Pollywog Creek

It’s my testimony…

~ Patricia — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:30:00 +0000

Please visit me at my main blog: Pollywog Creek

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has visited and redeemed his people.

~

…

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.

~ Luke 1:68, 77-79

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ John 1:1-5

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world,

and the world was made through him,

yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,

he gave the right to become children of God,

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh

nor of the will of man, but of God.

~ John 1:9-13

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,

and we have seen his glory,

glory as of the only Son from the Father,

full of grace and truth.

~ John 1:14

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

~ Psalm 119:105

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1

While cleaning out old files yesterday – files that have been stored away for years – I was thrilled to find the outline of a talk I had given to a women’s group at least ten years ago. In that talk, I had applied the characteristics of light to ways God had revealed Himself to me.

You would have to know the stronghold fear held on my life – for decades – to understand how precious the truth of Psalm 27 is to me. Maybe as I have time over the summer I’ll elaborate, but for now I just want to share the outline:

Light shows us the way out of darkness…
“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” John 12:46

Light shows us the way in darkness…
“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.” Micah 7:8

Light reveals what is hiding in the darkness…
“He uncovers the deeps out of darkness
and brings deep darkness to light.” Job 12:22

“But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible” Ephesians 5:13

Light heals…
“He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Light shines through “cracks” and weaknesses…
“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” II Corinthians 4:5-6

Light attracts…
“Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” Philippians 2:14-16

Light reflects…
“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.” Isaiah 60:1-2

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” I Peter 2:9

New photos, Archived words.

Related: Creation Sings…

Full Circle…

~ Patricia — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:30:00 +0000

It was ten days ago that at dawn and dusk, I walked full circle from bottle brush to bottle brush, chasing sunlight with my camera on Pollywog Creek.

For over a week, the photos have been hidden in a draft while I’ve pondered what to do with them.

I’ve been tempted to delete and move on, but I can’t. I don’t know why, I just know I can’t.

It’s like the knowing when God wants you to share a word of encouragement, a verse, or a hug, and the Holy Spirit won’t let you rest until you do, and then the other person says, “You have no idea how much I needed that today.”

So here they are – for that person who needs them today.

All God’s critters…

~ Patricia — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:00:00 +0000

All God’s critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
And some just clap their hands, or paws
Or anything they got.
~ Bill Staines

Members of this week’s Pollywog Creek choir included:
spiders (above)
red-headed woodpeckers (below)
hundreds of dragonflies
pileated woodpeckers (below)
an otter
a soft-shell turtle
ladybugs
cardinals
crows
blue-jays
two black-bellied whistling ducks (below)dovesred-bellied woodpeckersgracklesheronsbullfrogsmockingbirdsgreat crested flycatchersskeetersa variety of other insects, including a scorpion that stung me three times
and…

another gator.

The place where all beauty comes from…

~ Patricia — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:30:00 +0000

“The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing…to find the place where all the beauty came from” ~ C.S. Lewis

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

I think of Genesis as I wander about Pollywog Creek these stifling, humid mornings of summer.

The air is heavy, and I’m weighed down by sweat-drenched clothes and dew-soaked sneakers, and I swat at skeeters that nibble my ankles and sometimes question my sanity as I tip-toe ’round the pond.

Crazy lady with her camera. Whatever does she see out there in the wet grass and tangle of vines along the creek?

But truthfully, I can’t resist. God sprinkled beauty in unlikely places – in mud and grass and on rocks and cypress knees – and I don’t want to miss a thing.

It’s in the way dangling moss sparkles in the early morning light, and bullfrogs skip across the surface of the pond, and dragonflies with their gossamer wings poise along the barb-wire fence.

It’s in mockingbird serenades, and woodpecker fledglings, and perky dandelions dotting the fields.

And I wonder why we call them weeds when God called them good.

(C.S.Lewis quote HT Light for the Writer’s Soul – Victoria Gaines)

Sharing all good things…

~ Patricia — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Quite a few years ago, I presented a message on laity Sunday to the church we were attending – a message I titled The Three Point Sermon Our Pastor Will Never Give. As we concluded a study of Galatians last week in the mid-week group at the church we now attend, I was reminded of one of the points I’d made in that message.

“One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.“ ~ Galatians 6:6

I don’t know where, or if, I filed my notes from years ago, but I don’t recall commenting on the imperative. Paul was not making a suggestion. It was a must. And as I reflected on this verse with a fresh perspective, share and good things stood out.

“Share usually implies that one as the usual holder grants to another the partial use, enjoyment or possession of a thing.” ~ Merriam-Webster Dictionary online

To share means that I give the “use, enjoyment or possession” of something I already own – a good thing I already possess.

It’s easy and natural for me to share with my family and friends, but Galatians 6:6 challenges me to be more creative and intentional in how and what I share with “the one who teaches“.

Photos from my backyard swing (with tall glasses of ice cold water) and Pollywog Creek wanderings: beauty berry, rain-sparkled cypress leaves, zinnias, trumpet vines, scruffy molting cardinal fledglings and messy red-bellied woodpeckers, clinging vines on rusty fence, an assortment of flowering weeds, and a hardworking husband who stubbornly insists on cleaning up debris from the felled pines with a bandaged, stitched-up finger.

Summer and stitches…

~ Patricia — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:56:00 +0000

It feels like a lifetime has passed since I posted anything (creative or original) of substance.

I’ve had too many plates spinning in my head to focus on just one.

It’s what happens when you have family and friends that you love and care for deeply…

…and they need you (or someone) and you are available.

If only to listen and pray…

…or play cars and “Whac a Mole” and cuddle for a nap.

I’m leaving one feeder out this summer (until I run out of seed) for the blue jays and red-bellied woodpeckers…

…and the northern cardinals to feed their fledglings.

Have you ever seen a cardinal fledgling? My goodness, those babies are ~~ugly~~ scraggly.

Without complaining or belaboring the point, it’s no secret how I ~~hate~~ feel about summer.

I seem to require an inspiration surplus to stay creative and energized in the hot and humid and draining summer.

Summer is the perfect season for me to stay inside…

…away from the distraction of insects and flowers and birds

…so I can concentrate on a growing stack of new releases…

…that are begging to be read, reviewed, and shared (when I’m not needed or wanted elsewhere).

We birthday partied over the Memorial Day weekend – ate hot dogs and hamburgers and cake, of course, delighted in cuddly babies and too-cute toddlers, and watched preschoolers play baseball with imaginary bats and balls.

Yesterday, in anticipation of a busy hurricane season, we (as in Louis and Nick) cut down two tall dead long-leaf pines and one dead eucalyptus.

I was relieved when all three trees were on the ground and the house, the fences, Louis and Nick survived intact and unscathed.

An hour or so later, Louis mashed his finger on the tailgate of his truck and we spent four incredibly long hours (over three hours just waiting to be seen) in the emergency room and another hour after we left in search of a pharmacy open on a holiday.

Almost unheard of for me, I’d left the house without a book to read or a notebook for writing. My iPod was in my purse, but I thought it would be rather selfish of me to plug in and mentally “escape” the ER ambiance and leave Louis with his gauze-wrapped and bleeding finger to endure it alone.

I did have my camera and it came in handy when we watched two men in the hospital parking lot put a trash can on a platform with wheels and drag it off behind a golf cart. It seems that a raccoon was discovered in the trash can when someone went to throw something away. I have no idea where (or why) the men took it, but I couldn’t resist capturing the moment with my camera.

Poor Louis. He’s not a happy camper. Thankfully, his finger was not broken, but he left the ER with a tetanus booster, four stitches, a bulky bandage, and antibiotics for ten days.

Great love lives on…

~ Patricia — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:30:00 +0000

In the spring of 1968 that 23 year old Nicholas Cutinha was mortally wounded protecting his fellow soldiers in battle, I was preparing to graduate from high school. As I was anticipating my future with the hope and excitement all graduates experience, the parents of Nicholas Cutinha were grieving the tragic all-too-soon loss of their brave young son – a proud and honorable soldier in the United States Army, serving his country in the Vietnam War.

I never met Nicholas Cutinha. In fact, it was just last year that we read his story in a local newspaper and learned that he was one of 4 or 5 Medal of Honor recipients with gravesites in SW Florida. That Memorial Day we gathered a few flowers from our yard and visited Cutinha’s grave not more than 10 minutes from Pollywog Creek.

On our way home from church yesterday, we stopped by the cemetery and placed flowers at the foot of Cutinha’s grave – remembering the life he and so many others willingly sacrificed for their fellow soldiers, for our county, for our freedom and the freedom of so many around the world, that I could live to be 60 years old and enjoy the abundant life they preserved for us all.

Nicholas Cutinha

Nicholas Cutinha’s Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Gia Dinh, Republic of Vietnam, 2 March 1968. Entered service at: Coral Gables, Fla. Born: 13 January 1945, Fernandina Beach, Fla. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While serving as a machine gunner with Company C, Sp4c. Cutinha accompanied his unit on a combat mission near Gia Dinh. Suddenly his company came under small arms, automatic weapons, mortar and rocket propelled grenade fire, from a battalion size enemy unit. During the initial hostile attack, communication with the battalion was lost and the company commander and numerous members of the company became casualties. When Sp4c. Cutinha observed that his company was pinned down and disorganized, he moved to the front with complete disregard for his safety, firing his machine gun at the charging enemy. As he moved forward he drew fire on his own position and was seriously wounded in the leg. As the hostile fire intensified and half of the company was killed or wounded, Sp4c. Cutinha assumed command of all the survivors in his area and initiated a withdrawal while providing covering fire for the evacuation of the wounded. He killed several enemy soldiers but sustained another leg wound when his machine gun was destroyed by incoming rounds. Undaunted, he crawled through a hail of enemy fire to an operable machine gun in order to continue the defense of his injured comrades who were being administered medical treatment. Sp4c. Cutinha maintained this position, refused assistance, and provided defensive fire for his comrades until he fell mortally wounded. He was solely responsible for killing 15 enemy soldiers while saving the lives of at least 9 members of his own unit. Sp4c. Cutinha’s gallantry and extraordinary heroism were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Nickie”Great Love Lives On”

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

A History of Memorial Day

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns. (From the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs)

See ya later alligator….

~ Patricia — Sat, 29 May 2010 03:58:00 +0000

…after ‘while crocodile!

The trappers (licensed and FWC assigned) came mid-afternoon Wednesday and tried to lure him with a hunk of raw meat, but the gator seemed to know what they were up to and decided he’d rather hide in the muck at the bottom of the pond for a while.

Rather than wait for him to surface, the trappers hung the hooked bait from a cypress limb over the pond, secured the line around the tree trunk, and said they’d return at dusk, unless the gator took the bait before then.

Which he did.

Shortly after the trappers left, the gator came up to the surface, noticed the bait and stared at it (sometimes just inches away) for about an hour before giving into temptation and biting the hook.

When one of the trappers returned, he slowly pulled the gator in to the edge of the pond. After several unsuccessful attempts (at least ten), he closed the gator’s mouth from under the lower jaw with one hand while holding the line with the other, and then taped the gator’s mouth shut. (See video at the end of the post)

Alligators have powerful muscles for biting, but the muscle they use to open their jaw is much weaker. An adult man can hold an alligator’s mouth closed with their bare hands.

Though the population of alligators in Florida is not endangered or threatened, it is illegal to trap or kill a nuisance alligator without a permit because the crocodile population is threatened, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is afraid that the general public might harm or kill a crocodile instead of an alligator.

No comment.

Returning to my regularly scheduled programing soon.

Heeeeeeere come the gators…

~ Patricia — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:17:00 +0000

A few days before my birthday last week we drove to Gainesville to eat peanuts and slather on sunscreen and watch the 4th ranked Gators beat Georgia in baseball.

The weather Friday night was perfect – mild and breezy – even a little chilly at times…

…but Saturday afternoon in Florida’s bright sunlight and 90-degree heat was brutal.

Before the game on Saturday, we stopped by the campus bookstore to purchase more must-have Gator paraphernalia. Did you know that you can buy packages of “official” eyeblack already printed with “Phil 4:13″? And yes – I bought a pack.

We also stopped by Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as Florida Field and thanks to former coach Steve Spurrier – The Swamp.

It was Coach Spurrier who said “…..a swamp is where Gators live…..a swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous. Only Gators get out alive.”

Our seats for the baseball game were near the top behind home plate on the 1st base side of the field.

Perfect for capturing that walk-off Gator home run in the bottom of the 9th inning Saturday afternoon.

A couple of days before we left for Gainesville, we discovered this gator swimming in our pond.

We hoped he would move on while we were gone, but two weeks later, it’s apparent that he likes Pollywog Creek as much as we do.

He’s not a big gator. He’s young, maybe 4 or 5 years old and about 5 feet in length, it’s hard to tell. But a gator is a gator, and like all other gators, this guy has big teeth, a healthy appetite and a less-than-pleasant disposition.

I shot this short video yesterday as he moved from the bank of the pond back into the water…

We have had gators in the pond before, but never one as brazen as this one. He fails to retreat when approached and will actually follow me in the water as I walk around the pond. This gator definitely qualifies as a nuisance gator so we’ve called for a trapper to remove him.

Stay tuned in. I’m hoping that tomorrow I’ll be able to post: Heeeeeeere goes the gator…

And the winner is….

~ Patricia — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:53:00 +0000

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the Radical giveaway by commenting here, on facebook or in an email. I appreciated hearing from each of you, and wish that I had a book for every one.

This afternoon I wrote your names on slips of paper, tossed the papers in a gift bag, and let Gavin pick the winner.

And the winner is Ann.

Ann, if you will please email ( pollywogcreekporch (at) gmail (dot) com ) me with your full name and address, I will get the book in the mail to you right away.