Today is the Day!!

I am so blessed every day by the Lord's creativity, so much variation, so many different colors, shapes & sizes in flowers alone!

& so many charming names like Johnny-jump-up, Snapdragon, Bachelor's Buttons, Four-o'clock,  Sweet Pea, Forget-me-not...

My daughter  gave me this darling, diminutive bouquet of  'Forget-me-nots' on a day at the park last week. 

We took some chicken salad sandwiches & sat at a picnic table next to the water.

It was a nice, summery, hot, day. Just perfect for going barefooted in the thick, cool, green grass. Ahhhh, so refreshing. But even better....

Ooooooooh! As delicious as this feels you can only do it for so long because the water is icy cold! But oh those few moments of arctic ecstasy! Rejuvenating! (Don't you love the sparkly nail polish?! ✨)

What a beautiful today!

Meanwhile, back at the farm,

This is my pumpkin 'patch'. We didn't have room for it in the regular garden, so I decided to try for a pumpkin pot patch!

 So far so good. I'm excited to see where we go from here! You can see the flowers which precede the pumpkins. I can't wait for my babies to be born! 

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

Remember these guys from my previous post? I decided to name them after the baby birds that Opie Taylor named on an episode of "The Andy Griffith Show": Winkum, Blinkum & Nod.

Well, here's the update on the triplets.

Here's Winkum & Blinkum. Nod is dive-bombing us with Mom & Dad, plus a few aunts & uncles & cousins too I think. But it's friendly fire, no strafing (thank goodness! 😊)

Another favorite summer 'see'-scape, so restful & therapeutic, horses grazing. I remember many years ago, we lived out in the real country (we live in a sort of 'suburban country' right now. I hope that changes soon!) & in the summer, I would sometimes lay on our picnic table which was in a nice shady nook & read before it got too hot. Banner, who was a real people horse, was allowed at times to graze in the yard. I loved to hear him snort & make his horsey noises, or he would come up & sort of smell my arms or legs & tickle me with his horsey whiskers, or just breathe his horsey breath on me, very personable, especially when he wanted me to pay attention to him. This particular day, he wouldn't take no for an answer, he wanted to play & I was very absorbed in my book, (probably an L.M. Montgomery book or an Agatha Christie mystery! 😲) So, he took matters into his own hands, or rather mouth, grabbed my straw hat off of my head & tossed it over his shoulder! We played this game for awhile, he even ran off with it once & I would always retrieve it. When his play tank was full, he would resume his grazing & unless home, garden & farm chores beckoned me, I would return to my book. My horseplay tank was also full. & I have to say, there is something very heart satisfying about a horse that wants to play with you, so endearing.

One of my favorite picnic lunch fares is tuna salad, either on bread, by itself or on crackers. One of my daughters who has a culinary flair for the unusual, added sweet apples chopped up in it & we have loved it & made it that way ever since. We just use boiled eggs, tuna, apples & Miracle Whip. Mmmmm. Delicious! My taste buds palette have also discovered cucumber & cream cheese on thinly sliced bread & it has become another summertime fare favorite. It tastes deliciously cool, perfect on a hot day!

To me, nothing can beat this most perfect summertime elixir, if I may wax eloquent, iced tea! So refreshing, so satisfying, so uplifting to the spirit, soul & body, so boosting if there is such a word! 

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."

Henry James

Summer afternoon served with a tall, glass of iced tea, ( no sugar please, with maybe a slice of lemon!) ahhhhh, heavenly perk when the energy level may be lagging a bit. 

While I was preparing this post, my husband, daughter & grandson were having fun with another favorite summertime pastime. Oh boy! Trout for dinner!

Along with fried potatoes with onions, fresh from the garden green beans, sliced yummy garden tomatoes & homemade hot biscuits oozing with melted butter, served by candlelight & natures own musical ambiance, a softly falling rain. Blessings upon blessings, those benefits the Bible talks about that the Lord daily loads on us.

Aren't you thankful for the many ways that the Lord 'speaks' to us during our days? Nights too. 

Those gentle nudges to let you know, He's here, waiting for us to acknowledge Him through His creation, His special touches, His daily intimate connections with us. He shows Himself to us continually if we will just look. & then at other times He plays His version of 'Hide & Seek'. 

'You will seek me & find me when you seek me  with all of your heart.'  Jeremiah 29:13

I love that! But usually, the Lord shows Himself right out there for all of us to see as I have expressed through words & pictures in this entire post!  You would have to purposefully close your eyes to not see Jesus every day of your life because He is so definitive in His expressing Himself  in the language that we can understand, so personal. Jesus is just so lovable! He goes to extremes to get our attention.

Nothing about Him is ordinary or common. Of course not. He is God. He is extreme in whatever He does or has done. & He loves us extremely. Out of this world! Just look around, up or down or sideways. See Him? Let Him capture your attention. Be a first responder. To Jesus. He's extravagantly creative. & extreme in His love for you, & when you really get to know Him, you'll see He has a great sense of fun! Don't miss out another day. Today's the day!!!

Raintree Perk of the day:

"Isn't He wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,

Isn't Jesus my Lord wonderful....!?🎜🎝"