Display of eXcellence!

 

 

My granddaughter and I watched in awe

as the trumpeter swans chased off the Canada geese

in a grand show of eXcellence.

My neighbor had told me it was a grand sight to see,
...and it certainly was!

 

Previously I had witnessed the after affects of a fight,
with feathers afloat following a conflict.
(To see this post, click on "TURF")

But to see the fighting in live action was eXciting and eXhilarating!

 

 

One by one the Canada Geese were absconded.

 

 

Sometimes the swans split up,
each chasing a goose.

They didn't stop till all the Canada geese were driven out of the water.
 

 

The amazing thing to me was,

they left the ducks alone.

 

Watching those swans separate and drive out the geese

reminds me of a time in the future

when it is the angels who will do some separating.

Curious?  ...Click HERE to read about it!

 

 

Linking with Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday for the letter X. 

 

To see my Name of God on Rocks post for this week, click HERE!



Wild Things!

As you can tell by the chain on this wolf's neck,
I did not catch this picture of him out in the wild!
He was part of a teaching seminar hosted recently
by the Old Independence Regional Museum
of Batesville, Arkansas.

It was my privilege not only to see a wolf up close,
but also to see several birds of prey.

This, and the picture above are of a grey hawk.

The man holding this horned owl is Rodney Paul
who works with "Raptor Rehab of Central Arkansas".

The owl was rescued after it was kicked out of its nest by its mother
because it was blind. 

Mr. Paul explained to us that although the blindness was temporary,
the owl had already bonded to him, and could not survive in the wild.
 

This monkey-faced bird of prey is a barn owl, also known
as a farmer's best friend because of all the mice he devours!

If you click to enlarge the photo, you can see the restraints
that keep him from being able to fly away.

I think the most important thing I learned that day
was that it is illegal for you to keep a feather of any protected
bird of prey.  If you have a feather in your possession,
it could mean you are guilty of killing the protected bird,
and could involve prison time!  So BEWARE, if you, like me,
have a habit of picking up feathers when you're out on a walk!

Although this wolf acted pretty tame, I still wouldn't trust it to have overcome its wild instincts.  There is coming a time, though, when God says,

"The wolf will live with the lamb,
 the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
 their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
 as the waters cover the sea."
Isaiah 11:6-9

WOW!
Won't that be a wonderful time,
when the wild things are no longer wild!

 

Thanks for your visit!

Click HERE to see "Names of God on Rocks".

God's Vacuum Cleaners!

One day last week I sensed a commotion across the street

after a large dark shadow passed by my living room window.

 

 

Yes, I know...
It's pretty gross, isn't it?!!
It's what we in Arkansas call a "turkey vulture",
and he's devouring a dead armadillo.



 

 

 



When trying to capture him on camera,
I startled him, and he flew off.
I did catch his "take off".
Look at his strong thigh muscles!
 

 

 

 

 

Here he is, slowly rising off the ground,

 

 

 

 

...and heading for the safety of a large oak,
(look at that wing span!)

 

 

 

 

...where he landed and perched till I was out of sight with my camera.

 

 

Although I felt the whole process of the dead armadillo being consumed

by the vulture was really gross,  I had to admit that it was very creative and thoughtful of our wonderful God to create such birds to be "Vacuum cleaners" of nature.

 

Curiosity had me looking up Scriptures to see if vultures were mentioned

many times in the Bible.  They were mentioned more times than I realized.

(If interested, click on the highlighted letters to check out these references

from the Blue Letter Bible on-line.)

 

I guess the Scripture verse that interested me the most was from Luke 17

where the disciples were wondering when Jesus would return again.

"Where will this happen, Lord?" the disciples asked.

Jesus replied,

"Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby,

 so these signs indicate that the end is near."

 

What signs was Jesus talking about?

You can find the answers in that same passage from Luke 17:27-37.

 

 

 

Click HERE to see my most recent "Names of God on Rocks"!

 

 

Unexpected Blessings...

One of my most recent "Unexpected Blessings"

was a trip to meet my two younger sisters

at the beach in South Carolina.
A last minute reservation was made by my younger sis,
with my husband and my youngest daughter making sure I got there!



The night we arrived, I met them on the beach.  We soaked in the beauty of being together and watched the moon beams glisten on the tidal waves. 

One of the highlights of the South Carolina trip was our self-guided tour of Hilton Head Island.





The lighthouse was one of my favorite spots on our tour.

We enjoyed seeing many beautiful villas surrounded by palm trees, live oaks entrenched with Spanish moss,

...and beautiful flower gardens with interesting statues.

We were nearing the completion of our tour when my youngest sis noticed that she didn't have her car keys, and had accidentally locked them in the trunk of the car!      Thank God for AAA Auto Service who quickly came to our rescue!

Besides sampling food from many interesting eateries, I couldn't help but notice the number of bicycles.  They were the old-fashioned type that use the pedal for a brake.  They were everywhere! I was glad to see them, and think that might be a good thing to put on my Christmas wish list!

All too soon it was time to say goodbye.


I am so glad that we can count on an EXPECTED BLESSING in the future,
and won't have to say goodbye anymore.
Jesus said in John 6:47 that if we believe in Him
we will have everlasting life,
and in Revelation 21:4, He promises to
"wipe every tear from our eyes."
That will be a blessing to trump any UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS until then!



To see my granddaughter's Name for God on Rocks for this week, click HERE!