THE BEST VALENTINE'S DAY

Sometimes I just stumble through life with no thought of the future.  I know Jesus is walking with me and that is a comforting thing, but possibly I am in a daydream state of mind just living life as it comes.  All of a sudden something happens and you are brought to the realization of how quickly your life can change, how uncertain your next day or week may be.  Not long ago our pastor made a statement that stuck with me and has felt quite haunting of late, not scary, but prophetic.  He said something like this - "Everyone in this room is either headed into a valley or just coming out of one."

Now I feel like my family and I have been very blessed and things have been going quite smoothly for us for awhile, so this statement by Bro. David has really been bouncing around in the back of my mind.  Then it happened a couple or days ago - a biopsy was recommended by the doctor!  We all know what that means, the big C possibly, major upheaval in the family, medical expenses untold, disability, threat of death, and on and on it goes.

Tomorrow being Valentine's Day, I received the best Valentine's Day gift ever just a bit ago.  Johnny called to say that the specialist has looked at the spot and is not the least bit concerned and feels 99% sure that there is nothing at all to worry about.  Prayers (lots and lots of them) were answered.  I will have to say that somehow I felt a peace about it no matter what the diagnosis, but I was worried a lot about how deep the valley might be that we would have to walk through with Jesus dragging us along when he had to.  I'm glad I'm still stumbling around out here on the mountain top right now, but I know there is a valley coming up, maybe around the next curve.  The cold rain and wind surely feels good in my face right now though.   



OUT YONDER - COLD & RAINY

We are right in the middle of the cold and rainy part of a Mississippi winter, so not much is going on out yonder in the back woods.  I do have a couple of game camera pics to share.  They are pretty average to hunters, but they were interesting to me.

Due to hunting season, the larger bucks have been very skiddish lately, but this one got his picture taken a couple of nights ago.

The twin fawns I have been watching for months now are about as big as their mama.  She is in alert stance as she warns an approaching doe to stay away from the food her babies are eating in the rain.
  
The only other thing of interest going on out yonder is my tiny early spring garden spot.  Last week we planted leaf lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, onions, potatoes, broccoli and a few cabbages.  I just checked on them and they seem to have loved the 5 1/2 inches of rain we got the last couple of days and little Peter Rabbit hasn't even gotten in there and eaten them up.  Maybe the wattle fence is making it a bit harder for him and his brothers.  I even added a few old boards around the bottom of the fence to try and deter the rabbits further.  We shall see.

It is a great time of the year to watch the little birdies at the feeders.  So far, I have only seen a few different kinds, but even the sparrows and wrens are fun to watch.  Aren't these cardinals pretty?  The feeders are over 15 years old and look pretty ratty, but the birds and squirrels don't seem to mind.

As soon as the sun comes out a bit I plan to go out yonder and find something pretty to enjoy and maybe take a picture or two.