The Common Ostrich.

 Today's bird is the common ostrich. Not just sure exactly how common it is and where it might be considered common, but dearly beloved, would not want one in my hen house! Have you ever seen the feet on those creatures? Considering their speed and the muscles in their legs, can't even imagine trying to run from one! And they can just keep those pretty feathers. Would rather have a ringed-neck pheasant around here. Know nothing about what kind of character a pheasant might be, but they are certainly beautiful.

Some of the headlines--Iran sending ships with missiles to Venezuela, China floating their ships slowly by and poking at Japan over Japan's islands, a ship loaded with acid sunk in the ocean off of India, an Iranian ship burned and sunk in the Gulf of Hormuz--and to top it off, it looks as if California is going to dry up like Oklahoma did back in the days of the Dust Bowl. If their lakes go dry, they have to shut down the power plants--no water, no electricity. Pretty scary.

Would appreciate prayers for a couple of folks: Wendy S. is getting over an infection caused when a dentist pulled some teeth and did not give her any antibiotics! She ended up in the hospital. Connie's sister is having oral surgery tomorrow as well, but she has already started the antibiotics. She is not in good shape at all for any kind of medical procedure. About all we can do is pray for her.

Started working on Zoom today. Did you know that you only get 40 minutes for free? Not sure if that is per session or per day or what. We got interrupted today, but maybe next time will be better. For now the boys are concentrating on proofreading. It is an art! It takes both knowledge of similar words and the keen eye of watching for errors. We did finish one page of number and word proofreading. Numbers have rules that are almost as complicated as foreign languages--striving for clarity is a big deal when dealing with numbers.

My poor Thompson has a hot spot that he simply will not leave alone. Have had allergies long enough in my lifetime that it is so very easy to sympathize with him. More than once the urge to scratch has overcome my abilities to ignore the itch or burn. It reminds me of poison ivy--hopeless until healed.

Walked out in the yard this morning and took some pictures. Just love the wilderness of flowers out there. Connie stopped to notice some begonias and lobelia on my front porch when she came over for eggs. She wanted to know if they would do well in her flower bed. Kinda don't think so as they don't seem like straight up sun lovers. And it is not likely that she would want sunflowers right outside blocking her window.

It looks like Friday might--big M on that word--be a decent day to mow the lots. Right now it is not "supposed" to be raining, but the clouds are all balled up and think some thunder might be the noises coming from the south. Hard to tell. Maybe it was a big truck on the highway . . .

Read something about the Prayers for Israel site that had been overwhelmed with antisemitism and other kinds of hate posts. FB took down the entire site and said it would not be allowed to return. Guess it is a good thing that we can pray in private to a God who hears us. Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego did not have to deal with public forums like those found on the internet. They just had to deal with prying neighbors and a king who thought he should be worshipped. Not a whole lot of difference in some ways. The internet can be a fiery furnace of hatred, lies, propaganda and assorted negativity. Probably a good time to enjoy the outdoors before the heat--or the hatred--gets to be too much.

Not a lot going on around here other than the usual stuff. Happy hens [mostly], sweet dogs, a mockingbird feeding her babies on the back deck, and enough sweet breezes to enjoy the early mornings. May God bless all of you with at least this many favors of His kindness. You are loved.