Friday Foto Friends and Blessings!

Good Friday morning from Still Waters Pond!  Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird greet you today!

To me, it appears they are sharing love messages with each other as they enjoy a cool bath in the late afternoon sunshine (yesterday afternoon).

God speaks to us with love messages every day, if we just pay attention...

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird came back to check things out at their house and take a bath...

Ah, so refreshing!

Then she flew up into the tree to fluff her feathers and dry off...

Apparently their baby (ies?) flew the nest when I wasn't looking, as it appears the nest is empty. There's no sign of any eggs left in the nest, so I am assuming however many babies were in there flew away to the designated place in the treetops.  I am sorry to have missed it!  But sometimes they prefer to do it when no one is looking for the safety of the baby birds.

Maybe they will come back for a visit too in a day or two, but for now I will just believe they are enjoying their new freedoms and learning to fly "high" with the rest of the birdies.

Meanwhile this was happening next door to us:

This is a lovely large lot on Still Waters Pond that has been recently purchased, and the new owner is actually a developer who is planning to put a brand new manufactured home on the lot and then sell it.  

Thankfully this fellow was just clearing out the underbrush and not really cutting down any big trees.

He was also cleaning out an area to give visual access to the pond...

I went and checked on our Canada Goose father, who is still patiently guarding and waiting for his mate, who is sitting on the nest on the island. I have dubbed the big island "Goose Island" because that is where they have built their nest each time they needed it over the past several years. This is only the 2nd time that we are aware of in the almost five years we have lived here.  If they did it every year, we weren't aware of it. Maybe this isn't the same couple as before? No way to tell. 

Here is the view of the island from the perspective of the newly cleared out area on the lot.

I still can't figure out exactly where the nest is, but I know it is somewhere on the right end of the island above.

Here is a view looking from the middle of the new lot towards the pond:

This is where the bushes were cleared out along the shore...it is kind of mucky down there because the pond has a mucky bottom, due to the decomposition of all those water lilies over the years.  The water levels are getting kind of low right now due to lack of rain.

But this is what you can see if you stand down there and look to the left:

And this is what you can see looking to the right...see the goose to the far right?

This is a wider view looking toward the right...

And this is looking straight ahead:

Back up on the lot, there are some beautiful live oak trees in addition to many other kinds of trees, pines, maple and other kinds of oaks.

Whoever gets this lot will have a beautiful woodsy place to enjoy!

Another view looking toward the pond:

After the clearing was done we found this Yellow Bellied Slider turtle up on the land, laying her eggs and burying them in the dirt.  She apparently found the new trail out of the pond up onto the land and decided the newly cleared lot would be a good place to hide her eggs. She will leave them there and when they are ready, they will hatch and come out of the ground and go back to the pond to live.  I was thinking I should put a marker where she laid her eggs so I can tell the builder not to put the house on top of it!   

Later in the evening we walked over to the lot again, and it seemed as though the birds were making a lot of calls back and forth...this beautiful male Cardinal was calling and calling his mate from the big oak tree in the front yard of our house. I think some birds may have become displaced with all the clearing on that lot and they are trying to find new places to roost...

This was taken just before sunset. It was getting "buggy" out, and I didn't want to stay and get eaten alive by mosquitoes while waiting for the sunset, but it does look like it will be a lovely vantage point to watch the sunsets.

Just after sunrise this morning hubby and I ventured over to the lot again to go and check on our goose family. There's Daddy Goose, sitting on the pond, continuing his vigil of watch-care over his mate on her nest. But where is that nest? I wish I could figure it out!

This is the view of the island and pond around it in the early morning...

I asked Mr. Goose where his lady love was, and he pointed in that direction:

I said, I know she's over there on the island, but I can see her!  She's well camouflaged!

Meanwhile we heard a knock knock knocking sound in the treetops overhead, and I looked up and saw this Pileated Woodpecker up there pecking away at the bugs in that tree:

Then I looked back at the island, and zoomed in on something on the hillside at the end of the island, and what did I see?

That looks like the goose on the side of the hill!!! I NEVER would have thought to look on the side of the hill for her nest!  But she is definitely sitting there, pretty as you please, well camouflaged behind the tall grasses, in a little flattened out area on the side of the hill!!

She was right there before my eyes all that time, and I never noticed!  However, of course, until the land was cleared where I could move over to that different vantage point, I couldn't really see around to that side of the island very well!  So there she is, safe and sound!  I wonder how much longer until the eggs will hatch?  I'm thinking it could be very soon, so please stay tuned!  I hope all the noise on the lot being cleared, etc., doesn't upset her.  So far, she seems pretty oblivious to it all...she's just concentrating on keeping those eggs warm and safe!  Such a good Mother Goose!

Now, in case you are wondering, here is a view looking from the middle of the new lot toward the left (as I stand in the middle of the lot facing the pond), and there is our house!  If you were to come and buy this lot and the new home that is going to be placed there, we could be neighbors!!!!!

This is where I was standing when I took that picture above. This could be your view as you look out the back of your house, maybe from your kitchen window, or from your back porch, and look toward the pond!  Yes, you could probably clear out a bit more of the brush that's blocking the view from there, but just think, you could have your own spot right here on Still Waters Pond!

But you better hurry, because once this place starts being constructed, I expect it will be sold quickly! And it is the very last vacant lot on Still Waters Pond! And just think! We could be neighbors and enjoy watching all the wildlife/and birds together while we sip our cup of tea or coffee or iced tea and take pictures and enjoy all that God has blessed us with!  To quote Mr. Rogers, "Won't you be, won't you be, please won't you be my neighbor?"  

Matthew 22:37-40

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 

38 This is the first and great commandment. 

39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

I am praying for whoever our new neighbors will be. Perhaps God is preparing them for this move right now as we speak...God already knows who they are.  Whoever it is, it is my prayer that they will be blessed here in this location and that we will be able to be good neighbors to them.

Okay, one more thing...You may remember that I told you about my hubby not feeling well last week? Well, he ended up having a CT scan of the brain and a chest X-Ray, per doctor's orders.  We got the results yesterday...the doctor said his brain scan and x-ray were both normal, and that his brain looks exceptionally GOOD for a man his age! No signs of any kind of deterioration or former strokes or anything adversely affecting it! Wow!  We both said "Praise the Lord" right out loud!  That was pretty amazing! And he does feel much better. Not sure what was going on last week, but he's fine now, and we are very very thankful to the Lord for this good news. 

Well,  that's all for now my friends.  But seriously, if you are thinking about moving to Florida...or to relocate to a small country town and live on Still Waters Pond where you will have some good neighbors waiting for you...let me know!  I can put you in touch with the right people!  

Have a blessed and wonderful weekend!!

 

Wednesday Treasures

This morning on Still Waters Pond. Need I say more?

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."  

2 Corinthians 4:6

What a glorious way to start the day!  That full moon was just as beautiful this morning at 6 a.m. as it was last night at 9 p.m.  Sadly, I didn't take a picture of it then, so I am thankful it was still there in all this beauty this morning. Thank you, Jesus!  

I put that picture on my Facebook page this morning. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me such wonders to behold, and I believe He wants me to share them with the world.  I became convicted about my lack of thoughtful content on Facebook lately.  It seems as though the only things I have been posting lately are my Wordle, Connections and Strands game results.  For those of you who play these daily brain challenge games from New York Times on your computer or cell phone, you understand what I am talking about.  They are fun and sometimes exasperating at the same time, but they are good ways to keep the brain cells functioning. There are a few of our friends who also enjoy playing these games and we post our results on Facebook so we can either congratulate or commiserate with each other, depending upon how well we did.  It's good clean fun and I enjoy it.  But it's not the only thing I want the world to see on my Facebook page...so God gave me a little nudge to start posting a daily photo with a scripture verse included as a way of encouraging one another and giving glory to God each day.  

 

So here are the previous photos w/captions that were posted on FB this week.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

"This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long!"

This is a new "brain challenge" for me to find appropriate verses or quotations or, as in the case of the bluebird above, songs, to go along with whatever photos I am able to capture throughout the week. I know many of you already do something like this on your Facebook page as well as  your blog, and I used to do more of that but have gotten away from it recently, and in these difficult and turbulent times in our world we need more positive messages out there.  I am praying that God will help me in this endeavor and remind me when I forget or get caught up in too much other stuff.  So many of you are such good examples already, and I really appreciate your faithfulness. Thank you!

In other events of the week...nothing too major except for doctor appointments and the usual weekly activities, i.e.; Bible Study on Monday and Choir practice on Tuesday.  We finished up one book this week in our Ladies' Bible Study, and will begin this new study next week:

Looks like another great study so I am looking forward to it. We had hoped to start it this past Monday, but the books didn't get here on time, so we just reviewed some things in our previous study and pretty much had an open discussion about "life". 

Get a group of ladies together and they never seem to have a problem in finding something to talk about...isn't that the truth? LOL. There were some discussion questions in the back of our study book that we had not discussed, so this was a good time for it.  Here are the three questions we discussed...you may wish to think about these questions in your own life...

1.  Have you ever been angry with God when His answer to your prayer was no? Share briefly about that time and how you processed your anger.

2.  How does letting go of our anger and bitterness position us for God's better blessing?

3.  How does believing that our story is for God's glory help us trust Him in times of waiting?

As you can imagine there were a lot of thoughts and personal stories from our ladies in response to these questions. It was a very good discussion and I think very helpful and encouraging for each of us.

Back on the waterfront of Still Waters Pond...it seems as though the Sand Hill Crane family has graduated to a different level...they are no longer coming back here to the pond each night to sleep, so they must be showing the colts Abe and George more of the big wide world around us.  I expect they will still be coming by occasionally for a visit, but apparently not every day.

The Bluebird family seems to have slowed down again...I am not seeing much action out there at the birdhouse in the past couple of days. I don't believe the baby birds could have been big enough to fledge from the nest yet...so I really am not too sure what is going on.  If I can figure it out, I will let you know.

And the Canada Goose couple are apparently in the waiting room of their new little family emerging. I cannot see their nest, so I really can't report on whether or not the mother goose is still sitting on her nest.  Here's what I have seen:

If you look carefully you can find Daddy Goose actually napping in the pond...can you find him?

Here's a close up.  I had to really search to find him, as he blended in so well with the water and background.  He was situated out a little ways from the big island where I believe the nest is. Even though it appears he is napping, I am certain that if anything came around to disturb Mrs. Goose on her nest, he would be right there to defend her.

The past several days I have noticed this goose come into our yard around the same time of the afternoon.  I believe this is the mother goose on one of her "breaks" from the nest. She comes into our yard looking for food and only stays a few minutes and then she swims back around to the island to get back to the nest and relieve Daddy Goose from his nest-guard duty.

She is very "tame" and comes right up to the porch where I am standing, expecting me to give her something to eat apparently. I know I am NOT supposed to do that, and once I start, she will expect it every time.  There may be some stray birdseed out there on the ground, but I am being careful not to make her dependent on us for her food.  I think these geese have been fed by humans over on the other lake where they spend the rest of their time when they are not nesting.  It's not a good thing to feed them as it's really not healthy for them. There is plenty of natural food in the pond and on the ground for them to eat.  So I am trying to not give in to her "pleas".  It's not easy...

Isn't she lovely?

Here are some thoughts from God's Word that came to mind as I was thinking about this subject...

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?

Matthew 6:25-27

Well, speaking of food...it's about time to cook supper, so I need to get going.  Not exactly sure what we are having, but it will be something along with some pork loin chops that are quick and easy to fix! Nothing fancy, that's for certain. 

I hope you are having a good week so far. Little by little I am making my way around to visit. Blessings to each and every one of you!

Sunday Thoughts from Still Waters Pond

Psalm 121:7-8

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm— 

 he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Comforting words from God's Word today...and how does that have anything to do with that goose?

Well...that male Canada Goose is performing his duty in the care and protection of his mate much like Psalm 121:7-8 says that God watches over His precious children...although of course God's care is perfect in every way, and He never slumbers nor leaves His post, whereas the goose may occasionally wander off or take a little nap...

Remember when I told you about a lot of goose activity HERE a couple of months ago?   Well, since then, things kind of calmed down and the larger group of geese sort of went on their way once the Sand Hill Cranes were actively nesting and then having their babies out in the middle of Still Waters Pond.   Although the geese continued to stop by and harass the cranes and honk at them until the cranes would flap their wings at them and send them away...it's been quite a circus out there.  

Then it seemed that just two geese were hanging around most of the time, and spending more and more time near the island and also standing out beside our street greeting people along the road like they were our mascots or something.

However, we have been noticing this lone Canada Goose coming and going by himself lately, oftentimes just standing in the yard along the shore of Still Waters Pond for a while, and then swimming off around in the little canal that goes around the island in the pond.  Today I got to thinking about that and wondering why he was suddenly alone so much, when mostly we would see him with another goose swimming around or standing in the yard together.  

Then a little light bulb popped on over my head...could it be that his lady love is sitting on a nest, and that is why he is out there alone?  So I grabbed my camera and took a little walk down through the woodsy path that leads to the area where I can observe the other end of the island, and sure enough, there was our goose, standing guard all alone in the water out beside that part of the island.  Although I could not see the other goose or her nest, I feel quite certain that she is over there sitting on a nest and this is her mate, standing guard. He reminded me of the guards at Buckingham Palace (although I've never been there in person).  They never look to the left or the right, but just stare straight ahead. They do not acknowledge your presence, but stand perfectly still and ready to protect the palace no matter what.  

That is exactly what this goose was doing. I know he had to have heard me crunching on the dry leaves and tromping through the bushes that lead down to the shore.  There's no doubt he could see me in his peripheral vision, but he stood there perfectly straight, never wavering in his position.  (However, if I came much closer or he thought me to be a threat...he would definitely have charged after me to scare me away. I wasn't about to put him to the test!)

I couldn't remember exactly what year/month it was that our last little batch of baby goslings made their appearance here on Still Waters Pond, so I looked up the post I wrote about it HERE, and sure enough it was around April 26, 2021 that they made their first appearance!  That leads me to believe that if this couple is on that same kind of schedule, we could be seeing new baby geese any time now! I'm also wondering if this is that same couple...it could well be, as they do tend to go back to the same nesting site or general area as before!

So we could be in for another exciting event here on Still Waters Pond any time now!  I thought you'd want to know this great news...so stay tuned for further developments!

Here's some further links to information about the gestation period of Canada Geese and their life habits.

"Typically, females incubate the eggs for 25-28 days while males patrol and defend the territory around the nest"  

Link to Florida Fish and Wildlife info on Canada Geese

Hope you have had a wonderful SONday!  Just in case you want to sing along with our choir as we sing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", here it is for you. And if you wish, you can stay for the sermon, from I Corinthians 1:26-31, "Celebrating Celebrities versus Being Useful to God".  

1 What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

leaning on the everlasting arms;

what a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain:

Leaning, leaning,

safe and secure from all alarms;

leaning, leaning,

leaning on the everlasting arms.

2 O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,

leaning on the everlasting arms;

O how bright the path grows from day to day,

leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]

3 What have I to dread, what have I to fear,

leaning on the everlasting arms?

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,

leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]

Deuteronomy 33:12 says:

“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him,

Who shelters him all the day long;

And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”

Amen! and Good night Friends!

Friday Foto Friends on Saturday

 This week seems to be one of running behind schedule and just not keeping up with everything, and so here I am, a day late and a dollar short...doing Friday Fotos on a Saturday! The Sand Hill Crane Family and the Bluebird "Family" have kept me close to the window with my camera the past couple of days, so I hope you are ready to enjoy some bird watching with me!  I think we will start with the Bluebirds, since I already posted the crane family pictures on Facebook and many of you may have already seen those, (but for those of you not on my Facebook page I will show them here after the bluebirds, who have center stage at the moment!)

I wish I could say that I have some exciting pictures of new babies to share, but not yet! However, I am encouraged that it appears that the Bluebirds are finally bringing food to the nest, so that gives me  hope that there may be some new babies finally inside the birdhouse.  It seems that lately we've had more false starts than success, so I am really hoping this time we will soon be seeing some sweet little faces coming to the window and viewing their new world for the first time.  Meanwhile, Mama and Daddy keep busy searching for just the right juicy bug or grasshopper to satisfy their hungry tummies:

Oh, there's Daddy Bluebird now...bringing something good for supper:

Mama is taking a 'breather' outside in the tree and  playing peek a boo with us while she patiently waits for Daddy to feed the babies inside the house:

With 90 degree temperatures these past few days I am sure that it gets pretty hot inside that birdhouse, and especially if it is filled with growing babies as well!

Daddy said, Ok, I've fed them so I will take off and go find some more food now!

Hey! Wait a minute!  Who is THIS on top of the birdhouse?  Mrs. Mourning Dove is very brave to sit there for even a second. Usually the bluebirds come and drive away any other birds who dare to come anywhere near their territory!  Daddy must've been off hunting and maybe Mama is tucked inside with the babies and doesn't want to come out and risk allowing an intruder come in...not that this big dove could get very far into that hole...and I don't see doves as being that kind of invader, but still...this is a rare moment! By the look on her face, with a raised eyebrow, I think she knows she's in a precarious position, but she's just taking a little break there until she plans her next move. 

Okay, that's more like it...There's Mr. Bluebird back again and all is well in bluebird land...

He's singing his song and telling all the other birds that they'd better stay away from his house!

Oh boy! Doesn't that look delicious?  LOL.  I'm sure to the babies inside it is welcome food... (glad I'm not a bluebird!)

I can imagine they will be happy to see Daddy show up with this tasty treat!

Again, Mama waits outside while Daddy goes in and feeds the babies...

And then, once he's gone, she's right there back again at the nest, checking on her babies to make sure they are all safe and eating their dinner!  After this she went inside and so did I. This is the last photo of the bluebirds for now, but stay tuned for further developments!

Meanwhile, back in the land of the Sand Hill Crane Family, which is actually right next to the Bluebird house... This was the scene early yesterday morning as they came ashore Still Waters Pond for breakfast.  These are the photos I shared on Facebook yesterday, so you have permission to skip over them if you've already seen them...

Young Abe and George are certainly  getting taller every time we see them up close!  

Mama apparently saw some kind of invader into their territory and started doing her hopping and flapping dance to drive whoever it was away...I never did see who was daring to come near...

The pictures are blurry because she was moving so fast...

I know I wouldn't venture forth any further if I saw her standing there like that:

Then she ran down into the pond, and soon the colts followed...

I love these photos of the Mother and her colt together:

We may have a male and female here, so it could be Abe and Georgette...One is definitely larger than the other, and I was told that probably means one is male and the smaller one is female. There really isn't any other way for me to tell. They look so much alike even when adults.

Thankfully after all the excitement, the family is happily enjoying their breakfast down along the shore of the pond.  After that they wandered off to the bigger world beyond for the day, and then back home again in the evening to sleep out on their little island nest in the middle of the pond, where they feel safe snuggled up under their mother's wings.

It's interesting to me to see the analogies given in the Bible as to how God protects His children under the shadow of His wings...beautiful pictures of God's love and protection for us can be seen even in how these birds care for their young...I don't think that's any coincidence, do you? It's just another way God demonstrates His love for us even as we see this in His creation in nature...

Psalm 36:5-9
5 Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
Amen.

Meanwhile, back on the home front, we were hoping to finally be able to go and celebrate my sister Doris' and her hubby Art's birthdays this weekend. Doris is finally feeling better, praise God, and we had plans to go meet them at a restaurant about an hour away from here yesterday.  However, on Thursday my hubby developed a bad migraine and just wasn't feeling up to par, so we had to postpone our plans to get together until maybe next weekend. We shall see how things go. It seems like there's always something as we get older to keep us from doing all the things we'd like to do. But thankfully, he is feeling better today and hopefully next week will be a better week for all of us. Praying it will be so! 

So, my friends, until next time, may you be "abundantly satisfied with the fullness of God's house"...and be safely tucked under the "shadow of (God's) wings".  Amen.