Author: anitashope

Retired Quality Manager but still have the "Why" curiosity drive so I am turning my love for Christ and nature into my new why chase and am trying to discover more of His word as it relates to His love for His creation.

Mother’s Day Gift

My daughter knows I have a soft heart for animals, especially those picked on by the meanness of man. The wild animal kingdom is in so much danger from poaching, habitat loss, and just basic cruelty of man that my heart breaks for them. One of my most favorites is the elephant.

I have for years called them ef-alants, because of my first child not being able to pronounce such a big word. I have some coconut hair planters, one shaped like an elephant, and then my daughter got me this solar light for the yard of an elephant. It is ways too cute to be outside so I have it next to my elephant planter.

The El-falant Night Light

Remember in all that you do, be kind. You never know when you may be rescuing a hurting soul with a kind smile, a thoughtful deed or a warm hug.

Really Big Berry

The Berry

Ode to the berry who stands so tall

Others in the box don’t measure up at all

His width so wide with such a big head

His color so rich, so very bright red

We had to slice it, its juice so very sweet

Laid across the cake, a super tasty treat

Covering with cream, adding to the dream

Heading to my mouth, I wanted to scream

GA Neal

As we take in the deliciousness of summer fruits and other tasty treats, remember the smiles they give us and share those smiles with others. Smiles are a fabulous way to be kind.

Spring and Babies

Who doesn’t love a baby…well some critters I don’t care for but spring always brings out the babies we (generally) love to see. Like mamma Robin and her baby…

Then in the community garden at the church we have baby rabbits. While they can be a pest and did eat my string beans…🥺, they are still so cute. I just replanted and added marigolds to help run them off from tender shoots.

Spring is a time when we bird watchers get excited about all the new life we see at the feeders. Their colors are so bright and they are very talkative.

Spring helps us relax from winter doldrums and get ready to smile and breathe in the fresh air (after I take an allergy pill) and enjoy new life for another season.

As you enjoy the sights you see of spring, remember to always be kind. Even the animals understand what kindness is.

Sunday Stills: Churches

I have long been a fan of older church architecture, so I have to chime in with a few of my favorite details I thought interesting of churches in the Quad City Area.

Sunday Stills: #Sacred Spaces — Churches, Temples and Spiritual Centers

First Presbyterian Church

Grace City Church

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Interesting details from several churches

As we study the buildings of a designer’s vision, let’s appreciate their beauty and marvel at their construction, especially those built long ago and are still being used.

And in all things remember to be kind. Kindness has a beauty that outshines many other things.

Weekend Sky #99, May 6&7

I have not posted on Weekend Sky in a while because the skies have been relatively calm…not this weekend. Two warm fronts back to back causing all kinds of issues mostly due to the unseasonably warm temperatures. We don’t usually see 90s until mid-June but this weekend was hot and humid and a show stopper of dark swirling clouds. Saturday was not really that volatile. But as the sun began to set, the colors were amazing.

Sunday was a different story. An evil-looking sky swirled around as the storm started building, resulting in hail, high winds, and a tornado south of us.

After the storm settled to a low roar, the sky seem to split with dark clouds below, dark clouds above, and the sun trying its best to appear. It was quite ominous looking and the clouds looked like hot air being belched from the sun.

On the other side of the river, Youth Group at the church was just letting out and Kenzie snapped this picture. A double rainbow – a double promise from God that He is still in control.

So even though storms can be scary, God is still guiding us and keeping us safe as long as we use a little common sense to stay out of the storms path.

The remainder of the week promises to be somewhat calm so we will work in the garden and yard to watch the beauty of nature grow.

FOTD, May 6, Daffodils

Thank you Cee for a much loved flower today.

Daffodils have been a favorite most of my life and last fall, I learned that they may help to deter moles. Yay!! An excuse to plant more because I am tired of the moles digging up my yard.

There are so many varieties of sizes, shapes, and colors. Below are the few that I have in the front. Some say they all look the same, but like people, they have their own uniqueness.

While these two are of the same color, yellow with an orange center, the first one has a flip in its petal, making it unique. Middle pic is a closeup. The other yellow below I think is the same variety but it yellow is softer and it’s center more peachy.

Then there is the one who refused to color at all…it is all white.

But even without color, it is quite striking. Flowers are a good example of God’s creative genius that flows through all of His creation. All are beautiful in His eyes and that carries more weight than any of man’s judgments could ever carry. Enjoy the beauty around you and know it was made for a purpose, maybe just to make you smile. And remember, Be Kind. Kindness is a super power.

Not a Poet, but Thanks

I have to shout out many congratulations to all the participants of Volume 2 of The Short of It, Reflection and Revelations. I finally got my copy.

If you have not gotten your copy, and you enjoy poetry, this is a good compilation of work and a must-read. While there is some of my work in this book, I do not consider myself a poet. I am a storyteller. Being a poet is a gift of being able to use minimal words and create a beautiful story. I need more words, but thank you Susi for allowing me to be part of your talented writers.

Several of the writers of this series, I follow here on Word Press and some I enjoyed being a part of in Volume 1. May we all continue to share our hearts to help others smile, heal and continue on in this life.

And as a reminder, always be kind. Kindness opens so many doors of healing and hope to others, that we all benefit from it.

FOTD, April 27, Hopeful

As spring really begins to open in the Midwest, there is an old adage that says “plant nothing until Mother’s Day”. Even though the days are warmer, the nights are still quite chilly and I think some of the bush flowers are still in “hopeful” mode that it will be warm soon.

Miniature white azalea bush

Last fall I had to trim my lilac bushes as they was getting into the cable wires going to the house. It was well over 12′ high. I was concerned it would not bloom this year since we cut it back so much…but it did…carefully and hopefully.

Other plants are showing their hopes as they creep out from under bushes or pop out from between blocks, determined to grow.

The purple flower goes with the green vine and I have no idea what it is called. It was in a flower pot of various plants that broke at the end of summer…still, it was determined to live. The lily is from an easter lily that I was given last spring and I forgot that I had laid it on the ground. The dog got into it in the fall and looky here, its trying to show its beauty. Nature has a resilience that people should learn from her. Stay strong, stay true to yourself, and beauty will come.

With this beauty and strength, we must also be kind. Kindness has a strength that shows everyone of its ability to breakdown most any wall that is willing to receive love in kindness.

All of God’s creation understand kindness. We should use it more often with each form of His creation.

The Mighty Mississip’

Those of us from the south fully understand what the Mississippi River can do during hurricane season where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. But here in the Midwest, we don’t worry so much about hurricanes…we worry about snowmelt. These first pictures are from last summer at the bandstand down at the river where we have weekly outdoor concerts.

But this year is one of the flooding years. They don’t always look this bad but this year may set a record. If you can see that white dotted line across the center of the water…that is the tops of the white chairs from above and the current water level is almost to the bandstand floor level. The water is not due to crest until Monday. The concerts may be late this year.

Picnic anyone?

I was not able to take a picture because I was driving across the bridge, but they were cutting the grass of the baseball field. The building in the thirds set of pictures behind the Bandits sign is the baseball stadium and they have floodgates around it so the stadium stays dry. But I chuckled at the irony of them cutting the grass.

Always remember that life can throw you curve balls. Some you get to hit out of the way and some knock you down. But God is always there by your side to help you either way. Feel His love surround you and reflect His kindness.