A Prayer

Today I share a hymn with you. It is a prayer we can all pray.

The title is," Lord I Need You."

Lord, I come, I confess

Bowing here I find my rest

Without You I fall apart

You're the One that guides my heart

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more

Where grace is found is where You are

Where You are, Lord, I am free

Holiness is Christ in me

So teach my song to rise to You

When temptation comes my way

When I cannot stand I'll fall on You

Jesus, You're my hope and stay

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You

Every hour I need You

My one defense, my righteousness

Oh God, how I need You

You're my one defense, my righteousness

Oh God, how I need You

My one defense, my righteousness

Oh God, how I need You

 Now a confession. I temporarily decided to move my blog to Wordpress, but upon further investigation, I realize that is likely not in my best interest or that of my followers, as I am not willing to pay to have the ads on Wordpress removed, so here I am, back on Blogger.

Sorry for any inconvenience .

Moving to WordPress

I am making a move to WordPress for my blog.

I trust you will follow me there.

Here is the link for my latest post:

Ruth's Photo Blog

 

The Wonder Of Birds

SPRING

This means the arrival of the migrating birds. I will say, I do enjoy the birds that stick around for the winter, but there is a certain excitement when the migration begins.

Some of the earliest birds to show up are the Dark-eyed Juncos. It is a thrill to step out the door and hear their high pitched trills.

Seeing that first flock of Mallards and hearing their quacks is another thrill and a sure sign of spring.

One of the rituals of spring is the annual hawk migration. Pembina Valley, not too far from my house, is a flyway for these birds. This spring I have not spent as much time there, but I have still been able to get shots like this Red-tailed Hawk.

That first American Robin to show up on the yard is reason enough to celebrate. The Robin probably has the most recognizable song. Hearing that 'cheer up cheerily' from a nearby tree brings a smile every time.

Just for good measure, I will add another picture of a Red-tailed Hawk.

Another bird which most everyone can recognize by their song, is the Mourning Dove. I love watching their gentle actions and that soft cooing is so sweet.

The House Finch is not a true migrant, but their color gets so much brighter in spring. I usually have a couple of pairs of these birds around all year.

Something to Think About:

What wonder of creation draws your attention to God? How does it impact you to know how much your Creator values you?

Beauty In Unexpected Places

During springtime, I put on quite a few miles in order to see the returning birds.  

I had been told that there were many eagles about a 45 minutes drive from my home. 

That meant I had to go check it out.

There were a few, but not as many as the day before. As you can see the water on this river was still frozen, but the birds seemed to find some little morsels of food. Of course with the food come the squabbles.

Landing gear is down and touch down is imminent.

At places the ice was breaking up and causing unique ice formations.

My favourite one was this slab of ice which was partially on the shore. I loved the color of it and the layers.

The open water gave some lovely reflections.

I had not seen what I hoped to see, but that did not stop me from finding beauty.

I challenge you to keep your eyes open to find beauty in unexpected places.

The Joy Of Springtime Birds

This is the time of spring bird migration. It is a season filled with excitement,as many birds are returning to their northern nesting grounds.

I will be sharing some of the many birds I get to see.

Today instead of my commentary, I am also sharing a poem written by someone else. I may have shared it before, but it bears repeating.

Am I wrong to be always so happy? 

Tundra Swans at the edge of the ice.

This world is full of grief;

Yet there is laughter of sunshine, 

to see the crisp green on the leaf,

Swans on the ice and a bald Eagle overhead.

Daylight is ringing with song-birds, 

and brooklets are crooning at night;

And why should I make a shadow when God makes all so bright?

Immature Bald Eagle

Earth may be wicked and weary, 

yet cannot I help being glad!

There is sunshine without and within me,

 

Canada Geese in flight.

and how should I mope or be sad?

God would not flood me with blessings, 

meaning for me only to pine

A majestic Bald Eagle.

Amid all the bounties and beauties he pours upon me and mine;

Therefore I will be grateful, and therefore will I rejoice;

My heart is singing within me; sing on, O heart and voice.

 

Welcome Back Birds

Spring brings back the Canada Geese. even though I already have so many photos of them, they are good subjects, so I always take more.

The sky in early spring is not good for photos, so I get this washed out look, but the geese are very visible.

You can see that when I got these pictures some areas of the marsh were still ice covered.

I am by no means an expert, but I enjoy trying my hand at those action shots.

as always, the Canada Goose is very vocal. You can see this one is calling out.

No,this one and the previous one, are not the same pictures. Those powerful wings always make an impression on me.

Yes, we do see more than just geese. These three Tundra Swans were enjoying a swim in those icy waters.

 Think about this:

In the faces of nature there are wonders that never cease

Wishing You a Blessed Easter

When They Found Nothing

They watched as soldiers nailed their Saviour to a tree

They witness all the anguish the agony,

They waited for his father to rescue him but then

he cried out it is finished they knew it was the end.

The stone that sealed the tomb had finally sealed their fate

for all their hopes now lay within that borrowed grave.

Left with only questions they pondered all he said

but answers didn’t matter, for now their Lord was dead.

They began their final walk to say one last good-by

but when they reached the tomb they could not believe their eyes.

 

When they found nothing, they found everything.

In an empty tomb, they realized what Christ himself had prophesied

that death could never hold their king.

For when they found nothing, they found everything.

 

Hallelujah He is risen.

Hallelujah praise the Lamb.

Who conquered death and hell who died and rose again!

When they found nothing, they found everything.

In an empty tomb they realized what Christ himself had prophesied,

that death could never hold their king.

For when they found nothing

they found everything!

 Should you wish to hear the song quoted above,click on this link.

The video is from 2011, but the words are as relevant today as they have ever been.

When They Found Nothing

Spring Things

At this time of year, we here in Manitoba, start looking for signs of spring. Yes, the calendar says spring, but our weather doesn’t always agree.

I did find a few signs that spring is on the way. 

The Ground Squirrel has woke up and is busy feeding himself. That seems to be what they do best.

One evening while waiting for the sunset, I noticed the grasses and how they were highlighted by the low angle sun.

Some kind of weed also caught the last rays of sunlight.

Back at my house, I heard a lot of running and thumping. I was surprised when I looked to see that this big old Fox Squirrel was sitting in the window feeder. He seemed too think he owned the place and didn’t even want to leave when I was right up against the window.

A recent crescent moon caught my attention. Sometimes I find the crescent moon even more lovely than a full moon.

Since we are right at the Easter weekend, I will share the words to a song that talks about the Good Friday events. If you care to hear the song, click on the link below.

Three Men On A Mountain

Chorus:

Three men on a mountain

on crosses of shame

But the one in the middle

was the one without blame

The crowd watched in sorrow

at the terrible scene

Three men on a mountain

but only one man

was there dying for me

Verse One:

Friend, close your eyes and imagine

Calvary long, long ago

The sun hid its face

at the dawning of grace,

the earth started shaking below

Verse Two:

He died for my sin and undoing

He died for my pain and regret

Sent down from above

in a scandal of love

this old world will never forget

(Repeat Chorus)

https://youtu.be/1geFjHd5yPw

Bald Eagles

Photographing birds can be a challenge. Even a large bird, like the Bald Eagle can be too high for decent shots. on March 13 of this year, I had the opportunity to capture some good pictures of a couple of Bald Eagles.

The sky was clear and bright, the perfect backdrop for the eagles. I was pleased with this picture.

And even more pleased with this one. I should add that these are not cropped.

This bird just kept on circling lower and lower above me. I know I had a huge smile on my face as the shutter was whirring away. Many shots later, I was more than pleased with what I got.

The next two shots are cropped a little.

This bird seemed to be doing acrobatics in the sky.

If you look closely you can see that it has just had a good feed, as the crop is still very full.

Bear in mind that I am shooting almost straight up. It was a good day of shooting.

This quote is one I can relate to.

Money can’t buy your happiness, but it can buy you camera gear.

And that’s pretty much the same thing. 

Early Spring SIghts

By the calendar it is officially spring and we can see signs of it all around.

I step out of my house and hear more birds singing than I have in a while. The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a year round visitor, but, they too, seem more active now.

We have had very little snow this winter, but I did find one small stream that was cheerily running along. The sound of running water is so sweet.

You can see that it is still early, as the trees are still bare, but that beautiful blue sky beckoned me to get out and enjoy the sunshine.

Here is a verse to store in your memory.

Isaiah 26:3

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Aurora Borealis

On Saturday , March 13, I was sitting at home relaxing, when I got a text from Steve. He was out, getting set up for more astrophotography. The text was a picture of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights he was seeing. His comment simply said 'Amazing'. A little while later a second text stating how beautiful the lights were. I knew I needed to get out of town and have a look.

I was not sorry I had gone. Spectacular! Amazing! Awesome! These were some of the words that came to mind.

Since I am not particularly skilled with night photography , I resorted to using my iPhone 12 Pro. It takes good night shots.

 The Heavens declare the Glory of God!

The Promise Of Spring

Spring is slowly arriving in southern Manitoba .

The following pictures show a few signs of spring.

While out and about the other day, I saw my first Canada Geese fly over. This is by no means a great shot, but since they were the first ones, it will do.

I know, Blue Jays are around all year, but it always seems that their color is a little brighter come springtime.This was taken through a less than clean window.

Puddles of water in the ditches, mean it must be spring. I was fortunate to drive by this one near sunset.

Zooming in on the ice formations, I was able to catch some details,highlighted by the golden glow of the setting sun.

Not one of the most spectacular sunsets, but still a pretty one.

 Something to Think About:

Maybe this day is not  one of your favourites, but 

never forget that every day you wake up is an 

    amazing gift and it’s up to you to make it count.