Wednesday Treasures~Hawk Eyes and Wisdom

 I thought I would take the day off because I really didn't have any new "treasures" to share with you. We've not been doing much this past week since we've been sick, but we were finally feeling good enough to make a trip to Walmart this morning. Had to stock up on some essentials like toilet paper and Kleenex and stuff like that. Spent the rest of the day recuperating from the exertion. LOL.  Thankfully we have been able to take short walks each afternoon. It's been pretty warm, but we try to walk in a shady area and at least there was a nice breeze this evening. We just need rain. Every time our forecast says we are going to get rain it seems to take a detour around our area and keeps on moving further away.    

So anyway, we just got home from our walk a few minutes ago, and I could hear a hawk calling from somewhere around Still Waters Pond.  I grabbed my camera and headed out the back door to see if I could spot him somewhere in the trees.  He sounded like he was out there where I probably wouldn't be able to find him and I almost gave up and came back inside, but then I noticed this, sitting in a tree right in our yard:

I believe this is a Red-Shouldered Hawk, perhaps still a juvenile by the markings on the belly.

I will warn you, there are a lot of photos! He sat there an posed for me for quite a while, even while the other hawk was calling for him over and over again in the distance.

Apparently he was watching for something for supper...

He's giving his "hawk-eyes" a good work out.

Uh-oh, He spotted me!

He doesn't seem too impressed, however.

Maybe a little curious...

I hope you don't mind all of these photos...I couldn't stop snapping because I was hoping he'd do something interesting and I didn't want to miss it.

He's mostly listening to the calls of the other...a mate perhaps?

"I hear you!  Can't you keep quiet? I'm trying to hunt for some supper down here!"

"He's going to drive away all of my potential prey if he keeps hollering like that."

"Hmmph! How's a fella gonna eat?"

"I'm just a little bit perturbed..."

"Maybe I'll ruffle my feathers a bit and he'll get the message that I'm trying to sit here quietly and hunt..."

"Okay,  okay, already...I'll be there in a minute..."

"I guess I'd better get going...he's getting so impatient.  Been nice visiting with you..."

And with that he flew away into the trees where the other hawk was calling from.  

I have noticed that they've been much more active here lately...so perhaps it is mating season.

Here's a test for your hawk eyes...see if you can find the hawk in the picture below:

There was one definitely in these bushes along the shore of the pond yesterday afternoon, and it had actually caught something to eat, but we couldn't really see it very well. However, he is in this picture but I bet you will have a hard time finding him. Look right in the middle of the weeds, toward the bottom of the photo. He's there, trust me.

Well, I hope you enjoyed watching our hawk friend with me. 

Oh, I have a couple more pictures that I took a few days ago...

Remember I told you that when I cleaned out the bluebird nest from the bird house I found the nest still had one egg in it?  Well, upon further exploration I discovered there were two eggs still in the nest! So then I really felt kind of bad, like maybe I shouldn't have removed the nest from the birdhouse so soon.  But the parents had definitely abandoned the nest for several days after we saw the one young bird fledge from the nest.  I did some research and found that often they will leave eggs that did not hatch because either it had been too hot for them and they didn't develop, or for some reason they were never fertilized.  I don't know, I can imagine it being too hot because it definitely was very hot...but somehow the one birdie developed and survived.

So here is where I have left the nest with the two eggs, in the butterfly garden. So far it is still there, eggs intact.  And as far as I know, the other bluebird couple is still nesting in the other birdhouse. I haven't seen them today, but we've been in and out and it's been too hot to leave the blinds open so we haven't been looking.  But you can be sure I'll be watching and waiting.

Here's some thoughts about wisdom...something our world needs a lot more of these days:

Job 28:20-28

20“From where then does wisdom come?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,

And concealed from the birds of the air.

22 Destruction and Death say,

‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’

23 God understands its way,

And He knows its place.

24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,

And sees under the whole heavens,

25 To establish a weight for the wind,

And apportion the waters by measure.

26 When He made a law for the rain,

And a path for the thunderbolt,

27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it;

He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.

28 And to man He said,

‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

And to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”

Ah! Yes, that is where we will find wisdom...in the fear of the Lord...and when we depart from evil.

May God help us find that wisdom once again.

Amen.