A Reflection of a Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal.  Is he not the most recognized of all birds?  His bright red color against the white snow or his contrast against the green of the tree.  She is a beauty, too.  Her understated brown accented by her red lipstick.  No wonder he loves her so much that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Together they raise their young. He feeds her at the tray feeder and chases away any other would be suitor including ....himself!

I have long heard of Cardinals fighting with their own reflection, but never had I seen this behavior.  I happened to be chauffeuring a handful of rowdy  sweet teen-aged boys on a bottle collection.  My role was to simply sit in the car and be quiet.  My son was among these band members anxious to get the whole thing over with raise funds for their marching band.  As I sat reading in the car with my carnoculars always handy I watched as a male Northern Cardinal did indeed have an imaginary enemy to battle with.  I was lucky to have my camera ready.  Even luckier that the battery was charged. Yes, my memory card had not been forgotten in my computer! I was entertained as the poor bird attacked himself over and over and over again.

We may laugh at the cardinal, or even feel sympathy for him.  We have all done it.  We have been our own worst enemy.  We attack ourselves over and over again with defeatist attitudes.  We use words like "would", "should", " can't."  We look in the mirror and wish we were taller, thinner, buffer,leaner.  What a difference we could make in the world if we changed our can'ts to cans.  Would to will.  If we accepted ourselves as God designed us to be, we would be free to allow the more positive aspects of the Cardinal shine through. We could be more helpful, kind and generous.  So get out there today and let your light shine!  Start, or keep, looking for the good in others and you'll probably end up seeing some in yourself, too!

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8

Babies!

Who doesn't love a baby?  Seeing babies just makes you want to say, "awwwwe!"  It doesn't even matter what kind of babies they are. I have been seeing babies in my backyard for quite some time.  Every time I see one I have to call for my "babies" to come see what has shown up next...

Ducklings are one of my favorite kinds of babies! We took bread
to the park to feed ducks and were thrilled to see all these babies!

These babies completely baffle me!  Are the Canada Geese?  That's who they
were hanging out with!  They look a lot like swans, but look at the coloring on their necks.

Someday this cutie will grow up and eat my flowers!  Right
now I'm saying, "Awwwwwe!"

Here they are two of my three little playmates!

I still have more baby pictures.  I found my friend at Snickety Things when I clicked on a picture she
had taken of a Killdeer for a contest.  I entered the same contest, but what we won was friendship!! I thought of her when I saw this young Killdeer at the mall, of all places.  I waited in the parking lot while my daughter was inside shopping with a friend.  

It was hard to get a picture of this little guy.  He was moving so fast
and his dad was keeping a watchful eye on him...

I still have more baby pictures.  I hope you aren't awed out!  These last two may be my favorites.  No, no my favorite babies are human babies!
They are the best at snuggling and I like watching them grow.  I remember my mom saying that if all the world leaders sat down at a meeting together with a baby in their arms they would speak kindly to one another and we would have peace on earth!  Babies are that awwwesome!

These babies look a bit evil!

I give the Tufted Titmouse the award for cutest baby!

 School's out...Does that mean I can spend my days birding?  Nope!  Time to move, but I'd rather be birding!

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Watching a Monarch  grow from a small egg to a rather large butterfly is one of life's treasures and mysteries!  It is a bit like watching your own children grow from a lump into mature adults, but condensed into a much shorter time period with a lot less worries and expense!  I only had one emergency run to get milkweed this round and almost missed out on his emergence into a full sized adult.

I found my little guy under a cabbage leaf a milkweed leaf with a group of students.  I explained that I would not normally remove a creature from its native surroundings.  The only reason we took him and his sibling in was to remove them from harm's way... 100+ stampeding feet seems like harm's way to me!

My first grade students loved having another class pet.  They named one Fatty and the other Baby.  One student especially loved reading the same book over and over to them because they loved the book, Dolphin's First Leap!  I wish I had gotten a picture to share with you of her sitting in a chair with the caterpillar jar sitting right next to her as she read that book.

As we daily picked milkweed and watched in amazement as our caterpillars grew, we noticed one morning that Fatty was hanging upside down in the shape of a J.  My class was sure that he was dead.  They were happy to find out this was part of his life cycle and he was preparing to go into his chrysalis stage.  How exciting to share the wonder and surprise with a group of children as full of wonder as first graders.  They loved checking daily to see if the chrysalis was changing.  Sadly school ended for the year the day after Baby joined Fatty in the chrysalis process.

In my excitement over school ending I almost forgot about my chrysalis collection.  I hadn't had to feed the caterpillars, so didn't think about them. I happened to be driving by school one evening and thought I should check on them.  Low and behold, when I gazed into the jar, I saw a very dark chrysalis indeed. I kept vigil until midnight and then couldn't keep my eyes open a second longer.

Early Sunday morning I woke to find a brand new creation!  I am amazed at the transformation that takes place from egg to butterfly.  This beautiful creature has to go through a whole lot of ugly to become this...

Have you ever had to go through some ugly times?  Are those times transforming you into something beautiful?  I won't bore you with some of the ugliness I've had to go through and I'm not saying I'm a butterfly now.  I will say that the ugly times in my life have never been wasted.  The ugly times in my life have helped me become more compassionate, sensitive and aware of the hurt other people struggle with on a daily basis. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.^[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
If you don't like what you see now...Wait, because God who began a good work in me is still at work changing and metamorphosizing me daily!

I'm stuck inside getting ready to move to a new house, but I'd rather be birding!

Turkey Vultures

Yellow Warbler preening

Look closely and you'll find the Palm Warbler.  

The birding on Kelly's Island wasn't the most spectacular we've ever had, but it was an adventure and every bird we worked for was a gift!  Baltimore Orioles and Yellow Warblers were in great abundance!  We were able to see a few other warbling migrants as well.  I have to say my favorite sighting may have been this guy...

I can hear you all saying, "Eeeeeewwwwwwww!!"  Come on!  They are majestic in flight, they have a keen sense of smell and they like to huddle together...okay around road kill!   Think how much they do to keep our roadways and countrysides clean and healthy.  They really are a pretty awesome bird.  I only got the picture of one of these "beauties", but on a lower ledge there were several of them.  We were within twenty feet of them.  Some in our party felt a bit uneasy and we tried to give them wide berth as we passed by.

The area we passed through was part of the North Quarry on Kelley's Island.  It was a very desolate lonely section of the island.  It made me feel as though I was exploring a new planet with my crew from the Star Trek Enterprise.  I wish Scotty could have beamed us out of there because it was a loonng boring trek through an area with very few birds!  Here are some of the highlights we saw, though...

We would have to go across this to get back to our point of entry!

Nice fossil remains

Beautiful wildflowers!

We were pretty tired and weary after this long and grueling adventure so this looked pretty good to us when we got back "home"!

I'd rather be birding,

Jenny

Metamorphosis

I'm thinking a lot about metamorphosis tonight.  It has been a long day and quite honestly, I'm ready to curl up in a cocoon and hope and pray I turn into a butterfly tomorrow.  I said goodbye to a dear friend today.  He was too young to die.  Fifty-two years young with a family is just too young. My husband's cousin was something special. I mean really special!  I'm not the only one to know this...The church was standing room only! I feel blessed and privileged to have known this extraordinary caterpillar!  I was able to camp, party, laugh, and play with an amazing person who packed as much living into everyday as he possibly could.  The world will be a sadder place without him, but Heaven will seem much more like a party knowing that he is there!  He has shed his earthly cocoon, spread his wings and tonight he runs without growing tired and soars not on butterfly wings, but wings of an eagle.  Rest in peace, Andy.  You will be missed.

For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I have been known. 1 Corinthians 13:12

Red Admiral?

So here are pictures of butterflies I saw while on Kelly's Island last weekend.  Each was beautiful and amazing.  I have no clue what kind some of them are.  I find each thing with wings amazing and beautiful to behold.  I praise God that He has given us such a great illustration of the transformation that we have in Him.  We're caterpillars now, but one day...

I have know idea what kind of butterfly this is...or what kind I'll turn into!  I just
know it is beautiful!

When I walked out of the funeral today, a bird hit the window of the church door.  A young man picked it up and cradled it in his hands.  It stayed nestling in his touch while I watched.  The bird was an Ovenbird.  Even when I was standing sad and mourning I was able to see the beauty of God's creation in this gorgeous bird.  It rested for quite some time before it took flight.  Rest in God's everlasting arms and then...Take flight!

I'd rather be birding,

Jenny

Big Weekend Part I

Each year my sisters and I go on a weekend to do nothing but look for and list all the birds we see or hear.  We always choose a month in May when migration should be at its peak.  Most years we see great birds and every year we reconnect with each other and share memories of growing up together with the best parents in the whole wide world!  I do love birds, but I love laughing and family even more!  Adding all those things together in one weekend equals pure joy!

Some years we have met in Muskegon Michigan where we travel to the Wastwater facility known worldwide for its great birding. Muskegon was the starting point for my "Big Weekend"! I knew that this year was going to be a good one when I looked out the window and saw this beauty...

I hope he stays around for a while!  I pointed out a tree to this bird that has a perfect cavity for a nest.  Sadly, Starlings have taken over many nesting sites of these beautiful birds so they have become a rare sight.

 I do think the Red-Headed Woodpecker is the most striking woodpecker of all.

I can't begin to tell you how hard it was to leave my backyard when I looked out the window and saw an Eastern Towhee, Catbird and Northern Oriole right there.  I would soon find it was worth it to travel to Grand Rapids then Ann Arbor and finally to Kelly's Island in Lake Erie for great times with sisters and birds.

Kelly's Island is a spot in Lake Erie. To reach the Island you must take a ferry.  It is the largest Island on Lake Erie.  It is filled with history, trails for hiking and roads for biking.  One of my favorite signs on the island is this one...

There are many housing options available.  My sister is a pro at finding us great places to sleep and play.  This house was no exception.  There were enough beds to house several families...Three bedrooms each with at least three beds.  A full kitchen, deck and fire pit were there for us to enjoy.  

We spent much time out on this deck...eating, laughing and birding!  Orioles,  Downy
woodpeckers, Great-Crested Flycatchers and Indigo Buntings entertained us as we enjoyed our
evening appetizers! 

Spacious rooms with plenty of light and views, this was a good stay!

Though we never gathered around the campfire we liked knowing that we could!

With all the comforts of home to return to we were able to enjoy our walks into the wooded wonderland of this beautiful island. The first hike we took was to the glacial grooves now protected by fencing.  It's free and has many plaques giving even more information about their formation and about the history of the island.  Sorry, I mostly looked for birds!

Catalpa Tree

Bambi!

I would love to go back to this island with my family.  It is peaceful, beautiful and when I was there, quiet!  You really feel like you are stepping back or away from time!  Come back soon and see what other beautiful sights I saw on Kelly's Island.

I'd rather be birding,
Jenny

One Thing Leads to Another or Part 2

I remember talking to an old time birder....Anyone older than I am...who said that one thing leads to another.  You start out liking birds and pretty soon you start noticing trees and then you start noticing wildflowers and then....You get the idea!  So when I took my family back to Bald Mountain Recreation Area I knew I probably wouldn't see too many birds, so I spent more time looking at the flora. It was later in the day and the gunfire was a little bit disconcerting!  These signs made me feel so much better...

They may have made me feel better, but the constant bang, bang, bang had my youngest family member a bit concerned.  My husband came to the rescue, again. We got to a tree that had fallen across the path, and  that some thought would be impossible to get around. My husband took the one who happens to be tic sh,y for good reasons, and headed back the other way!  We were walking on a looping trail, so he and my youngest planned on meeting up with us later.

It didn't take long to get around the obstacle, and just beyond it this is what we found. Shhhh this is top secret, but you can go pick them because we didn't!

Yes these are Morel Mushrooms!!

On down the path we went, seeing hawks and my first ever Wood Duck!  I was able to spot the Wood Ducks with my binoculars, but not with my camera, so you'll have to take my word for it! There were areas of where I was glad I had on my waterproof hikers!

The May Apples were in full bloom.  The Trillium seem untouched by deer and, aside from constant gunshots, the place was magical.  Maybe it was just being with my family that made the afternoon so pleasant. It was a glorious beautiful Sunday!  I hated to spend four hours in the car to go back home. I'd rather stayed birding!!
Jenny

I think this might be a Coopers Hawk, but I'm not sure.  Hawks can be so tricky!

I'm thinking it won't be long until Cuckoos show up to get these guys!

Trillium used to grow in greater abundance around here!  Deer really like it.

Some critter tracks