Category Archives: Birds

The Rotary Trail Take Two

Last Saturday Dear and I decided to enjoy the Rotary trail early in the morning.

I wonder what constitutes a notable tree? I googled it and here is the information I retrieved.

This Douglas-fir at the north-south/east-west junction of the Rotary Trail is located adjacent to the local golf course and Evergreen Drive. It is prominent for its size (32-inch diameter at breast high) and its position at the highest point (1910 feet) on the Rotary Trail.

 

We saw a birdwatcher on the trail and he told us about an eagles nest and a Harrier Hawk that he saw on the trail.

We didn’t see the nest but we saw an Eagle on the top of these electrical transmission lines.

It was fun to capture this little guy, too. Correct me if I’m wrong birdie friends. Upon further investigation this bird looks most similar to a Wilson Snipe.

The Harrier Hawk.

Next time we walk this trail I will take my longer lens so I can zoom in closer to get photos of these beautiful creatures.

I’m learning about general revelation and special revelation in studying Psalm 19. General revelation cannot convert sinners. Salvation comes only through special revelation as the Word of God is effectually applied by the Spirit of God. So much to learn. I don’t want to stop learning about what is of the most importance in eternity.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
    enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are true,
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

Hope the last two days of May are good for you in your corner of the world. We might be walking the trail again this morning with my long lens.

May Yard

Quail in the yard and danger in the skies.

We are wrapping up May this weekend. Lots of good hope for June!

Our little 3 year old grand Addy is mastering her braking skills and can now ride her bike down the driveway. Our little 1 year old Jaymison has mastered the indoor Little Tykes slide. He climbs up and slides down without assistance, laughing with joy with this new skill. I’ll get a photo soon.

Have a great Friday y’all. We are planning on heading to our favorite Mexican Restaurant today! Do you have any plans for the last weekend in May?

Quotes of the week:

“No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.” C. H. Spurgeon

“God does not need us. We need Him. And any man who is preaching a gospel that says that God needs us is preaching a different gospel.” Justin Peters

“People may love a God of their own imaginations, when they are far from loving such a God as reigns in heaven.” Jonathon Edwards

“We are being transformed into the image of Christ, not a better me.” Dennis Wilkening

Bath Time!

It’s been fun to watch the robins enjoying the bird bath.

Lately when I go out into the world I come home and need a good bath (shower) and change of clothes to make sure I’ve left all those ugly germs we are warned against. There are other dangers to be aware of…

“If we don’t know the Bible, if we don’t know Doctrine, if we don’t know theology, it is virtually impossible for us to identify false prophets.” Voddie Baucham

“Discernment is not a mystical process where you ask God for discernment and He magically drops ideas into your mind. We receive discernment from studying the Bible and understanding what it says, by the guidance that the Holy Spirit provides.”

“Never trust a faith healer who has to wear glasses.” Justin Peters

“Settle out of court with God because when you stand before Him it will be too late. You have a mediator who will settle your debt, the Lord Jesus Christ”~ Riccardi

Hope you all have a meaningful Memorial Day Weekend. I’ll save my Memorial Day post for Monday.

Rotary Trail ~ The Birds

Kildeer

Swallow

Blackbird

Anyone out there know what kind of duck this is?

We also saw many prairie dogs.

They were so fast and it seemed like they were stealing from each other’s nests.

Hope you see some sunshine today. We have had periods of rain with a few sun breaks.

We took this walk on the Rotary trail on Saturday the 9th of May.

A Fly By…

Some of our Canadian friends can still cross the border without any issues. Here’s hoping our border to the North can open again soon.

Colossians 3:1-4 ~ “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Mother’s Day has been lovely already and we have one more small gathering to enjoy. Our children all have honored me more than I deserve and it was good to see two thirds of them in person. Our two sons made breakfast for us. Tonight we’ll have dinner together with Jamie’s family. Our gathering will be under 10 people.

Hope you who are mothers had some lovely greetings today.

Our Backyard Zoo

Today is the last day of April and the final letter for the April A to Z Challenge. Our back acres are a mobile zoo of sorts. The animals come and go as they please. The birds fly in and out.

 

 

 

There are a few other animals and birds who come and go into our backyard zoo that I haven’t managed to get a photo of. It’s always a treat to see someone new show up for a visit. Our yard was totally fenced in when we first moved here but we’ve taken a few sections of fence out for Dear’s shop project so the four legged variety of animals have easy access now.

And that is the finale for the April A to Z Challenge for 2020.

Hope things are well with all of you on this last day of April. Will May bring good news of loosening of the Stay at Home orders? We are hoping for that. We did hear our Farmer’s Markets are opening and that fishing and hunting are also okay with social distancing.

Variety

For this last Saturday of April we are on the letter V. I have a variety of things I’ll share for today.

We’ve had a variety of visitors to our country bungalow in the last month.

Can you see the beard on the larger turkey?

Some verses from the Bible I noted in my readings over the past couple of weeks. These are from the English Standard Version.

Proverbs 18:2 ~ A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Romans 12:12 ~Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

And this is a portion of Psalm 19 that we have memorized and continue to keep in our memory, verses 7-11.

The law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever,
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping of them there is great reward.

One last verse from Psalm 19,

Psalm 19:14 ~ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

This week we finished our last puzzle that we had in our stash. This one is an old one we’ve had around for years since the Soviet Union fell in the early 90’s and became Russia again. This was a tough one and at the end we thought we had one piece missing but were happy to find it under the table. Have you been putting together jigsaw puzzles while being sequestered in your home?

Have a good Saturday y’all. We are predicted some rain later this morning. I mowed the lawn on Tuesday and it already looks ready to mow again.

Q is for Quail and Questions

Q is the letter of the alphabet that we are on for Monday April 20th.

We are always pleased to see a covey of quail show up on our property.

We are headed to Spokane today to buy some replacement tiles for our backsplash in the laundry room. One piece cracked when Dear was fitting the electric outlet. Oops. We are buying two pieces of the tile this time around…just in case. We are so close to that room being completed.

Questions for you since we are on the letter Q:

  1. Do you know what day of the week it is without double checking?
  2. Do you have a good supply of toilet paper and other paper products?
  3. Do you know where you will spend eternity?
  4. Do you have good internet service and cell phone service where you live?
  5. What restaurant do you miss most?
  6. What is the latest Bible passage you have read that gives you hope?
  7. lf you enjoy sports what sport team do you miss the most?
  8. What is something you have baked during COVID-19 for the first time?
  9. Who do you miss hugging the most?
  10. Do you have a prayer request for me? I will pray if you share.

Woodpecker

I believe this is a Northern Flicker that comes to find bugs on this post in our back acres. I wish someday to get a photo of it flying in full wing spread to show it’s beautiful copper underside.

I’m looking forward to the time that our backyard is full of birds again. Soon enough.

Today is Lunar New Year and we are heading to the one Chinese Restaurant in town for Linner. This will be our first time to eat in this restaurant. As I finish up this post Dear is finishing up the painting of the walls in our master bath. Soon I’ll share more before and afters of that space.

Happy weekend everyone.