Special Blessings from Still Waters Pond

A little abstract beginning to our day...

What's that, you say?  Well, believe it or not, that is the three sand hill cranes flying over Still Waters Pond this morning.  I couldn't capture them quickly enough with my "real camera", which is VERY SLOW, and so that is what I got.  But I think it makes for a very interesting photo, nonetheless, don't you?  It might just win a prize or something somewhere. LOL.

Now this is what I was really watching, but it was still too low of light and the pictures are not very clear. This is the Great White Egret having her breakfast on Still Waters Pond:

Still not too clear, but you can see her shadow!

Getting a little better as the sun was rising behind us...

Actually, she flew away when those Sand Hill Cranes flew over top of her. I was watching this bird when they flew over, and that is why everything was so blurred. Too much excitement all at once! LOL.

Also, way across the pond was the Great Blue Heron, sitting on that fallen tree over the water, watching for something good to appear for his breakfast:

Again, it was still kind of dark and cloudy, so these pictures are not very clear, but you get the idea:

I thought it was interesting that he chose that fallen tree to stand on, like a balance beam or a tight rope!

I'd say he's very sure footed, and of course, heights don't bother him! LOL.

Meanwhile, this is what the sun was doing behind us over in the east on the front side of the house:

Kind of a dramatic sun rising, shining on the accumulated clouds above...

It was a beautiful start to the day, which soon became just a cloudy kind of morning with some unexpected rain showers a little later on.  Started out around 68 degrees, and the high is now 82 as I write this afternoon. (Tuesday)  Thankfully that is about has hot as it has been getting lately, and we are very thankful for the "cooling" down little by little day by day. Fall is definitely trying to get here...

Now let's switch to the afternoon, when the Sand Hill Cranes came back "home" to roost for the evening.  They often check in with us to see if we've left them any treats on the lawn...

There were in luck on this day, as hubby decided to throw out a little cup of bird seed when we saw them out there waiting for us...

So of course they marched right up there to check it out. I wonder if you can tell which one is Abe, the "colt" ?  It's pretty hard to do now that he is pretty much a full adult, and should soon be taking off on his own...

Well, did you figure it out? He is the one on the left. His top notch is still just a little duller in color than the other two. That's the only way I can tell.  Soon the parents will be forcing him to move on by himself so they can get back to nesting again, probably after Christmas.  It will be interesting to see if they build their nest out there on the marshy island again as they have done the past few years.  So stay tuned for further "developments".

But wait!  Still Waters Pond wasn't finished giving us blessings for the day!  As I was cleaning up after supper and preparing to go to choir practice, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful sunset developing in the skies over the pond...so back outside I ran with my camera (actually, the cell phone camera does best on the sunsets and sunrises I've discovered)  So stand in awe with me as we witness the beauty of God's changing of the color guard at the close of day:

As I stood there celebrating the glorious artistry of God's masterpiece in the skies, this Psalm came to my mind:

Psalm 8

The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. 

A Psalm of David.

 1 "O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth,

Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have ordained strength,

Because of Your enemies,

That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

7 All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

8 The birds of the air,

(just thought I'd put that one back in there to go along with the Psalm!)

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!"

Amen!

I hope you enjoyed these "special blessings from Still Waters Pond".  These pictures were all taken in one day, from sunrise to sunset! In between these special moments we lived our lives, went to town, ran errands, fixed breakfast,  ate lunch, (took a nap), prepared supper, went to choir practice, came home and found out a dear friend had called me, so I called her back and we talked for over an hour. She lives in Ohio and we try to stay in touch several times a year, and our conversations are always long and enjoyable. She wanted to know all about our trip and the wedding and life in general, and I enjoyed hearing about things that she has been doing...a recent trip to Italy, a "retreat" with special friends in Minnesota, a road trip to Massachusetts with friends, and sadly the recent death of one of her best friends of over 50 years.  We've known each other approximately 35 years, and our boys were in high school together. Her son is now a pastor, and he was especially a good friend of our son Matthew. There's another story tucked inside that one, but I won't go into that now. Our friendship is very special and unique indeed.  I treasure all of my friends, and I find that the older we get, the more valuable they become.

And you are each very valuable to me as well. Thank you for being my friends.

Have a blessed and beautiful day. Look for the special blessings God has waiting for you outside your window!