Lake Lure Day 4
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 63:7 (NIV)
After the Whitewater trip, we were all worn out. We went to lunch as soon as we got back from the trip, but the wait to be served and for the food to be delivered was slow and my blood sugar dropped so low that I felt sick. I was still feeling the effects the next morning and everyone was dragging as well. The kids slept until almost noon, so I got to have my kind of vacation day. I woke up early and went out on the porch to enjoy the cooler morning temperatures. It has been in the nineties here and though it is a drier air so doesn’t feel as hot as home, it is still warmer than we had planned. I was watching the hummingbirds and realized that their feeders were empty so came inside and mixed up some nectar. As soon as I filled them, the hummingbirds came out in droves. Several different kinds including a red throated hummingbird and males and females as well as some babies. They swooped and dived for the feeder and I realized that two males had staked claims on the two feeders at opposite ends of the porch. While they allowed their mates and babies to feed, they drove the rest of the birds away. It was like watching family feud meets the circus as they did aerial acrobatics and guarded “their” feeder. I felt badly for the many cardinals as their feeder was also empty, but I couldn’t make their food and didn’t think it was good for them to eat Cheerios. I got to enjoy the birds, listen to the creek run and rest which I really needed. When the kids finally drug themselves out of bed, we ate lunch and then, went down to the lake and the river that are part of the development where we are staying. We paddled in the river, soaked in the lake and hiked around a waterfall. It was a nice lazy way to spend the day. Afterwards, we drove up to Vicki and Rich’s house in Fairview to visit for a while on their lovely porch. We watched a storm come up and listened to the wind blow through the trees then went to Nachos and Beer for dinner. When we got home, we had had a visitor. One of the hummingbird feeders was gone! Completely disappeared. To take it from where it hung, something had to untwist the wire wrapped around the hook. We have had fun questioning where it went. Did a bear climb up on the hot tub cover and pull it down? Did a squirrel or raccoon swing on it so that the wire gave way? Thinking about what happened was the icing on the cake of the kind of lovely vacation day I look forward to. Tomorrow we go rock climbing, but today, I rested. The birds remind me of where I can find rest any time. In the shelter of His wing.
Lake Lure Day 5
Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Psalm 31:2-4 (NIV)
Some days you wake up with the feeling that the day has a good potential to be a disaster. When you know that, you have a choice. To go back to bed and not get up until the next day, to try to do something to prevent disaster or ride it out. Today, I chose to ride it out. Or rather hike it out. While I appreciate a guide’s assistance. Youngest son likes to go it alone. Despite my encouragement to hire a guide to take him and M. rock climbing, he insisted he could handle it. With a book that gave a route up to Rumbling Bald, a well known rock climbing area and his gear, he was confident that he and M. would be fine. He invited husband and me to go along to watch and said that from the parking area, it would be a mile hike to the climbing spot. My Florida naivety envisioned a leisurely walk through a sunny meadow to a rock wall where husband and I would sit at its base watching them climb. Boy, was I wrong. The hike was one mile all right, but straight up. We clambered over rocks, up washed out trails, and around fallen trees. With no trail markers, we had to guess at each turn and many of paths were grown over. We often backtracked. The path was scary in parts because it was so steep and narrow and we had to pull ourselves up holding onto trees. At one point, I was so out of breath, I was sure I was going to either throw up or have a heart attack! After over an hour of hiking up hill, we finally got the place we were looking for. We sat on a rock in the forest while youngest son climbed to the top of the rocks and set his lines. Then, he said we had to hike up a little higher to see them climb, but I was done so I stayed below and sat on a rock defending my place from spiders by throwing sticks at them. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them. After over an hour, I was ready to leave and fortunately, so were they. I heard youngest son holler to husband to hold the rope as he was going to rappel down. Then, I heard a scream, a horrible shriek and I knew that he was falling. I burst into tears imaging him hitting the rocks below. But, I was relieved when he starting cursing, “##(*@(@&#@@**^, BEES!” Thank God. When they rejoined me on the trail, he had six bee stings on his legs, but had kept his head and landed safely. Still, he was hurting and angry. By the time we trudged back down the mountain, his temper had cooled even while his feet and legs swelled up. A dose of Benadryl is much easier than an emergency room visit. On Friday, they will go back up with a guide.
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