Category: Animals

Fort Morgan

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date July 9, 2020

This past Sunday I wrote all about my fun adventures just outside the big city of Mobile Alabama. I praised, worshipped, and celebrated Christ at my friends’ church. I enjoyed a delicious Thai Lunch. I walked a family farm with goats. Sunday was my fun day away from my family on this family vacation.

The next day – Monday – was supposed to be a fun family visit to the local zoo in Gulf Shores. I had planned on this day for many weeks. I was really looking forward to it. I soon realized that (aside from myself) nobody else was really interested in going to the zoo – not even my two nieces (ages 10 and 7). I was a little bit heartbroken about that.

I decided to simply go to the zoo by myself. As I was looking for a coupon to the zoo in a tourist magazine I stumbled across a full-page color ad for a place I had never heard of before – Fort Morgan. It’s an old war fort at the far-western tip of the barrier island that Orange Beach and Gulf Shores are located on about 30 miles away. It sits at the mouth of Mobile Bay where it meets the Gulf Of Mexico. It’s an Alabama State Historic Site and a U.S. National Historic Landmark. It’s on the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places. The brave soldiers that served at this site protected our nation during the War Of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War 1, and World War 2.

In lieu of the zoo I went to the fort by myself early last Tuesday morning. When I arrived at the entrance gate I was immediately greeted and recognized as a Veteran. I was admitted for free. That was a nice surprise. I spent a couple of hours touring the site. It was bigger and better than I expected. I took 44 photos of the 200+ years of history all around me. I’ve already posted over a dozen of these photos on my Flickr site, and you can also see the last 5 photos posted here on my blog site. Here’s one I haven’t posted yet:

This visit – planned just hours in advance – turned out to be one of the highlights of my recent 9-day / 2-state / 1,690-mile road-trip vacation. I’m glad I discovered it in a tourist magazine. I’ll be talking about this place for years to come.

Tags Alabama, Fort Morgan

Animals Bible Christian God Home Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date May 17, 2020

Boots On Guest Bed

This was my little feline buddy ‘Boots’. I met him in 1994, and we officially became housemates on New Year’s Day 1995. Over the years Boots developed my personality in a cat’s body. He was the smartest cat I’ve ever met. I talked to him, and he understood me, and he responded to me.

Boots’ favorite hobbies included greeting me at the front door all the time, following me everywhere I went, watching my every move, eating with me, sleeping with me, and (for fun) pushing geckos off the back porch screen in order to “save my life”. If Boots saw a gecko climbing on the outside of the screen it would only take him mere seconds to jump up and push that gecko off the screen and tumbling 15 feet to the ground below. Once he did that he’d look back at me for my instant approval (which I always granted).

Boots was with me for 12½ years – the toughest 12½ years of my adult life. Exactly 13 years ago last night on May 16TH 2007 was a horrible night for Boots and I. He was in agonizing pain (due to the effects of various diseases), and he could no longer hide it. He was screaming all night long. He could no longer walk. He lost the ability to purr. I knew that was his last night of life.

The next morning I made the ultimate decision to put him to sleep to end his terminal pain and suffering that he was enduring. I was with him at the very end at the animal hospital, and he meowed at me one last time as if to thank me for loving him for all of those years. His eyes slowly closed after that, and I cried.

His doctor said it was my final good deed for him, and that he probably lived much longer than he should have – due to the love that I provided to him over the years.

Boots On The Couch

Psalm 34-18

Animals Blogging

Remembering Barney & Fluffy

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 9, 2020

WELCOME to an all-new weekend of blogging ! Tomorrow I’ll present a very special Good Friday post, and then on Easter Sunday my 4-part sermon titled “Faces & Heels” concludes. I’ll end the weekend on Monday with my brand new Top 10 music chart.

This weekend I’m remembering Barney and Fluffy. They passed on during this same week of April 5 years apart in 2001 (Fluffy) and 2006 (Barney). They were the childhood cats of me and my brother (8 years younger than me), but I should clarify that a bit.

We found Fluffy (a Manx) outside on our elevated backyard patio deck on a bitter cold and icy Northern Virginia morning on the 23RD of December of 1983. We brought her in, gave her some milk to drink, loved on her, and then she refused to leave ! She remained with us (our family) for over 17 years – until 2001 – long after me and my brother had become adults and moved on with our respective lives.

Barney arrived on the scene about 4½ years later in 1988 while I was living here in Homestead Florida (where I’m still living today). My brother was still living at home. I’m not sure where exactly we got Barney, but it may have been from a coworker of our Mom. Barney remained with our family for about 18 years – until 2006.

Both cats lived long, fat, and happy lives in comfort. Fluffy was the most lovable feline I have ever known in my entire life. I had never heard a purr in my life until I heard it from her. Barney was simply “the cat that didn’t like me” – although during his last year (of perhaps senility) he came over to me and purred on me as if to ask me for my forgiveness for all of those years in which he didn’t care for me. Barney loved my brother more than anyone else. Fluffy loved me more than anyone else.

During Fluffy’s later years – even though I was gone for many months at a time – the instant that I returned for a visit was the same instant that she would come to life and erupt into continuous meows of joy, loud uninterrupted purrs, and frequent head, body, and tail bumps.

Here are some classic photos of Barney and Fluffy. The first one has a date imprinted on the back of it of ‘APR 89’; however, I suspect that the photo was actually taken around Christmas-time of 1988. That would make Fluffy about 5½ to 6 years old and Barney less than a year old. The second photo was taken several years later well into the 1990s. Same wall and location – different couch – fatter felines.

Barney & Fluffy - Christmas-Time 1988 — Barney & Fluffy – Christmas-Time 1988

Barney & Fluffy - Mid-1990s — Barney & Fluffy – Mid-1990s

Tags Cats, Felines

Animals Bible Bugs Christian Church Driving God History Holidays Military Ministry Music Nature People Photography Scripture Travel Weather

Southwest Florida Road-Trip

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date January 23, 2020

This past U.S. holiday weekend I enjoyed a 3-day / 3-county / 360-mile Florida road-trip to and from Fort Myers. It was my first visit to the region since last July. I always enjoy visiting Southwest Florida (Collier and Lee County). Usually I venture over there to see a concert at the Hertz Arena, and this trip was no exception.

My first stop though after crossing the Everglades via the Tamiami Trail was the flagship branch of the multi-site Collier County Museum in East Naples. It was my first visit since June 2012. Back then I thought it was my first visit ever – until I saw some of the exhibits outside – and then I realized that I had been there years earlier.

At the end of my 90-minute visit I picked-up a brochure for a nearby place that I never knew existed – the Naples Museum Of Military History – at the main terminal of the Naples Airport. So I went there, and I immersed myself in all of the awesome displays there. They were overflowing at the seams in the two rooms that they occupy there. They need more space, and hopefully they get it.

After that I took a ride out to the country and into the woods for another first-time visit ever – the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. What a wonderful and beautiful place this was – especially on a sunny and coolish day. I’m sure that it would be a miserable place to be during our 9-month bug season and especially our 5-month rainy season, but that was truly a great day to be outdoors strolling the 2.25-mile elevated boardwalk absorbing nature’s beauty – created by my Almighty God.

By the way all of the above was Day 1 of my road-trip ! Day 2 started in Fort Myers at probably their # 1 tourist attraction – the Edison & Ford Winter Estates. It was my first visit since April 2011. I love this place. I could work and have fun at this place after I retire from my military / civil service career. I took the 1-hour and 15-minute guided tour which was a lot of fun (even though I had done it before). I’d do it again !

On Sunday night I went to the Hertz Arena to see Franklin Graham conclude his recent tour of Florida. He led us in prayer for our nation and our leaders, and then he preached a classic Billy Graham Crusade sermon on Repentance & Salvation. That’s a topic that I’m quite familiar with, as many of my sermons are about the same. Jeremy Camp opened and closed for Franklin, as he performed 7 of his greatest hits. I’ll be seeing Jeremy Camp perform again at this very same arena in 6 weeks, as he opens for MercyMe.

Day 3 of 3 started back in East Naples at the Naples Botanical Garden – yet another first-time visit. I walked well over 3 miles for 2 hours at this fun place on a chilly and overcast morning.

I’ve got over 80 photos of this fun road-trip to and from Southwest Florida – also known as Florida’s Paradise Coast. At least 60 of those 80 photos will probably be uploaded and captioned on my Flickr site over the next few weeks. But I’ll close this blog post with a sneak-peek. It’s a photo of the chalkboard at the start of the boardwalk at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary where visitors can write-down what they’ve seen along their walk on the boardwalk. A little less than 90 minutes later – there were more sightings documented on the chalkboard.