A Visit from a Barred Owl

Barred Owl

A few years ago, we had a barred owl come to visit us. My husband was hoping he would stay around and catch some of the squirrels in our yard. He was disappointed. We didn't see him after this, but they don't usually spend their time hunting in the daytime.

The barred owl appeared to be enjoying the sun as it was going down. It stayed there quite awhile, and didn't mind me coming around to take pictures of him. We don't get to see these birds very often, which made this a special experience for me. One of those special moments for me that God gives us sometimes.

This is the week following Christmas. My family is still enjoying Christmas together. May God bless you and your family at this time of year, and in  the coming year.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, 
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
 ~ John 1:14

The King at Christmas

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: 

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, 

and will call him Immanuel (God with us). (Isaiah 7:14)

In the beginning was the Word, and  the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was with God in  the beginning.

Through Him all things were made;

without Him nothing was made that has been made.

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1-5)

The true light that gives light to every man 

was coming into the world. 

He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him,

 the world did not recognize Him. 

He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 

Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, 

He gave the right to become children of God 

— children born not of natural descent, 

nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. 

We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, 

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:9-14)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. 

And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 

 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

 He will reign on David's throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. 

The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7) 

... that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

 in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (Philippians 2:10)

Photo Opportunities at the Bird Feeder

Bluejay

Red Breasted Nuthatch

White Breasted Nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee

A great way to practice your photography is taking pictures of the birds at the birdfeeders. We get quite a few of them in the winter. To make them look as though they aren't right at the feeder, I put out several different branches to have them land on before getting the seed - this opened it up for some good pictures. 


The chicadees and red breasted nuthatches were tame enough to land on my hand for seed. One year I was up to a 1/4 kilometre away from home, and they still flew around me looking for food.


The only picture that was not taken near our birdfeeder was the chicadee, even though it comes to our birdfeeding station the most. This chicadee was preparing a nest in the springtime - making a hole in a small dead tree. It was very interesting to watch as it kept going into the hole, and hollowing it out even more. It would squeeze into the hole, work on making the hole bigger, then turn around and squeeze its way out of the hole with its beak full. Fascinating!


May you have a blessed Christmas, remembering the true reason for the season. 

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus,

 because He will save His people from their sins.

Matthew 1:21

Ducks in our "Front Yard"

... and this is how you walk ...




Merganzer

A drippy duck

We have many mallard ducks in our area, and often see them with their small ducklings. I took the top picture several years ago, and was pleasantly surprised to see the duckling looking like it was copying its mother. I realize the duckling is not in focus, but I don't think it detracts from the picture.

The merganzer mother was difficult to catch with the camera. She had her ducklings with her and was anxious to get down the lake, and around the dock where I was sitting. At this point you see her when she's fairly calm, but later she speeds up and has her ducklings "running" on  the water behind her. You can see this picture at the top of my blog.


The third photo shows the water coming off of a duck just after it had dipped its head underwater. In looking through some of my older pictures, I can see that I've been able to get sharper pictures as I've gained experience. It's hard to focus on a bird's eye, but it makes such a difference when you do.

No matter where we are, we can look around and see the evidence of God in His creation. There are so many opportunities to take photos. One of the ways to make sure you get to capture pictures of wildlife is to have your camera with you as much as possible. You never know when an opportunity will arise. As the Christmas season is coming, remember that God is the One who made the wildlife and us ... and He loves us. He sent His Son here to this earth ... for you and me.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

The Elusive Loon

I think I had a gremlin in my computer. I was working on this page, and somehow it disappeared. I wasn't aware that it uploaded to my blog, so it went out before I was finished. Working with computers can be such a treat sometimes.

We have a couple of loons on our lake so it's common for us to see them. But it's much more difficult to take their pictures. I often get pictures of  them from a distance, but not close enough to get a clear, sharp photo. The best way for me to get pictures is to go out in the canoe in the early morning as the fog is rising. They seem much more willing to have me come around them, and will sometimes circle the canoe. When we are out in  the boat, it's too difficult. We can still go by fairly close, but if we slow down, or turn the motor off ... they move on. 


This is one challenge I enjoy. There are others in our lives that are not so enjoyable, but we can rest assured that we don't face these challenges on our own if we have put our trust in the Lord. He is always there for us.

He promises ... I will never leave you nor forsake you.

A Visit with a Great Blue Heron

For the month of December, I plan to upload some of my favourite bird pictures I've taken in previous years. I've been going back to see if some of the things I've learned about editing can be used for working with the photos. Some of these were taken with the first camera I had, which was a Fuji FinePix - 3 mp. Digital cameras have come a long way since then.

I also thought it would be good to have these on my blog so that I can look back at them in the future ... part of improving my work. 

I had quite an experience with this Great Blue Heron. It was standing on the end of our dock, and it let me get up to about 8 feet from it. It wasn't in a hurry to leave, and I was able to get into the boat beside the dock and take pictures of it. It let me stay there for quite awhile before it decided to fly away. I didn't realize until I saw the pictures later that it showed his tongue ... quite a long tongue.  


It was an amazing experience - a once in a lifetime moment. We have several great blue herons around here, but I've never had such a close up experience before or since.

God provides so many different kinds of animals and birds for us to look at and enjoy. We have so much to be thankful for. As we approach the busy-ness of Christmas, let us take time to enjoy God's creation and remember the true reason for Christmas.

... let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.

Genesis 1:21