Joshua and His Girl

Joshua and Jurnee

Update on Boid the Wood Stork

Boid has moved onward. We enjoyed the month he was here. The eBird reporting website is now showing him in a state park close to our home. 

Please pray for Karen

9/11: Karen was told by her oncologist that he will no longer see her since she will not submit to his order for end-of-life care. She wants to continue to fight for her life instead of giving up on it. He will no longer see her. She is going to see an alternative doctor to see if there is anything they can do for her. This will be very costly and out of pocket for her. Please pray this doctor gives her something that can help her. Myles is having seizures every other day right now. Please pray for him and for Karen's comfort and peace about Myles' care. She wants to tend to her son, but she is weak and unable. 

9/5: Karen is hanging in there. She had two hard doctor's appointments yesterday. Myles is still having seizures. Please keep praying for her. She struggles more in the evenings when she is tired. Please keep praying for deep, restorative sleep. I was asked what was the "something else" she is using to ease her pain in the deep open wound with exposed nerve endings. It is DSMO (dimethylsulfoxide).

8/22: Karen saw the surgeon. The appointment was not what they were hoping. She was encouraged to think "End of Life Care." She says we are all already on End of Life care. She will keep fighting and looking for answers. Please join me in prayer that God will greatly multiply the good effects of everything she does to improve her health. She also needs prayer for deep restorative sleep. The arm with the open wounds is very painful and has a lot of edema. The exposed nerves are painful but she puts magnesium and something else on them to calm them down. Please pray Myles is completely healed of the seizures. He is having significantly fewer these days. Please also pray for her 21-year-old son's ministry to continue to thrive for God's glory. Then there are the financial needs and the work needs of their organic farm. 

8/19: Karen said she could feel the prayers lifted for her. She thought she'd have to miss her alternative therapy treatment (biphotonic scanner), but she had the strength to go. 

Update 8/14: Karen is asking for prayers for peace and strength. Things have continually become worse for her. Thank you for praying with me for my friend.

Update from Karen 8/12: Things have been getting worse every day, I saw a new doctor on Saturday and she was shocked. She sent to the lab for blood work and X-ray, couldn't get the X-ray done yet, on my way to wound care appointment. New doctor wants me in with a general surgeon asap and she thinks he's going to do a lumpectomy along with surgical debridement. Myles had a GM on Saturday morning, but he went 11 days without any which is tremendously incredible

thank you for praying and for continuing to lift me up. The pain and bandages twice daily have been agony and I really need strength to endure.

Update 8/13: Update from Karen on yesterday's appointment: An answer to prayer about the new testing available, they did a culture and they are sending it to a very extensive lab in Arkansas that tells my doctors everything in the wound including fungus

Thank you for praying for my friend and her family. May the Lord bless you for the prayers you uplift on their behalf.

July 12: Karen reached out to me last night and requested prayer for extreme pain and for her teenage special needs son's seizures, fainting, and vomiting. Would you please intercede with me on her behalf? Thank you and may the Lord bless you abundantly for praying for my friend.

My new egg basket

Thanks, Clint!

Canned Quail

I started pressure canning in my early 20s. I had no one to teach me, so I learned from books I purchased. Today it is easier and free with online resources. At first, I would not pressure can meat because I could not get around how it looked. It took a few years, but I grew up mentally. Today, I love it for the time-saving and convenience. It also doesn't cost me anything for it to sit on the shelf. Food in the freezer requires electricity (actual cost goes up as long as it is in your freezer) and is vulnerable to power outages. This is how I do "fast food" for my family. Open and add spices, heat, and eat. I can serve a meal faster than I can drive to the restaurants within 5 minutes of my home, wait for my food, and drive back home. This is part of the quail four of us harvested earlier this week.

Wood Stork, A Rare Guest

 

 

This wood stork has been hanging out at our house for a few weeks now. He or she has an orange bill which indicates it is an immature bird. It goes off to hunt in our river and comes back here to take naps and roost at night. 

I logged the sighting under my account on eBird. I did not share my name or exact location. I shared my handle which has my first name only and pinned the spot near my road. A delivery driver and fellow birder used his database to find me. He got my phone number off of the sign at the end of my gated driveway. And that's how things got started. Thank you, Lord, for moving Clint to install that gate a couple of decades ago! 

I am not feeling 100% (EBV flare-up due to chronic ear infection due to the e tube dysfunction). So, if Brandon or Clint can be around, we are letting people drive into the front yard, take pictures, check the sighting off of their birding lists, and leave. They are not allowed out of their cars or to get too close to where "Boid" perches. 

Boid has a few favorite spots on our property and doesn't mind our family. Its pretty good until we are closer than six feet. I've made it my job to give Boid a haven here until it moves onward. 

From what the birding community has told me, this is the first one in our county and surrounding area. The closest one to us was in VA Beach.

While I am a person who does not like a lot of people around, I understand the exuberance. I am a nature lover and a bird watcher. I used to keep a book and check birds off my list too. I have made treks to see birds but always when they were on public lands. As long as people are respectful of our property and the rules we put into place, I will work with them. 

If they aren't respectful I will charge them with trespassing. 

If you are a birdwatcher or ornithologist and would like to take a gander at Boid, please contact me at the email in the header of this page. My love to all!

Neil Med Eustachi

I have eustachian tube dysfunction. I learned about the Eustachi device from my friend Tom. While I usually have to use it a few times a session a few sessions a day, it works to help my ears drain. My Eustachi device failed after only a few uses. It would not turn on. It was one month out of warranty. Clint contacted Neil Med, the maker, and they are sending me a new one free of charge. So here is a shout-out to a company that stands by its products and treats its customers right! 

I also use their sinus rinse bottles to prevent sinus infections. It is very helpful after I cut grass or work outdoors during peak allergy seasons.