My God

Psalm 18:2

"The LORD is my rock 

and my fortress 

and my deliverer, 

my God, 

my rock, in whom I take refuge, 

my shield, 

and the horn of my salvation, 

my stronghold."

~~~~~

Blessed words as Dad and I prepare to fly across the world tomorrow.

And for my dear Mother who will be entrusting us to His care on a higher level than usual!

So thankful for an "all-present" God...who can be every place at once, with His eyes on each loved one, surrounding them with His angels, doing for each one what is best!

How wonderful that THIS is my God!

Texas: Just Wildflowers

 Beautiful fields of Texas wildflowers.

Of all the times we could have visited, I think we hit the best of the best. :)

 Many-colored bluebonnets!

 Pink poppies!

 Red poppies!

 Bi-colored poppies!

 California poppies!

Can you tell what was in season?

Texas: Beautiful Handwork

 Now to show off the skills my great-aunt and uncle have!

Aunt Joyce is a very talented and experienced quilter, and has some absolutely exquisite pieces. This was my favorite, and quite a show-stopper! 

The Baltimore Album quilt.

 All hand-pieced and quilted!!

 And then there's Uncle Dave's hobby, which you've gotten a taste of in an earlier post...flower gardening!

 Gecko...hard to chase down!

 Don't see many of these in Kentucky...

 Passion Flower.

 In their younger days, they not only grew many prize-winning plants (chrysanthemums in particular), but Aunt Joyce was a certified judge in flower contests.

 Knock-out roses!

 Plumeria! 

There was only one tree (of nearly 30!) blooming, but Uncle Dave often makes leis for his guests when they're in full bloom.

 My good li'l friend, Penny the Yorkie.

 

 These are called Loquats, if I remember right. And though Uncle Dave says they taste pretty sour by themselves, they make a wonderful jelly.

 Ahhh...yes.

This was a wonderful backyard to spend some quality time in. :)

Texas: Life-risks

 And these pictures you must admire as long as you can.

Must.

For this one, I fought off hundreds, probably thousands, of blood-sucking mosquitoes, and unwittingly let about 50 of them into the car, which Oma and I then spent the rest of the trip slapping.

 And this tree was fun for the same reason. Only this time Oma and Aunt Joyce stayed in the car and had fun watching people approach the tree all excited, take a picture, look down at their feet, and make speedy tracks back to their cars, slapping right and left.

But Uncle Dave and I braved the mosquitoes for a few minutes to photograph the oldest, biggest Live Oak in the country.

Pretty neat.

I'm having a hard time using the "Great Outdoors" label on this post. 

Mosquitoes are NOT a great part of the outdoors.

Texas: The Bay

 A lovely drive to the bay, on the edge of the Gulf. 

Beautiful day!

 Pelicans! Etc. etc...

 The trees are amazing.

 Shaped by the sea breezes...

or maybe something a little stronger?

 And what's this in the top of the trees?

And there are always more wildflowers. :)