Way Past Due...

Well, I did so well for so long and then***raspberry***NOTHING! I know that must have left my blog fans hanging and I do apologize for that. I was just trying to post a picture, but somehow it did not work! We have yet another duck in our home. I went out to feed the squawkers Sunday afternoon and to my delight there was a tiny black hatchling still in part of its egg. I rushed to the scene and took it into my arms. Not only is it a black duck with little black feet but it also has a yellow belly, hence the name Chicken (coward). We tend to call it Chickie. It is very cute. Meanwhile, Scooter is nearly fully grown and, yes, still inside. He will follow you around in the yard like a puppy. I don't know about that. We have some puppies that came down from the farm the other day and they did not follow us one bit. They did manage to wallow out the flower bed though.

Let me talk about something unrelated to animals. The Lord laid on my heart a CPMA program to decorate the graves of our deceased members. I arranged R/W/B/P flowers with a tag. I have yet to get them placed. It is a shame that some of these resting places may have even been forgotten and uncared for all of these years. The tags proclaim the Biblical bursting forth. Though absent from the body, these members who left behind such rich heritage are present with the Lord. Placing these flowers shows that these Christian soldiers have not been forgotten, nor has their sacrifice and testimony. We had a very moving CPMA service the other night. We may not have some of the great properties that these funds (CPMA) once went for but we do have all of these others where great men and women were laid to rest. It would be great to have some permanent markers for this endeavor.

The pictures above are Maggie (Magnificent) Roloff. She is a "little dog." She is a third the size of her siblings. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in attitude. The other picture is the table I designed for our back porch. We wanted something bigger that would not break the budget. A ready made table was not available that fit those criteria. It has been pretty uneventful around here. Just working and cleaning...I guess I should get back to it.

Weeds In The Garden...

Well, I will start by stating that after 4 weeks, Scooter is still in the house. He seems to be half grown and we still have no intentions of returning him to the others at this point. In fact there have been rumored successful house-breaking's of ducks. I will research that a little once I get off here. I finally named the other new duck that lives with his momma, Goose. Out there is Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck...GOOSE! I love it!

Enough about the ducks though. It seems that I have to pull weeds every time I turn around. Places where I just pulled weeds the next day will have more. It is kind of like a gray hair. They say don't pull them or ten will take its place. Some people should really have listened. No, I am just kidding. I do not believe the superstition. I do not pull my gray hairs because I am follicularly challenged and no matter what color, every hair counts. Where was I? Yes, weeds! No, not weed, but weeds. The way my mind jumps around I wonder about the first. I will be the first to say I never smoked marijuana. My uncles did in front of me though while they were supposed to be the responsible ones babysitting me! No wonder I am so warped. One of those uncles has really turned his life around. The other...not so much. Let's see...follicularly challenged...pot...WEEDS!

I thought it best to start a new paragraph (if blogger really breaks it up. For some reason my paragraphs never split ????) I pull weeds and pull weeds (THANKS A LOT ADAM!) . There are some I do not. Those that would risk uprooting a valuable plant I leave. I don't want to damage the good by removing the bad. In some cases I could probably get the weed out with some minor damage to the roots. I don't want to stress that plant or cause undue pain. Some things may be considered weeds but I like them and tend them tenderly as my little green children (I am crazy today). It has been said one is nearest to God when in a garden. I don't know all about that, there have been many times I have felt him closer. But there are some deep lessons that can be learned. We grow here in the Garden of God and He tends us to be the very best plant. Some perform different tasks. One thing is sure, the grass whithereth and the flower fadeth. There is but a short time, a short growing season to catch the eye of someone. Just as plants don't so much draw attention to themselves, we reflect back the mastery of the Gardener. Some plants are fussy and require much toiling and care. Others just need the right conditions. He knows our perfect placement, care instructions. He knows just where to place us on the path to be awe inspiring. Plants are at the whim of the gardener to do as he pleases. May we find ourselves in the same position of the Master Gardener.

Haunted...

Don't be fooled by my title. It is not an apparition that plagues me, it is the constant sound, "Cheep, cheep..." It is everywhere. I hear it when I am in the yard. I am at the hospital now and met an older man walking down the hall. Something about him made that screaking sound very similar to the call, cry if you will, of my precious child, Scooter. I hear that sound so much at home, it seems to be universal. A moment ago I even heard the elevator make the same sound. Cheep! Some people must be quackers (you know who you are). I guess I am just cheap! Well, this has to be a brief post. The kiosk I am at has timed out on me before when I had a wealth of wisdom typed and prepared to be an immense blessing. Did any of you ever feel that way about your real children (don't tell me Scooter is not real)? Did it seem like you always heard them whether they were really making noise or not?

Strange Night...

A few weeks ago we had the strangest night. I immediately ran for my camera knowing that this moment could not be duplicated. A storm had just passed through at sunset. That was the only sun we saw that day...right at the end. It was such a glorious sunset. It was dark and light all at the same time. The trees seemed golden. I just wanted to leave you all with this and the following two posts before the weekend. If you have not read in a while we have gone to the ducks. In that case there are several inspiring posts you should read (Is this a commercial for my blog or what?) I have much to do today. We have a mission auction at our Church tonight. See there, I do attend some functions. I have to do a little cooking and cleaning and sleeping today. It sounds like the weather will not permit much else. The rumble of thunder can be heard in the distance. What a good day for a nap! I don't say that lazily. For those who might not know, I go to work tonight as 10:30 and work until 11 am in the morning, then basically repeat it the following night. It is time for another crazy weekend of work. It really does get crazy. I had a girl tell me last week, "You would look cute with earrings." My thought was, "Girl, What is your problem, I look cute without them." Isn't that like the world? They think you have to have some bling to shine. I would rather shine with the Light and Love of Christ. I had another lady tell me she knew she had a tumor because it moved around just like a baby. I was like, "Woh! Get this woman a psych eval." While tumors do have their own blood supply and show up enhanced on contrasted CT's and are able to metastasize, they are not living breathing creatures that move around of their own will. They have no wills, brains or intelligence. It sounds like she had an alien to me. There is also the case of the shrunken head. A woman repeated exclaimed during her test, "You are shrink my head!" Sigh! The overnight hours on the weekend either produces those who are genuinely ill or those who are genuinely mentally ill. There is never a dull moment, I assure you.

I will just concentrate on that photo above and think of the beauty that God has made. We are, after all, fearfully and wonderfully made. That does not mean God was scared of us although some people scare me witless. He took great thought and care in creating us. The very design and complexity of our bodies clearly demonstrates that. So even those who seem a bit off...still deserve the same care from me. The Master potter is able to remove even the deepest marring from these vessels. I am not that potter, I just simply get them to His hands.

I Let the Cat Out of the "Box"...

This is what your children look like the next morning when they stay up all night. He has decided to sleep in my box of pool supplies way up high on top of a desk on top of another desk. It was placed in such a precarious spot of altitude to avoid having the cat in the box. I have not made any attempts to evict him yet. It is kind of cute. I am sure I can get cat hair off of everything (I think). Don't the poor baby look tired. He has been with us over a year now. Other than laying out all night at times he has really calmed down. He does not attack me anymore. He's been really good or just really tired. I'm not sure.

Nintendo D(uck)S...

It seems that Scooter has developed the same mind rotting habit of his mother (Tabithia). He is addicted to video games. Tabithia can break this out in the car or at a restaurant and you never hear a peep out of her. It seems that our little duckie is no different. Really though, this game is not suck an intelligence deteriorating activity. It causes one to think and react quickly. I personally stink at it. Scooter really caught on quickly. You can see the motion of his wings. he is really getting after it. If he keeps this up, we will have to at least find him a blue game. I don't want to give him a complex. The next morning he read the mail with me. I was unable to successfully get his picture as he skimmed over the Arkansas Vacation Package. I have to get this duck a job. AFLAC's got nothing on him. I am quite sure he could peck that little GEICO gecko's eyes out, too. I don't promote violence or anything but if it should come to it my child is tougher. I know, I am just another one of those competitive parents, one of those sick people trying to make their child a star. Just ask yourself this, "Have you ever seen a duck play a video game?"