Tag Archives: Birds

Walking Again

Oh the Places you will go, Oh the Wonders you will see…

I made the horrible timely mistake of stepping on the scale last Tuesday morning. Right then and there I decided it was time to get serious about walking everyday again. I’ve gotten a little more fluffy and soft then I want to be. So I headed out to see what I could see…

 

The Burke Gilman Trail which spills into the Sammamish River Trail is a great place to walk/ride/run in the Seattle Area. My two walking buddies and I walked this trail every Saturday morning for several years before I moved to California. When I’m back in town we still get together to walk it. The two of them walk it when I’m away. It’s so lush and green in the Spring and Summer! This last Saturday we walked our typical 15,000 steps! On Wednesday of last week after the “stepping on the scale” incident I walked part of the trail starting at Bothell Landing and I clocked 7282 steps. These photos are from that day.

 

LOOK! I even found the MAGIC PORTAL to get to Hogwarts from the Pacific Northwest!

 

On Thursday for my motivation to walk I headed to Juanita Bay in Kirkland, Washington. There’s a wonderful park next to the bay with boardwalks that go out into the marshes and wetlands.

 

I saw this young Blue Heron.

 

Lots of Woodland Ducks. It was so exciting when I looked straight down from a spot on the boardwalk and saw this mama duck with her ducklings just below me.

 

Then I spotted these turtles!

 

This beautiful Dragonfly stayed around long enough for me to zoom in and get a shot.

 

When Dear gets here I think we’ll have to do this walk again together.

 

You can see why it was easy to get in 8694 steps checking out the wonder of this spot. The beauty that the Lord has created for us to enjoy and praise Him for is all around us. I hope to always have eyes that see it and a tongue that gives Him praise for it.

On Friday I went to Bellevue and I already posted about that day and those steps! So for my first 5 days back with renewed inspiration to walk my average steps were 9286. My Saturday walks with the girls really pushes up my average.

I hope to keep walking this week. Have a wonderful week and remember your Creator, the God who made all things beautiful for us to enjoy…

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.

This is My Father’s World ~ Hymn

This is My Father’s World

This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
he shines in all that’s fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Text: Maltbie D. Babcock
Music: Trad. English melody; adapt. by Franklin L. Sheppard
Tune: TERRA BEATA, Meter: SMD

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage on their site and have replaced my photos with black and grey boxes of ugliness. I’m slowly deleting those boxes from my blog and trying to update so many posts, very frustrating.

Welcome Summer ~ The Hummingbird

 

Winged Jewel
(The Huming, Bird)
Feathered fire of emerald .
Aflashing through the air,
Its throat a glowing jewel,
A ruby solitaire.

Intrepid wings are whirring
In airy, fairy flight,
Careening through the sunshine,
A scintillating sprite.

Then pendant o’er flower
It dips its dainty hill
And gathers honeyed nectar
From flowery cup and frill.

Now darting, swiftly turning,
It seeks the trumpet vine,
A little tropic jewel
Aflame with nectared wine.
-CORA L. CONE

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER TO EVERYONE WHO PASSES THIS WAY!

Photobucket is holding all my photos I stored with them from 2007-2015 hostage. They have blacked out all those photos on my blog posts. OH BOTHER! I’m slowly cleaning up my posts.

Back to Emma Wood With the Tide Out…

We had a wonderful sandy walk at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California last Saturday. We were so pleased to see the tide out far enough for a true walk on the beach.

 

 

These little Sanderlings were scurrying about in full force digging in the sand with their long narrow beaks.

 

I was excited to catch this Pelican with my camera.

 

And these Cormorants were an added bonus!

 

 

We had fun exploring some of these pools.

 

We saw many sea anemones

 

We also saw crabs, mussels stuck on rocks, and a Jellyfish!

Lord willing this coming Saturday we are going to try to do a walk here again at dusk.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

ABC Wednesday ~ Q is for…

Q is for a Quote by Queen Victoria

 

“Give my People plenty of Beer, good beer and cheap beer, and you will have no Revolution among them” ~ Queen Victoria

 

Q is for Quail, the California State Bird ~

Q is for Quilts. The State Quilt with State Flowers and Birds was made by my MIL Verna.

 

I can’t imagine the work that went into this. Sorry for the lousy photos of the quilts. I took them last year before I figured out better ways to photograph things…

The next two Quilts were handed down to us. The pastel one is from Dear’s grandmother Nettie and red patterned one is from Dear’s mother Verna.

For more posts on the letter Q visit Mrs. Nesbitt.

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

ABC Wednesday ~ N is for…

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and they have blacked them all out. I’m slowly working at restoring my posts without their help. Such a tiresome bother!

N is for Nests

The Great Blue Herons and their Nests in Kenmore, Washington.

 

A colony of nesting great blue herons is known as a “heronry”. When I was in Washington State over Easter I was able to get some photos of this “heronry” in Kenmore, behind the Kenmore Park n Ride.

 

When my friend Jody and I were walking on the Burke-Gilman trail one day we were approached by some bird-watchers who were looking for this heronry. I was able to direct them to where it was. It re-sparked my interest and I made it a point to take some photos the next day. When I used to pick up Dear from the Kenmore Park in Ride years ago I remembered being in such awe over this nesting area and the acitivity from these great big birds. It was wonderful to watch them fly around the nests and light onto one. This would be a great field-trip and lesson for any homeschoolers in the area.

The Great Blue Heron belongs to a large family that includes herons, egrets, and bitterns. This world-wide family has about 60 species. The Great White Heron of Florida is a local color variation of the Great Blue and belongs to the same species.

The Great Blue Heron’s long legs allow it to hunt in deeper water than most other herons and egrets.

this photo is from Seattle.gov

Herons have special patches of powder down feathers, which they rake with a foot, causing the powder to fall on fish it has caught. The powder causes the fish slime and oil to clump up so that the herons then can simply brush it off with a foot. Herons also rub the powder especially on the underside of their bodies to repel swamp slime and oils.

The Great Blue Heron can swallow a fish many times wider than its narrow neck.

Herons look for food anytime there is enough light. Studies suggest that cloudy weather is ideal for the birds to look for fish. Herons don’t just eat fish, however. They eat a wide variety of prey, including frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, and small birds.

In catching fish, the Great Blue Heron grabs smaller fish between the two mandibles of its bill; with a quick strike it stabs the larger fish.

In the Pacific Northwest, eelgrass beds are important foraging sites for the Great Blue Heron.

Herons nest in colonies. One of the largest colonies in Washington is located in Renton; last year there were approximately 135 active nests there.

For more ABC Wednesday posts head over to Mrs. Nesbitt’s