My Birthday…

This may seem self-centered and stuff, but I don’t think it is, I just want to let you know what’s going on.  God has definitely been blessing me lately, and He is doing work on my heart right now as well.  So, here is how my birthday story goes…

The Parrott Family

My birthday started like this; when I arrived at work the first words out of the first person I saw was happy birthday.  Once I walked into my meeting, the entire group (Probably 25+ people) sang to me and several joined in on a group hug.  Then, after my class I went to lunch were people (Probably about 45 people) once again sang to me while I was there.  Then I went and worked were a couple other people told me happy birthday, and then came the House/Dinner Hall Meeting.

My family came to dinner as usual, but during our ‘meeting’ Autumn was preparing the cup cake with the candle, and once again people sang to me as I got a birthday cup cake (lemon with lemon frosting, the best!!!!)  As Autumn pasted out cup cakes to the guy littles they all sang happy birthday to her as a way of saying thank you.  This whole meeting was just an excuse for Autumn to do this little party.  In addition, I recieved the game Settlers of Catan from the family.  I also had several calls and emails.  In addition, I had over 35 Facebook wall posts wishing me happy birthday.  I really appreciate everyone’s contribution, and I  can truly say that yesterday I felt blessed.

Just bought the HTC Hero for Sprint!!!

Typically I use this blog to keep everyone updated to what is going on in the life of my family. I usually tell you what we are doing, what is coming up, the thing’s God is teaching us, etc.  Well, today I am going to change it up a little bit and tell you about a cell phone.  I know, I know, it may not be real exciting for all of you out there, but other people will find it ver interesting and informative.  Since I use to work in the cell phone business, it’s relevent to my life.

HTC Hero for Sprint

The HTC Hero is a ground breaking phone for Sprint, it’s the first phone using the Android OS, which is an open source operating system (kind of like Windows on a computer) built by Google.  It also is one of the most customizable phones on the market today – worldwide!  Here is a review that was done by PhoneDog, and you can find a link to the phone here from Sprint.

The reason I bought this phone comes down to one word, INTEGRATION. Let me explain.  Since the Hero is build on the Android platform (which is built by Google), your phone can be in constant contact with your Google accounts. You may need to download some FREE Applications found in the Android Market, but this is no problem:

1. GMail – For your email and contacts.
2. Google Calendar – For all of your schedules, appointments, birthdays, etc.
3. Google Documents – This includes Google document, spreadsheets, presentation, and form.
4. Google Maps – Get directions, search favorite places, or use Latitude to keep up with your friends locations.
5. Google Reader – To keep up to date with all of your RSS Feeds
6. Google Talk – For IM.
7. Google Tasks – To keep all of your tasks in one place.
8. Google Voice – To sync all your voicemail, SMS, or MMS
9. YouTube – To search, upload, or watch your favorite YouTube clips.
10. Plus many, many others.

Now I want to tell you how some of these features are integrated and why that matters.

GMail

Lot’s of business users use their cell phones to keep in constant contact with customers, co-workers, etc.  Many times this means that a business man/women has to have a Blackberry with a special type of data plan, or a Windows phone with an exchange server.  Both of these types of phones have one thing in common, they sync your contacts, emails, tasks, etc. to your phone and computer.  This way, wether you are at your computer, or on the road with your cell phone, you are always up to date.

Now, what happens if you are just an average Joe, but you want your emails, tasks, and contacts up to date as well?  The answer is, that unless you want to pay an arm and a leg for a BlackBerry plan, you are out of luck.  Your average Joe doesn’t have access to an exchange server.  This is were the HTC Hero shines, it syncs you email and contact constantly.  Not only that, but if you lose your phone, all you have to do is put your new phone on the account and it will put your contacts and emails right back on to your new phone!

Calendar

Did you like the sync features I was telling you about for email and contacts?  Well the Hero does this for your Calendar as well.  Not only that, but if you log into your Google calendar you can sign up for RSS Feeds for your calendar.  This means you can subscribe to your favorite sports team schedule and Google will put that teams schedule on your Google calendar and your HTC Hero will sync it right to your phone.  It only takes 2-3 clicks to get this done (once your choose what team you want).  You can also turn on holidays, weather, even all your contacts birthdays & anniversaries!!!

Contacts

Google syncs all your contacts right from GMail to your phone.  If you update a contact in your phone, it updates your contact on your computer and vice-versa.

Docs

I use to use a Windows phone, when I did if I wanted to create a document all I would have to do is open up Word or Excel and I could create a new doc.  I can do the same thing on my phone, except now I know for sure it will always be backed up and if I lose my phone I don’t lose all the work I did.

Facebook Connect / Twitter / Flickr

This is an amazing feature that updates all of my contacts pictures, birthdays, phones numbers, etc in my phone, with their Facebook account.  It will even tell me their Facebook status right in their contact profile, as well as access their picture albums (including Flickr, right from their contact profile), I can’t tell you how cool of a function this is.  Another cool feature, if I shake the phone from side to side it will update Facebook for me!!!

It comes with a Twitter app that is integrated really well.  Whenever someone in your feed tweets, an alert shows up in your notification bar.

App Store

This was a feature that I wasn’t sure how much I would like.  Of course I could see why this is becoming such a big deal right now.  Put an app on a phone, people go buy apps, and the developers make huge amounts of money.  This seems like something that is for the businesses rather than the user.  Wow was I wrong.

I can enter the app store, search for apps by type and view my downloads (uninstall and even access the programs from inside the app market).  There are so any FREE options, I couldn’t believe it.  You might wonder why so many people would create and give away so many cool apps.  Some of the apps have add’s running at the bottom or on the side, most are un-intrusive, some you may not like, but generally you can buy the pro version of the app for a couple bucks and then it doesn’t have any add’s in it.

Location

And finally, location integration.  This may be an area that some people are nervous about, people may not like apps or your service provider to know where you are, but their are privacy policies for this stuff.  Let me tell you the benefit.  When you turn on your phone for the first time, it will ask you if it can use your location.  If you tell it yes, then the home screen finds out where you are, sets the clock, tells you the weather (in your current city) and updates it as you travel.  This is also beneficial as you use Google maps because it will tell you gas prices near you, restaurant, etc.

Final Thoughts

I am very glad I bought this phone.  I was so busy getting use to the phone, playing with apps, messing with scenes, and logging in to my accounts to allow my phone to integrate everything, that I forgot to set up my email accounts.  Even now I haven’t set up my ringtones, loading my music or photos on the phone.  The screen is incredible, the size of it is awesome, the phone is easy to use, and very fast and stable.  For those of you who have used Windows phones in the past, when I say it’s fast and stable you should be jealous  Since the phone is so new and cutting edge, the plan does cost a little more, and the phone was…well let’s say costly, but by the time I sell my old phone I will be coming out well ahead.

If you have any questions I would love to answer them, leave comments or email me.  I will probably respond to you from the phone

Update on my Brother…

Here is an email update from my mom regarding my brother’s surgery.

Justin is out of surgery and has a very good report!

Once they got in there, they found that the 3rd disc had not completely ruptured, but was bulging. The Dr. was able to repair 2 of the 3 vertebrae and feels very confident that with the 2 ruptured discs repaired, the other bulging disc will now be able to heal. There will be physical therapy 2-3 times per week for at least 6 weeks, and he’s already been fitted with the pneumatic lumbar belt. He will follow up withDrs. at home, and those Drs will stay in contact with the California surgeon, who will also be talking with Justin on the phone at regular intervals.

I’m sure he’s feeling pretty whipped tonight having been sedated two days in a row with not much to eat because of the procedures, but it’s uphill from here!

Thank you ESPECIALLY for all the prayer!

Again I say THANK YOU for the gifts that will help with the medical bills. None of the therapy is covered, and the pre-surgery therapy is still waiting to be paid. It’s crazy, but our son has a new lease on life with a healthier body because of what God has done through all of you.

God bless each of you!
We’ll be in contact,
Debi

UPDATE:  As far as the fundraising went, in order to help cover all of the costs of surgery, and without final numbers, we are a little over half way to our goal.  I talked to Justin the other day, and while he will be able to go back to work, it’s going to be very important that he doesn’t over-do-it, since he will be feeling much better.  He also said that he now has all the feeling back in his legs, but while they feel better, his back obviously is hurting due to the surgery.

We are still far from were we need to be funds wise, if there is anyone out there who is still willing to help, you can contact me or my mom, just leave a comment and I will get a hold of you if you don’t know our email addresses.  Thats all for now, I will do another update in a few weeks.

My Brother Justin…And an e-mail I received from my mom…

Here is an email I received from my mom a few days ago, it’s regarding my Brother Justin.

Justin Parrott

I felt it necessary to send you all a copy of this so you are kept up on family news. It’s a letter I posted on the Walker blog, and sent as emails to the Fowler family. At first I wasn’t going to send it out to all of you because I didn’t want you to think I was asking for you to contribute. Then I realized you need to be kept informed, and that it’s not for me to decide who wants to do what. Consider this as informational, and a request for much prayer. On top of all this, Justin’s truck died Friday, and the kids both got sick with flu and fevers on Sunday. Justin and Lisa are facing some difficult decisions.

Today I have a story to tell, and you are the most caring people I can think of to share it with.

When our son Justin was 17, he was in a sledding accident that left him with a spinal fracture. That’s been 10 years ago.
In that time, he has graduated from college, gotten married, has two children (Alexis 2 1/2, and Daniel 11 months) and is working and living in Huntsville, Texas. A few years ago, he and his wife felt led to move from Lake Jackson, Tx to Huntsville in order that Justin might accept a position working for a ministry. He is in a management position at a 286 acre, independent not-for-profit Christian Camp called Forest Glen. Their mission is to bring the great news of salvation in Jesus to children from the public school system, as well as to encourage believers to move forward in God’s will for their lives. Here is their website if your interested: forestglen.org.

About 5-6 months ago Justin began experiencing a new surge of back pain. He went to the Dr., who has spent these past months exhausting all options covered by the HMO. Three weeks ago, Justin was told that if he didn’t have surgery within the next few weeks, he was facing paralysis from the waist down. In addition to the intense back pain, he already has numbness and weakness in the left leg, and drop foot. The options for this otherwise healthy young man are limited. He is presently scheduled for surgery this Tues., which is to relieve the pain and threat of paralysis. The awful part is that this is medically considered a “traumatic surgery” because more damage has to be created in order to relieve the pressure on the injured nerve caused by the rupture, so there will be permanent damage where bone has to be removed and does not grow back. The surgeon would be cutting muscle and tendons, and removing pieces of bone. Justin has been told that he will then need multiple surgeries down the road. He has three bad discs, and this is only for one disc.

Here’s the twist to this story…..there IS another option that is called a non-traumatic surgery. A brain surgeon modified a method used in neurosurgery that also works on the back. There was a special report about it on ABC and on NBC, and the good news is that there’s a 96% success rate. This method has been used to fix spines for at least 12 yrs that I know about. (We’ve been doing a LOT of research.)

By now, you’re probably wondering why I’m sharing all of this. Well, here’s the most difficult part for me to say…..Justin cannot afford this treatment. This surgery is not available to most people because it’s so expensive. Insurance companies want the cheapest thing they can get by with, even though Justin would be left partially disabled and would need future surgeries that would probably cost more in the long run. This non-traumatic surgery would fix all three discs immediately, and permanently.

Again, here are the options:

#1—traumatic surgery that partially removes one disc, does nothing to the other two for now, leaves him partially disabled, and facing multiple surgeries in the future, and costs him personally $3000.

#2—non-traumatic surgery that fixes all three discs immediately and permanently, has a high success rate, but is not covered at all by insurance, for $30,000!

I’m telling you all of this so that I might humbly ask for your help. You must know how hard this is for us, either way. I’ll do anything I have to in helping change the outcome of the rest of our son’s life.  A gift of any amount is a step closer to a healing. If you just can’t help financially, do you know another way? Is there something you wanted to get rid of that would bring in a few bucks? Were you going to make a charitable donation to a cause that has more help available than Justin does? Do you know somebody to share this letter with that might be willing to help? Can you pass the info along to them? Do you have flight miles that could get him and his wife to California for free?

I must sound a bit desperate…..because I am. He has just one day to make this decision. It’s huge, no matter what. No bank will loan money for surgery…..

I AM sorry to have to ask you, but we really need help. I believe God is in this, and my obedience is essential…..
Please consider this seriously, pray about it, and contact us immediately if you think you can help. Thank you all for being who you are.

All my love,
Debi Parrott

UPDATE:  Justin has decided on having the surgery in California and it’s scheduled for 10/7/09.  We are trying hard to raise the funds to help pay for it, but he is having the procedure done regardless of fundraising.  I have created a cause on Facebook that you can check out if you would like.  If you have any questions please let me know.

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!

So just recently we found out that Autumn is pregnant again  This wan’t expected, and actually threw us for a loop, here is the story.

Autumn had a dream about us having another baby, we weren’t sure that it was ours because we already had a baby, Rachel.  But the people in the dream asked that if it wasn’t ours that we at least watch it and care for it until it’s parents can be found.  In the dream the people wanted us to possibly adopt the baby if it wasn’t ours.  The next day Autumn took a pregnancy test and found out she was pregnant.  For those of us who know us, specifically Autumn, know that she sees dates on clocks a lot, this is one way God speaks to her.

For those of you who know Rachel’s story, we knew she would look like Autumn as a baby, and we knew her birthday years in advance.  We have felt for a long time that we know the next babies birthday as well.  That’s where we get thrown for a loop.  The date that Autumn is due for this pregnancy is not that date.  However, looking back through time Autumn does believe she has seen this babies due date for several years and just not put the two together.  For some odd reason, this date is one that has other significant meaning, a popular bible verse to be sure, a friend told Autumn that many times God will speak a verse through numbers.  This has lead Autumn to think of the verse every time she sees this number, rather than a due date, which it clearly is.

So, we find out Autumn is pregnant and struggle through some thoughts, then we both have interesting nights.  First we are both waken up to the sound of the fire alarm going off in our house.  She runs to see what is going on and see no fire, no smoke, can’t get the battery out, and comes back to ask me what to do.  I have no idea why I wasn’t concerned, but I asked her if she saw fire or smoke, she said no, so I told her to try to take the battery out of the alarm again.  This time when she does it works, she get’s the battery out and looks at the clock BAM!!!  the babies due date is on the clock – again!

While Autumn is fighting with the fire alarm I am having a dream, in my dream I am trying to figure out what available options are on a certain vehicle (using the VIN number).  That very night I had tried to find info on how to do this on the web.  On Google I found out that many companies don’t use the VIN number to include optional features that are installed on that specific vehicle, instead they use a 3 digit number that can be found in the glove box of some vehicles.  Back to my dream, in my dream I was asking an Auto Salesman what the 3 digit number was on a particular vehicle…If you guessed that it was the babies due date you would be correct.  I can’t explain to you what I am feeling as I type this very blog post.  It’s as if God’s anointing is consuming me as I type and tears are literally rolling down my face.  This is all the confirmation that I need, and needless to say, if Autumn’s dream had any kind of message or warning…we will un-questionable accept and adopt this blessing of God into our lives.

I know this post was a little late, I am sorry about that, but I thought it was better late then never, so I hope you enjoyed it!

Rolling, rolling, rolling, keep those wheels a rolling…

Over 1,500 miles, that’s the distance we typically drive on a trip to Indiana and back.  For our post summer break (+our weekend off for September) we came to Indiana to spend time with our families.  So, here is how our trip went:

We started our journey on Friday September 4th right after lunch.  Our first stop?  Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and a gas station – before we even got out of Branson!!!  After that we drove through St Louis, we had supper right at a Pizza Hut, right as we entered Illinois.  After that we drove to Indianapolis and stopped at a gas station around midnight.  After a small detour (oops) we arrived at Autumn’s parents house at 4am Central time, but 5am Eastern time.  Saturday we slept in, watched the Notre Dame game (which was amazing), had a party with people Autumn grew up with, played volleyball, and a new game to us called tichu, and now I am addicted.

Sunday we got up, went to Fairview Missionary church, hung out with friends again, played tichu again, and watched a bit more tv.  Monday, I don’t remember a lot from Monday, probably because we didn’t do too much, since it rained most of the day.  Tuesday we got up late, drove to my parents house, had over some of the siblings, ate, and that’s about it.  Wednesday Autumn and I had a date night at Olive Garden, spent some time with the Cuz, and ran some errands (I got a new phone).  Thursday and Friday where chill days, Saturday was spent with the Cuz again and I had some Chicken Strippers from Between the Buns (that I have been craving for a while now) on the way to his house.  We spent the afternoon watching the ND game (less than amazing this time), a disappointment, and ate at Hacienda afterwards.  Notre Dame did in fact play good enough to win in some aspects, they had points taken away that shouldn’t have been, they had many missed calls, and they did enough to stop themselves.  In a few short hours we will be back on the road heading to Branson, MO, possibly for the last time.  It is possible than next time when we come home we won’t go back.  Although I don’t know that for sure, and I certainly hope not in many ways, realistically, this might be the last time we make the trip TO Branson from Indiana.

I hope I do a better job keeping this blog up to date for the next several months than I have for the past several months.  It’s easy to get in a groove and forget to update.  I am sure it’s easy for you to get in a groove and forget to read it, but just in case you do, I hope this is useful in keeping you up to date with everything that has been going on in our lives.  I know sometimes the blog can just be a list of activities, but it helps to see what we are up to, and hopefully helps you to identify with what’s been going on.  I will try to update this post with pictures later, check back soon to see if I follow through   There will be a new blog out soon also (this week for sure) old news to most, but a needed blog none-the-less.  Be on the look out, keep us in your prayers, peace.

More Delayed Updates, Sorry…

I will be dividing this into two posts, since they are covering two separate events.  In my last post I mentioned that we had several LeadTimer’s graduate, new one’s come in (The Class of 30!!!) and that we would be going to Kansas City to do a weekend orientation with the new LeadTimers at both properties.  That weekend came and went a long time ago.  When we arrived at the KC property on Friday night, the LeadTimers and staff made a tunnel for us and had us all walk through it as they clapped and welcomed us to property.  Then we spent the weekend playing get to know you games, an afternoon at a water park, eating (what is a get together without food?), having quit times, playing Disc Golf, along with other misc. activities.  Then, Sunday afternoon we packed up and went home.

The week after (as well as the next 3 weeks) have included much, much training.  I have been doing Med Training (re-learning how to properly give medications to kids), restraint training (were we learn to restrain kids without hurting them), CPR, and other Missouri laws regarding residential care facilities.  Let me tell you, this is a several week intense training thing were we come in at 9 and train until 2 everyday (with an hour for lunch), I find it to provide a little bit of brain overload.

The new LeadTimers are a varied bunch, they come from many different places in life, including a teacher, an Army reserve, a former Doulos employee, a former Little, and many other people.  As far as this class goes, I think there it’s a much different deal being here when the new people get here, then to be the new people.  I have found many new people to play Disc Golf with, and I think it’s going to be an interesting thing being the senior Big in the group.  Autumn and I have vacation time in September that we are using to go to Indiana, but since this blog is late, you already know that

The last thing that I will mention is that I would ask that you be praying for us as we go through the last portion of our year here at Doulos.  We have until the end of December for sure.  After December we will need to know what our next step will be.  Will we continue with them, at least temporarily?  Will we move to Indiana?  Will we be moving somewhere else?  And most importantly, that we will finish strong.  I know that Autumn and the kids love living in Indiana, but the kids have adapted really well to being in Branson,  I have as well, I just want to know what it God’s will is for us next.

I know it’s been a while…

So I thought I would provide an update.  Since the last time I posted an update , Lot’s of things have been happening.  Some we will get to in this post, some will have to wait for another one.  Sorry for the delay in updates, now let’s go!

First of all, Doulos recently held a graduation ceremony for all of the LeadTimers from the LeadTime 29 group.  Before everyone gets confused I am what’s known as a .5er, I won’t graduate until December.  The second part of this is what the graduation means.  It means that almost everyone of the Bigs, both guys and girls will be leaving…well almost.  Out of the 13 girl Bigs, 8 will be leaving.  Out of the 8 guy Bigs only 2 are .5ers.  However, 2 have taken other positions within Doulos and so I will still be working with them.  Also one of the 2 HD’s has left.  Well, when I say they have left, there official last day is the 31st, however, the new group gets here on Wednesday and I will be working almost exclusively with them from that point forward.

The new group coming in means big changes for me.  As crazy as it seams I still think of myself as a newbie.  This doesn’t make sense because there is a paid Big on staff that came in May, to be honest though, it seams like he has been here forever.   Some of the reasons I still seam like a newbie include the fact that I live off property.  I came later than almost everyone else, and even after all this time there are still rules I struggle with learning.  One of the things God showed me recently though is that even though one of the new LeadTimers coming in has 8 months experience, when he starts I will have nine, so I am no longer a newbie, rather I will be the most experienced guy there, a Leader for sure within the house.

Since we will have so many new faces I will be going through orientation again with all the new folks.  This will start this coming Friday as the new LeadTimers and I will be heading to the Kansas City property for a retreat before the actual orientation class work start next Monday.  Class time will run from early morning to mid afternoon followed by nightly activities nearly everyday.  This schedule will run for nearly 2 weeks.  After that is over we are planning on having our post summer break (when I say we I mean my family and I).  While we really want to go see family, this will strictly come down to if we have the finances.  Since we bought the van our VUE hasn’t sold.  This means that finances have been a little tighter lately than we anticipated.  We will have enough to get by, but maybe no vacations…

Not only do we have all of my current co-workers leaving and new ones coming in, we are about to come out of our summer schedule.  This coming week will probably be our last one.  And while we aren’t doing many of our typical summer activities, we have a lot of end of summer activities that we will be taking their place.  The week after this will be post summer break for most of the Shelterwood students, and when they get back school will be starting back up.

The last week of July (I think) we have a Doulos Day were we went water skiing, played Bocce Ball, wake boarded, and had KFC, very good times.  We also had a couple very prominent Shelterwood students move on through graduation, etc.  Those guys will definitely be missed.

Also during the last week of July the family and I headed back to Indiana for a short trip for my cousins wedding.  You can see me in my tux if you look at my Facebook profile pick on the right hand side of this page.  It was a really short and busy trip, a lot of driving, but hey, he’s my cousin, and he got married, and I was in the wedding (and I had to wear pink).

And last but not least about a week and a half ago I was punched in the face by a Little who made a very bad decision.  I didn’t retaliate, I didn’t press charges, but the situation is also not concluded.  I am fine, I wasn’t hurt, he actually punched me in the ear, I was told by all the bosses that I didn’t do anything wrong, it wasn’t my fault, and I handled it perfectly, but it still makes you wonder.  The guy hasn’t necessarily apologized (I think he wanted to but didn’t get a chance) and we are still around each other all the time with no hard feelings.  God showed me a lot through the situation and hopefully God brings a lot of good through it.

P.S. Everyone knows that football is starting soon right?  Check out the schedule for the Colts and ND!

Community living, but not the kind you think…Part 2

So, as I have thought about all of the animals and critters that love to hang out around our house, it dawned on me, since we are humans, we probably don’t recognise which animals are which, we can’t tell the difference between one grand daddy long leg and another, or one blue tailed lizard or another.  We recognize the differences between dogs or horses or birds that we own, but wild animals…not so much.  As I thought about this, I realized that since we see similar animals in similar places…they are probably in fact the same animal that we keep seeing over and over.  If that is the case, then…I don’t know, but I realized that if it’s the same animal then that animal must live here also.  If that’s the case with all the animals that I showed you in the prior post, then we live in a community of animals and not just a house with pests.

After thinking about this, I realized that not only are we effected by these other members, but they are also effected by us.  Not to get to deep or philisophical, but what most people call instinct, I think of as animals with souls (their own minds, will, and emotions).  I realized that when we watch the animals, many times they are watching us.  Several of the animals have become very…comfortable around us.  I think they have watched us and studied us enough to know what they are comfortable with us.  Likewise, we know when the spiders are near our door, if we go in quickly they don’t try to get it.  If we don’t chase the lizards they don’t always scurry off, but they will get far enough away and watch us.

Recently an event happened that caused a change in the community.  Andrew was playing outside with a baseball bat (I have no idea where he got it) and he hit one of the grand daddy long leg spiders (which obviously killed it), since then those spiders have disappeared.  Apparently the other spiders no longer feel safe around our door (I can’t say I am too terribly disappointed by this new development).  The next day or so we were down to 3-4 spiders, a couple days later 1-2, now none.   One day when we came home and tried to go in our house, the spiders fell/jumped off the side of the house to hide from us.  Needless to say, this unnecessary jumping freaked us out a bit (as this hasn’t happened to us in the past), but they are totally gone now.  This is both a positive and negative development.  I liked knowing where they were, now I just want to know for sure they are hiding in our house waiting for revenge.

The common garden spider is also apparently permanently gone.  I don’t know if the grand daddy long leg spiders told him what happened or if he only hangs on houses for certain seasons or periods of time, I don’t know, but he appears to be gone for good also.

The dear seem to come and go as they please, but since there are always similar numbers and similar places, I figure those guys live around here somewhere, and I will probably see them again, will they recognise me?  I doubt it.  But this does bring up some interesting thoughts, at least for me.  What do you think?

Community living, but not the kind you think…Part 1

Lately, as I have been walking on the porch and sidewalk to and from the car, I have begun thinking more and more about the community we live in.  No, this is not the community that you are thinking about, this is a different kind of community, let me explain.

Moths
Right outside our door we have seemingly hundreds of moths that gather at the light.  The number of moths that would come in our house every time the door was opened was at least 5.  Autumn and I have a hard time killing creatures, usually we try to save them and throw them back outside.  Lately the amount of moths outside has been decreasing, it seems that even though we still have hundreds, that there are less hundreds than there were before.  This may or may not be a direct result of other critters we have had on our house as of late.

Granddaddy Long Legs
Around three weeks ago Autumn saw so many of these spiders that they looked like a bunch of twigs hanging out the side of the garage.  Turns out they were the Granddaddy Long Legs, bunches of them.  Since that time, let’s say two weeks ago, we have noticed a steady increase of these guys hanging around our door.  At first there were three, 1 on the left, 1 on the right, and 1 above the door.  This turned into 3 on the right, 1 on the left, and 1 on the top.  Now we don’t like killing animals for no reason, so we just walked quickly through our door when we come in or out.  Shortly after the arrival of the Long Legs we also got a White-Backed Garden Spider, which hangs on the side of our house.  Apparently this guy is harmless and a very common spider, but he looks dangerous none-the-less.    He has now been there for about 10 days.

Common Garden Spider
This guy has been quite the interesting fellow.  He builds his web and then hangs on it all day long.  About 2-3 weeks later he moves his web about ten feet closer to our front door.  A few days later he is gone, not to be seen again.  However, each time this spider moves, he also takes with him his web.

Lizards
Late at night , after getting home from work or the store, I will see this guy scatter around trying to get out of the way.  Typically he  takes the same route and goes presumably to his little home.  Autumn and I also saw a blue tailed lizard recently, so I guess there are two lizards sharing our house.and

Rabbits
Usually once a day or every two days or so now, on my way to work, I find a baby bunny sitting in the driveway.  I am not sure if he is OK or not, because he always takes a long time to get out of my way, I almost went into a ditch the other day because of him.

Deer
We have several deer that like to wander in and out of our lives.  They aren’t around consistently, but it seems like they show up in groups every now and again.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce you to all the characters, and I will fill you in with all my thoughts in the next post.  However, essentially, my mind began to ponder all the thoughts and idea’s of this little community that we live in and share, that we call our home…to be continued…