SAD DISCOVERY

Good Morning ... 

This morning I made a sad discovery.

I was looking at things in our front yard and saw these patches of fluff.

At first I thought they were bird feathers but I think they are probably cat fur.

There are no other disturbances around or evidence of something happening.

There have been so many sightings of coyotes in our area, which is very suburban.

Many people have said their cats have gone missing and the 3 that used to roam around checking out our yard haven't been seen for months. Tad , across our street said his beautiful white fluffy cat has disappeared.

There is a lot of new homes being built in the area that used to be wild and a place of safety for the critters.  Now their habitat has been disturbed and they are roaming the streets of our neighborhoods.

Its very sad to see pets becoming some animal's lunch.

I know its the circle of life but it makes me sad.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

 Thankful Thursday

Tis a beautiful day here in Northern California.

There will be some on-going yard work being done before it gets too hot for me to pull those "darn" weeds.

I just wanted to make some further comments on my Wordless Wednesday post from yesterday.  The photo was taken at the California State Fair about 8 years ago.  I love when I can see a story in just one shot.  The man was sitting reading a Fair newspaper with his face hidden and the clincher was the small sign attached to the quilt hanging behind him.  I am thankful for the humor I saw in that shot.  I would never make fun of someone and never print it publicly.  To the anonymous person who is ALWAYS so critical of my posts I say: To each his own, I did no harm and I found it to be annoying. 

If you don't like something at least say who you are...

That being said I am Thankful for all of you who look at my blog and comment.  I love that we are family.  I just needed to get that off my chest.  I won't change what I do and sometimes I see things differently but isn't that what makes us all unique?

I will end this post with a beautiful sunset from 2 nights ago.

Thankful for God's magnificent sunsets that are new every evening.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 Wordless  Wednesday ... 

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

MONDAY MEANDERINGS

 Monday Meanderings.

Happy Monday ... Hope you all survived the time change to Daylight Savings Time.

Sometimes it can be a bit rough.  Dave and I had a little nap yesterday and I have to say that it really helped.

There are times that I feel like this windmill, just going round and round without accomplishing anything.

I went out in our backyard this morning.

It seems the grape vines have exploded over night.

I love to see the New Life popping out all over.

Hopefully there will be some fruit from all of this activity.

Happy meandering through your day !

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

IT'S BUNNY TIME !

 I think it's time to put away my winter bird and bring out the Spring Time Bunny.

It makes me feel like Easter is right around the corner.

That's about it for the Spring time decor but at least it's something ... 

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

THANKFUL THURSDAY

 Thankful Thursday

First of all, thank you for all of the delightful comments on my post yesterday:

Wordless Wednesday.  I agree with Chatty Crone that the title should be "Forgotten".

I took that photo up in the California Gold Country at a seldom visited cemetery.

Most of the plots were from so long ago that I do believe they are totally forgotten.

Now on to other things.

I am truly thankful for the lovely weather we have been enjoying the last few days.  Temperatures hovering right around 70F.  Perfect for working in our backyard.

The clouds came billowing up like it was going to rain but that didn't happen.

I noticed that there are buds springing up on our grape vines.

We didn't get them pruned this year so I don't know what the grapes are going to be like this season.

Apple tree buds..

Even our Wisteria is showing its face and welcoming Spring.

When picking up a pile of weeds to put them in the green waste I saw this charming little critter.

He was only about 4 inches long and quite pretty as he slithered under some leaves.

He's a harmless Racer snake, the first one I have seen in a very long time.

Thankful for it all and thankful that Hubby and I had enough umph to work out in the yard for the last few days.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 Wordless Wednesday

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

PLODDING ALONG

 Plodding along ... 

I spent 2 hours yesterday practically standing on my head weeding these ever growing weeds!

It doesn't even look like I did much of anything out there by the grape vines.

I know I helped fill the green waste can though.  Many friends said to just mow them, but we can't .  Too many tree stumps and I want to get those things out by the roots.  Dave cut the "grass"  and it is starting to look more like someone lives here.

So today will be Day 3.  I will try to complete that patch of weeds and then move on to other spots.

Never a dull moment ... and the Excitement Builds !!! 

Here's the latest view of our almond tree.  

One day its full of blossoms and then the next its leaves busting out all over.

See all of that bushy green behind the tree?

That's the project coming soon.  I don't want that stuff going to seed.  Dave will weed whack it first and then we will try to make it disappear.

As I said before ...  The Excitement Never Ends !

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind 

MONDAY ... MONDAY

 Well here we are at the start of a new week and a new month too.

I thought I would catch you up on how our weekend went.

We have a major project underway.  

Its called weeding by two old geezers 💦😅

Loved the rain during the previous week 

BUT ... 

The weeds had a jolly time growing lickety split...

So my project this weekend was jumping in and starting to get rid of the weeds while the ground is still damp and easier to pull out.

My wheelbarrow is full and it doesn't even look like I did anything on the side patch !!

I called it quits for the rest of the weekend and now I will try to pull some more today.

This was last night from our bathroom window.

I almost missed the gorgeous sky.  Two minutes later it was dull and no color at all.

Always be Grateful

Always be kind

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

 Flashback Friday

I am glad I piqued your interest for my contribution to Wordless Wednesday.

As I said before, I love the strange, abstract and different types of photography.

The photo was one I took way back in 2019.

Our whole family was able to get together at our son's home in Oregon.  We did many touristy kinds of adventures.  One particular day we drove to Mount Angel, Oregon.  Its a tiny community that has German Bavarian roots.

We visited the Mount Angel Abby and the Queen of Angels Monastery.  There was a lovely chapel and museum there.  

I have spent hours trying to find my photos from there but alas they are no where to be found.  The only photo that remains is the one I took through the glass door window out into the hallway.

Of course it caught my eye because of the shattered window in an otherwise peaceful setting.

From that Abby visit we then went to the tulip fields  and spent hours OOooo-ing and awe-ing over the magnificent colors.

Guess what?  In looking for my tulip photos I found a shot of our family walking towards the Abby... yay.

Oh brother..I didn't want this photo but can't seem to remove it.  This shot is of Multnomah Falls, Oregon.  Sigh ... we did visit there another day of our visit.

Here's one of our Granddaughter and Dave and I enjoying those amazing Tulips.

Such wonderful memories.

How can it be 7 years ago already?

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 Wordless Wednesday

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

THOUGHTFUL TUESDAY

 Thoughtful Tuesday

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

 Flashback Friday

Everyone has been posting pictures of the snow in their areas.

I thought I would share photos of our one and only morning of snow since we have lived in this home in Rocklin,CA.

The year was 2008.  We had only been in our home for a year.  It was pretty exciting for the few hours it was there.

It was fun to go back into my archives and think about the Snow That Was.

Today the sun is shinning and the next chance for rain is Tuesday.

Hope you all have a great weekend, stay warm and dry.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 Wordless Wednesday

Even though the title is Wordless Wednesday, I thought I would do a little explaining about my choices for photos.

I like rusty, rugged, textured, colorful,  black and white, odd, abstract, etc.

Some things I post really don't have any deep meaning, or perhaps make sense to others.  Sometimes it's all about how a shot makes me feel.

I hope you will enjoy a trip into my mind on an occasional Wordless Wednesday.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

MONDAY MEANDERINGS

 Happy Presidents Day ... celebrated in the USA ... 

I hope you all had a great weekend.

We celebrated Valentines Day by going to a much needed grocery shopping.

I hadn't darkened the doors of the store for 3 weeks and we were out of just about everything.  Our first meal of that day was samples at Costco ... haha ... some little sausage thingies were pretty good for starters...

Then it was on to Walmart.  Walked our legs off but got most of what we needed.  Next on the agenda was putting drain cleaner in all of the house drains.                    CAN YOU FEEL THE PURE ROMANCE?

Dinner was hot dogs and baked beans in front of the tv watching the Olympics.

We were so pooped that it was all we could muster.  But you know ... It's all good when you do the mundane things of life with your Best Friend.

Now we are in for a full week of much needed rain.

Thankfully we have our pumps at the ready.

I sure hope the rain and wind won't blow all of our blossoms away this year.

All it's taken is one good soaking and the weeds are having a field day.

Very pretty greenery but oh my aching back in the future.

I guess I have meandered long enough so I'll say:

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

THANKFUL THURSDAY

 Today is Thankful Thursday though we should be thankful for every day ... 

First of all, I am so very thankful for what arrived in the mail yesterday.

I had to submit a form to the courts to request a permanent exemption from serving on a jury.  I had to give them a reason for a dismissal. 

It finally came yesterday and I am so very thankful for the approval.  Between my age and all of those issues and my hearing being less than stellar, I guess they thought it was better to have me stay home and behave myself.  There is no exemption for being a certain age in California.                          

I am also thankful for the spritzes of rain we had yesterday.

They encouraged our almond and tiny plum tree to show off their spring finery.

Thankfully the rain and wind didn't blow away the blossoms of our trees.

Today there is nothing but bright blue skies and just a slight breeze.

And

Of course I am thankful for friends like you !

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

 WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

MONDAY MEANDERINGS

 Monday Meanderings ... 

Yesterday morning as I was sitting at my "office desk" I heard the most awful squawking noise that kept going on and on.

I looked out the window but couldn't find anything making the noise.

It kept going on so I finally went out in the front to figure it out.

I saw that there were 2 huge geese on the neighbors roof peak.

I guess it's that time of year around here ... mating season.

In all the time we have lived here geese have never landed in our neighborhood  and especially not on the roof of a house.

I only had my cell with me so the photo isn't very clear.

When we came home from church the LoveBirds were gone.

This morning there was no activity either.

Just another bit of Wildlife in our cozy neighborhood.

What a noisy alarm clock for our poor neighbors.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

THIS AND THAT

 Good Morning ... 

It seems that this is a This and That kind of day.

I looked out our window this morning and was surprised to see blossoms on our almond and plum tree.  A few days of warmer weather started the buds to popping.

I'm so happy to see some life in these old trees, but oh my ... 

The rest of our yard is terrible.  All our hard work clearing the weeds last season has gone to "ugly".

I just don't know if we can crank up enough steam to gets things back to pretty again.  I guess its going to be one baby step at a time.

On another note ... 

I couldn't stand my hair any longer ... literally ... 

I finally gave myself a haircut.  Pretty satisfied with the job but I just can't get the selfies to work out well.

So

What you see is what its going to be.

Well, this old lady is sending you some smiles and saying enjoy your weekend watching the Olympics and Super Bowl.

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind

THANKFUL THURSDAY

 THANKFUL THURSDAY

When Life gives you lemons ... 

These are humongous lemons from our neighbor's tree.

You make lemonade !

"Ask My Spirit within you to order your day and control your thoughts, For the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace."

Devotion for today ... February 5, 2026                                                                       Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Always be Grateful

Always be Kind