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!

 

Light of the World~Thursday Morning Worship and Praise!

We have another beautiful "moonrise" this morning here on Still Waters Pond.  As I stepped out into the darkness to see this sight before it fades away into daylight, my heart was filled with joy and wonder.  I know, it's just the moon you might say...but when I think about how God placed the moon and stars in the heavens for us to enjoy, well, I have to say I was overcome with thankfulness and a sense of God's presence right here with us.   

I couldn't help but start singing the song our choir sang for the anthem this past Sunday, "Here I Am to Worship".  I don't have a recording of us singing it, but here it is with the "Maranatha Singers" for you to listen to while you enjoy these pictures taken this morning at 6:30 a.m. on Still Waters Pond.

"Light of the world

You stepped down into darkness

Opened my eyes, let me see

Beauty that made this heart adore You

Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days

Oh, so highly exalted

Glorious in heaven above

Humbly You came to the earth You created

All for love's sake became poor

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Well, I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Tim Hughes

Here I Am to Worship/Call lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing

Psalm 8:1-9

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.

Common Buckeye Butterfly, from our walk yesterday afternoon

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,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

(The Sand Hill Crane Family Came by for a visit recently)

9 O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Sunset, Wednesday afternoon 

Sunrise, Thursday morning

Thank you for singing along with me on this glorious Thursday morning.  I know this is two days in a row of moon pictures, but these beauties are only here for a short time and then they go away for another month...so I hope you don't mind enjoying God's glorious creation in the heavenlies with me for another day.  I'll get back to the mundane things of life soon enough, but for now, let's just be thankful for the gifts God gives us to enjoy while they last.  

Have a glorious day, my friends!

Friday Foto Friends~God's Beauty Around Us Everywhere

 Good Afternoon everyone!  I hope you are having a wonderful Friday! It's sunny and warm here, currently only 83 degrees, which isn't bad for Florida...and scattered thunderstorms are expected at 4:00 p.m.  We shall see. Originally they were supposed to be here by noon, then 2:00, now they say 4...I sometimes wonder who writes these weather reports! LOL.  Anyway, I decided to take a little walk around the back yard for a few minutes to see what I could see.  The air was actually very pleasant...it won't be long before we can start sitting outside again without melting into a pool of sweat! LOL.   (TMI).  Here's a few pictures of some of the flowers that are blooming in the butterfly garden:

Since we've had so much rain lately the Lantana has come back strong, between the weeds, that is...

And the Milkweed is still blooming:

This picture is a little blurry because I realized there was a wasp on the flowers so I moved away quickly:

More Lantana:

Some Penta with some cat's whiskers growing up around it:

The wild holly trees are are getting loaded up with berries and ready for the birds:

And I don't know what kind of wild bushes with berries these are, but whatever they are the birds and deer should love them. I let them grow back up a bit since when we first moved here they were all cut down and I was sad because I thought they would attract some deer.  We shall see what develops:

The other day Mr. Great Blue Heron was strutting around in Still Waters Pond, fishing for his supper, so I managed to get a few pictures while he was up closer:

Isn't he beautiful?  I love these stately creatures!

And speaking of Still Waters Pond, We've had some pretty amazing sunsets the past several evenings.  Here's a few pictures from the last three nights:

Isn't God's artistry in the skies just amazing?  I never cease to amaze at God's masterpieces painted in the heavens. No two are ever alike.

Here's a Psalm that expresses these thoughts much better than I could:

Psalm 8, NKJV

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,

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!"

I guess this would be a good place to stop, but I have a couple more pictures that I took while working at Dixie Cottage this morning.  I was having fun adding a few of the new items that our friend Barbara brought yesterday to be sold on consignment from her home. I think they are a very welcome addition to our store offerings:

The large "Gather" sign is a favorite of mine. I may have to bring that one home with me.

This is a new cabinet brought in by one of other vendors, but I added a few of Barb's items to the decor on the cabinet to dress it up.  Actually, when Barb and Gary were here the other day, Gary was very much attracted to this cabinet, and I think if they could've fit it in their car he would have taken it home with them. LOL.  Barbara, tell Gary it's still available!

I love the "Porch Rules" sign. Yes, that's what I love to do on the porch too.

I was a bit surprised to see one of Barbara's own cross stitch creations in the box, but it is very fitting for our store. The Lighthouse is actually the one from St. Augustine, which was the one that could be seen from the parking lot of Dixie Cottage when the store was still in St. Augustine.  I love this verse as well.

There's a few of her items amongst this coastal themed decor.  

And I love this Amish bench above. It actually opens up and has storage space! Again, if I had a place for it, it would be coming home with me! LOL.

We'll close with these messages above:

"I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown", and

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound..."

Amen, and thank you Barbara for sharing your treasures with us. I know they will find their way to some other people's homes and be a blessing to all who come near them.

I feel blessed just having them in the store!

Okay, that's all for today folks. I hope you have a blessed and wonderful weekend.

What's for supper tonight?  I'm thinking seriously about ordering Domino's Pizza and calling it a day.

Good Evening!