Friday Foto Friends~For the Birds!

The other afternoon I sat out in my "Secret Memorial Garden" and enjoyed a very pleasant breeze and the beauty of the birds flying to and fro, sweetly singing such cheerful melodies.

I looked up above me and saw this male Bluebird, way out on a limb...but that didn't seem to bother him at all.

I think it was his lookout perch...watching for the pesky Chickadees, who are still trying to take over the birdhouse.

This is the unzoomed view below...yes, he was definitely way up there out on that limb...

But then he flew back to his house, to continue staking his claim...

Isn't he beautiful?

I am still cheering for the Bluebirds in this situation, and hoping that this time they will be able to raise their babies without unpleasant interruptions...

We've been visited by a pair of these Great Crested Flycatchers this week:

They can stay as long as they want, as long as they keep catching those "flies"!!

And speaking of catching "flies"...if you look very closely in this sunset picture, you can actually see a BAT flying around, catching mosquitoes! They are also very welcome to stay, as long as they stick to eating mosquitoes and not me! LOL.

Back to Still Waters Pond in the daytime...actually this was later afternoon, just before sunset. "Father Goose" maintains his perch on the stump along the shore, watching for any kind of intruders who might dare to enter the pond and disrupt the peace and safety while his lady love is still sitting on her nest.

And there she is: sitting on her nest over on that island.

I keep watching and hoping for any signs of new life over there. I was looking back at my posts from this time last year, and this goose couple was doing the exact same thing...and yet it did not produce any offspring. I am hoping this year will be a better year for them.  

Well, with that I will close this post with another view of that sunset:

Here's some "food for thought" for today:

Philippians 4:8

 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

 We know there is so much ugliness in our world today, and if we spend too much time watching the news or listening to the negative voices of doom and gloom around us, we will become discouraged and sad...or even become negative ourselves.  When I sit in my Secret Memorial Garden I could become frustrated and unhappy because there is a busy highway just on the other side of those trees to my left. The road noise can become deafening at times, drowning out the beautiful songs of the birds in the trees.  But I've learned since moving here to not allow the raucous noises of loud motorcycles, trucks without mufflers and sometimes wailing sirens keep me from enjoying the beauty that God has placed before my eyes. When I tune in my heart and ears to listen for God's voice in His marvelous creation surrounding me, that is what I hear and see.  I can filter out the obnoxious noise of people always in a hurry to get somewhere, and relax and enjoy the peace and serenity of calm that is displayed in God's little place of beauty here on Still Waters Pond.  It is my prayer that you will also look for beauty and peace in your surroundings, wherever you may be, and hold on to the peace that God is offering you each day.

A Psalm of David.

"23 The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever."

Amen.

Have a blessed and peaceful, beautiful day.

A Golden October Day

The day started out with a golden glow in the trees as we took our morning walk.

The light was golden all around

I think you can see it better here...

And in the happy faces of these golden wild coreopsis that are growing all through the woods right now, everywhere we looked.

Even this huge spider web took on a golden glow in the early morning sun

The woods are full of God's glory

Not to be outdone, this lovely bright orange Gulf Fritillary butterfly spent some time sipping the nectar of the Penta flowers on my front porch this morning. I just happened to look out the window and saw him there, and he stayed around for quite awhile, having quite a lovely time...and so did I, watching him.

These pictures were taken through the window, so they probably aren't as clear as they could be, but they are still so pretty. I was enchanted.

Hello, lovely lady with your gorgeous autumn dress!

As if that wasn't wonderful enough, this evening we had a nice little rain shower while the sun was still shining...so immediately I once again ran to the front window to see if there might be a rainbow...and sure enough there it was!  I stood outside in the rain and took these pictures...

Yes, it was a double rainbow!

We had one last night too! Amazing!

It seems like God is displaying all His beautiful colors for us during this Autumn season, when things are actually in the process of dying out before the winter begins.  Makes me wonder about life a bit...as we enter the "autumn" of our lives, which many of us here in "Blogland" seem to be getting closer and closer to that if not already there, I wonder if we are also displaying all of our "beautiful colors" and the golden glow of God's glory shining through us.  That should be our goal in life...the closer we get to our "winter days" on this earth, the more we should glow with the beauty of Christ living in us. There should be a radiance that others can see without us having to even speak it out loud.

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory,

If it is found in the way of righteousness."

Proverbs 16:31

Some thoughtful advice to women is found in I Peter 3:3-4 

3.  "Do not let your adornment be merely outward...arranging the hair, wearing gold, 

or putting on fine apparel, 

4.  Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God...."

In other words, may we be more concerned with developing and displaying the true inner beauty that resides within the heart of a woman who puts her trust in God rather than with the outward appearance of having fine clothes, jewelry or having things...not saying those things are bad in themselves, but only that our greater desire ought to be the better things of a gentle and quiet spirit...something for me to ponder when I look in the mirror...

Psalm 34:4-5 says:

4.  " I sought the Lord, and He heard me,

and delivered me from all my fears.

5.  They looked to Him and were radiant,

and their faces were not ashamed."

I hope you have enjoyed this beautiful golden October day.

Now, let us go out and "glow"...

Wednesday Wanderings

Wednesday is one of those days in the middle of the week when I just feel like posting whatever I've been seeing as I wander around the yard or our walking place.  

I know we are all getting tired of "social distancing", but realize we have to keep it up until things get better.  So here are a few birds and other things that are keeping their distance:

This lovely Great Blue Heron stands alone in the pond throughout the day, fishing for his supper and generally just looking around at the lovely pond lilies while he waits for the next fish to appear.

 The Canadian Geese Couple continue to dwell here on Still Waters Pond.  This male waves off any strangers while he watches over his mate, who must be getting anxious for her babies to be born.

 Almost every day the Male escorts the Female goose up to our yard, and he watches over her while she eats bird seed under the bird feeder.

This is usually late in the afternoon, when I suppose they deem the nest is safe enough to leave for a short period of time, but at the least little noise of anything that may sound threatening to them, they take off flying back across the pond with a lot of honking and flapping of wings.

 But now, every morning and some afternoons, the male goose comes to the feeder alone and helps himself to whatever seeds are left on the ground after the squirrels have scattered them out of the feeder.  This morning I was really surprised as I went out on the deck to drink my morning glass of Metamucil (yes, that is a daily routine that I must do every day now! Doctor's orders!), and as I was standing there stirring and drinking (have to stir before every sip...) I noticed the male goose on the other side of the pond sitting where he usually spends the day in a close proximity to wherever the nest is (I suppose, because we can't see the nest from here),  and as soon as he saw me come on to the deck, he immediately flew directly across the pond and landed on our shore and started walking right up to the bird feeder, as if he knew if I was out there, there might be something good to eat. While he was still approaching the feeder, I dared to walk down the steps and go to the feeder and shake out some extra seeds on the ground, and it did not deter him one bit. I quickly went back up the steps, and he continued his walk directly to the feeder and with a look of gratitude immediately began eating the scattered bird seed on the ground.

 He did not mind my watching him at all. He even flapped his wings and fluffed his feathers for me, which must be his way of saying "Thank You."

So I reluctantly left him there alone to eat his feast as I had my own things to take care of. But it was a close encounter of a pleasant kind. He has learned to trust us, so I hope that means once the goslings are born he will bring the family over to meet us.

 Now, if any of you are my Facebook friends, (and many of you are), you've probably already seen the conversation between the two Red Shouldered Hawks that I placed on there this week. There are many more pictures than just these three, but I wanted to give you a little sample of this couple who seem to be having a bit of a disagreement during their time of "social distancing"

Hey, someone is watching us!!

 I told you to quit arguing with me...

Anyway, if you want to see more their conversation, go to my facebook page and click on the photo album "Red Shouldered Hawks practicing Social Distancing".


And from our walk one day I spied this Red Bellied Woodpecker all alone up in  a dead tree:

I've also been watching the progress of the Cactus blooms, as they are always so pretty and don't last long so you have to catch them while they are open:

Looks like this little bee is enjoying some Cactus Juice:

Isn't it amazing how something that is so prickly and unpleasant to bump into can produce such a lovely flower?   There must be a lesson in there somewhere...

How about this verse:

Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

"30.  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Okay, that's good!  Now I must get a move on...

someone is wanting his lunch, and he won't go out to the bird feeder 

and pick it off the ground. LOL.

Have a blessed and happy day, my friends. Look for the beauty and

the positive in what is around you today. 

We can always just see the negative in the world situations,

but we don't have to camp out there.

God is still alive and well...and He is not going to forsake His children!

Amen??

Time for Enjoying God's Gifts Around Us

While many in our country are bracing for a severe winter storm,  here in Florida we have been enjoying beautiful cool, sunny days with no humidity, no bugs, no snow, not even any rain...which we need by the way...(However, I hear there is rain and cold front on the way tomorrow night...so glad we had these moments before it comes!)

So yesterday hubby and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and took a bit of a walk in the woods.  We really didn't go far, but enough for us to see that we need to plan a little better and do this more often.

The pine trees think it is springtime and are putting out their pollen and new pine cones. Seems a bit early to me, but apparently the pine trees don't think so.  If you live near pine trees, you know when it is pollen time, as your cars, outdoor furniture, anything sitting outside, will soon be covered with a fine yellow dusting of pollen. For those with allergies, it is not a very pleasant experience!

This morning we took our usual walk before breakfast down our road, which is also rather dusty right now due to lack of rain.  But if we go early enough we don't get too choked by the dust as cars drive by. Most of our neighbors who live on this road are pretty considerate when they see us out walking and will slow down so that the dust doesn't get too overwhelming.

Here I am, sporting my new Christmas gifts...3 lb. weights to carry as I walk. Hubby says it should help me build upper body/arm strength, which I need, so today was the first day I remembered to take them along.  We shall see how I feel later...

Later today I was blessed to see one of God's most beautiful creatures, a male Cardinal, taking his bath!! Yes, I stayed right there and watched the whole thing!  He didn't seem to mind, although perhaps he didn't know I was peeking since I was just inside the house looking through my bedroom windows.

 These pictures of the cardinal taking his bath so peacefully in the birdbath outside our window remind me of some words of Christ, which I think serve as a very great reminder to me and possibly for you right now:

Matthew 6:25-34

25.  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, 

what you will eat or what you will drink;

nor about your body,

what you will put on.

Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26.  Look at the birds of the air,

for they neither sow nor reap

nor gather into barns;

yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?"

 27.  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28.  So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;

 29.  And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 30.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 31.  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

32.  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

 33.  "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things shall be added to you.

34.  Therefore do not worry 

about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about its own things.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

You know, friends, I needed this lesson today. I love how God shows us His abundant love and care in such simple, yet profound ways. Don't you?

I am praying now for those of you who may be in the path of the wintry blast and possibly even other serious storms and/or tornadoes.  May you feel the Presence of the Lord watching over you and protecting you from danger and discomfort. God bless you, dear friend, and stay safe and warm.