Happy Flag Day...

...America!

Old Glory was adopted as the official flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the 2nd Continental Congress.

And in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation designating June 14 as "Flag Day".

Interesting tidbit for the TDS afflicted among us...

AOC, Jeffries, Schumer, Moulton...

...it's also President Trump's 80th birthday.

It's altogether fitting Trump was born on Flag Day...

...as he fights to restore respect, honor and appreciation - not just for our flag, but for our country, all across the globe.

Our Colors...Fly Them Proudly!

When we first moved here in 2017, there was an enormous green spider perched on our wall:

At least that's what it looked like to me.

It was actually an overgrown tree whose wild and wooly branches had breeched the boundaries of the courtyard.

Those untamed boughs also housed some sort of exotic bird - we regularly heard this loud reverberating chirping sound, sort of like a cricket on steroids - emanating from the tree, or so it seemed.

We never found our noisy friend in the spider tree, and a few years later - once we learned more about the home we'd purchased - when it was built, the architect and his original vision - 

"Baysweep" by Dean Bryant Vollendorf, circa 1961

- I set about the task of eliminating all the misplaced and unkempt foliage others had planted, then ignored through the decades:

a rainy day look at the front wall now...

...and the erstwhile big green spider, cut down to size today

Every once in awhile we still heard that strange sounding bird call around the courtyard but try as we might, we could never locate the source.

Until a few nights ago.

We were watching tv with the front door open to enjoy the cool night air, when Chirpy started up again.

The acoustics in the courtyard are quite good, so it was loud - so loud we'd have to shut the door, which we didn't want to do.

Instead, we grabbed a flashlight and headed out on safari.

Of course as soon as we opened the screen door he stopped.

So we waited.

And waited.

And just when we were ready to head back inside, Chirpy sounded off again.

Karen quickly pointed the flashlight in the direction of the sound, and finally...after all these years...we said hello to Chirpy the wingless bird:

Aka, a frog.  Who knew?  And he still has great pipes:

If only he could actually sing like Michigan J. Frog of Merrie Melodies fame:

Then again, <maybe not>.

Unless you're a humorless cretin sans moral compass -

[aka a D, in which case you can exit here:]

- it's time to 23 Skidoo, to wit:

he actually stood on Dale's shoulders to get up there

first daisy of the season

so that's how it gets emptied

so...tired...

roses in bloom

ain't he jes' the cutest li'l thang?

Had to laugh the other day when I read Steven Spielberg's claim that  his new movie...

...would make <Christians question their faith>.

The few reviews I read said it was mostly a slow moving mish mash of tired cliches and that Mr. S has lost his touch.

So yes, Steve, you've done it!

God's Word has been around for millennia, preserved by Him for those who are called to be His children, attacked, impugned, scorned but mostly ignored by the world for centuries, but NOW...

...now YOU've come up with the definitive foil that will cause the Christian faith to crumble.

How arrogant can one man be?

As the Scripture says, "Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

"Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud."

    - Proverbs 16:18,19

But it is good to be reminded of what Jesus taught His disciples about the end times in Matthew 24.

He uses the word "deceive" four times because it will be an age of deception.

Paul echoes this in I Timothy 4 when he writes "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron..."

    - I Timothy 4:1,2

Lies, hypocrisy, deception...sounds familiar.

So...are we there yet?

God knows.

If we are, then those who have put their faith in Christ be in heaven soon.

If we're not, we're commanded to soldier on, doing our best to heed God's calling on our lives.

Either way, hear what Jesus told His disciples: "And what I say unto you, I say unto all: Watch!"

    - Mark 13:37

later, mcm fans...