Thankful Thursday. Praise you in the Storm.

I am sure I could find lots of things to complain about today. But there are enough people complaining so I will do just the opposite and say Thanks. It is Thankful Thursday and I again have a lot to be thankful for. This past week we have been hit with violent storms every day. Our power has gone out numerous times and we had had to “rough it” and go without air conditioning for hours and hours in 90 Degree weather with 100% humidity.

So the first thing I am thankful for is air conditioning. I am thankful that I live in a country where I have electricity (most of the time) and have the ability to turn on an air conditioner and cool off whenever I want to. Many years ago we visited the Dominica Republic. Down there, to save electricity, they simply turned off power to residential areas during peak hours. So every day from about 1:00 to 4:00, the power went off. I wonder what people here would do if that were the case? I can hear the screaming now.

Number two on my list are the storms. The same ones that knocked out our power brought us some much needed rain. This morning, on my way to work, another storm blew in. There was lightening all around me and it was raining hard. As I was driving this morning, a song came on the radio which reminded me to be thankful, even during the darkest storm. There are storms all around us these days and it is easy to fall in with the complainers and forget about the positive. I don’t want to be a complainer. Here is the song that they played: Most of you have heard it before.



Along with the rain and lightening of the storms came some of the strongest winds that I have seen other than during a hurricane. There were trees and limbs down all over the place even in our yard. During one storm a huge tree landed on our house. We still have some major broken limbs hanging in the trees of yard. But through it all, our flowers survived. While the trees attempted to stand tall and resist the wind, the flowers simply gave in a little and moved with it. Isn’t it amazing how the flowers made it through yet many trees cracked under the strain? I know there is a lesson here somewhere. Flowers are number three on my list. I am thankful for being able to grow beautiful flowers which remind me of my Grandmother. Check out my garden photos. These were all taken after the storms.


Flowers:
Day lilies


Zinnias



Veggies:
Big Boy Tomatoes




Roma Tomatoes


Sweet 100's



Okra



Cucumbers



Sunflowers






Fun things to grow:

Gourds



Castor Bean


The number four thing I am thankful for is bugs. That’s right bugs.

Dragonfly:



Without bugs there would be no other life on earth. They are a valuable part of our food chain and do most of the pollination of our plants. That Dragon Fly is laying its eggs in our fishpond. The fish in turn eat the larva. Then the cats eat the fish. So if we could just eat the cats…….. Just kidding Honey. I bet they do taste like chicken though.

The fifth thing I am thankful for today is Lunch. Today marks 1000 days here at work without an accident or an injury. Because of that, we are having a celebration lunch. Today we are having ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, and salad. Because this is a special occasion they have asked one of the great chefs of our time to do the cooking. That’s Me. Move over Rachel Ray. This grill aint big enough for the both of us.

Have a great Thankful Thursday,
Greg