Hi, and thanks for dropping by my blog,

Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Genesis 1:14

Here’s something to think about.

Have you ever thought how boring life would be without change? If every day was exactly the same, if there was no division between day or night. If every sunrise  replicated the last?…. (this is just one variation of the glorious sunrises which greet me each morning)

What if the moon didn’t decrease in size in its lunar phases as it ranges from crescent to full moon? Would we appreciate such an amazing sight as the moon rising above the lake and splashing light across its glassy surface.

What if the moon had no effect on the tides, if our world was uncertain and chaotic?

What if it was summer all the time with unceasing humidity? Or if every day was wintry cold and raining? How depressing would that be?

Seasons lift our spirits! Change grows us. Adversity strengthens us.

Going through storms in our life journey makes us who we are. Without change we would fail to develop. We wouldn’t learn any coping skills, our emotions would flat line.

On the Quiet Side of the Great Lake, we have balmy, sunny days. Days that lift your spirits. The birds are more vocal, the doggie population seems more frisky and bark more as people venture past our homes on the grassy lake edge. The trees seem greener, the lake bluer and the flowers more colourful. It is uplifting!

People take to the lake in boats and kayaks. Windsurfers speed across the lake propelled by stiff breezes. It is invigorating!

At times furious storms launch themselves at us from the south. When the wind rushes across the lake driving up white caps and slams into our home with such enormous force it gets our adrenalin running, we grow out of necessity .

We prepare as well as possible, but we have been flooded on occasion as the lake and local creeks fill and overflow. Trusting in God we get through it. One storm lasted six days which we spent without power and flooded in. Eight months of chaos followed as our ground floor had to be completely renovated.

You can see the tops of the swings below and the flooded shoreline compared to the photo No.4 above.

God’s creation reflects the order of all created things together with the diversity of nature.

“Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.” Psalm 148:7-13

Somebody once said to me when I asked how their day was going, “Nothing’s happening here. All pretty boring.”

“There is always something happening. I suggested, sometimes you just have to open your eyes and look for it.”

Change and its presenting opportunities are happening all around you. Don’t let them pass you by, open your eyes and grab them!

Marilyn

Hi, and thanks for stopping by my blog,

A week ago I noticed a little Australian Magpie staggering around the grassy lake- shore in front of my home. I was concerned as he was stumbling along and using his wings to assist him, and I wasn’t sure what had happened to him.

On closer examination I found the little fellow had lost his tail feathers. So I have decided to name him Stumpy. He is only a fledgling and appears to be not long out of the nest.

The next day I learned His mother is still feeding him (below), and it appears he has suffered a confrontation with a cat or some other predator.

When I took this shot he still looked the worse for wear with feathers blowing every which way.

If you look more closely (below) you can see the damage to his tail feathers, they all appear to be hacked to the same length.

I was really concerned he may be not be able to fly, but he can. I wouldn’t say he is the most graceful flyer as birds need their tail feathers for balance and for a brake amongst other things. But he makes do. The bird experts say it takes about six weeks for the tail feathers to grow back. Even in the time it has taken to grab a good shot of him his feathers have grown a little.

So Stumpy is doing okay. As a matter of fact I have decided to include him as a late entry into my up and coming book “Showdown in the Umbrella Tree” – Tales from a Lake Book 4.

As with all my illustrations I put them through a cartoon filter and brighten up their eyes to give them personality. I think he is a real cutie!

I’m wondering if the feathers on the ground (above) are the left-overs from his tail feathers, or if he thinks they are.

Here on the Quiet Side of the Great Lake we have little trouble with swooping magpies at nesting time. They know us human folk who live close by quite well. One even walks into a neighbor’s kitchen each day for little tidbits of meat.

Stumpy reminds me of how much our God cares for us. Just as we look out for our feathered friends on the Quiet Side of the Great Lake, Our God looks out for us.  “Look at the birds in the sky. They do not store food for winter. They don’t plant gardens. They do not sow or reap—and yet, they are always fed because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird. If He looks after them, of course He will look after you.” Matthew 6:26 The Voice (Bible Version)

So, dear reader I hope this reminds you today just how precious you are, and if you are feeling a bit blue, know that God loves you.

Marilyn

There is a verse in the book of Daniel in the Bible which says: “It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.” Daniel 4:2

Miracles happen right in front of you each day and because we are only looking with our eyes and not our minds and hearts we miss them. Let me show you one of them.

Every year on the Quiet Side of the Great Lake at this time a miracle happens.

Regularly as clockwork the Bar-tailed Godwits arrive on our shores.

Godwits are wading, shore birds.

Note the curved bill (Ferns & Siman 1994) states “they are more manoeuvrable within cavities than are straight bills, and better suited for grasping prey within a confined space.” Cool!

Now here’s the miracle. These birds fly thousands of miles from Alaska to Australia non-stop. A total of approximately 7,300 miles. Can you imagine? How do they find their way? This just blows me away and they do not even stop to take a drink. How do they do it?

There are staging areas along the Alaskan coast where the flocks meet and prepare by feeding heavily for a couple of weeks before beginning their flight. They feed on clams and worms, so much so that its dermis bulges with the highest fat content recorded in birds. At the same time, some of the bird’s internal organs shrivel up. By the time a Godwit takes off, it is little more than brains, fat and flight muscle. Even the young who are able to fly take part in this amazing migration. Approximately 70,000 make the trip! Arriving in September, they are airborne again in March to fly all the way back. (Gill et al 2005)

They look in pretty good health, not wilting with exhaustion.

Rob Schuckard, a team leader at the Ornithological Society of New Zealand, which helped with the migration research describes the flight as “the equivalent of a human running at 70 kilometers an hour [43.5 miles an hour] for more than seven days.” (Hansford 2007) Wow! Think about that.

 
Even more amazing one bird studied demonstrated that during the flight bird “slept” by shutting down one side of its brain at a time while it burned up the huge stores of fat—more than 50 percent of its body weight—that it had piled on in Alaska. (Hansford 2007)

 
Top that one if you can! Some may put this feat down to evolution, I call it incredible engineering by a God who still works miracles.

What do you think?

Enjoy your day!

Marilyn

References:

“Alaskan Bird Makes Longest Nonstop Flight Ever Measured”, Hansford Dave National Geographic News Wellington, New Zealand, , September 14, 2007

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070913-longest-flight.html
“Solving the Mystery of a Migratory Marvel”, Wagner E, National Wildlife 2008.
https://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Birds/Archives/2009/Bar-tailed-godwit-migration.aspx