Wordless Wednesday and More...

For those of you who know me or who have been following my blog for a while, you know how difficult it is for me to do anything "wordless".  That's just not me. I have something to say about everything.  But I am going to try and be wordless on the first few pictures anyway, and then when something needs explaining, I will, of course, jump in and explain!  But I think these first few pictures will not need an explanation to those of you who have known me a while:

 

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday! 

The Triumphal Entry

John 12:12-13

12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,

13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

“Hosanna!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

The King of Israel!”

(this picture was from last year's Palm Sunday).

And then the next Sunday is Easter already. Do you have any special Easter plans? Will you be able to attend church on Easter Sunday? Does your church have any extra special events or activities planned that pertain to Easter?  We will have a Good Friday service on the Friday before Easter. On Easter Sunday morning our choir will perform an Easter Cantata entitled:

"O What A Savior"

We will be recording it for our church website if we can get all of the permissions and licensure agreements approved beforehand. If so, I will post it once it is available.  It's a beautiful Easter musical.

Do any of you sing in a choir or other musical group? Will you be doing any musical for Easter? I would love to hear about it.  Our choir isn't anything super great as far as talent goes, but we sing with our hearts for the glory of God. That is what really matters most.

Now, switching back to nature:

"Let Heaven and Nature Sing:

This is my "Room With A View" where I sit while I write to you...

And this is what is outside my window:

Mrs. Bluebird has a story to tell...or maybe I have a story to tell about Mrs. Bluebird and her family.

I believe I've mentioned my frustration about a certain neighborhood black cat before.  Well, it has kind of escalated lately with the apparent birth of the Bluebird babies.

Mr. (or Mrs.-I haven't really noticed which). Black Cat loves to sit either under the bird feeder or lately under the bluebird house and just watch and wait.  I guess he's hoping someday one of the birds will be too slow and he'll get lucky.  Well, I am not too happy about that behavior, especially now that we have baby bluebirds in the birdhouse and also the baby "Colt" Sand Hill Crane in the yard frequently...which by the way, this cat was dumb enough to stalk "Colt" in the presence of the parents and almost got himself speared with the beak of a very irate Sand Hill Crane parent! 

Anyway, the other night after dark I noticed Mr. Black Cat sitting out there under the birdhouse, just watching it. He was actually getting right under the house and looking up and sniffing and getting way too close for comfort. So I squirted at him with the garden hose and told him to go away, which he did then.  As I said, it was getting dark, and we went to bed.

When we woke up in the morning, before it was very light, Mr. Black Cat was sitting out in front of the Bluebird house just staring at it. In the dimness of the morning light I thought something looked different about the house. I shined a flashlight on it and realized that the whole front door was totally open and I could see the actual nest inside the birdhouse, open to the whole world to see, and more importantly, to the cat. But he was just sitting there a little at a distance and watching, and waiting.

Well, I went outside and shooed him away and then I checked the birdhouse to see if the nest was destroyed. Actually, the nest itself was intact! It didn't look disturbed at all. I shined the light inside the nest and I could see what I thought were two very still, small baby birds, about the size of my finger. I honestly thought they must be dead.  I was just sick, and very sad.  But I closed up the door on the house and secured the latch and went back inside our house to wait and see if the parents would come back.

Sure enough, at daylight, there was Mrs. Bluebird, back in the house, looking out the window as if to say, "Thank you for taking care of my house and babies".  Well, I didn't know what to think. I really thought the babies were dead.

But just like clockwork, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird have been bringing food to that nest all day long...

She watches while he delivers, and vice versa.

I don't think they would continue to bring food to the nest if the babies were dead, so they must have just been sound asleep when I saw them!! I certainly hope so!  I hope and pray that they will continue to grow and develop and maybe one day we will see them fly away to the world in the treetops with their parents.  And I hope Mr. Black Cat will not be anywhere around on that day!!

Speaking of "Colt",  the baby Sand Hill Crane: 

He was having a good time splashing and bathing in the pond this morning.

under the watchful eye of his mother, of course...

Later he took a nap out there on the ground, while Mom and Dad ate their lunch. Then he woke up and was ready to run around and look for some food too:

I think he grew a few more inches while he was napping:

And then as it was getting later in the evening, the family took off back into the water to walk around and perhaps swim out to the island in the pond. That is apparently where they are spending the nights.

There they go!  Colt runs as fast as he can to keep up with them!

And that was the last view I had of Colt before he joined his parents in the water.

And with that, I will bid you a good night as well.

"Day Is Dying In the West"

1 Day is dying in the west;

Heav'n is touching earth with rest;

Wait and worship while the night

Sets her evening lamps alight

Through all the sky.

Refrain:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts!

Heav'n and earth are full of Thee;

Heav'en and earth are praising Thee,

O Lord most high!

2 Lord of life, beneath the dome

Of the universe, Thy home,

Gather us who seek Thy face

To the fold of Thy embrace,

For Thou art nigh.

 [Refrain]

3 While the deep'ning shadows fall,

Heart of Love, enfolding all,

Through the glory and the grace

Of the stars that veil Thy face,

Our hearts ascend. 

[Refrain]

4 When forever from our sight

Pass the stars, the day, the night,

Lord of angels, on our eyes

Let eternal morning rise,

And shadows end. 

[Refrain]