I Can Hear it Coming

…the colder air that is.  They (the weather people who are in the know) have told us that this day is to get colder throughout the day.

As I was sitting here working on my blogs, a cold wind started blowing.  Usually when I hear the sudden wind changes, that is when I hear it coming.

I have never made any secret of my dislike for Winter cold; but it is a part of life, so I bear with it, and just endeavor to stay warm.  I am looking forward to Spring.

That is the Winter word here on the banks of Flat Creek.

-tim

Almost Unbelievable

I never wrote about it previously.  We had frost on October 04, 2014 here in our valley.   Have not had any since, but warmer weather. Last year the first frost in our valley was October 18.  It seems very unseasonal for late October to have mid 80 temps. Maybe not.

Must say that I do enjoy it though.  Yet I would prefer to have a Fall season, with cooler temps, preparing us for the cold weather that may be coming in Winter.

~tim

The Produce of a Hurricane

I am not sure if Isaac was ever really announced as a hurricane or not; however, we are sure benefitting from the storm.  It has been raining since before I got up this morning around 3 a.m. and before.

It is a wonderful blessing.  I pray the people along the coast were not harmed, and that everyone benefitting from the rain realizes the blessing that it is to so many.

Thanksgiving belongs to the One who gives all good things to us.  He is the Lord of all.  Thank YOU LORD.

-tim

One Bad Thing…

…About having an inside thermometer for the outside is that you notice how hot it is outside.  I guess in the Winter you notice how cold it is; but to some “Cold” sounds pretty good right now.  I looked a moment ago, and the temp here at our house on Flat Creek, South of Jenkins, MO is 108 degrees.

I told Madge [my wife] just a while ago that I think this has got to be the hottest spot in the State of Missouri.  I do not know of anyone around who is ever as hot as we get.  Hey though.  I really do not mind the heat, as long as I can get cool.

I water the trees and flowers early of the morning just before, or as the sun is rising over the hill in the East.  It is warm at that time, and I usually come in the house rolling with sweat.  It tickles me blue to be able to do those things.  For a few mornings I have taken my new truck, gone to the gravel, shoveled what I would approximate to be about 1000 pounds of gravel into my truck and hauled it to the house; or as I did yesterday; up the road and filled some holes in the road; hopefully for a better ride down the road.  I did that before the heat got too much for me to bear.

It is great to be able to go outdoors, enjoy the weather.  One bad thing about this  time of year is for those fellows and gals who must work out in it.  My heart and prayers go out to you.  I say to you drink plenty of water and juices; without alcohol or caffeine; or it could dehydrate you.

One bad thing is that Winter is on the way.  On second thought; would that be so bad; at least right now?

-tim

 

The Fifth Month

The month of May is in full swing.  I mean we cannot go back now, can we.  Who would want to?  Right?  The weather is beautiful.  Morning temps around here are in the low sixties.   This morning it was 62 degrees at 3 a.m.

The previous two mornings it was 61 degrees when I got up.  I can live with those kind of early morning temps.  Not only were the temperatures great, but we received early morning showers; yesterday morning’s being with thunderstorms; loud and windy with lightening and thunder.

It would be idea for rain to fall during the night hours, however, we just cannot make those kind of plans.  At least I cannot.  There are probably some scientist who are working on doing such things as controlling the weather, but…

I will leave that thought with you.

We only have twelve more days of school left, then we are out for Summer break.  Looking forward to it.

-Tim

The Weather

Don’t you just love it?  When will it end?

My answer?  When it is over. 🙂

-Tim

New Front Porch

For over a year now we have had manufactured steps at our front door with no porch.  Of course we still have some of those steps at our two back accesses to the house; one at our laundry door, and one at our patio door.  No!  We do not have a rear deck built yet; but it is in the plans.

We are only endeavoring to do these builds without adding more to our debt.

The front porch is now built and paid for; the only part of the house that is paid for.  It is great and we offer our praise to the Creator who has blessed us with the means to receive it and to care for it.

It will be great to have the porch to set in our outdoor chairs on the days of nice weather; to watch, listen and learn from God the things He has made in creation.

On the banks of Flat Creek, and it is still rolling right along.

-Tim

Coldest Day This Winter

When I got up this morning it was 3 degrees outside.  I am thankful that it was not that cold inside.  Whew!  What a mess that would be.  It has dropped a bit since then, though.  It is now 1 degree, and it says “falling”.

This is exactly why Winter is not my favorite time of year.  I like heat.  It seems when I am cold that I cannot get warm enough.  It may be all that blood pressure medicine or some medicine I take; but really I have never been real fond of the cold weather.

Winter is part of the seasons of earth, and I can readily, willingly and thankfully accept that.  I am ready for Spring and Summer.  Please no more of these extreme cold temps.

Thank the LORD for the heat; and the part the cold plays in our world.

-Tim

November Twenty Eleven

That is right.  It is now November and several days into it as a matter of fact.  The month of Thanksgiving, though, my prayer is that we are thankful every day; not just one day a year.  To whom should we be thankful?  The Pilgrims who came to this country?  The Indians/Native Americans who aided the Pilgrims? or should we be thankful to the Creator who has given us all things to enjoy and blessed us immensely?

That last one, of course.

It is a great thing to get up every morning and know that the Lord GOD who has made all things, has also given me strength to arise from bed with a beating heart, air to breathe, and feet and legs on which to stand.  Thank YOU Lord for all these things and so much more.

November is also the month weather is iffy.  In the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri it is kind of like Forrest Gump’s phrase, “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get”.  The weather around here is like that box of chocolates.  Of course it is like that year round; but especially this time of year.  It can be cold one day, warm up that evening, and be cold again the next day with spitting snow, or ice; or maybe just the reverse.

I am thankful for the seasons around here; though, I do especially like Spring and Summer.  The best part about Winter is that from the first day of the Winter solstice the daylight hours begin to lengthen.  That means to me, that Spring is on the way.

Do not forget to set your clocks back one hour before you go to bed; unless you want to stay up until 2 a.m. and do it.  If you forget it will not be a big loss; you will be early the next morning for wherever you are going; and that hopefully will be to worship the Lord with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

By the way;  the puppies are growing, and they will be two weeks old tomorrow (November 06). From the banks of Flat Creek.

-Tim

What a Difference

It must be that we live in a low valley, and next to the Creek.  It must be what makes the temp here cooler than say, like in Cassville.  According to AccuWeather the temp in Cassville was 51 when I got online this morning; our thermometer right now at 4:47 a.m. reads 38 degrees.  BRRRRRRRR.

My that is going to feel brisk and cool this morning after just a few days go temps at 100 and above.  It will be nice for a change.  We do, however, still need some rain.  Especially since we moved our dirt mound yesterday.  As the wind was blowing we could see little dirt devils taking the dirt away.

We filled holes and low spots in the yard; what used to be a pasture, now our yard is beginning to look like a yard, but now has dirt spots which need some seed and grass growing.  It will not grow, though without water.

I thank my friend Dennis for bringing his skid steer and taking all his Labor Day to labor in moving all that dirt.

I thank GOD my Lord and Master for every good and righteous and perfect gift.

Cool on the banks of Flat Creek.

-Tim

It’s Saturday

It is Saturday again.  They come around once a week; and most of us are glad they do.  They do for the living anyway.  It probably does not matter for those who have gone into eternity.

I just checked my online weather forecast for Cassville, MO. and there appears to be no rain in sight; and an expected high of 94.  Yesterday morning we had a low at our house of 51 degrees.  That felt good compared to some of the morning temps we had a few weeks ago.  As of this moment (6:23 a.m.) the low for today is 57 degrees.  Though I do like Summer and its heat I think I am enjoying the relief of approaching Fall, and its cooler mornings and days.

Without any rain today I plan on finishing mowing the yard.  I have an acre or so to mow in the back.  It is amazing how good a yard looks after it is mowed.  I have heard some make comments like.  “Why keep your yard mowed when you live back where no one can see it?”  Well!  My answer for that is, “I see it”.  I like a well trimmed yard; and my is a long way from well trimmed, but I am working toward that.

Today is also a day when I look forward to being in church and worship with the people of our local church.  My prayer is that the Lord give me the words for the sermon that will glorify Him; and work by the power of the Holy Spirit to draw every listener to Him.

As I write this morning the sun is starting to rise over the Eastern hills.  The banks of Flat Creek are still in a bit of darkness; but the light is beginning to appear.

From the banks of Flat Creek.

-Tim

Maybe It was Mowing the Dirt

I wrote a post the other day that I title “After Mowing”.  I spoke of mowing dirt and the heat.  It has been hot; there is certainly no denying that, but I choose to be thankful for it, rather than complain about it.  I mean think of the alternative – it could be below zero, and without the heat of the sun to warm us there would be no life at all.

The other night while I was sleeping I had a dream of snow and slick roads.  I guess that was a way of reminding me of last February.  I must admit I don’t do much outdoor work when it is hot like this.  It probably wouldn’t be too wise for someone who has had stents placed in their heart to do so; at least too aggressively.

I did go out yesterday afternoon to move a mound of dirt which was out in the yard from the septic lateral, which I had to mow around.  It was just a small mound.  I took my pick and shovel to it and had it moved in short order, but in that 100 degree sun it made short work of me too.  I thank God for those guy and gals who are out in it doing road work, building houses, farm work, and all other legitimate work.  No matter what your age may be; working out in that sun’s heat will zap your body of needed nutrients and strength.  Take care of yourselves.  Drink lots of water; no caffeine or alcohol; these will harm you rather than help you.

Maybe it was mowing that dirt that caused me to dream of cool weather and snow.  I know it is a coming.

Watching the sunrise along the banks of Flat Creek.

-Tim

Matters of the Heart

When we hear the word “Heart” we think of the blood pump in each of our bodies, we think of a person’s character or life; we even think of spiritual matters, and hear phrases like “Give your heart to Christ”; and I have used that one a few times.  By that we mean, “Give of your whole being, and self to Christ; leaving nothing out.”

Well the heart is a major organ within our body, and it is amazing what doctors can do for our hearts in this day and time.  We need to realize though that doctors cannot heal; that there is only One Healer and His name is Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God.

The reason I bring this “Matters of the Heart” up is that my wife Madge and I have just recently had doctors work on our hearts.  Back on 2007 or ’08 my wife was diagnosed with an anyerism of her aorta in her heart.  It was not large enough for them to do surgery, so waited until it grew large enough to do it.  They did the surgery on September 21, 2010, and by the grace and healing power of God she came through it miraculously.

In February of this year (2011) I was scheduled for a stress test by my cardiologists order.  As far as I knew there was nothing wrong; had no chest pains, if I did too much at one time I needed to take a rest, thinking it was due to being physically out of shape.  The February appointment was postponed due to bad weather; until April 05.  I took the stress test and they found what they called “abnormalities” and wanted to do an angiogram.

On Monday April 18 I went in to the hospital for the angiogram, and they ended up putting four stents in me, and never finished; I was to return the following Monday (April 25) to get another stent for another artery of my heart. Due to these surgical procedures I spent a total of two nights in the hospital.

I am thankful to the Lord for His watch and care, and recovery of these things.  He is wonderful, powerful, and gracious and merciful.  To Him be all the praise.

I believe that I am feeling much better, though it is yet to be seen when I am able to get out and become more physically active again.

I appreciate all who have prayed for my wife and I, and thank you very much.  Where would we be without you all.  Thanks also to the great doctors and nurses who provided the physical care and knew how to use the technology available.

Thanks and praise be to the One who is Lord of all.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Winter in Spring

It is not so uncommon for Missouri to have Winter in Spring. It turned Spring officially last weekend, and a few days have been Spring like with warm sunshine, and just wonderful.

Now, however, this the final weekend of March, and it is more like Winter again. Snow, blizzard like conditions in parts of our country to the West – Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado receiving snow in the foot proportions. Here in Southwest MO; at least at my house there is none on the ground; but on Saturday/yesterday it did some snowing.

I am looking forward to when the warmer weather comes and stays for a while. God is so good to give us the change of seasons, and reminds us that better days are coming.

Enjoy your Spring.

-Tim A. Blankenship

A Winter Storm

They said it was coming. Who said it was coming? This Winter storm. When I arose from the bed this morning there was not a flake of snow to be seen, and I found out almost two hours later that there did not appear to be a cloud in the sky. Sometimes I am amazed how accurate the weather people can be in their predictions. I guess it is all that stuff they call technology, sattelite, GPS, and all that.

It has not been bitterly cold. I am thankful for that. I don’t do very well in the cold. Especially when the electric bill comes due, and that is what we heat with. That is our choice. I am also thankful that we have not experienced a major power outage like some other places and people I know. We would be in a world of hurtin’.

When I jumped in the car to go to Cassville School Bus Garage to drive the bus, there was a moon shining down from above with a few stars that I could see. I left about 5:15 a.m. and arrived there at 5:45 a.m. There were three buses already headed out for their morning pickup of the kids. Two more headed out shortly after I arrived. One driver radioed in from one of her farthest points, “Snow is falling and covering the roads. What do you want me to do?” The decision was made to call them in, ie., the five that had already departed. School was called off for the day.

After helping shut down the engines on the other buses, I got back in our car and came home. It is good to have a day off, but I would rather get out earlier at the end of the year. I guess I just needed the day. Thank the Lord. He always knows what is best for us.

The snow is still falling, and if it continues we probably will not be in school on Friday. There are some pretty wicked roads here in Southwest MO. with curves, hills, hollers, and many of the roads here have no shoulders; only ditches. It can be fun navigating at times.