Alas, this weekend was filled with sunshine...so I worked on the deck and worked on the deck and worked on the deck.

Yesterday, it took me eight hours to clean both the upper and lower decks. Eight grueling hours of spraying and scrubbing, and scrubbing and spraying. Today, after visiting with my folks, I started staining. Finishing after dark, I completed the lower deck and the stairs down from the upper deck tonight.

It took me four and half hours to do that work, yet somehow I have to squeeze in the upper deck after work Monday and Tuesday because it is supposed to be rainy for the rest of the week through the weekend. Even if I leave on time, I am left with just about one and a half hours of daylight. Do the math.

Of course, if I were some strange sort of morning bird, I could work on it before and after work. But I am the quintessential night owl. My best sleeping time is from 7 am to noon. Getting to work is a challenge. Rising early to work on the deck is next to impossible!

While I was at my father's house, I spent some time walking around his property. My stepmother is a genius in the yard. She is currently working on a flagstone walkway from the driveway to the back yard. The walkway is lined with blooming azaleas. She also has several bird feeders. Most of hers are one poles with squirrel baffles. I definitely would like one of those because I feed the local squirrels as much as I do the birds. She also has a nesting box in the back yard. We peeked inside to see the babies. One stuck his head up, beak open wide as if he expected me to pop in a worm. He was so incredibly tiny, probably about the size of my thumb. Before I left, I saw her new feeder covered with yellow finches. I've yet to lure those to my back yard, so I was a bit jealous. It was so peaceful in their backyard, wind rustling through the leaves, the flowers blooming...

God truly is a master craftsman...snowy winters, blooming springs, green summers, fall foliage...I am thankful for the eyes to see such beauty...