Foggy Days

Lately we've had a lot of fog because of the warmer conditions and the cold snow and ice. There are times when it is beautiful to see and other times when the fog makes things dangerous, especially when you are driving or out on a lake on a snowmobile. Our lake has water all over the ice.  Not nice for the fishermen with their ice huts, but  it can be pretty in its own way.

I took the following with my smartphone yesterday. The fog was lifting off of the lake which was surprising to us because all around our area there was heavy fog, and we expected our lake to be heavy in fog.

I've often enjoyed taking pictures of fog on the road around our lake and decided to look back at some of my previous photos. During the fall we get a lot of fog, and the next two photos are from last September.

This last photo of the road we live on has been my favourite, as it looks like this is quite often, and I like the way you can see the sun rays shining down through the trees.  We can be thankful for all of the scenery around us. 

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to You among the nations ...

Psalm 57:9

A Marten in our Backyard

Martens are small and rarely seen in our area. They are members of the weasel family, and are curious, fierce, and lightning-fast. They are solitary animals, and the males have about a 3.5 km range that they guard against other male martens. They easily climb trees, and move very quickly. Although they are cute and interesting to watch, they can also be pests, especially to farmers.

A few weeks ago we looked out our kitchen window and saw a marten in the back yard. This is rare, as we have never seen one there before. Our children and grandchildren were quite excited to see it too. When one of the grandchildren squealed, we were able to see how lightning-fast the marten was.

We knew that we couldn't open the window because the noise in the house would scare it away, so I tried taking pictures of the marten through the window.  I was using a 70-300mm lens, and found it difficult to make sure the marten was in sharp focus. I never succeeded in getting it as sharp as I wanted. I'll have to practice more with this lens. 

Just as God made the marten unique, He has made us unique also. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made". 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

God Supplies our Needs

We have been going through a time of difficulty since before Christmas. My father, who is 82, had a heart attack and had to have a 3 way bypass. This has kept us very busy, but it has been good to see God working in and through the situation.

We walked into my father's house just as he was having his heart attack. He lives alone in another town, and we had decided to go up to visit him for the night. This meant that we were able to take him to the hospital right away. God's timing!  

We didn't have to think about our jobs, as both of us are recently retired. This meant that we could be with him as he was transferred back and forth between hospitals until he finally had his surgery.  

God has provided in many ways. He has brought the right people at the right time(s). He has not taken this trial away from my dad, but has helped each one of us through it, and is continuing to do so. He has blessed us with children who stepped in and looked after Christmas celebrations for us. 

As we adjust to our new life of having him live with us for awhile, we know that God will continue to provide for us. We are certainly blessed. I will be continuing my blog as much as possible, and look forward to spending some more time doing photography.

The photo below was taken at a maple sugaring off last spring. Our children and grandchildren were able to go to the local museum with us to see how it is done.