A Photo A Week Challenge: Squirrel

I have gone to great links to keep the squirrels out of my bird feeders…refusing to buy to 150.00 whirly-gig that spins them off. I think maybe I finally won…at least for now..by removing easy access to the feeder. We will see but for now, this guy look pretty disgusted. I wrote a Haiku about him earlier in the week when I first saw him sitting there, yet each day he returns to sit on this post and “study how to get to the feeder”. You can almost see the wheels turning.

After awhile he turns away but remains on the pole. Memories of an easy treat now gone.

image000000 (21) — Need to clean my windows.

Come join in on Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week and show us the squirrels in your camera’s view. And remember, even squirrels know how to be kind…

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So, share the beauty of nature with a friend and be kind.

Cycle of Life, FOTD

Cee’s fun Flower of the Day prompt challenges us all to see the beauty on nature. My post today takes this a step further in showing the cycle of life in a day lily. They are called day lilies as their bloom last only a day to a day in a half but the life cycle of that bloom is well over a week if not two.

The Life Cycle

The life cycle is not long for those like me

for we start very small as you can see.

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My siblings and I, we number at six

On the same long shoot that looks like a stick.

With each passing day we grow to our size

Stretching our pods with goals to maximize.

The sun is so warm and helps us to grow

We all hope to open and put on a show.

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Some of us grow slow and some grow fast

But the life of our bloom is one that wont last.

image000000 (24) — First bloom of the season

The life cycle is short, but shed not a tear

For behold we will come back year after year.

For those of us who so enjoy your flowers, it does get sad at the end of the season when they go to sleep or die. But we are renewed in hope knowing when spring returns they also will return.

Enjoy the beauty, love and peace of flowers and remember to share their beauty and kindness with others as they share theirs with you.

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Squirrel Haiku

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Just Not Fair

This yard is not fair

Much to hard to get the food

Don’t taste good anyway

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I tried being kind to squirrels but they kept eating holes in my feeders, so I got rid of the peanuts and put nails in the tops of the boards so they cant jump to the feeder from the fence. The feeder pole has a slinky on it to keep them from climbing up. Sorry guys.

But we must always try to be kind as much as we can.

kind flower

His Name is George

I do love my yard during the spring and summer months for all the many birds that come to visit. You can tell the difference in the younger ones who have not fully fledged out yet or got their adult colors. This morning George stopped by with his high shrill and really upset the other birds. George is a hawk. My phone does not have a good zoom and cropping made him fuzzy but still he was beautiful.

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Here is a picture I took yesterday and the sun made a neat effect. George is on the stump of the tree in the center. Hopefully by Christmas I will have a real camera with a true zoom lens where I can really play.

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Since I live close to a state park, we have more than the normal wildlife. Deer will walk down the street like they own the place and groundhogs will zoom through your yard as well. Here is George flying and squawking at his other brother George as they search for food.

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Although my pictures are not great, they do show the beauty of nature all around us. This beauty reflects God’s love of creation and wanting to share it with us. So when outside, take in all the beauty around you and when you see something special, smile and know this was a gift given for you to enjoy.

And as always be kind…to all kinds.

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Accents of Light

In photography, your light source is of great importance, whether it be behind, in front, bright or shadowed. It helps tell your story through the eyes of the camera…and you. I like taking picture of how the sun shines around nature to highlight its beauty. Enclosed are my entries for 2020 Photo Challenge #18 featuring Light.

IMG_20200415_085706 — Bright and Shadows

The March snow we had was heavy and wet but its beauty was highlighted by the bright sun behind the trees that made neat shadows.

Webs are magical as they reflect their silver lines in the rays of the sun.

IMG_20190710_161530 — A personal favorite, flower, bee and sun

The brightness of the sun and the rays sifting through the petals.

Even as light begins to fade, it still has beauty to share, And as always, I close with a reminder of showing kindness in all that you do. It could create its own sunshine.

kind sun

Reflections of Love

Hello everyone, I hope you are all safe and well. I copied this from my daily devotion to my church family. I though it would be a good reminders while we are stuck on our homes to remember God is still holding us in love.

Today is a day of pranksters and tom foolery but I challenge us to make it a day of love with smiles. 1 John to me is a nuts and bolts of God. First off – God is Light – 1:5: –God is light: in him there is not darkness at all. Second – God is Love – Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Third – God is Life – 5:11-12 – God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the son has life. Lastly, but not in 1 John – He is King – Rev 19-16 – On his robe and across his thigh he has his name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

If he is my King, which he is, and I am his child, which I am, then that makes me a princess. I can live with that and even though my crown is seldom straight and sometimes not even showing, he will loving turn me around and fix it then remind me of who I am and what I am supposed to be doing.

For those who know me, know that I am a major lover of animals and believe nature can sometimes teach us the very nature of God, for God created them as well and God is love. So I leave you with some pictures of other things God creates and how they in turn reflect his very nature of love.

Always remember the PROFOUND love he has for you and let it encourage your heart today. And as always remember to be kind. It is the very essence of God.

Escape Stress with Coloring

The Escapist Coloring Club sponsored by Linda G. Hill has been a fun thing and I suggest every one give it a try. It really does help you focus on the coloring and allows for pushing aside stress. It works for me. There are calendars, books and I think even downloadable sheets. I was given this book by my daughter last year for Christmas and it really has been fun.

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You can tell by the bends and creases in the cover that I am in this book…a lot. Today’s picture helps us remember the beauty of wildlife and the hopes for spring for those of us who live in snow during the months of January and February and hopefully NOT March.

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I use pencils as I seem to be able to shade easier with those but I loved Linda’s page this time as she said she uses both. I may try that for next month. You will also see some bend to my page as I had a big helper this time who was fascinated with the pencils – probably because they look like a colored stick – well they are wood…

Come join in with us and we can all color together. And as always remember to be kind, it show the beauty of who you really are.

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Beauty Of Photographs

Every once in a while a photograph will come a cross the bloggosphere (I am sure that is not a real word, but you know what I mean) that so inspires me that I put pen to paper and write about it. Today’s photo came from stefansphotos.se and since we are now legally in winter I felt it was good time for some winter fun…with words. Thank you Stefan for your beautiful photos. Check out his photographs at the link above.

Winter Forest

Winternight Stephan

Deep in the forest where the light seldom shines

Beneath the tall branches of the evergreen pine

There lives such a creature, one hardly ever seen

Here the cold moonlight makes his bright eyes sheen.

The snow reflects the light of the full moon above

Shining through the night like a white mourning dove.

The winter moss is green and soft at forest floor below

As he moves along paths where no one will ever know

What lurks in those dark shadows beyond those next trees

Nothing more than old man winter playing in the night freeze

– Anita Neal-

As you find yourself in the coldness of winter, remember it is easy to warm it up by being kind. Kindness can be like a blanket to wrap you up warm and snug, so let kindness come from you to cover someone like fresh new snow.

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The Best Kind of Snow, JusJojan, #SoCS

It is January which means it’s winter in the northern hemisphere which means in some areas the “S” word has arrived. We try not to say that word much here in hopes it stays away. Yea, that didn’t work for Halloween this year with 4 inches and low 20 temperatures. But I have for a picture of today’s snow, the best kind of snow – Snowed all night but due to the warmth of December, the roads were still warm and therefore the roads are still clear. So the trees were beautifully covered. The sky cleared a short while before turning back to winter gray and I was able to grab this picture.

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It is amazing to me how hard wood tree twist and turn their limbs for their leaves to get the best sunshine. Even nature knows what is best for it and it tries to get there. We humans sometimes over think things and go way in the wrong direction.

As we push into this new year guiding ourselves in the direction we think is best, let us take a cue from nature and find the best direction.

And as we search for that direction, think of the beauty of fresh fallen snow, its purity and beauty and remember to cover everything with kindness.

Kind snow

Cuteness of a Pin Cushion

Here in the USA over the last couple of years, figurines for hedgehogs, especially with Christmas decorations, have really taken hold. I find that interesting as the cute little creature is not native to our country. There are 17 different species of hedgehogs which is fascinating in itself to me. They are native in Europe, Asia, Africa and New Zealand. You can find replicas of them here in plant stores and multiple places that carry decorations. I bought a new Tree decoration this year and created a hedge hog family with the ones I had gotten over the last couple of years. I made a fun post of this family including a short short story that you can read about if interested, its here.

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I have become fascinated with them over the last couple of years because of the fabulous photographers that capture this creature and it cuteness and its apparent ability to smile. I wrote a special post on smiling animals here. Animals do smile, their entire face lights up when they are happy and treated kindly. But I have really been taken by the cuteness of a hedgehogs smile. How can you not smile at this cuteness?

I have recently added the National Geographic Photo of the Day page to my Facebook account and again I am amazed by the fabulous photographers across this world and the amazing pictures they take. Today and yesterday two pictures of hedgehogs were posted and I downloaded them both to share with you. One was of cuteness and one was mom and babies. I was amazed at how the babies look…like little pin cushions.

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It is amazing to me how God can create so many fascinating creatures, some none of us have ever seen other than in pictures. We don’t even know all that is on the bottom of our deepest oceans, our most intriguing earthly frontier. Some of it that has been captured on film is quite scary looking.

But I will settle for the cuteness and the beauty that photographers across the world are capturing and sharing with all of us. Thank you.

And remember as you share in the beauty of God’s creation, to show it the respect that it so much deserves. And with all creatures, beast and man alike, remember the value of kindness and share it when possible.

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