I love drinking sweet tea from a pint Mason jar. Keeps it so cold. I’m on the porch relaxing and thinking about what a good time we had this weekend. Lots of tales were told and lots of memories filed away. Love my McMurray family togetherness. My cousin sent me a quote this morning that describes us McMurrays. “Our family is one tent away from a full blown circus,” — P. Graham Dunn. Yep, it is!

The faithful cardinals and the fighting finches and hostile hummingbirds flitted around the feeders this afternoon. The hummingbirds staged a feeder war all afternoon. They buzzed through the porch like they were jet fighter pilots. One little downy woodpecker was trying to enjoy his suet during the melee.

My oldest and his family spent last night with us. Grand-dog Magnolia came, too, and had a happy time. She loved running free at baby brother’s farm. Penelope was at Paul’s Pound as I call middle vet brother’s clinic. She gets too excited with the children so I usually board her during their visits. I know she wonders about all the new doggie smells when she comes back home. She was happy to see me when I picked her up this afternoon. She enjoyed napping in the play pen while I pondered in the porch swing.

After Chief died my oldest grandson asked me if we would still have our big breakfasts when they spent the night. I said yes and we talked about Grandaddy. Then he sadly said, “But he won’t ask me to get him coffee anymore.” Such a sweet child. Got up this morning and cooked a big country breakfast — bacon, sausage (both hot and mild), grits, scrambled eggs, melted cheese, biscuits. Had a big bowl of watermelon and homemade jelly for the biscuits. We all chowed down and enjoyed it. Oldest brother and his friend came by. Brother came out of the kitchen with two sausage biscuits in his hand. He should have come earlier!

After my company left to go visit the other grandparents, Stew called me in the kitchen to look in the breakfast room window. There was my king snake Balthazar! Thank you God for window screens!! He was standing up as high as my fingertips to elbow on one side and draped along the outside window sill with his tail hanging off the other side. I guess I ran him off the front porch with the cinnamon and clove oil spray and he was looking for another place to call home. Stew got the spray and we spritzed him with the concoction and he quickly turned and left. I waited for a while and took the screen off and quickly pulled the vine off the window screen and side of the house. I know he crawled up the vine. Sprayed some of the spray on the outside sill so he won’t come back and sun bathe. He better not come back!

I’m sitting on the porch now at sunset sipping sweet tea in the swing and drinking in the beautiful sunset composing itself while I watch. Sunsets are the most photographed natural event in the world. They are a spiritual guide and have a calming effect on us. The sun was so bright early afternoon you almost had to squint to look at the horizon. The sky was azure blue and God had sporadically raked his white pastel across his sky canvas, drawing thin long clouds. It’s getting cool as the sun gets lower. It was cool this morning. We slept with the windows open and the grandchildren wanted blankets to cover up in when they got up.

Sunsets are closure to the day and signify a time to rest. If you are a lover of sunsets you are an opacarophile! A sunset is the last breathe of the day. I am in awe that everyday I watch a sunset that is completely different from the day before. God painted todays’ sunset in yellows and oranges and colored the clouds a deep grayish purple. Just beautiful to watch the colors change. A few clouds on the right side of the horizon were edged in light pink. Never get tired of watching the sunset put the earth to bed each night.

Sunsets remind us to cherish life. As the sun fades away in God’s sunset paintings, we are reminded that nothing lasts forever. We need to slow down and notice Mother Nature and God’s handiwork and be more grateful for the Earth and all its beauty.

“Sunsets are just little glimpses of the golden streets of heaven,”— Unknown Author