Dear Friends.....

Another family emergency this week.
My father had to have emergency surgery to insert a pacemaker.
He was walking around and DRIVING with a heart rate of 30. NOT a good thing.
While in surgery it dropped as low as 26. We are thankful that the surgery
was a success and that he is doing well.
I have been staying with my parents for the last few days...just home
today long enough to do some laundry and get my family ready for next week.
I will be heading back over today and stay with my parent's until Friday when my
brother and sister will be continuing the care.
Once I get back I'll catch up with all of your blogs.

Remember to: Cherish every sunrise, cherish every sunset, and cherish
every moment in between.

Autumn Goldfinch

To be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars;
to be satisfied with your possessions, but not contented with yourself
until you have made the best of them;
to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness,
and to fear nothing except cowardice;
to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts;
to covet nothing that is your neighbor's except
his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners;
to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends,
and every day of Christ;
and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit,
in God's out-of-doors --
these are the little guideposts on the footpath to peace.
~Henry Van Dyke 

A Place To Rest

Everything needs a break.

- Toba Beta

A Berry Good Time

"Yummy!"

Carolina Wren Among the Pines

Carolina Wren - Blending In.
Trees are your best antiques. 

~ Alexander Smith

Robin Among the Berries

When I first open my eyes upon the morning meadows and
look out upon the beautiful world, I thank God I am alive.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wishing you a Wonderful Day! 

Red-bellied Woodpecker Hanging on to a Berry

As you sit on the hillside, or lie prone under the trees of the forest, or sprawl wet-legged by a mountain stream, the great door, that does not look like a door, opens. 

~ Stephen Graham, The Gentle Art of Tramping

Mourning Cloak Butterfly

 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

While out for a walk I saw this little guy and he
brightened my day. As you can see I was in a shady area so this shot
is not so bright.

But he is in the sun in this shot.
I was not sure what he was, but my twitter friends ID'd him
as a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
The males have a little tuft of red on their head that shows whey they
are excited. Too bad I didn't get to see that!

More info on this little bird is found on Wikipedia - HERE 

A Smiling Tree

It only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime. 
We should all smile more often.
 ― Steve Maraboli

Do you need a smile today?  Can you see the smiling face on the tree?  Ok - well maybe he's not smiling but he sure put a smile on my face!

A Female Friend

“We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet. Even longer,' Pooh answered.” 
 ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh 

 A Female Cardinal hides among the pine cones 
in my front yard.

Mocker in the Leaves

One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

I sat and listened while this mockingbird made beautiful music in my yard.    What a wonderful sound!

Digital Watercolor Version - HERE 

Monarch Butterfly

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless." 

~ Mother Teresa

Hopper

 Everything has beauty, 
but not everyone sees it. 
- Confucius

Observing Nature - A Collage

To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.

 ― Marilyn Vos Savant