Spring! (400 Mile Marathon)

Spring is here, spring is there, spring is everywhere!!! What a spring it has started out to be on the Great American Desert. We are not living on an island, yet, here in Volga but may well be in the near future. I have been informed that this city since it began has never flooded. 400 miles east the city of BelFouche is under snow. 400 miles north water is besieging the landscape on all sides. 400 miles south the wind tore up homes and property. 400 miles east Wisconsin is getting soaked(much needed after the last few years of drought). What we have at the center of our circle of friends and family is mud up to our-----elbows! The landscaping on our property was nearing completion when the first snows came last October 5th. That left us with living through the winter and surviving for the spring. I thought we had it made on Sunday as I removed the Christmas decorations from our future lawn. Then it hit! Whoosh!!! Wind and rain with a severe tornado warning. Needless to say it was not a good day in donut city where I bake the stuff folks love to eat. We didn't really have a clue about what was going on around us until a local television station called in to see if we had any idea where the flooding was and how bad. We didn't realize until a few hours after opening that the roads were not being traveled as they usually are. Coffee and donuts were not moving. Roads were out to the north, south and west of us here in Volga. You would think someone would have come for the donuts and coffee, but no.....they could not get here. Life is like that sometimes. No matter how badly one desires something ya just can't get to where it's at. We're alright for now, and the new basement is remaining dry. I give thanks to God for allowing us time to get the foundation backfill done before winter hit. And all this rain has provided further confirmation that my choices for runoff areas on the new place were very good. Water is shedding as I had intended and prayed. Sometimes we dismiss the power of prayer concerning the smaller things in our lives. No prayer is too great or too small our loving Creator hears them all and responds in His timing with the answers that we need. I pray your day is a dry one and that God is hearing you pray for life's needs. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Duck Heaven

Titles are sometimes difficult to visualize. This one was not. Duck Heaven is the first thing that entered my mind when I looked back through the pictures we have taken of the ducks in our care these past years. They became very real pets for my wife, Cheryl. In some respects they may have been pets for me as well, although I must admit in my heart of hearts I always wanted to have them in a roasting pan. I did not get to eat them! Some critter out here on the Great American Desert bested me on this one. They passed a week apart. First the white(she was a gimp)was taken, and then the big Mallard. I really did not think he would be killed. He had a nasty disposition and beat up anything that came near him except for my honey. I'm sure he put up a valiant struggle. The tracks left by the predator appeared to me to be fox. The fox is like that! The manner in which the meat was torn from the carcass indicates to me that it was carried away. More than likely she has some young not too far removed from where we live. One day the hide will adorn my loft office as do several others I have. This one will be a killing of revenge and remorse. Remorse for our loss and my wife's many tears. Revenge(only after the pups are grown)for an unwanted set of circumstances. The fox has to live, too. It is very much like that with all of our lives. At the present time our country appears to be feeding on itself from all directions. As the jobless rate continues to rise I can only give thanks that we are both employed and that God has continued to bless our lives in so many wonderful ways. I pray often for our country and it's leaders. I also pray that there is a duck haven somewhere in the eternal scheme of things so that we can once again enjoy the company of the pets that "quacked" us up for so many years. In Christ's Love, Preacher.