Some more of Mom's roses are blooming this weekend, others have been scorched by the sun already. I feel so lucky when I can see them as buds before they bloom, rosebuds are special. The church bells have been ringing all day and we had a parade go down our street, the only one that does all year. The other parades are always on main street, but this is the Memorial Day parade so it goes to the cemetery for a ceremony to honor the veterans with the band and flags that ends with a 21 gun salute and a loud canon. This time they had a big covered wagon for the veterans to ride in the parade, and they all seemed happy about that suggestion.
All we have of freedom, all we use or know-
This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.
~ Rudyard Kipling (1899)
The flags are all set out for the Memorial Day service tomorrow. I took my walk early this morning as this is one very hot Memorial Day weekend, and it's really striking to walk through the cemetery with all the flags. My parents were out early yesterday morning, putting many flags out for the service too. Everyone had long lists of veterans and some were very hard to find as their headstones were so old that some of the engravings were worn down. The top photo I took of the crosses that represents the veterans of the wars, going all the way back to the Spanish American war in this cemetery.
Emily must have been feeling my stress as she went through a bit of stressful times herself. She has been pulling her furs out, but we both seem to be doing ok now. She has been playing with her favorite prey, Mr. Duckie and I'm enjoying my peaceful walks again.
I Peter 5:7
Cast your cares upon the Lord, for he cares about you.
I apologize in advance for being so slow to blog this month...May has always gone too quickly for me, with all this great weather and not enough time to slow down and enjoy. The roses have been blooming already, what happened to waiting until summer? My camera hasn't been catching up much either, but I did manage to take a few photos of my daughter's graduation (Katie.) Then there are the cats...I don't know what the outdoor cat's name is, I just called him Sweetie (not sure if he liked that?) The indoor cat is Eclipse and he kept me company at night, made sure I had plenty of his white fur so I wouldn't feel like I was missing Emily too much.
Do you remember those paper flowers we made as crafty ideas when we were kids? I sure do and my mom also remembered me making tons of these as a kid...what can I say? I get on a roll sometimes. I really appreciate the beauty of these real poppies that look so delicate with their paper-like petals, but they are actually pretty tough. This poppy just made it through a storm but when the sun came out again, the color was just amazing. So thankful to be able to slow down a bit and admire the beauty of a simple poppy on a warm spring day.
I get to start a new job, and new kind of project and I am thankful for that this week too.
Psalm 62:1
My soul finds rest in God alone:
My salvation comes from Him.
