Inspired by . . .  Life thru My Lens 04:52

Always be joyful; pray continually; give thanks whatever happens; for this is what God wills for you in Christ Jesus. 

The winter birds are helping me live out 1 Thessalonians 5:16 during this wet and dreary weather we're having.

Birds have a special place in my heart and in my life. Almost every time I can recall that I've been very sick or dealing with significant issues in my life, God has sent me birds. He has spoken to me through their gentle ways. Through their complete and utter dependence on Him.

As you can see, this winter has been crispy cold. Seeing the birds all fluffed up is amusing. Knowing that He has uniquely equipped them to deal with the cold reminds me that He has provided for me as well.

The Cardinals and the House Finches may be part of my regular backyard visitors but I will never take them for granted. I never tire watching them and delight in trying to capture their beauty.

This week we had some special visitors to the yard!

The Cedar Waxwings come through only once or twice a year looking for berries. They are always a challenge to capture! This year a flock of about thirty flew through. We don't really have any good berry trees or bushes - we need to plant some!  They often stop in the Tallow and Cedar trees briefly before moving on.

These were the only two pictures I managed to capture this time around!

There is one other bird that always brings me joy. Although I'm almost guaranteed never to see one in the wild!

I'm working on this cross-stitch pattern as part of a triptych for our new grandson's nursery.

I'll leave you with a few lessons I'm learning as I stitch . . .

Lessons from a Penguin

☆Mate for Life (Matt 19:6)
☆Always dress well (Col 3:12)
☆Always wear your happy feet (1 Thess 5:16)
☆Sing to each other (Eph 5:19)
☆Never forget your loved ones (Ex 20:12)
☆Stick close together (Ecc 4:9)

What are you seeing through your lens this week?

Have a wonder-filled week, my friends!

Inspired by . . . Life thru My Lens 23:52

I do love these early days of summer. 

The air still holds a hint of fragrance. The birds are still nesting and raising their young. The heat has not yet zapped us and made us lazy!

It's the beginning of a new season! The sun shimmers and we look forward with anticipation to all we have planned.  The weddings and parties and backyard BBQ's! Days at the lake or the shore. Early mornings and late evenings on the porch. Trips to places known and unknown. Memories to be made!

Summer usually means more butterflies. Sadly, I haven't seen as many around this year. Which made it all the more exciting to find a pipevine swallowtail sampling the blooms this week. These beauties are difficult to capture because they rarely stop! I think this is the first time I've ever captured their dorsal side!

It was late afternoon so the flower beds were in the shade. Otherwise, you would have seen the iridescence in their wings. My friend, Kim, raises butterflies and you can see her beautiful images here. 

One of the reasons I'm seeing fewer butterflies may be because the deer have been eating my lantana blossoms this year. The little buggers. I will be happy when we get our fence up! In the meantime, I've started using the deer repellent spray again. It's a good thing, too, because there are plenty of babies around this year. I found another one "hidden" in the grass just the other day.

It's always fun to watch the babies. Here is a shot of the Mockingbird twins I introduced you to last week. They are learning to navigate the suet feeder.

The Woodhouse's Scrub Jay twins are learning, too! They haven't adapted to the swinging basket quite as well as the mockingbirds!

The pretty house finches don't mind the swinging basket and they're happy to share!

Such a pretty bird!

I've been going through so much suet that I buy it in bulk on Amazon! I can't blame the baby birds. The gold-fronted woodpeckers get more than their share.

And I'm currently fighting with four of these rascals!

Don't let that sweet face fool you! These guys can eat a hole in my sock feeder faster than I can get out the door to chase them away! 

We've had a lot of rain but no one seems to mind. The black-chinned hummingbirds continue to feed through all but the fiercest of storms. Small and mighty wins the day!

What are you seeing through

your lens this week?

Have a wonder-filled week, friends!

Sharing inspiration here:
Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Bird D’pot,
Saturday’s Critters, Life thru the Lens,
Wild Bird Wednesday, Our World Tuesday,
Community Global, Photo Friday, Little Things Thursday

Inspired by . . . Life thru My Lens 29:52

As you might imagine we are full on summer here in south Texas. It.Is.Hot!

Too hot to do much of anything, other than, well, maybe this:

Activity slows down to a crawl with most of it centered around water. Even the terracotta turtle gets a bath. 

Seriously, though, the birds seem to be eating less and bathing more.

Lesser Goldfinch

House Finch (female)

House Finch (Male)

The sweet little Inca doves are back. The range map shows them as year-round visitors but I only see them in the summer. It is likely a food source that brings them around.

Inca Dove blending into her surroundings.

Here's another summer visitor. Although I'm not 100% sure I'm ID-ing her correctly. The photo is cloudy because I was shooting through the window.

Summer Tanager (female)

The mockingbirds have been acting crazier than usual. I'm not sure if it's because they have another nest to defend or if it's because the persimmon fruit has ripened. 

Mockingbird eating persimmon fruit

We have a lot of dragonflies and damselflies this year. But I haven't seen as many butterflies since it's turned hot.

Not much is blooming in this heat, but you can always count on the crepe myrtle to put on a beautiful summer show!

It's not all birds and blooms, though. This baby lizard has been entertaining me for the past few days, and the deer come daily for water. I just have to remember to look before I open the door, so as not to scare them away!

Texas Spiny Lizard

White-tailed Deer

I don't know if the temperature has anything to do with it, but the sunsets have been red hot, too!

Last night I sat out on my porch and watched the night invade the day. The sun lit the moon with her rays even as she relinquished her place in our sky. The earth calmed and breathed a sigh of relief. The moonlight kept the darkest shadows hidden as the birds sang their postlude. Peace descended. Light and airy. Welcoming.

And then they came on silent feet. The does and the little spotted one. They came for water.

And my soul drank with them.

Under the light of the moon.

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:
Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Little Things Thursdays,
Bird D’pot, Saturday’s Critters, Life thru the Lens, Wild Bird Wednesday,
Our World Tuesday, Community Global, Photo Friday

Inspired by . . . Life thru My Lens 10:52

Waking up to the rain this morning was truly a blessing. We need it so badly here in south Texas. It should also help clear some of this pollen out of the air, saving me from death-by-sneezing.

The rain comes in perfect timing after the gorgeous weather we had last week. My back tolerated an hour or so cleaning out the flower beds, making room for the new growth that has already begun to sprout.

Butterfly Weed

All the discomfort of being on my knees was worth it to have a visit from this sweet lady.

American Lady Butterfly

My Dreamer was just as busy, mowing and clearing out old growth from around the trees.

I thought this was a neat picture of the old Tico 2 engine my Dreamer rescued from the Randau Oil Lease in Web-county, Texas. Everybody thinks it's a canon.

It was lovely to take a rest after working in the soil, and be serenaded by this sweet voice.

I do love to listen to my house finches!  All is peaceful, until the clowns of the bird-world swoop in and make their presence known.

I took my walk a little later than normal one day, and was able to sneak up on the last few winter hold-outs. It's so much easier to spot them in the green grass. 

Soon, all the Western Meadowlarks will be returning north. You can see an animated map of their annual migration here, if you're interested.

I like this shot because it shows their markings, both back, and a hint of the front, so well. Such a contrast! From the back, you'd never guess the front of this bird was so lovely!

I'll miss the meadowlarks when they go. But their departure means that the hummingbirds and scissor-tail flycatchers will be arriving soon. I wonder how many babies we'll have this year?!

The seasons change, the birds come and go, but I can always count on Kitty to be waiting for me when I get back from my walk.

What are you seeing

through your lens this week?

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:

Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Little Things Thursdays,

Bird D’pot, Saturday’s Critters, Life thru the Lens, 

Wild Bird Wednesday, Our World Tuesday, 

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Inspired by . . . Life thru My Lens 6:52

We've had some glorious sunny days this past week, but I confess, the cold north wind has been keeping me inside. I just do not like the wind. The sun teases me through the windows with her warm golden rays, and I fall for it every time!  I venture out onto the porch, all seems warm and sunny - and then, I'm blasted by Mr. North Wind!

If I had to guess, I'd say the birds don't like Mr. North Wind either. He teases their feathers, and slithers underneath to bite their soft skin. Their only defense is to puff up, and bear it!

Lessor Goldfinch (Texas form)

I'm sure it's the cold that is driving them to my suet feeder so often. The added fat helps them stay warm. 

I shared my Scrub Jays with you last week, but I like the shadows in this capture, so I'm sharing him again. He's got his eye on the prize!

The black-crested titmice are back again, too. They are so fast, and difficult to capture. I think these are two of my best so far.

I haven't seen very many Lessor Goldfinches around this winter. But the finches that do come are eating my sunflower seed, not the nyjer I put out for them. They've always eaten the nyjer before. The seed is new, and doesn't have a funny smell, so I'm stumped.

Anyone experiencing the same? Ideas?

Lessor Goldfinch {female}

I'm hearing more bird song these days. I always know when the House Finches are in the yard. Their song is one of my favorites. So JOYful! You can listen to it here.

House Finch

Did you know that our ears are designed specifically to hear birdsong? It's true!

“…we have a very discreet bandwidth of supersensitive hearing and that's between 2.5 and 5 kilohertz in the resident frequencies of the auditory canal,” Gordon tells host Krista Tippett. “Is there something in our ancestors' environment that matches our peak hearing human sensitivity? Because most of what I'm saying right now, except for the "s" sounds and the high-pitched sounds, falls well below that range. And, indeed, there's a perfect match: birdsong. Birdsong.”  - Gordon Hempton, a self-proclaimed acoustic ecologist

I think that's pretty special!

What are you seeing through

your lens this week?

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:
Nature Notes, Through My Lens, Little Things Thursdays,
Bird D’pot, Saturday’s Critters, Life thru the Lens, Wild Bird Wednesday,
Our World Tuesday, Community Global, Photo Friday