! 

Rainy Day Blogging

It was raining a little bit ago.
Soaking, light rain that made all of my thirsty plants shake off their dusty leaves and sigh in contentment.

Mom gave me this Amaryllis a few years ago. If you have never experienced the opening of one of these flowers, then you're truly missing out. I put hardly any effort into this plant. It gets watered just as much as anything else in my yard (which is very rarely by me. . .plants in my yard have to be able to mainly live just on rainwater). 
As you can see in this pic, the flower is coming close to opening up fully. I've shown pics of that before on my blog. It's always breathtaking. Simply beautiful. The kind of beauty that makes me stop and stare at it.

It'll probably open up fully while I'm at work. Oh well.

Other tidbits. 

Got a new bromeliad. My mother called it a housewarming present. Her logic was directed at the rental property that I just purchased. No matter, this pretty little plant will be gracing my front flower bed.  I love the gradient quality of the yellow center, green leaves, and blue pot.

 
Of even greater note, I bought myself a Lazy Boy recliner. For $150. It's brand new. With the tags.
Be jealous. . . :)

Went to another birding festival this past weekend.
Didn't see a whole lot of birds.
This osprey with his fresh fish dinner was a little ways off the trail that mom and I took.

The trail is relatively new, and wraps around the shore of Lake Apopka (which I learned on Saturday is Florida's 3rd largest lake. . .I had always been under the impression it was ranked 4th. . .hmm).

Noteables by Nancy and Jamie 
These are things that mom and I notice which most ignore.

Green Anole (in brown coloring) sunning atop a strange cocoon
of leaves. Mom spotted this one. Not sure what the cocoon was spun by. 

Branch that has partially broken off the tree on the left hand side of the pic. It is somehow supported by the Sable Palm in the middle. The tree at the far right of the picture has grown around the branch. The crazy thing is, the branch is still alive.

 The north shore of Lake Apopka used to be a prime spot for growing vegetables on what are called Muck Farms. The state purchased these farms a while back and reflooded them, with the idea being to restore the lake to its once pristine condition. I tell you all of this because the above pic is of volunteer mustard greens growing on the side of the trail.

If it hasn't been evident yet, I love nature. I love knowing about and experiencing nature. I love sharing that knowledge. I want to help others love nature just as much as I do.

 I'll end with this pic up the hill from my house.

Forgotten moments

It seems like January is the month where I have the most time to blog.
I have more time to think about blogging.

Plus, springtime is beginning to peek around the corner everywhere I look, and it's driving me crazy.

Purple salvia with my rescued poinsettias

Azaleas. . .thinking about blooming

Sweet smelling Almond tree

The dogs even feel it.

Toby keeps finding things with sap to chew on.

Chewy, thoroughly enjoying the sunshine!

Sending warm thoughts to all my friends and family further north!
Here's a sunset picture over the grove to end with.

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

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!