Wednesday Treasures...Where Do I Begin?

Where do I begin?  Here it is Wednesday afternoon, and there's so many different pictures to show you I may have to break it up over the next couple of days. Let's get started and when I think you've had enough I'll stop! LOL.  

Remember on Monday I told you about some excitement on Still Waters Pond? (CLICK HERE if you didn't see that post)   Remember that I told you about Mrs. Sand  Hill Crane laying an egg and all the Canada Geese were hanging around bugging them all day long?  Well, they continued to do so for the next couple of days, making a lot of honking noises and splashing and just being regular pests.  But then they kind of moved around into the little cove around the other side of the big island in the pond and stayed there, but they were still making all kinds of noise, so I decided to go see what was going on:

I was hiding in my little hideaway spot behind the bushes so they couldn't see me, and they didn't seem to be bothered by my presence at all.  They were pretty much concentrating on whatever was going on amongst their little group there on the island and in the water around the island.  These photos are pretty amazing to me, and I hope you will enjoy them.

What I have deduced from all of their noise and activity is that perhaps they are also in their mating season, and this couple up on the island appear to be the older members of the group, perhaps the parents of the others, and I'm thinking they just want some privacy and time alone without the others bugging them...

I thought perhaps they might even be starting to build a nest up on the island, as that has been their nesting location in some years past...of course who knows if this is the same family or not?  The last couple who nested here a few years ago ended up with 3 living baby goslings...the fourth one died before they could leave this area to go to the big lake nearby.  The moved to the big lake and that is where they seem to live for most of the time, except when they fly over here and swim around for a while and entertain us.

But I'm wondering if this is that same family...Mom and Dad and three younger geese...it could be...

And if so, will they build a nest on the island and stay and start a new little family?  If so, what will the "kids" do while Mom and Dad are nesting? Seems like they should be old enough to be out on their own, but I really don't know how the goose family does things...

Aren't they a lovely couple?

And here's two of the kids, and the third one in the next picture...

They keep bugging the parents, 

but then eventually the three decided to swim away and give Mom and Dad some privacy

But that was yesterday...and this morning they were still out there in the pond, harassing Mr. and Mrs. Crane for a while, and then suddenly they all took off and I haven't seen them again this afternoon. We shall see what develops.  Never a dull moment here on "Still Waters Pond", that's for sure!

Meanwhile, I thought you'd enjoy seeing how Mr. and Mrs. Crane are living out there on their tiny little island!  It amazes me that they have chosen this small little scrap of marsh to build their nest on, but they seem quite happy with their accommodations.  

And as far as I can see, there is still just one egg in the nest.  It is hard to see when the sun is so bright, but what I have seen looks like one very large egg.  Time will tell if there is another one...

Thought you'd enjoy these views of Mrs. Crane keeping vigil until time for her baby to be born.

Mr. Crane is never very far away, and he will come and give her a break now and then so she can get something to eat and stretch her legs.

Meanwhile, back on shore, the bluebirds are still busily working on their nest. I haven't forgotten them, but I've just been distracted by all the other stuff going on! 

And then today the Goldfinches started showing up at their special finch feeder! They aren't pretty and golden yet, but they will continue to turn yellow as the spring progresses and as they travel further north for breeding.

And I enjoyed trying to follow a beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly around as he was enjoying the nectar from the Carolina Jessamine flowers that are blooming so beautifully.

Carolina Jessamine

We've been working on this song in choir practice, "I Know He Watches Me".  It's a blend of "His Eye is on the Sparrow" and "God Leads His Dear Children Along"....and I kept thinking about this song while sharing all these pictures of the geese, cranes, and other birds.   You might enjoy listening to it while you look at all the pictures above. I guess I should've put this first, but either way, you might enjoy it.  It combines parts of two familiar songs that give us a sense of comfort and peace while we navigate this world filled with difficulties and surprises. Perhaps this is a good way to close this post. I hope you enjoy the song.

Here are the lyrics to both of those old hymns, not exactly the way they are sung in this choir anthem, but it gives you the idea...

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

Why should I feel dis­cour­aged,

Why should the sha­dows come,

Why should my heart be lone­ly,

And long for Heav’n and home,

When Je­sus is my por­tion?

My con­stant friend is He:

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me;

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me.

Refrain:

I sing be­cause I’m hap­py,

I sing be­cause I’m free,

For His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me.

Let not your heart be trou­bled,

His ten­der word I hear,

And rest­ing on His good­ness,

I lose my doubts and fears;

Though by the path He lead­eth,

But one step I may see;

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me;

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me.

Refrain

Whenever I am tempt­ed,

Whenever clouds arise,

When songs give place to sigh­ing,

When hope with­in me dies,

I draw the clos­er to Him,

From care He sets me free;

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me;

His eye is on the spar­row,

And I know He watch­es me.

Refrain

God Leads Us Along

1. In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,

God leads His dear children along;

Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,

God leads His dear children along.

Refrain:

Some through the waters, some through the flood,

Some through the fire, but all through the blood;

Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,

In the night season and all the day long.

2. Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,

God leads His dear children along;

Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,

God leads His dear children along.

Refrain

3. Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,

God leads His dear children along;

Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,

God leads His dear children along.

Refrain

4. Away from the mire, and away from the clay,

God leads His dear children along;

Away up in glory, eternity’s day,

God leads His dear children along.

Refrain

Hope you enjoyed this visit to Still Waters Pond today!!  

Tuesday 4 ~ First Things First

 

First Things First...


First High Heels by Amos Sewell
Hello! It's a new week and another installment of Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. I debated over the word episode and ended up with installment but I am still not satisfied. Oh well, here is is whatever it is and I do hope you enjoy joining in.


Let's talk about firsts in your life.

1. Do you remember your first pair of grown up style shoes, maybe high heels? How did that go?

I honestly cannot remember the first time I wore high heels, but I know I did at some point! I guess it wasn't too dramatic if I can't remember it! LOL.  

2. When was your first date and do you recall their name and where you went and what you did? Well, I was thinking about this and trying to remember if that is when I first wore high heels too, because it was a formal banquet at the Baptist Church...a "Sweetheart Banquet" on Valentine's Day. I was in 8th grade. I probably didn't wear high heels, because the boy I went with wasn't any taller than I was.  What I wore was my older sister's beautiful aqua colored formal dress, with a "strapless" lace covered bodice. The problem with that was I had to wear a strapless you know what under it, and I was not really quite "developed" enough to wear either that dress or that strapless you know what! Consequently, the dress kept slipping all evening, and I was constantly trying to pull it back up. Thankfully I was also wearing a little lace bolero style jacket over the dress so I was able to stay modest. Also thankfully this was a church banquet, and there was no dancing. We mostly stayed seated at the table and ate food, so I didn't have any further embarrassment in front of everyone!  That's really all I can remember.  My date's name was Butch...well that's what he went by, but his real name was Ellis, named after his father, and no one dared to call him that. He was very fun loving and cute, the younger brother of one of my dearest friends. Sadly, Butch died of cancer quite a few years ago now.  We had fun on that "date", which really wasn't what you'd call a real date but a church party with a LOT of chaperones! LOL.     

Oh, here is a picture of me wearing that dress a couple of years later for Homecoming. I was one of the Homecoming attendants for our sophomore class, and that dress fit me better then than it did in 8th grade.  I am the first one on the left. I am the only one wearing a lace bolero jacket too. Probably wasn't really as much in style as the other girls dresses since this was still my older sister's dress and she was 4 years older than me. But that is how it was, and I was thankful to be a part of this lovely event.

3. Do you have any memories of your first job?

Well, let's see...the summer I was almost 15 my cousin Becky and I got a job at Zellwood Farms, sorting green peppers. We stood at a conveyor belt and watched hundreds of green peppers come bouncing along toward us all day while we quickly sorted them for size and whether or not they were good or bad, etc.  I remember dreaming about green peppers, like Martians, marching after me all night long! LOL. We did that for about a week and probably made about $40.00, and we thought we were so rich! LOL.  The only other thing I remember about that was there were a lot of Spanish speaking migrants working there, and one man asked me if I could help him learn to speak English because I was taking Spanish in high school.  We had several conversations with me trying to use what little Spanish I knew. It was an interesting experience.  However, I was thankful that I didn't have to do that job for the rest of my life!  

Internet photo

4. What do you remember about your first home away from Mom and Dad?

My first home away from Mom and Dad was when I got married and hubby and I had a sweet little upstairs apartment over another apartment where a lady named Mrs. Mildred Bell lived. I wrote about that apartment quite extensively HERE, last year on our anniversary.  You might enjoy reading that again...I did! LOL.

The only other time I was away from home for any length of time was the summer after I graduated high school, I worked as a counselor at the Methodist Youth Camp.  But I really wouldn't call that a "first home".  It was a rustic cabin full of teen aged girls, a different group each week, all summer long. It was very HOT (in Florida) with no air conditioning, and we had to go to a shower house for the bathroom, and eat our meals in a large dining hall.  As a camp counselor we had many duties besides just watching over our campers in the cabin. We had KP duties, we had to clean the bathrooms each week, supervise activities like crafts or outdoor recreation time, you name it, we did it! But it was the best experience of my life!

I am in this photo...back row, about 1/4 of the way over from the left, between two boys. See if you can find me! LOL.  This was our staff of counselors for that summer.  I guess this could really count for my first real job too, but we actually were volunteers and were only paid $.10 a week to use for a bag of popcorn on the weekends between camps, when the staff would be treated to a movie night! LOL. But we had free room and board and lots of great experiences!!

Warren W. Willis Methodist Youth Camp, 1968

Well, that's it for today's Tuesday 4!  I hope you enjoyed this little walk down memory lane of my many "firsts".  If you want to join in the fun, you can link up HERE, with Annie and the rest of the gang!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Monday Monday...Excitement on Still Waters Pond!

Well, after two days of monsoonal type rains we were beginning to despair for Mr. and Mrs. Sand Hill Crane ever being able to get their nest high enough above the water to maintain a good nest for whatever eggs came along. Their little marsh island out there in the middle of the pond was almost completely under water again.  But Mr. and Mrs. Crane persevered and kept piling more and more lily pad stems and mud up on top of the nest...they worked tirelessly every waking hour. It looked like they were bailing water out of a sinking boat and building sand bags around their nest. It was too dark and dreary for me to get any good pictures of that activity, so you will just have to imagine it for yourself!

But can you imagine our surprise this morning when the rains had finally stopped and the sun came up...and this is what we saw?!  Mrs. Crane was sitting on her nest, with Mr. Crane standing guard nearby...

My first thought was, "She must've laid an egg, because she's sitting on the nest!"

And sure enough, in a little while she stood up and let me see that yes, indeed there is an egg!!

They continued their constant building up of the nest to keep it above water, as you can see in these pictures how close to the nest the waters have risen:

I kept trying to see if there was more than one egg, but so far I can only be sure of one. Sometimes they take a couple of days to lay their eggs, so we may get another surprise tomorrow...time will tell...

I've already decided that since this egg made its appearance on President's Day, it shall be named "Lincoln" .  If there is another egg, it will be "Washington".     Oh, btw, can you see the little black and white diving duck (Ring Necked Duck) in the background behind Mr. Crane? Yes, he is still swimming around the pond alone, and he seemed really pleased to be the first to find out about the egg's arrival!

However, it wasn't long before the word got out to the community, and soon the Canada Geese brigade showed up to pay their respects and toot their horns loudly...enough to wake up the baby in the egg! LOL.

This actually went on all day long. The geese swam round and round Mr. and Mrs. Crane and their nest, sometimes getting much too close for comfort and Mr. Crane had to flap his wings and shoo them away!

That didn't seem to deter them.  They are very curious about the Cranes and their nest.  Likewise, when the eggs hatch and the new little baby "Colts" make their appearance (in about a month), I am sure the geese will be back to check out the new baby.  It's quite an interesting kind of community these water fowl seem to have!

Anyway, Mrs. Crane has been mostly resting on the nest today while Mr. Crane has kept up his watch and also adding to the nest to keep it above water. As I write this now at 5:30 in the evening, they are still out there working away.  

The Canada Geese and The Ring Necked Duck were not the only visitors to the pond today to celebrate the delivery of the Sand Hill Crane egg!   The Wood Ducks made their appearance as well, and this time they actually swam close enough to our side of the pond for me to get a few decent pictures!

Isn't he beautiful?  There were two males out there swimming around.  Like I said the other day, I am not sure where their females are...maybe they have a nest somewhere on the other side of the pond that I don't know about. 

I was very excited to get to see these handsome fellas up a little bit closer!

Oh gee...Those geese are out there chasing each other around and making all kinds of noise...they can't let a lady in waiting get any peace and quiet...

Mr. Crane continued to make sure they didn't come any closer...

Yep, it's been an exciting day on Still Waters Pond!  The waters may be "still", but there's plenty of action on top of the water!

I have a feeling this next month is going to be very interesting!

In the meantime, what else is going on?  We had a busy weekend as I've already told you about in my last post, celebrating hubby's birthday, along with church on Sunday, and rain, rain, and more rain all day Saturday and Sunday.   Today we had our weekly Bible Studies, which is always a blessing.  The rest of this week will be pretty much normal, with the exception that we've been invited to go have dinner with some "old friends" back in our previous neighborhood on Thursday.  We are looking forward to that.  Other than that, I guess that's all folks!  I hope you are all doing well...I will try to get around and visit with you all as I am able.  Some of you are such prolific writers that I have a difficult time keeping up!  But it's wonderful to have such a great group of "friends" here in blogland...and beyond! 

Have a blessed and wonderful rest of your week!!  Here's a link to our Sunday sermon and song "Open My Eyes That May See"...You might enjoy this and the pastor's message from Psalm 51.  

1 Open my eyes that I may see

glimpses of truth thou hast for me.

Place in my hands the wonderful key

that shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now I wait for thee,

ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

2 Open my ears that I may hear

voices of truth thou sendest clear,

and while the wave notes fall on my ear,

ev’rything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for thee,

ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my ears, illumine me,

Spirit divine!

3 Open my mouth and let me bear

gladly the warm truth ev’rywhere.

Open my heart and let me prepare

love with thy children thus to share.

Silently now I wait for thee,

ready, my God, thy will to see.

Open my mouth, illumine me,

Spirit divine!