Wedding Song - God Knew That I Needed You

Showing posts with label Black Swedish Duck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Swedish Duck. Show all posts

Monday, August 2, 2021

DEAR GOD: I TRUST YOU

This Shabbat, I rested in Elohei’s faithfulness.

Shay dropped by to get the paperwork started for the sale of my house; I still have some papers to fill out, and I’ll get that done before we meet for lunch, Wednesday afternoon.

But from Friday until today, I didn’t do anything but rest in Elohim’s faithfulness, Yeshua’s love/companionship, and the Ruach Ha’Kodesh’s serenity.

Friday afternoon, Shay dropped by the house; and we had a nice visit. She shared a memory of Bob with me … and it warmed my heart; I was thankful she shared it with me 😊

Saturday afternoon, I went for a short walk along the lower end of the Pacific Way Trail – it was hot, and I did get a little red … but I want to stick to my walking schedule. So, I laced my hiking shoes, grabbed a bottle of water, and beat feet along the graveled path: I only did a short 2-mile power-stride-walk this time. I wanted a mini workout: I did not want a heat stroke.

Along the way, I stopped twice: to watch a Great Blue Heron, and to watch ducks frolicking in the water.

1/3 of the Pacific Way Trail - 2 miles from 48th to 42nd – 2-mile loop.
SATURDAY. June 31, 2021. Great Blue Heron; Pacific Trail Dike Hike.
SATURDAY. June 31, 2021. Black Swedish Duck, with others; cooling off in the dike waters along the Pacific Way Dike Hike.

This morning, I was woken around 4 AM by the sound of raindrops beating out a rhythm on the roof above my head. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing: it’s been months since rain has made itself known here. And then, just as suddenly as it started … it stopped.

But it continued to mist the windshield off and on; from Heron Pointe this morning, to Francis, this afternoon.

I went to Fellowship this morning.

It was Communion Sunday: I like Communion Sundays 😊

But before I got there, I was almost pulled into a wreck situation.

I don’t know what the fella in front of me was doing, but I could see through his back window that he was ducking towards the passenger side … and in doing whatever it was he was doing (fiddling with the radio, sorting CD’s, or playing with his wife’s knees)his tires were ambling over the white line/crossing the skimpy shoulder/quickly heading towards the ditch.

I put enough space between our cars so that I wouldn’t have locked bumpers with him – but if his tires left the blacktop and his car bumped in and out of the ditch at the speed he was rolling: his car would have boomeranged back into me even if my car was standing still.

So, I slipped my car into neutral, and flicked the hazard lights on ‘just in case’ … and gave my horn a quick toot – not a loud, rude honk – but a quick, short bleat; to grab his attention and get it back to where it needed to be.

I did not want to get sucked into a wreck: especially on my way to Fellowship!

After Fellowship, I thought I’d drive the loop route back to Longview – and check on some houses I’d seen for sale online. The addresses were located at various points along the route, so why not?

SUNDAY. August 1, 2021. Giving up on this house: the listing agent is confused about the location; and I’m not burning up any more gas trying to track it down.
Rain woke me up this morning, and it's been a drizzly, gray day; all day long.
Running down house leads today, while I'm driving the Loop Drive towards Longview.
Willapa Hills Region.
Leaving Willapa harbor and brisk ocean winds behind, driving inland promised sunshine and warmer temperatures.

Coming up on Forest Creek, and Doyle Road, the earthy odors of cow pastures was pretty overpowering. The pungent smell filled the whole car: I had rolled the right-side front passenger window halfway down, as well as the left backside passenger window, to create a crosswind of cooling breeze blowing around me.

It was too cool for the air conditioner (set at 70-degrees) to be running (outside temperature was 67-degrees); and too stifling humid inside the car to keep the windows rolled up.

Country life means pungent farmland odors.

When I passed through Francis, the outside temperature had climbed to 71-degrees: the air conditioner was turned on … but the windows weren’t rolled up until the barnyard odor was blown out of the car’s interior.

The environment lightened up, and the atmosphere warmed up considerably; around Pinnock Creek.
Garbage and evidence of violent mayhem along the route; this is new - I'm passing this way every week: twice, every week. This violent ugliness is new.
A lot of roadside sales along the route ... but I'm not giving in to the pull.

Bob always teased me that I have no self-control when it comes to roadside sales (garage sales, estate sales, moving sales, flea market barn sales, ect.): and I admit – if I saw a road sign, I was pulling over … or begging him to pull over, so I could ‘look the stuff over’ 😉

When we were first married, it kinda annoyed him; but as time went on, and he saw what a bang I got out of walking through the sales, he got used to it – and would humor me along the routes without prompting, if we had the time and money 😊

I have the time and money now: but like I said … I’m judiciously saving every nickel and dime I don’t have to spend on ‘running around gas’ (Fellowship, Thursday Naselle Coffee Hour, and house hunting ventures), to put towards my new home, before I start filling it up with other people’s castoff stuff.

It was a warm 73-degrees in Pe Ell, when I breezed through there around 3 PM.

And 82-degrees in Chehalis.

I was hungry by the time I made Centralia.

Entering Chehalis.
Business district of Chehalis.
'Old Town' Chehalis; kinda like Commerce in Longview used to be. Commerce is pretty null and void, now.
Centralia; Peking House still not fully open - they are doing orders-to-go, but no in-house dining option.
Outside Temperature, & gas usage since leaving home; and running around, for 4 hours.
Curbside Parking Lot at The Country Cousin Restaurant; Centralia.
Curbside Entrance at The Country Cousin.

Walking through the door, I smiled when I saw the tall, wooden, Cigar Sales Indian – my Uncle Don Anderson, had one like it standing next to his old-fashioned jukebox in his Skamokawa house. Every time I hear the Hank Williams song, ‘Kawliga’ it brings back that memory of Uncle Don’s Indian statue … and I’m a 10-year-old little girl standing by his jukebox 😉

‘Kawliga’ song: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FY7RWJAtJQ

I like Hank Williams songs.

I am warmed by the memories of those summer days at Uncle Don’s house; where we kids roamed the fields like wild savages, and played hide-n-seek in the bamboo forest along one side of the old stately house. The house no longer exists: except in my memories.

Cigar Sales Indian at The Country Cousin. My Uncle Don Anderson had one like it next to his jukebox - in the house in Skamokawa.
I ordered a Reuben sandwich.

Leaving Centralia fat and sassy, I drove back through Chehalis, and along Jackson Highway to the Hwy 12 junction – then turned right and drove Hwy 12 to Hwy 603 … which dropped me right into Winlock and the last house I wanted to check out.

I will not be making an appointment to see that house.

NO on the house for sale in Winlock!
The house size was perfect ... everything else was NOT – the neighbors, both sides, were junk yard pigs – and there was no turn-around: I had to back out to the main roadway. There were no encouragements to buy that house.

I know there is a house out there waiting for me to find it: but, the houses on my list this afternoon, are not “it”.

I’ll keep surfing the internet, waiting for {the one} that checks all the boxes, and trusting Elohim’s Plan and timing: He knows best where my “fit” will be … and when the timing is right, He’ll bring it about 😉

“In God’s Perfect Time” song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0VOD3j06eI

5½ hours on the road; I'll top the tank tomorrow – and wipe down the dusty interior. Tonight, I am beat.

Friday, July 3, 2020

5 MILE SHABBAT HIKE

I am too blessed to be stressed …

I had thought about driving to Eden Valley this morning, but decided to walk the dikes instead. I was still shook up from Wednesday’s ordeal and didn’t want to chance a long drive.

I asked Trudy if she’d like to do the hike with me, and she said she did.

So, we did :-D

 
No surprise: we all KNOW covid-19 hysteria and UNLAWFUL mandates is a politician’s game …

Dumbasses are not born – they are created by a continual dribble of political twaddle designed to brainwash the weak minded.

The rest of us have matured … and aren’t afraid to LIVE our lives.

We do not need anyone’s permission to live our lives the way we choose.

Pacific Way Trail from 30th to Pennsylvania.

I met 4 more people from the Hike Club too:

Today’s walking companions: Linda, Leslie, Chere, & Amy: 2 live in the Park, here; 1 lives in Kelso, and 1 lives in Vader.
There is a new house going up on Old Pacific Highway …

The cottonwood trees were raining ‘cotton snow’ down on us, but I am thankful and give all glory to Elohim that I did not have to use my inhaler. My lungs acclimated to the fluffy stuff – though I did struggle a little at times. But they didn’t get inflamed, or go into panic mode. And the walk was enjoyable.

Cottonwood ‘snow’.
Me & Trudy. Trudy is a Godsend.
Trudy playing in the ‘snow’ ;-)
Property being cleared.
Linda spotted a baby turtle sunning itself on this fallen tree limb.

We saw mallard hens sunning themselves on a sand bar; we also saw raccoon handprints in the mud along the slough bank – I didn’t get a picture of those: they were very clear in the mud and looked like tiny baby hand prints.


I saw this ‘No Trespassing’ sign, and wasn’t sure what the poster was protesting. I saw, when I got home and zoomed the picture … that it is a nest of some critter. It’s too high, and too dense to be a duck nest.

So, I am still left wondering ;-)


We came to the end of the first part of the 3-part-Trail, where 38th Street intersects it; and decided to walk up the hill for extra mileage, and to work the hamstring, quadriceps, and gluteus maximus muscles.

Teasel: the root of this wild herb is medicinal.
Sea Holly thistle plant.

When we came back down the hill (which worked the knee joints), we carefully walked the dike along the golf course – not because we were hurting … but because this is the dangerous part of the hike.

The last 2 times I walked this section of the Trail, was with Bob and our grandson 20 months ago; and Bob’s oldest sister, Merry, a couple weeks ago. It really can be dangerous when golf balls are in play.

A Great Blue Heron sitting in a tree.

Bob always liked seeing these big birds; everytime I see one, Bob always comes to mind.

And I can still hear him telling me what it is, in the Finnish language.

I never want to forget the sound of Bob's voice.

Mr. handsome, posing for the ladies ;-)
Mr. handsome flying away …

Crossing 42nd Street, and continuing the last section of the Trail behind Pennsylvania Street, we saw an interesting looking duck – a quick moving deer … and another Great Blue Heron.

 I had to look this duck up when I got back home.

It is a Black Swedish Duck; Warner Brother’s designed their cartoon Daffy Duck character after this duck.
This duck is black with a white bib; a gray bill, and reddish-brown legs. Not as drab as it sounds.

Bob always got a bang out of Daffy Duck :-D

You gotta look quick … for the fast leaping deer.
Another Great Blue Heron. The sloughs along all 3 dike trails were active with these big birds.

It was an enjoyable day: I shook some stress off, walked some antsy energy off, and enjoyed some chit-chat.

I’m glad I stayed in town and did the hike today :-D

L’Chiam! HAPPY SHABBAT!