Winter Visitor: a Northern Junco

We always know when the cold weather is coming for the number of Northern Juncos that appear wanting food from my ground feeder.   The one in the photo below is in a Japanese Maple tree beside the feeder.  He kindly waited in the tree so I could take his photo.

Feeding Under the Light

My last post featured an Anna's Hummingbird sitting on the light which warms our hummingbird feeder.  In this post she has moved to the feeder and then in the second photo she is feeding, not minding the heat from the light.

Keeping Warm

Our winter has been very mild thus far, but arctic air has moved in, we are having our first snowfall, and an Anna's Hummingbird has chosen to rest near the off-on switch on the light which warms the hummingbird feeder when the weather is at or below zero.  It's feathers are plumped up and that helps to keep the little creatures warm as well. Photo taken from inside our laundry room looking onto the deck.

This photo is also featured on my photography blog at WordPress called My Vancouver Island Life.

Little Sparrow in a Deodara tree with Psalm 102:7

As the Lord watches over all, this little sparrow was also very attentive to what is happening from his perch in a Deodara tree.

Being Thankful for Three Small Things

Today I am thankful for small things that happened yesterday.  None of them are spiritual, but they are all in answer to prayer.

The first one is that it is raining today..  after a very hot and dry July and August with hardly any rainfall and extreme fire conditions, we had a good rain yesterday and today, with more forecast.  Praise the Lord!  

The next one is that one week ago my trusty old computer froze up.  I was upset, didn't want to buy a new one, thought it was the end of my blogs.  But my husband thought it was worth it to take in the tower and see what was going on.  We found out that the hard drive was toast, and my old XP had seen the end of its days.  But yesterday I got my tower back with a new hard drive and Windows 7 installed, its a little different from what I was used to, but it is so much faster, and best of all, was $100 cheaper than we thought it would be to have it repaired.

The last one is that we finally saw one of the elusive Roosevelt Elk that inhabit the town of Youbou at this time of year.  We have driven there many times and have only seen hoof prints down by the waters of Lake Cowichan.  But yesterday we tried again, and I prayed a little prayer for one animal sighting.  Husband drove down a road we had never been on before, in a residential area, and there was a bull elk standing in someone's front yard.  He looked like he had recently shed the velvet, and was carrying some netting on the edge of one of them.  As we watched from the car, he walked up to the front door and proceeded to eat the flowers in a planter box, then he headed down the driveway towards our car on the street and walked right past the car.  It was thrilling to have him so close.  Here are some photos. 

 

Little Orphan Deer with 1 Corinthians 1:27

 

This little sweetheart was photographed in Spring on a road in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island.  Her mother was nowhere in sight, so I believe that she was an orphan.  How she made it through the winter is a miracle because she was very thin.  She walked down the road towards our car, and then went into a yard and began eating the new Spring grass.   I chose 1 Corinthians 1:27 as the verse because it just seemed fitting.

The Creation: St. Mary Lake and Psalm 36:6

 

The photo above is of beautiful St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.  

The Creation: Sleeping Mallard

 

The photograph above of a sleeping male Mallard duck was taken at Somenos Lake.   Mallards are common ducks, but they are endlessly interesting and entertaining to me.  Its a lesson for us that the animal world lives for the moment, takes things as they come, whether good or bad. 

For the believer its Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not on thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The Creation: Majestic Elk and a Foolish Photographer.

Jasper National Park used to be a great place for an animal lover to visit starting in late August.   That is when the bull Elk rutting season begins, and it was not unusual to see many bull and cow elk near the townsite, as there were many cow elk with their calves spending the summer in the campsites that are near the townsite.  Every evening, as dusk was setting in, we used to go and park the car near the underpass that leads to town.  It wasn't long before this particular bull arrived on the scene with his cows.  The lighting isn't the best in this photo but you can see how huge his antlers are.

However, there are always foolish people around who just have to get as close as possible to take their photo when waiting in the car with a good telephoto lens produces better results.  In the photo below, this fellow decided to try and get closer and right after I took this photo the bull chased him away.  This man was very lucky that he wasn't gored, or stomped to death, but I do think that the reason he wasn't is because this particular elk is so used to cars and people because he chose to hang around the townsite... 

We haven't been to Jasper since 2010, so I don't know if the elk are still so easily seen.  I do hope so.

The Creation: The Raven

The photo below of a Raven on an old post was taken at the Cowichan Estuary.  I have seldom seen them on the ground, and when I have, they were impossible to photograph as they are wary of people.  Sometimes from a distance Ravens and Crows look similar but close up the Raven is much larger and has a completely different head.  They are often seen souring above. I counted myself blessed to have been able to photograph the regal pose of this beauty.

 

The Creation: Cloud Hearts in the Sky

I love watching the clouds because there are faces and shapes for all to see if you just look up.  The account of Elijah and the cloud in 1 Kings 18:43 is a favorite of mine:  "And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand......"

The photo below was taken early one morning from the property of St. Peter's heritage church.  Can you see the hearts?  It was a blessing to see this formation which only lasted minutes.  This photo is untouched.

The Creation: Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep

One of the best animal sightings in Jasper National Park is the Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep.  They always travel in a herd, either ewes with lambs or rams before the rutting season begins.  They don't seem to have any fear of people or traffic.  I have seen a large herd of females at a parking lot at the side of Medicine Lake intermingling with adults and children.  People forget that they are wild and that they could do a lot of damage.  Once I was sitting by myself on a rock at the same parking lot and I was approached by a ewe that licked my hands and my jeans.  All I could think of was how easily she could have butted me into the lake far below.  Quite often they are seen around Talbot Lake and Athabaska Lake which are across from each other with the highway to Edmonton between the lakes.  It is very scary to see the herd galloping along the side of the highway with its speeding traffic, and then cross as one  when they think they can get away with it.

The photo below was taken from the car at the side of the highway, Talbot Lake in the background with its beautiful color. There were many more sheep in this herd but I focused on these.  The lake and the sheep are  beautiful examples of God's creation..

 

The Creation: Male Harlequin Ducks

These male Harlequin ducks are simply beautiful.  They look as though a paintbrush swirled color throughout their bodies. This photo was taken at Piper's Lagoon, Nanaimo B.C.

Here is more information on Harlequin ducks:

 http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Harlequin_Duck/id

Daily Living: Wasp Wars

The yearly wasp wars have begun..   this is good or bad depending on how  you look at it.  This year we put a trap up in Spring and caught a queen but also this year, paper wasps arrived on the scene, a species I have not seen in our yard before.  A couple of years ago I photographed a huge paper wasp nest at the Cowichan River, and later that summer they had to put yellow tape up and close down the swimming hole that so many people enjoyed, because of the wasps that had invaded the swimming hole area from that nest.  Here is a photo of it:

 

This was the first time I had seen a paper wasp nest.  Previously the ones that we were able to destroy where we live were little ones that looked like clay with lots of holes that belonged to yellow jacket wasps.  These nests were found tucked in the corners of our deck.  When I saw this nest I was thankful that paper wasps were not in our area, but this year that changed.  Earlier in Spring these paper wasps went about their business and didn't cause any problems.  But a couple of weeks ago their presence became dangerous.  At the entrance to the park where we live there is a lawn area with a little creek that rushes with water when it rains.  The lawn is regularly mowed and last time they posted flags with the notation "wasps" and when walking our dog I could see many of them hovering around the creek.  One night my husband went down with wasp spray and sprayed the area.  I haven't seen them there since then.  

Beauty in Everything: Love Is In The Air

Just because I need a smile today, I am posting this photograph taken when the Mallard Ducks at the local pond were pairing up for the coming nesting season.  I don't know if Mallard ducks mate for life or not, but these two were definitely in love.  But then, I do tend to humanize the wild things.

 

Beauty in Everything: Trumpeter Swans at Somenos Marsh

I love to see the Winter rains because if they are hard enough, the local marsh called Somenos Marsh will hold enough water so that the Trumpeter Swans that arrive in Winter will be frequent visitors.  This photo was taken a couple of years ago when there was enough water.  I love the color of the grasses contrasted with the white of the Swans and their similar poses reflected in the water..

 

God's Perfect Timing: An Osprey Fishing

Ecclesiastes  3:1 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..."
Ecclesiastes  3:11 "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time....."

Yesterday was a wonderful day of God's perfect timing and blessing and being able to witness His creation in action.  We went to a place called Mill Bay, a short drive of 15 minutes.  This beautiful place is missed by probably 90% of the traffic driving north on the Island Highway who don't bother to take what is marked a scenic drive in their rush to get wherever they are going.  There is quiet road that leads down to the Bay, places to park at the Bay side of the road and a high bluff on the west side of the road. Saltspring Island and the Saanich Peninsula are in the distance.   Often we go there in the winter when there are many species of ducks over-wintering, and as I like to photograph birds, its a good place to go.

Beau Beau Brat Face Part 2

Its been one week since I posted about our Shih Tzu Beau, better known as Beau Beau Brat Face. Here is the original post.

There have been some changes since last posting.  My husband is now walking Beau in the morning, thus saving my frustrations if he doesn't do what he should be doing early in the morning.  So far it is going well but it will be interesting to see if my husband still wants to walk him when it is raining or when winter comes.

I am still standing not far from him when he eats because he is so used to that and still barks when he wants to eat or drink, but I am not concerned about what time he eats or whether he finishes it all. That is a big change for me.  I think that Beau is very good at knowing when I am upset and if I am then he will not eat, everything has to be normal.  

Beauty in Everything: Fledgling House Sparrows

Following on my last post regarding God's grace to a little Sparrow, the photo below is of little boy House Sparrows that have recently left the nest. They were adorable. This was taken as they were in a lilac bush above the waterfall of our little pond getting up enough nerve to drop down for a drink or a bath.  There are a lot of nesting boxes around here and the parents bring their young to our yard for the water and the food.  I put the food on the ground under a dwarf spruce tree to try and keep the crows from being able to catch them.  At this age, they don't seem to have any fear of people, or anything for that matter, and its possible to get quite close to them.

 

Camera:  Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200  25-600mm

God's Grace to a Little Sparrow

God's Grace to a Little Bird

Matthew 10:29-31 "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."

This incident happened to me quite a few years ago but it remains in my memory as an example of God's grace to a little bird.

We live on the coast where winter is usually quite mild but this particular year we had quite a bit of snow.. House Sparrows stay around all year, and if you are feeding them they are regular visitors to your bird feeder.  On this particular winter it was especially cold and the birds were struggling to get enough feed to keep warm.

At the time I was volunteering at a place called the "Rainforest Reptile Refuge" where it was at least 90 degrees inside to keep the "critters" warm.  Unfortunately reptiles are quite delicate creatures, and sometimes one would become ill.  After the lady in charge of the refuge had done everything she could, if they were not recovering she would put them in the freezer where (she thought) the cold would put them to sleep and then they would quietly pass away.