Monday, April 6, 2026

Cherokee Easter 2026

 On Saturday, March 28, a group of us from Northside Church of Christ hosted an Easter egg hunt and hamburger and hotdog lunch for the kids and staff of Cherokee Home for Children. There was no lack of eggs. We stuffed somewhere around 1000 plastic eggs with candies and treats, which were scattered hither and yon in the play field near the large shelter. Each kiddo came back to the shelter with a bucket full of eggs, which included ONE special egg with a ticket inside, redeemable for a gift of their choice from the prize table. 

We also had a couple of craft tables and a face-painting table. These kids are special to us, and they deserve a day like this, full of fun and love.


Dan (second from right) helping with cooking the burgers

Hunting for eggs



Prize Table



One of the craft tables









Sunday, April 5, 2026

Eating Like a Bird!

I've been on a weight loss journey over the past three years, having lost 65 pounds, slowly, in that amount of time. Sometimes I've been accused of "eating like a bird." But in my defense, I've been quite careful about getting in an adequate amount of protein, fiber and other nutrients. 

That "eating like a bird" phrase has taken on new meaning recently. For my birthday, in January, Dan got me a bird feeder with a built-in camera. It took us a while to decide the best location in our yard. We first hung it on the trunk of our red oak, in the back yard. But we had more squirrels than birds with that site. So we purchased a bird feeder pole, with a squirrel baffle, and put it just outside the canopy of the tree. That seems to have solved the squirrel problem. 

The variety of birds visiting the feeder has surprised me. Our very first one was an adorable Black-Crested Titmouse. He hasn't been back since that first day - he must have just been passing through - but he was absolutely adorable, and I'm so happy he came to pose for my very first picture.

Black-Crested Titmouse

Below are a few more of "my birds." 


House Sparrow


Carolina Chickadee

Lesser Goldfinch


Northern Cardinal (male)

Now, to dispel the belief that "eating like a bird" means eating sparsely, here is a picture of one of the plump, White Winged Doves, who would have no probelm emptying the feeder, all by himself! In fact, thanks to the doves, I'm out of seed right now. First thing tomorrow I'll have to make a run to the Tractor Supply store to restock.