Let's Talk Fridays: Can WORDS Hurt?

I am writing today's post after a personal experience recently which made me think.  Blogging is all about writing and the words we use:  what we say,  how we say it,  what we mean,  how our words are interpreted,  what others think of us by the words we use,  etc.

Sometimes we all say something to someone else in a comment which may be viewed differently by those who read the comment.  We may hurt someone's feelings without even knowing it.  OR we may give a person the wrong impression about us by the words we use.

Think about it!!  Have you said something on a blog post or in a comment which you regret?  OR---do you really think about or care what you say at all?

When you know someone on a personal level and talk to him or her frequently,  your words can be more easily understood and interpreted because you really 'know' that person.  Blogging is different.  Many of the folks you blog with are just 'blog friends' ---and the only way you know each other is through your WORDS to each other.  That is why I think that we all (myself definitely included) need to do a better job when choosing the words we use on blogs.

One thing which we all have to be careful about is expressing negative opinions.  We all have opinions ---and I think we can and do express them freely on blogs.  We know we have the 'right' to express them.

What I have tried to learn (and am still learning this) is to stay away from PERSONAL attacks which may hurt someone else.

This brings me to the situation I witnessed recently while visiting a friend's blog.  The blog post was well-written and there was nothing wrong with the post itself.  The problem came within the comments on that blog.  A couple of bloggers (whom I do NOT know) spewed some ugly words against another person.  They used words even worse than the ones you see in this illustration above.  I was SHOCKED.

Just reading these words about another human being really upset me, even though they were not about me...   There may be people in this world whom we don't like,  but why publicly say things like that about ANYONE????  That opinion hurts the person who makes it --more than the person they are criticizing.  Do they not realize that????  The comments upset me ---and certainly gave me a negative opinion about both of those bloggers who said that.  They are NOT people whom I would want to have as blog friends.

I guess what I am saying (to myself also) is to be careful what we say.  Remember this:  "Sticks and Stones may Break my Bones, but Words will Never Hurt me"????  Obviously, that is NOT TRUE.   Words do HURT. As it says above,  words can hurt our souls.

Have you been wounded by words?   I'm sure we all have ---and I'm sure that most of us have wounded others by our choice of words.  Reading that particular blog certainly taught me to be more careful when expressing an opinion which may hurt someone else personally.  What say YOU?????  Have you ever experienced something similar while blogging???

I am taking a week off from blogging.   SO--I will be back on April 4. Hope all of you have a great week, and remember to watch what you say--unless you want others to form a negative opinion about YOU.

Hugs,

P.S.  ALL illustrations/pictures came from the internet.

Our Yard in Early Spring---Part II

If you missed Part I of pictures from our yard this week,  click HERE to see them.  Today, I will share a few more with you.  Above is a picture of our side flowerbed which contains many varieties of Daffodils right now.  If you look carefully in this bed,  you can also see a patch of pink Hyacinths,  one Rose-colored Tulip and one Orange Tulip,  and a group of whitish/yellowish Tulips near the top of the picture. (Most of our Tulips have not bloomed yet.)  I enjoy seeing all of this beauty from our kitchen window.  It makes washing dishes much more fun!!!!!! ha

Every year,  our small Daffodils  (which we call Dad Adams Daffodils) put on a show for us.  Dad gave them to us after we bought our home --and they have done so well.  You can also see more Pansies,  the empty lot at the top of the picture,  and some paving stones (which George has put there temporarily-- now that he is rebuilding our rose beds).

Here are some of our pink Hyacinths.  We also have some purple ones and some burgundy ones.  I love Hyacinths --but ours are never FULL like so many I see in other gardens... Oh Well--I still like them.

Many of you commented about our ground cover,  Periwinkle,  in the last yard post.  We love it --and it has become a beautiful ground cover for us.  Here is a close-up picture of the beautiful little BLUE flowers.. (They may look purple in the pictures --but they are truly BLUE.)

Here is a picture of the 'Road' Flowerbed (our newest one).  In this bed are Roses, Lilies,  Daylilies,  Irises and some Tulips.  The only thing blooming so far are the tulips at this end.  Aren't they pretty?

This is my Sweetie ---working hard,  as he rebuilds and works on the rose flowerbeds...I'm so proud of him --and I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of the gorgeous roses he brings into the house for me to enjoy!!!!  (Of course, I also sit on my bench outside and enjoy them there too!)

If you were reading my blog the past few years,  you will know that George and I both really love SEMPERVIVUM (Semps--sometimes called Hens and Chicks).  We have them all around our yard in various places.  They are all different --and they add so much to the yard I think.  Here is just one group of them.

Hope you enjoyed seeing our yard in MARCH... As I write this (Wednesday night), we have had a rough day weatherwise.  We had storms with hail during the afternoon, and then, during the evening, we were under a tornado warning for awhile.  A tornado did touch down not far from here --but we were lucky this time.

We did have a thunderstorm and LOTS of rain.  SO--I'm glad we took our pictures to share BEFORE the storms hit.... Such is life!!!!!  It is unnerving though when the huge siren in our community goes off --which means there is a tornado in the area.   Yipes!!!!

Hope you have a good Thursday.
Hugs,

Cane Creek Falls, Dahlonega, Georgia

While in Georgia to celebrate George's birthday, on that rainy Wednesday (March 9, 2011),  we also visited a couple of other waterfalls in the area along with a dam.  The waterfall above is named CANE CREEK FALLS.  It is located on the grounds of a United Methodist Camp named Camp Glisson.

Many hundreds of years ago,  the falls were home to two different tribes of Native Americans,  the Etowahs and later the Cherokees.  Artifacts from their time there, such as pottery fragments and arrowheads,  can be found in the area to this day.

In 1925, the founder of the camp,  Rev. Fred Glisson, discovered Cane Creek Falls on a trip to the mountains to scout out a place for a youth camp.  He fell in love with the spot and arranged to lease the land around the falls.  The first camp was held in the summer of 1925.

Rev. Glisson and other leaders raised money to begin to buy the land around the falls,  and to construct a permanent camp.   The land around the falls belonged to the camp--but the falls themselves still belonged to Georgia Power Company.  In 1946,  Rev. Glisson and others finally persuaded Georgia Power to sell Cane Creek Falls to the camp.  The falls were purchased for $1500. Their value today cannot be estimated..

Hope you enjoy our pictures taken of Cane Creek Falls and Cane Creek.

The picture above is what Cane Creek Falls looked like in May of 2005,  the last time we visited before this trip.  Now look at the picture below!!!!

This is the SAME waterfall ---taken on a rainy day in March, 2011... Think there's a little more water coming over the falls?????? ha ha

Here's a neat close-up picture of Cane Creek Falls.   Wish you could have heard that raging water... It was awesome!!!

You will have to name what the water looks like in this picture... On his blog,  George posted a similar picture and called it Chocolate Satin... What does it look like to you?

I took this picture of George (the Birthday Boy) standing on the little bridge crossing that raging creek.

Here's one last picture I took from the bridge looking at the creek, as it traveled downstream, away from the falls.

Hope you enjoyed seeing another beautiful Georgia waterfall.  George's Surprise Birthday trip turned out to be FABULOUS --despite all of the rain... Seeing all of that water coming over the waterfalls made it all worthwhile!

Hugs,

Spring in our Yard--3/21/11

Spring is quickly 'springing' in our yard.  Even though it's only March,  I wanted to share a few pictures I took yesterday around the yard.  Above shows our side flower bed (on the upper side).  In this bed are planted:  Crocuses (already bloomed out),  Hyacinths,  Daffodils (blooming now),  Tulips,  Daylilies,  Lilies,  Semps, and Irises. To the right of this bed, you can see some of our blooming Periwinkle.  Below are more pictures.

These are the flowers which are blooming now in the little round flowerbed around the Dogwood Tree.  We have 3 little round flowerbeds in our yard.   You can see Pansies (planted last Fall --and made it through the winter) and Daffodils (called Jonquils by my mother).  NOTE:  Last Fall we planted about 75 Pansies --and they have lasted all through the winter and are gorgeous now, all over our yard.

Here is a picture of that same little round flowerbed,  but you can see more of our beautiful blue ground cover,  Periwinkle,  blooming under the Azaleas.

Here is the 2nd of our round flowerbeds.  This is what we call the lamppost flowerbed---and besides Pansies,  Daffodils and Hyacinths,  there are lots of Lilies beginning to grow in this bed.

I took this picture of the lower side of our yard--looking toward the empty lot.  You can see some of the Rose containers in the driveway.   George kept them inside the garage all winter, so that they could go dormant.. Once it got warmer,  he brought them outside.  ALL of them are doing well.

You can also see one of the Rose beds (which George is re-doing) --and also our 'Dad Adams' Daffodils behind the Rose bed.  The yellow Forsythia bushes are in the distance --near our woodpile.

Here's the third round flowerbed in our yard.  This is the Red Bud flowerbed.  Speaking of Red Buds,  they are really budding now --so it won't be long until they bloom.

Finally,  this picture makes it appear as if it is still winter,  doesn't it????  We still have no new leaves on our trees up here on the Cumberland Plateau.  I think most of you know that we are 2000 feet above sea level,  so things happen a little slower here on the plateau.

I have one more set of pictures taken yesterday in our yard --but I'll show them another time.  Hope you have enjoyed seeing a little of our Spring.  I have always loved the Fall of the year --but there is something extremely special about Spring, and new life and growth.  Praise be to God!

Hope your Spring is going great also.  Have a nice day!
Hugs,

My Sweet Little Birdies!!

I have put so much emphasis recently on my Woodpeckers and Bluebirds ---so today,  I'll show you some recent pictures of more of our little Backyard Birds.  Above is one of the little Dark-Eyed Juncos... We don't see these little guys during the hot summer --but they do come around during Winter. Below are more!

White-Breasted Nuthatch  (They love the peanuts I put out!!)

This beauty is one of our male American Cardinals.  (This one is for my Aussie friend, Colin, who really loves the Cardinals!)

This 'cutie' is a Carolina Chickadee.   I love these little guys --and they are just so sweet.

Our little Goldfinches are getting their beautiful spring yellow colors back,  just in time for mating season.

Another favorite year-round bird is the Tufted Titmouse...  Love these little guys also!!!

Finally,  here's a funny one for you!!!!  I laugh for some reason when I look at this picture... I think that male ROBIN is saying: "What are you laughing about, Lady?  Do you think I look FAT?"   ha ha ha

I have never had a couple of Robins (one male and one female) before, who come to the deck OFTEN (all during the day) and eat the suet --or whatever they can find on the deck.   Robins are usually ground-eaters ---so this is kinda strange to have them at the feeders so often... Hope they bring their babies --once they have some.

All of the birds pictured today are with us all year (except the Junco)...  I just don't know what I'd do without my Backyard Birds... Hope you enjoyed the pictures today.  AND I hope you enjoyed your weekend.  Did you see that huge Super Moon????? Wow!!!!

Hugs,

Let's Talk Fridays: How Important are Birthdays to You?

Since I have been talking about birthdays for the past couple of weeks,  I thought this might be a good time to discuss birthdays... I began reading comments online and was surprised to hear several folks say that birthdays mean nothing to them.  It's just like another day...

I am the OPPOSITE.  I find every way I can to celebrate... Birthdays are a time of celebration to me.  I don't necessarily need gifts on my birthday ---but I still love to celebrate.  As you know, if you have read my blog for some time,  George and I both surprise each other with some kind of short trip on our birthdays.  Just being together and being out in nature celebrating each other is enough for us.

We all know that kids love having birthdays.. Of course,  they love it for the cake (cute picture from the internet),  for the gifts and the parties..  Did you have birthday parties when you were little????

As an adult,  what do YOU do to celebrate your birthday these days???

Do birthdays remind you of getting older --and does that bother you????

Were you ever sad on your birthday? Did someone FORGET your birthday?

Some people (women especially) don't EVER tell their ages... Are you one of those????

WELL----no matter whether you celebrate birthdays or not,  all of us need to CELEBRATE LIFE.... So get out there and have some fun!!!!

And remember this:

And THIS:

Well---I have posed alot of questions for you to ponder...  Just pick one or two and TALK... I'm interested in what you think!!!!!   OR---if you wish,  tell us about your favorite birthday ever!!!

Have a good weekend, and don't forget to pray for the people in Japan, and give donations through an agency like the Red Cross.   I'll see you on Monday!!!!

Hugs,

P.S. As usual,  all photos are from the internet.