Saying Goodbye

Heading to Cape Cod to say goodbye to a very special young man. Our son and his old platoon were bused up at the request of the family to help them honor Nick and say goodbye. It will be so very hard. I am praying for God's comfort for the family and Nick's band of brothers.

Kept

I'm not sure how this found it's way into my library, a yard sale at a Bible Conference Grouds? It is an exposition on consecration by Frances Ridley Havergal, using her hymn "Take My Life and Let It Be" but substituting kept for take. My pastor often reminds us in his sermons of keeping as guarding, safe-guarding and it is this definition that she uses. I am not through the book yet, each chapter takes a couplet of the hymn, it is my just before bed reading if I have not fallen asleep reading my before bed reading :}

The Lord Jesus does take the life that is offered to Him, and He does keep the life for Himself that is intrusted to Him; but until the life is offered we cannot know the taking, and until the life is intrusted we cannot know or understand the keeping....not for my safety, but for His glory; not for my comfort, but for His joy...Kept for Him, that in me He may show forth some tiny sparkle of His light and beauty...

Please, Mr. Wizard, I Don't Want To Be A WarriorMom Anymore!

From a great day to the depths, keeps us on our knees. Got a call from a choked up 21 year-old warrior today, that his dear friend and brother-in-arms was killed in Afghanistan yesterday. Most of the guys who were all together in Iraq last year were at an event in New York honoring a brother who was killed saving their lives last year. My warrior is in a different platoon now, different training, and was left behind and heard the news alone. Now my warrior is just my little guy who needs a hug and a kiss and a cookie to make it better, if it were only that easy. How do you help him deal with survivor guilt? How do you comfort a mom and dad who are going through an unthinkable ordeal?

Perfect Summer Day

Well, not THAT kind of summer day, but a mom-daughter shopping afternoon to reward us for a morning doctor appointment, with a side-trip to Labor and Delivery thrown in (45 minutes on the monitor) and a tray of hospital food for good measure. Mom and baby are fine, picked up some items for the nursery and "gramma" indulged, gave in to her lifelong weakness ~another coffee cup (two to be precise)...or ice cream bowl...ooo, perfect for a brownie sundae!!...ok, even soup if you must...yogurt and granola with blueberries!...

What a Guy

An amazing 25th anniversary present from my better half ~ as part of our vows 25 years ago, we each read a quote from Adam Bede by George Eliot. I've lost my part along the way, but he kept his in his wallet and bought a silver toned frame (for our silver anniversary), bought paper and vellum overlaid with hearts and printed it in a font he picked and presented it to me on our anniversary! Who knew he could be sooo amazingly thoughtful and romantic???...and we both cried.

What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to strengthen each other in all labour, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?

View from the Swamp

What a change after a month of rain, to have a few days of sunshine. The swamp is GREEN...and red, the ferns along the edge are about waist high, the grassy clumps throughout the swamp are a gorgeous shade of green, lily pads cover the water's surface except for a few lanes criss-crossing.

Seen and heard: a disgruntled Great Blue Heron, disturbed him twice, quite a racket as he flew away from me. The heron rookery is now empty, wish I had made it down last week.
Belted Kingfisher ~ two of them
Cedar Waxwing~ almost too close to me to use binoculars!
Ducks~ that shall remain nameless as they were too far down the other end for me to identify
Something I haven't been able to identify yet, a flycatcher or phoebe or vireo??~someday I'll get a camera (waterproof) and post a picture. No matter how many field guides I look through, this one baffles me.
Beaver~ just one today.
Cat Bird~ wing fluttering on the other side of an uprooted tree from me, he didn't make a peep, just the noise of his wings
Heard but not seen: Wood Thrush
Various warblers
Whoever says "wichity wichity wichity wich"

The Intimidator

What a crazy evening at the bird feeder! The "baby" Red Bellied Woodpecker has finally figured out the bird feeder. He clings unsupervised by mom or dad and stays, occasionally taking some seed, but STAYS on the feeder, much to the dismay of the Grackles!! What is most surprising to me, is that the Grackles - who chase everyone away from the feeder, fly to the feeder then veer off and just wait in nearby branches!!!

The Grackles finally leave the feeders around seven, and from 7 on what a show - bright red Cardinal, giddy yellow American Goldfinch, and the striking Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and underneath, two young Cardinals and two young Grosbeak ground feeding. Definitely need to save for a feeder cam.