Love Feast
This morning is the kind of morning I really enjoy. We have a soft, constant rain. The lawn needs it, the birds LOVE it and it is quite relaxing to just listen to. My home-office is in my guestroom which has a large window outside which I have a crepe myrtle with two bird feeders. I ALWAYS have my camera, loaded and ready to go! As I write, I can glance out the window to enjoy the bird activity. Today has been amazing. So much activity. Titmice, goldfinches, house finches, white-breasted nuthatch, little Downy woodpeckers, many cardinals, an irritating starling or two or three, brown thrashers and a blue jay. All flying in and out taking their turns at the feeders with the female cardinal and brown thrasher hanging in for longer anticipating their male partners will come with a morsel of nourishment to fill their tummies and soothe their souls. Ah, soul mates!! The rain does so much for us…watering our crops, washing away pollen, and the birds perched in a tree drink from the leaves as they flutter away having a little bath and preening. Fun to watch and I must give thanks to our Creator for such imagination in His Creation that always provides a great moment of communing for me. Praise...
Read MoreSome Days Chickens, Some Days Feathers!
As a child, I never asked my daddy exactly what he meant when he would exclaim, “Some days chickens, some days feathers!” I had my own interpretation. I figured it meant when one is chasing a chicken, you might catch the chicken, if you’re lucky, or you just might grab a bunch of feathers and that’s it. Sort of an “Oh, well…” I grew up in the city, but our next door neighbor had a housekeeper/cook who all the neighborhood kids liked to watch her S-T-R-E-T-C-H a chicken’s neck out across a tree stump and whack it’s head off! Then, of course, came the fun part of watching the headless chicken run around the yard until it dropped over…dead. I watched with enjoyment then, but today…I absolutely could not watch it all happen today. :-0 But this post is not about chopping a chicken’s head off. It’s about how some days are better than others, some periods in our lives are easier than others and how when we walk in faith, we have the assurance that “This too shall pass.” Whether our struggle is getting through a life-threatening diagnosis, dealing with a long drawn out illness, raising a young family through YEARS of unemployment or searching for the purpose in one’s life, we DO know that our Creator is with us through it all and will guide us out of the wilderness. When I captured this photo of this young male cardinal this morning, I have to admit I said to myself, “Bless his heart!” He does, indeed, look so pitiful with his young little feathers piercing through his dark gray skin looking like a new hairstyle gone very bad! But, just as soon as I had those thoughts, my thoughts jumped to the brilliantly handsome look he will have in just a couple of months…as God finishes his daily attire that brings so much color and life to our world. So for him TODAY I say, “Some days chickens, some days feathers…just a lot more feathers for...
Read MoreEverybody’s Got to Learn!
It’s a rainy day off and on. Good day to work at my computer and view the wildlife out my window as they move about as the rain subsides. Mockingbird, European Starling, Tufted Titmouse, cardinals and….the bluebird I haven’t seen recently at my feeders. The bluebird gives me a peaceful and blessed feeling they are so pretty. I saw a flash of brown. Grabbed my camera and kept snapping away. What is that? Too fast and skippy for me to get a good shot as he jumped from one branch to another, turning around and all I get is the backside. THEN, my opportunity! There he is perched, still, looking right in the window at me. It’s a young Carolina Wren…flitting, jumping, then mesmerized at my sight, I suppose. I see his fuzzy, feathery chest and tummy area moving with the breeze and that precious little expression we see on fledglings’ faces. The mouth looking as if he is bewildered and desperately wanting something to eat. Wrens are clinging birds so they usually do quite well hanging from a suet feeder, but this little guy looked like he was questioning his skills. As I snapped the camera, I said, “Go on little one, take a chance. Everybody’s got to learn and you can do it.” Again, in a flash, he flew...
Read MoreThe Nourishing Rain
Our little speck of earth here in NC surely needed some rain yesterday! Though one of my rose bushes is lying on the ground now, I do give thanks for this nourishment from the Lord. Those of us in a book study reading “One Thousand Gifts” are taking a new look a Grace and what God’s generosity in our lives really means to our earthly existence. We’ve been discussing the daily gifts that so often go unrecognized and, of course, there’s been discussion on THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL, Jesus Christ himself. Some of us have been much like ole Santa Claus in making our lists and checking them twice, thrice or a whole passle of times with joy renewed each time as we come to new realization of just how many gifts we receive EACH day! How long has it been since you have INTENTIONALLY considered your gifts received? After the rain yesterday, it seemed it had been declared the time for our feathered friends to primp and clean up a bit. Fun to watch. Some very comical poses for the watching camera. I like this little male house finch taking advantage of the raindrops falling one at a time from leaves above and cleansing his pollen-ridden feathers. Such a sight! God, thank you for the gift of rain yesterday…and for the birds who thoroughly enjoyed...
Read MoreNorthern Cardinal State Bird
The Northern Cardinal is no doubt one of the most popular birds…among those that are selected as State Bird in the USA. The Northern Cardinal is State Bird for seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. So what makes this bird one of our favorites? Is it the flashing red color of the male? Perhaps, it’s because we love to hear them sing their melodious songs to one another? Or maybe it’s because the paler female has a beauty all her own. My guess is that it’s all of these that form the crowd around the voting table for one’s favorite backyard bird. I like watching a male sit and watch for his mate to come hither after hearing his little click-click-click sound. Usually, I see him doing this when he is near my feeder. It isn’t too long before she comes flying in beckoning his call. When the cardinals are courting, it’s quite entertaining to watch. She sits in the tree near the feeder but not approaching it. She slightly flutters her wings a little. He gets the seed and comes to sit right next to her, cracks it open and gets it just right for her and then feeds her…over and over. It is believed that she is testing him out to see how well he would “provide for the family.” He also is quite protective of his intended mate and if another male comes nearby, he takes care of that situation immediately. One day I actually watched one male chase another male around the big holly tree numerous times before the 2nd hopeful suitor finally gave up. Quite entertaining. Remember to fill your...
Read More
What's Your Passion?
National Audubon Society
Help support the efforts of our National Audubon Society in conservation of natural bird habitats. Visit: www.birds.audubon.org