Snow Cardinals

 The Cardinals waiting for warmer weather.

An Adventurous Day

Is there ever an ordinary day?

As much as we might think there is no such thing as an ordinary day. I know we have our routines.  Monday through Friday, sit in traffic, go to work, come home, and go to bed; the whole routine starts the next day. We might even come to a point where we dread the next day.

The fact of the matter is that every day is extraordinary. When we look at each day as a new beginning, even if our life doesn't seem so. 

Here is a short story of a lesson learned from our cats. 

We have two cats, one orange cat named Rex and the other black cat named Jack. These two are completely opposite of each other in their personalities. Rex is the king cat. He is bigger and bolder in his personality. Jack, on the other hand, is laid-back and docile. The one thing they have in common is their routine. They go outside, looking for the next mouse to catch or the perfect spot to lie down to take that afternoon nap. And as evening falls, they wait patiently to come into the house for the evening meal and retire for the night until the next day.

Once the sun comes up, this is when the subtle difference between the two takes place. We will announce the call for the cats to go outside. And the first one at the door is Rex followed slowly by Jack. Our hand is on the doorknob, and Rex has his nose on the edge of the door, waiting impatiently for the door to open. The door is opened, and out goes Rex, looking for the next adventure, while Jack casually strolls out, looking like he would instead go back into the house but seems content with the sunshine and the possibility of the next nap.    

The lesson learned.

We all have to approach each day like Rex and know we will have those occasional days like Jack.  Every day is a new adventure. The uncertainty is always there, but it is a new day, and we must venture out and look for the good things in life. We are the product of our personalities, whether we are like Rex or Jack.

Look forward to your next adventurous day!

    

Fall 7

 

Fall 6

Fall 5

Fall 4

 

Fall 3

 

Fall 2

Fall 1

The leaves here have not changed overall.  I'm guessing it will probably be another week.

Here is a picture from last year at about the same time.

October

 

The month of October.

The changing of color and season.

This month is the time of the year when the temperatures are almost perfect and the transformation of the color of leaves on the trees begins. 

I'm considering posting pictures of trees this month to capture the color transformation of the trees. 

September

The month of the beginning of the Fall season.

This is one of my favorite months of the year. The cooler temperatures, harvesting, and the changing color of the trees. The last few months have been hot, to say the least. I'm looking forward to working outside more because once we come to the winter months, we will retreat indoors and hibernate until spring.

Super Full Moon 2

 

Picture number two from last night.

Taken with a mobile phone camera.

Super Full Moon

 

The Super Blue Full Moon 

This was taken last night. I'm hoping to capture a better picture tonight. My understanding is the next one will be eight years from now.

Hummingbird

 

The Hummingbird of Summer

Eastern Prickly Pear

 

The flower of the Eastern Prickly Pear - a common cactus in Tennessee.

Cardinals

 

The past severe cold weather brought many cardinals to my feeders; more in this picture could not capture them in the frame.

Heroes Don't Wear Capes

 

Burgess Falls

 

Burgess Falls Tennessee

Retreat Weekend

 

This past weekend I went on a retreat to the Bethany Retreat House.  This is usually a yearly event, but due to the virus, this was the first time in a little over three years. I am a Lay Dominican formally known as Third Order Dominican. More on this in a later post.

The retreat is my vacation for the year. It's a silent retreat meaning no talking except while eating. The basic structure of the weekend is a Catholic Priest will have several sermons at various times along with long hours of silence, prayer, and reflection on the theme of the weekend. I would highly suggest if you ever have an opportunity to go on retreat, it will revive your soul and open you to God.

Here are a few pictures  

Small Pond

Hiking Trail

Stations of the Cross

The Great Room

The Chapel

Evening on the last day

Summer Eggs 3

I'm really surprised these guys survived.  The temperatures have been in the 100's.  This is late in the year to see bluebirds of this size still in the nest.