A New Friend

I have a new little friend.  He is a squirrel that sometimes makes his little presence known around our front yard.  I don't see him very often; but occasionally when I go outside to sit in the sunshine, I will hear him scampering through the tree above me.  One afternoon after hearing him scurry around the branches, I decided I should befriend him by leaving him little treats.  So each morning (well I really try to remember each morning, but some days I do forget) I place 6 unsalted peanuts in various spots amongst the branches of his tree.   He found them in short order, and they were all gone without even one little shell left behind.  I think at first he must have thought it very unusual to find peanuts growing from a maple tree, and so he took them all home to add to his winter stash.  But now, he sees that those peanuts just keep appearing, and sometimes I see a couple of empty peanut shells on the grass where he has decided it will be okay just to taste one before he takes the rest home.  He will not allow me to take a photo of him just yet, but maybe some day.  I need to give him a name, any suggestions?

Glory in the Morning

Outside my front door, I have two built-in planters that I like to fill with zinnias.  And tucked in with the zinnias, I really like to have some morning glories growing.  They are usually volunteers, but over the years, I encourage them to "volunteer".  They just seem to fill in any blank spots, and besides that, I am simply fascinated by morning glories.  A delicate flower, blooming profusely in the morning, yet when the sun gets a little hot for them, they close up tight until the next morning. 

This morning I thought they were so lovely that I had to take a few pictures.  I love the way it appears that a bright light is shining right through the center of the flower, even though the picture was taken in the shade.  God's glory can certainly be found anywhere we look.

Enjoying the View

It is hard to imagine that August 5th is already upon us!  My oh my what has happened to the summer?  In light of this realization, I have decided that for the remainder of this month, I need to make a few "lazy days (i.e. moments) of summer" happen since they obviously don't just happen by themselves.  So recently I took some time in the afternoon, and stretched out on my outdoor swing for a bit.  Here is the view I had, and I think it is a most excellent view to say the least.

April Showers

Enjoying a morning cup of tea while sitting in the sunshine coming through my kitchen window is one of my favorite things.  Throughout the winter we don't get much morning sunshine; however, with the arrival of spring the sun decides to start gracing us with its appearance now and then.  On Sunday morning, I was able to enjoy it while also enjoying my new cute flower pot:

Oh Monday, there was no sun to be had.  We woke up to heavy snowfall and it was actually sticking to the ground.  This picture was taken after the first bout of snow had melted, the sun shone for a while, then the rain came which changed to hail, followed by thunder, and then more snow.  April weather at its finest.

Sweet Signs of Spring

The official day of spring is just around the corner; however, I've been noticing several signs of the upcoming and long anticipated for new season.  The birds are singing so cheerfully, patches of snow are getting smaller and smaller, the neighborhood sledding hill is now bare, I actually spotted my first fat robin, and the crocus have begun to bloom. 

Sunshine and Singing Birds

This morning big snowflakes were falling for a while.  Following that little bit of inclement weather, the sun came out and has been shining ever since.  I poked my head outside in order to shake my red kitchen rugs; and although the temperature is a bit chilly, the birds were singing so joyfully.  It did my heart good to hear them and to just stand in the sunshine for a moment.  God is very good.  I am quite certain a long walk in the sunshine is in store for me today.

The Arrival of Winter

Even though the official start of winter is still a month away, it has definitely arrived in north Idaho.  It began snowing yesterday morning; but didn't begin accumulating too much until last night.  This morning we woke up to six inches of fresh powder :-)  

I know everyone doesn't necessarily share my love for the white stuff, but I love winter.  And to have it begin before Thanksgiving makes it even better.

Trying to Hold On

We have been blessed with a very nice fall here in northern Idaho.  The leaves have been beautiful, unlike last year when we had a very sudden hard freeze that actually just killed all of the leaves without letting them ever turn into their beautiful autumn shades.  In the past couple of days most of the leaves have now fallen to the ground; but I noticed on one of my maple trees, a couple of remaining green leaves refusing to accept the idea that fall is indeed here, and winter just around the corner.  I've never noticed such a rebellious trend in this maple tree before.  But it kind of parallels people in that sometimes they think they know better than God, and can control an outcome outside of Him.  God has His own plan though, and try as they might, these leaves aren't going to stay green.  They will eventually turn, and fall off of the tree.  But that is all the better for the tree in the long run.  Next year it will be even stronger and taller than it was this year.

Hummingbirds

I'm so happy -- my little hummingbirds have returned for another season.  My neighbor has informed me that they have already been visiting her.  So yesterday I thoroughly cleaned out my feeders and mixed up a batch of my special hummingbird food.  Now I will just wait patiently for them to grace me with their delightful presence.

A Beautiful Sight

This morning I woke up to this beautiful sight. I just love the snow.

My daughter has been working on making snowballs this morning. She said she was getting ready "just in case".

California Poppies

I love flowers; and because of this, I have quite a few flower beds around my house. As each type of flower blooms, I never fail to enjoy its beauty. My flowers never get tiresome to me, and even though it takes so much work to keep them beautiful, it is entirely worth it. When God created flowers in so many different varieties, He obviously knew what a delight they would be to me.

This week I thought I would share my California Poppies with you. They are so delicate, and never last if I pick them for a bouquet to bring inside the house. Thus I enjoy them outside. And they are wonderful because they simply reseed themselves year after year. This means they come up in a new spot each year; but to me that is just part of the fun of gardening.

Ice Crystals

God's creations are so magnificent. Even little tiny ice crystals are amazingly detailed. This is a picture taken of the place a hood ornament is supposed to go on my daughters' car. I hope you can see the details. They are amazing.


(And as a side note, just in case someone thinks I made a mistake with my apostrophe above, I do have two daughters that share this car.)