My new tenants ??

Plastic bird house

Bluebird couple, my first real view

Bluebird couple

If Bluebirds are in the area, why didn’t I see them last week, or two weeks ago, or a month ago?? Is it possible “Provide mealworms and they will come?” ~~  (“If you build it they will come.” Field of Dreams) ~~

I will love my new garden!!

Planted bulbsPostscript, same day, 3:00 PM: I am actually grateful for rain this afternoon so I can try to organize things indoors. I’ve spent almost the entire day in the yard. ~~ I planted the remainder of the sprouting bulbs (and numerous other projects I won’t list).

Life is very good !!

What better gift than a Bluebird at my feeder this morning?? Only yesterday (afternoon) I put out the first mealworms. This morning (10:47) I saw a flash of blue and questioned “Is that a Bluebird?” Moments later (10:52) “she” was picking up long leaf pine needles and flew into the bird house. She has started a nest!! I am so thrilled!!!!!!!!!! Bluebirds of happiness!! ~~ Yesterday I was reading this article about Texas Bluebirds.

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Postscript: I was inside the trailer and heard a crash. Puzzled, I went outside to check. Oh no!! ~~ The pictures tell the story. ~~ It’s 3 o’clock and I am heading to Lowe’s, in Livingston, for river rock and planter soil.

Wind blew over Bluebird house

Not enough weight in the base

A repair job

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Yet another postscript; 5:00 PM: The weight of a bag of river rock, and a generous amount of planter soil should prevent another catastrophe. The Bluebird house was repaired, re-erected, and awaits the new tenants. Daffodil bulbs had begun to sprout while in cold, dark storage. Now they have a chance to grow, and bloom, and eventually delight me with flowers. 

Repairs were made

Daffodil bulbs

My fine feathered friends…

…are happy!!

Happy Bird DaySeriously, there must be five hundred birds on the feeders, the ground and the trees!!

Birds on a branch

Ten o’clock and a dark gloomy day. A good day to continue reading… and rest from my labors.

Time & temperaturePostscript, Mon. Feb. 17, 2014: Another gloomy day; no sunshine!! Note how I caught identical indoor and outdoor temperature.

Random Acts of Kindness !!

Random-Acta-of-Kindness

Click here to check the blog message for February 15, 2013. I like to look back and see what I was doing a year (or two) ago. Little did I know, when looking for appropriate clip art, I would discover–at this time last year–it was Random Acts of Kindness week. ~~ An additional search revealed this week is International Random Acts of Kindness Week.

Click here to check the blog message for February 16, 2012. At least I am consistent!! The galvanized pipe was transported from Waxhaw, North Carolina, to Livingston, Texas. Good grief!! Will the insanity never cease??

Click here to check the blog message for February 11, 2011: It’s difficult to believe three years have passed since I was volunteering at Wycliffe in Orlando, Florida. Again I say, “at least I am consistent”: My prayer is still “Thy will be done.” I’ve just finished the book In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon and I’m reading the sequel Jesus Is Here. It was exactly one hundred years ago that Charles M. Sheldon wrote his Introduction to Jesus Is Here. Further information,very interesting.

Click here to check the blog messages from February 2010: I was preparing to move from Shelby, North Carolina. (When I left Lancaster, California, I never anticipated five moves in nine years!!)

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Here’s a novel idea: Volunteer on Demand, “Anywhere, any time…, in as few as 15 minutes.”  

The VolunteerGuide.org directory is a free service of Charity Guide, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting flexible volunteerism, by inspiring and facilitating acts of kindness.

Heart in handsPass it on(“Volunteering” is a subject close to my heart.)

Tooting my own horn !!

A former CARE volunteer, and temporarily my next-door neighbor, sent me a heartwarming email message. The first day we met, he gave me a lovely book: National Audubon Society Pocket Guide, Familiar Birds of North America, East. He shares my love for birds. 

Random Act of Kindness!! 

Hi Lorraine:
You were my sunshine at the SKP park. I too am sorry we missed each other this morning. It would have been nice to give and get a farewell hug. I looked at your T@B Teardrop Travels and your blog [Three Quarters and Counting]. I see that you have immortalized my truck on your blog (lol)…. I arrived a little while ago in the Bandera, TX area…. Over the next week I’ll be doing some kayaking, go to a couple of museums…. I wish you well.
Travel Safe & Have fun!
Steven
RV’ing the Country I Love!!

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A CARE resident gave me a lovely Valentine.

ValentineValentine (inside)

His left arm flexes back and forth with the thumb pointing to himself.

RAK !!

Rare phenomenon: Sunshine

Bird feedersFeeders, wind chimes, etc.PlantersShepherd's hooksOpen doorClockBig fat Robin
Robin up close

I spent hours in the yard!!

I filled bird feeders; I positioned bird feeders; I re-positioned bird feeders; I surveyed the yard with a critical eye wanting proper spacing and visual appeal. ~~ I moved the empty planters, and Shepherd’s Hooks from North side of the storage building (because [wouldn’t you know] “they” need to work back there). I’m happy-exhausted this evening!! It was s-o-o-o-o good to spend time outdoors and enjoy the sunshine!!

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Postscript, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, 3:30 PM: Another day in the yard. First: my first trip to the storage unit to shift things around in hopes of locating “kitchen” and “yard” items. Second: unpack the yard things and set them up. Yes, more feeders. Now there are thirteen (13) bird feeders,  two (2) squirrel feeds, eight (8) wrought-iron hanging baskets, six (6) simulated whiskey-barrel planters, over a dozen miscellaneous plastic planters, two (2) wind chimes, one (1) fountain, one (1) rain gauge, one (1) Bluebird house, and one (1) ornamental bird house. (I’m so tired, I probably forgot to count something!!)

Thirteen bird feedersBird feeders & plantersPlantersMore planters

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Time & temperatureBluebird houseBluebird house plus detailsI’m just getting started!! Next: planter soil. Meanwhile, I ponder “Where do I put this planter? Where do I position this Shepherd’s hook?” My concern: “Will a Texas Bluebird couple adopt the Bluebird house I set up?”

For your information (copied from a recent email message)

Lorraine,
You’ve heard the revelations about government surveillance practices, both in the U.S. and around the world. They’ve sparked a long-overdue debate about the true scale of government surveillance programs, and the laws that govern them. It’s time to demand a change.Today, Google is standing up with the web to call for urgent reform.Call your members of Congress right now, and tell them you demand a change.Google recognizes the very real threats that the U.S. and other countries face today, but we strongly believe that government surveillance programs should operate under a legal framework that has very specific rules, is transparent and accountable to oversight, and keeps users like you safe.

In Congress, the USA Freedom Act would enact many of the principles that Google and other Internet companies, organizations, and users have been demanding. The bill’s sponsors, Representative Sensenbrenner and Senator Leahy, said government surveillance programs “have come at a high cost to Americans’ privacy rights, business interests and standing in the international community.” We couldn’t agree more, and trust you do, too.

Urge your members of Congress to support the USA Freedom Act and reform government surveillance today:

http://www.reformgovernmentsurveillance.com

More soon,

Derek Slater
Google Inc.