Birds and beautiful June

It's early Saturday morning, the one morning we could sleep in.  But I was awake before 5, and my brain could not be turned off, so I decided I might just as well put it to work and get this blog update done for this week.   

I don't think I mentioned last week that we got a birdhouse.  We were walking one evening and struck up a conversation with a couple who were out in their yard.  They had several birdhouses which he had made, and before I knew it we were taking up his offer to buy the one he had just made that day!  

So last Saturday one of Dick's projects was mounting it on a pole so it could be right outside our sliders where we could watch it. 

Meanwhile I did some mulching, watering, weeding, and picture-taking. 

After we came inside I decided I did not love the look of the birdhouse right outside that door.  I knew I would have to paint it. 

In the evening we went over to Anthony and Lori's for some time together outside.  Austin caught a little frog while we were there.  

As you can see, the rhododendrons were on their last leg.  I did find one that was still beautiful .  Take a look at the bottom left picture in the collage below - yes, the rocks.  The little rock that's on top of the big one is Hunter's "pet rock."  I'm serious!  He loves to carry it around, but he's not allowed to take it into the house.  So when we were ready to leave and they were going up to the house he decided to put his pet rock on top of that big one.  He said the big one was the grandpa rock and the one beside it was the grandma rock.  How precious is that??

On Sunday morning we had our Google Hangouts service with GBRV at 9:30, and then we watched Calvary's service at 11:00.  It was a joint service with Calvary and Unity Church of Jesus Christ.  It was so, so good!  When the two worship teams join it is dynamite!  Pastor Dan and Pastor Mac had a heart to heart conversation about racial reconciliation, which is always an open conversation between the two churches.  The pastors have been friends for years and the churches have done things together.  And because Anthony and Lori used to go to Unity, there are deep friendships and connections both places.  There were so many takeaways from their conversation, but two that have stuck with me all week are the scriptures that tell us to honor others above ourselves and to let our hearts be broken with the things that break the heart of God.  So many things that apply to our current events.  

That afternoon I set up shop on the front porch and painted the birdhouse.  It was such a beautiful day!  Later we went to Walmart and bought one of the last two fire pits they had.  We came home and roasted some smoked brats over our little fire. 

Dick decided to add a tray for bird food onto the front of the birdhouse, so on Monday I painted that and gave the birdhouse a second coat.  Then. while I had the paint out, I decided to paint the ugly top of our dining room table.  I always have it covered with a table cloth, but whenever we do puzzles with the kids we pull the tablecloth back and I have hated how ugly it was.  It's really, really old, like probably as old as I am (it was my mom's) so it has been used and abused!  

I get up at 6:15 most mornings to make an omelet for Dick's breakfast and help get things together for his lunch.  Eating well (less carbs, more veggies and meat) takes a lot more time!  And money!  Since it's June, the sun is usually brightly shining into the kitchen before I get there.  No sunrise pictures these days!  

On Wednesday evening Dick put the birdhouse/feeder back up on its pole.  He had decided to use a metal pole so the squirrels could not climb it.  When I showed Sam a picture of it he said that he's wondering if the bird family who will make its home there will appreciate all the visitors that will come for food right outside their front door.  Hmmm.  Hadn't thought of that!  I guess what I really wanted was a bird feeder after having seen how many birds came to Sam's.  But the guy was eager to sell us the birdhouse he had made that day (for just $15!) so now we have an Airbnb!!  It's literally in the air and it will provide both bed and breakfast!

All day Thursday there was no signs of birds, except that later in the day there was bird poop on the roof, so that was a start, haha!!  

We met another couple one evening this week.  I had decided to sit on the front porch and they were walking by and asked about my blue salvia in the front.  We ended up talking for at least half an hour or more!  We found out they are really good friends with the parents of Dick's favorite coworker!   That's one thing I have loved about this season of staying at home more - having the time to be a good neighbor.  Whenever we meet someone new I put their names in a note in my phone.

And I LOVE June!!  Look at these pictures I took one evening at 9:00 PM!!  I posted these on Instagram with the caption, "Still daylight at 9 PM!"  Miki commented, "Still daylight 24 hours a day!"  And that is true!!  How well I remember being in Sweden at this time of year.  At midnight it was dusk and by 2:00 AM full sunshine!  Not great for insomnia!

Speaking of Miki, she has sent us several of her cards recently.  She is so crafty and talented!!  

I cracked up at this one!  "Here's to laughing so hard we have tears running down our legs!"  The picture inside is SO FUN!!  

And of course I remembered all the good laughs Miki and I have had together.  How I miss her!  

Then this week we got two more cards from her!  Her artistic talent never ceases to amaze me!

Finally yesterday, as I sat at the dining room table doing some book work I saw a bird checking out the the new digs!  I was so excited and tried to take the picture without moving.  Thankfully my phone camera has a good zoom feature.  When I posted it on Facebook several people said it was an Eastern bluebird.  

 

Later there were three birds interested in the food and a fight broke out!  So fun to watch!!

But then thunderstorms rolled in and it rained most of the rest of the day, so that was the end of bird watching.  I went to the bank and grocery store, driving through crazy rain and wind at one point.  I seriously prayed that no tree or pole would fall on top of me.  On the way home the clouds were so spectacular that I decided to drive up the hill to a park to take some pictures.  

Well, I've done this without coffee - on purpose.  I'm hoping that perhaps I can go back to bed and catch a few more zzzz's.  

Have a good weekend!

Beautiful week in review

Another beautiful Saturday morning!  I feel like my weeks are so uneventful, but somehow when I sit down to do my weekly update, there are always a ton of pictures to post!  Of course, that is partly due to the fact that this is certainly the most beautiful time of the year, with daylight from 5 AM to 9 PM. I LOVE it!

After I updated here last Saturday I went over to Anthony and Lori's to get some last pictures of the rhododendrons.  Dick and Anthony has just installed the new fountain in the pond.  The old one had broken for the last time.  What a beautiful sight!

There were still lots of rhododendrons, but they were beginning to fall to the ground.  Lori and Hunter were on the swing when I got there.  After a while Hunter went with Grandpa into the woods, and I had a rare chance for a chat with Lori.  

After a while my phone rang and it was Dick.  He said that he and Hunter had gone up into the hunting shack and Hunter wanted us to look at him.  He had taken a picture of Hunter watching us!  

So Lori and I walked down to the shack.  She crawled up the ladder and I got a picture of them looking out.  Then I decided to crawl up that ladder too.  I'm not at all crazy about heights.  When I got to the top I handed my phone to Hunter so I could get a better grip on the ladder.  Before I knew it he was taking pictures of me!!  He had been having the most fun throwing out Dick's pulley rope and then pulling it back up again - over and over and over again!

Views from the top.  And going back down again.  

On Sunday Dick and I participated in our online service with GBRV, then we packed some food and hit the road for Lancaster County.  We listened to Calvary's service as we drove.  It was a spectacularly beautiful day!

Our main purpose for the trip was to take some baby boy clothes to Destiny that Dick's co-worker had given us.  She also had a graduation lawn sign that I wanted to put up.  But first, we drove by my sister Doris's place.  I had not seen her in person since early March.  They live with their son's family, and the whole family came out for an outdoor visit.  It was so fun!  i would have loved to give her a hug, but we're all still being very careful.

From there we went to take the baby clothes to Destiny and Alex.  It was so exciting to see all the adorable baby boy clothes.  Those newborn onesies are the CUTEST!!  

We had hoped to visit with Grandma Arlene at Pleasant View but were unable to reach her by phone.  Later we heard that she had been out for a walk and didn't have her phone with her.  

We stopped by Sam's place on our way home, and I had a fun visit with him and the kids in the gazebo while Dick took a snooze in the van.  

We always enjoy the views of the Susquehanna River and the trains when we go to his place.  

Dick put up the lawn sign after we got home.  I was disappointed that it just said "graduate."  So I put duct tape over it and wrote her name with a big magic marker.  

Destiny's virtual graduation was on Tuesday at 6 PM.  It was so fun to be able to watch it on our TV and to be texting with her at the same time!  There were over 450 graduates!  After the graduation address, they read off the names of each graduate and their picture or video (if they had submitted one.)  

At the end of that LONG list of names, they said, "Class of 2020, you may turn your tassle!"  And then they started showing pageful after pageful of the video clips.  I was so afraid we would miss seeing Destiny that I forgot to have my camera ready!  But we DID see her!  Later Destiny told me that Alex had gotten it with his camera, complete with her squeal when she saw herself, hahaha!

How cute is this?  Her first day of kindergarten at Manheim Christian Day School in 2006, and graduation at last!  She's been uprooted from school to school to school so many times through the years, but she did it!!  We're so proud of her!

Like I mentioned before, the weather was spectacularly beautiful most of this week.  While I am desperately missing so many things during this time of social distancing, I am thankful to have the time to sit on our porches more than I ever have before.  

Views while sitting on the side porch and the front porch.   I think of people living in the city with no view at all, and I feel overwhelmed with gratitude.

I often wish that my pictures of the mountain were not hindered by the utility pole and lines.  Recently my sister-in-law Nancy said she photoshops them out of her pictures.  I thought "Hmmmm."  I do not have photoshop, but I do have the "retouch" editing feature in Photos, so I gave it a try!  Voilá!!!  I tried it to remove a house from one of my photos, but that was not as successful, lol!

I have not planted coleus for many years, but I realized this year that I might have a good shady spot behind the side porch.  So we planted a couple of them.  I hope they get huge.  We're waiting to see if the hydrangea will bloom this year.  Nothing so far. My blue salvia are doing great, but most of them have fallen apart in the middle.  I have no idea how to prevent that.  I'll cut them off after a while and they'll come back again before the season's over. 

I gotta share this!  Destiny had an ultrasound this week.  Just when she exclaimed, "He looks just like his dad!" the baby smiled and opened his left eye like he was peeking (lower photo.) Destiny said that she and the ultrasound tech were cracking up!!

Look at the HUGE frog they caught over at Stauffer Acres this week!  I love that they are not afraid of them.  They just hold them for a while and then put them back in. 

I have been listening and reading and learning this week.  I know there are many reasons to be weary of the unrest and the back and forth accusations and opinions.  But I do long for racial understanding and reconciliation that will make a lasting difference.  Those beautiful boys in the picture above are enough reason for me to care about the future!  

For the first time ever I heard of the Tulsa Race Massacre on June 1, 1921.  I don't recall ever knowing anything about it before.  It was truly horrific!!  A former student of mine, Karen Miller-Rauch did a blog post about it, which is so very informative.  One of her references is the Tulsa Historical Society, which is great resource.  It has many old photos, some of them very hard to look at. But I think we need to be faced with the history that has contributed to the ongoing issues today. 

I'll finish today with this song I recorded last Saturday.  I had been working outside and was dirty and sweaty.  A friend texted me to ask for prayer.  I often sing my prayers.  I went to the piano to do so, and sitting there was a song I had just found in one of my old worship notebooks earlier in the week.  I decided to sing it for her.  I didn't intend to make it public because I looked such a mess, but it was just what she needed, and maybe it will minister to your heart too.  "I Need Thee/Hear My Cry"

Another beautiful week here; listening and learning

Saturday morning again, and what a beautiful one!  Dick and I were out there doing a bit of mulching and then sat on the porch for a while, taking in the beauty and enjoying the breeze.  

Our poor rose bush is beyond sad.  The picture on the left was taken on June 4th two years ago.  I took the one on the right this morning.  Dick moved it further back from the driveway this week, because we realized it made it hard for people to get out of their car door on that side without getting pricked.  So moving it probably didn't help anything.  But the leaves are so holey from bugs, I guess.  Dick has sprayed it a couple of times.  There are a few blooms on it finally, but it just looks so sad.  

Last Saturday, after I finished updating my blog, I went over to Anthony and Lori's to take pictures.  The rhododendrons had really popped and I did not want to miss them!

My first glimpse as I drove up the road. 

Every year these bushes amaze us.  It never gets old.

I sat on a bench on the patio for a while chatting with Lori and Hunter and taking in the amazing view.  

Hunter was rediscovering the toys in his sandbox. 

It was supposed to have been our annual PA sister weekend here at my house, but due to COVID restrictions, Doris and Mary Ellen had to stay home.  So after I left Anthony and Lori's I went to the arboretum to take pictures for them.  I don't know if my pictures made them feel better or worse.

What a perfectly gorgeous place!  And all for free.  We are so blessed to have it so nearby.

The fountain pool has not been refilled for some reason, so there were no people sitting on the benches like there would usually be.   I walked down the path to the boardwalk over the marsh.  Doris and Mary Ellen and I always love sitting there to chat and supposedly "solve all the problems of the world."  That would have been quite a daunting task this year for sure!

I took this picture, pretending I was showing my sisters my new "gear."

I gotta tell this story!  I wanted a new workout outfit, because the one I got last summer is so comfortable.  That one had some orange in it that looked good with my bright orange Brooks.  (I'm on my third pair of those now!  The first pair I found at Ross about six years ago for $40, and each pair since I found on Ebay for that price.  They are normally over $100.)  Anyway, back to the new workout clothes.  At Walmart I settled on an outfit that had navy blue, turquoise, and green color blocks.   I had the outfit on when I went for groceries last Friday, but my bright orange Brooks looked out of place.  After I got groceries I passed TJMaxx and realized they are now open!  I decided to stop and browse, not even thinking about shoes.  But I did look at the shoes.  After a while I noticed a pair of turquoise walking shoes!  I tried them on and they felt great!  AND they were Brooks!  I looked all around at all the other sizes, and there honestly was not one other pair like them anywhere!!  I felt like God put them there just for me, hahahahaha!!!

On Sunday morning Dick and I had our two online church services.  Dick went over to Anthony and Lori's later in the afternoon to check his trail cams, and I just relaxed on the couch with the slider open.   I couldn't believe the beautiful view!

Anthony posted this adorable picture of Hunter on a Zoom visit with Calvary's children's ministry.  He was showing them some of his toys, lol!

One evening this week I realized we had not brought in the mail, so at 9 PM I walked across the street to get it.  My heart felt overwhelmed with delight that it was still not completely dark at that hour of the evening and that it was just the beginning of June, which means we have many daylight evenings ahead!!

Another evening Dick and I went for a walk around the community, and of course I took a few pictures.   How about these bright pink flowers on a big bush up the street!!  At one point we could see the control tower at the University Park Airport!  Of course I really zoomed in to take the picture, but you can see how close we live to the airport.  We're so spoiled.  

Dick did some mowing at Anthony and Lori's on Wednesday evening and took this picture of the rhododendrons.  Probably at their height that day.  He said that yesterday, when he was there to finish the mowing, a lot of the flowers were on the ground.   Aren't they incredible?

On Thursday morning I had a hair appointment!!  I was so excited!  I washed my hair before I went, and when I got there I called to let them know.  My stylist came out to tell me that she was ready for me.  We both wore masks, and she did not blow dry my hair, which at this point is part of their restrictions.   She was impressed at the job Dick has been doing with keeping the back of my hair trimmed, hahahaha!!

So I believe my "going natural" is pretty much complete.  From longer brown in December to short white and gray in June.  I miss my longer brown hair sometimes, but I do not miss the time or the money it took to keep it that way.  

On Tuesday evening Destiny will be graduating from high school.  She would have graduated a year ago, but did not have enough credits due to moving from one school to another in the middle of the year.  So this year she has been doing online school (just as everyone else has been doing now too, lol.)  Her graduation will also be online.  She received her cap and gown by mail, and she needed to make two little videos to send in - one of her waving as they introduce her and one of her moving her tassel from one side to the other after she has "received" her diploma.  Here's the one of her waving.  How adorable is she???

Of course, this week had even more sad things going on.  I think the rioting and looting is despicable.  But I also absolutely believe that our country can no longer get away with treating black people as less worthy than whites.  There are deep-seated prejudices and hurts that are often glossed over.  I know some of you read the story this week of the white woman in Myrtle Beach who decided to try having a conversation with her appliance repairman.  The stories he told, especially of the amount of times per year he gets pulled over by a policeman in his legitimate work van, and the questions they grill him with, are beyond imagination to us.  Her story was so powerful and beautiful.  She LISTENED!!  We all need to listen and learn.  

Here's a collage of things I appreciated this week, most especially Lisa's post on Instagram which she took from another coach.   If you can't see all of this, clicking will make it bigger. 

Anthony seldom posts personal things of a political nature on his business social media accounts, but this week he stuck his neck out.  He thought how most blues music has its roots in black culture.  He has thousands of non-black subscribers and followers from all over the world, loving this genre of music.  So he posted some things about his love of this music and its roots, his black wife and children, etc, and why Black Lives Matter is important to him.  Almost immediately he had a comment from someone who said he was "virtue signaling."  But almost every other comment was deeply appreciative and affirming.   By the next day his subscriptions had reached a new high.  

And on that note, I too deeply appreciate the influence of black people on the music of the church.  So I decided to record an African American spiritual that our choir loves - Wade in the Water.  When I posted it on Facebook one of my former students commented about the memories, and I realized it is one we did at Middle School Choral Festival years ago.  No wonder I love it so much!  Too bad I had to do it all by myself!

Lord, hear our cries!