Archive for March, 2018

Super Blue Moon-March 31, 2018

{ March 31, 2018 @ 10:13 pm } · { Country Living }
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This shows my ignorance but I really thought the moon would have a blue tint to it, after all it is called a “blue moon”.  The full moon was huge tonight and beautiful and I got several really nice pictures. I didn’t have any city skyline or magnificent building for a back drop, just a quiet country sky with a million stars shining.

When the moon wasn’t blue, not even a hint of  blue, I went to my friend “google” and did some research. When there are two full moons in one month, the second full moon is called a “blue moon”.  Now, that is not even creative in my mind but what am I to know!

This doesn’t happen often.  Ironically there were two full moons in January (January 2 and 31) of this year, none in February and two in March (March 2 and 31).  This will not happen again until October 2020. The added excitement for tonight’s full moon is that it is just hours from dawn on Easter Sunday. There is a more detailed explanation at the following website 201 2nd Blue Moon on March 31. There is a phenomena when there can actually be a bluish colored moon when there is volcanic dust or smoke in the atmosphere. The other phenomena is when you photo-shop the picture. This is my blue moon!!!

I also love the picture I took of the moon last night as it slid in and out of clouds. I had gotten confused and thought it was blue moon night.

 

A true story….. June 2, 2018

A friend related this story to me the other when we were talking about the very wet weather and all the flooding in May.  Years ago my friend, I ‘ll call him H, was chatting with an old-timer, Albert May in Powhatan. Albert asked him if they had their corn in the river bottom low ground harvested yet. Albert went on to explain that there had recently been two full moons (that is called a blue moon) in one month and that meant very wet weather and flooding was coming and they had better get their corn harvested. H said he went home and related the story and they had a good laugh at the old man’s wisdom.  Several weeks later their corn was standing in water with only the top of the tassel showing. H said, “I have never forgotten that.” H said, “I knew this wet spring (May 2018) was coming as I have never forgotten that experience.”

Signs of Spring-March Madness

{ March 28, 2018 @ 4:06 pm } · { Life on the Farm }
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Spring has sprung. It is officially here even though some days do not feel like it yet. There have been signs for several weeks that spring was around the corner. The signs give us hope and anxious anticipation of warm sunshine, sandals, bare feet, digging in the dirt, supper on the deck, flowers, and the smell of freshly mowed grass, a welcome relief from the cold, colder and coldest days of winter. I know, winter has it’s own beauty and it is a vital part of our balance of seasons, but spring is refreshing and energizing.  I pour over seed catalogs and look at the stunning pictures of vegetables, dreaming of my own garden, fresh vegetables and flower beds.  Even though I can never match Burpee’s standard of excellence, something stirs within me to try again and again and again.

Some pictures from the farm….signs of spring and a last wintery snow fling (hopefully).

One day and then…. the next day!


Robins are a sure sign of spring.

 My early broccoli, cabbage and Red Sails lettuce.

Blackberry bushes covered with snow. They were already shooting new spring growth.

Yes, we had a real March snow storm, however, it was the prefect snow storm: it snowed hard, 3-4 inches, was beautiful, and the next day was gone.

Mating Season: The wild turkeys were out grazing in the pasture and the gobblers were in full strut.

 A herd of seven deer grazed for several hours in the pasture in the warm sunshine.

 

When I flipped the calendar from February to March it felt like spring was already here. After all, it was March 1 and the signs of spring were all around us. But signs only point to the time, the appointed day when spring officially happens.  It reminds me of a another season of time coming on God’s calendar.

Two thousand plus years ago, Jesus came to earth as a baby, to live among humans, to teach and show us the way to the Father and heaven. He was severely tortured and killed in the most cruel and inhuman way-crucified, not because he was a criminal but for the crime of being the Messiah. Satan did not win that battle and death could not hold Jesus in the tomb. After three days, Jesus arose from the dead, as he said he would do.  This is why Christian believers celebrate Easter. Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins so that we could be saved. To be saved is a choice each person has to make. We have to choose to believe, choose to accept Jesus as our Messiah, Lord and Savior. Before Jesus returned to heaven, he told his disciples (and us) that he would return.

Before Jesus returns,  there will be a terrible time on planet earth as it implodes with evil in a way the world has never seen. When that happens, Jesus warns us that end of the world is near. He has told us what to expect and the signs so we can be faithful and ready, prepared and watching for his return. Matthew 24, Mark 13, II Thessalonians 2, II Timothy 3, and Revelations are just some of the scriptures that refer to and tell us the signs of his second coming. The signs point to a specific time when Jesus will return.  We can not point to a calendar and say this is the day as we do with spring.  But the signs of his return give us hope. It stirs in our spirits that a new day is coming, a glorious day of new beginnings and sin and evil will be conquered once and for all.

The disciples were frightened and troubled at what Jesus told them and wondered when that time would be. Jesus tenderly and firmly spoke words of truth and comfort in John 14:1-3,6.

“Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you to myself so that where I am, there you can be also….I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father (God) except by me.”

If this has spoken to your heart, ask Jesus to open your eyes to the truth of His word. Start by reading the Gospel of John and then get on your knees and ask Jesus to forgive your sins. I promise you, He WILL.

 

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