geese a flyin'

while the temperatures have warmed up... and the snow has been melting now... the geese have felt more comfortable taking to the skies once again.  it is always amazing and glorious to hear their honking echoing off the mountain range - as they give guidance and direction to each other - a great cacophony of sound - coming in for landing on the water or dry land...

yet... as these all were successful in their flying pursuits - one struggled...

i couldn't quite tell if he just had a lame webbed foot - if it was broken - or what exactly the problem was... all the other geese seemed to be avoiding him and although i wanted to help desperately, every time i tried to get close - he hopped away from me.  he did eventually make it back to the shoreline... which i saw as a good sign.

and so it is with the cycle of life... be it animal or human - nature... plants... whatever - we all have our ups and downs - good and not so great.  but as demonstrated by this little goose - it's important to carry on... to have tenacity and endurance - to persevere when the going gets tough... there is a payoff in those efforts even if we don't at first see it...

happy day.....

hear the news...

...and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. and, lo, the angel of the lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

and the angel said unto them, "fear not: for, behold, i bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. for unto you is born this day in the city of david a saviour, which is christ the lord. and this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising god, and saying, "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

luke 2: 8-14 kjv

happy birthday, jesus...

merry christmas - one and all... for truly it's

a

happy day.....

a warm christmas story...

my mom is infamous for sending around emails -  you know the ones i'm talking about: jokes, tidbits, helpful hints and stories.  sometimes i read them and laugh - sometimes i simply sigh wondering why she passes them on at all.  other times i think to myself, "this is really good and i should pass it forward, too..."  so it was with this very story.  you may have heard it already... that's okay - it's worth reading through again - taking the time to pause at this really busy time of year, the christmas season, and be mindful we should be doing for others and helping to take care of our fellow man, too.  it's a reminder that not only are there angels in heaven and those assigned to protect us; watch over us and guard us... but there are also angels in every day human beings.  take a look...

Santa Claus and Grandma…

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid.

I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care...

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!


isn't that the best story ever?  the good news is that it doesn't have to remain a story... we can all put it into action so it comes alive in some way ourselves today - to make someones christmas very special and blessed... so they will believe in something bigger and have their faith restored.  step out... do it today will you?  help someone to have...

a

happy day.....

the crow

an interesting illusion of a crow... on a cold, blustery day by the lake... which is all but frozen now - due to the freezing temperatures we've been experiencing lately...

happy day.....

playing with collages

playing around with editing of pictures... i found that i can make collages.  this is probably a feature that's been available for quite some time in the particular software i use... you know how it goes though - until you have some free extra minutes to tool around, you really don't know exactly what all is there... for you to take advantage of.  once you do find it then - look out - all of a sudden... time stands still - you play and the next time you glance up thinking perhaps half an hour has floated past... it's been a couple of hours... jeesh... how does that happen?

fun, though... to know it exists - is fairly easy and user friendly to walk through, too.  especially since i'm no computer genius and high tech lingo would not be appreciated.  so here's the results of my efforts... taken at a couple of the lakes around the city that i frequent to visit my fair flighted friends...



geese and ducks enjoying a sunny day



variations of a christmas cactus



duck coming in to land not anticipating ice

 i admit i'm pleased with the overall finished pictures... and will play in this editing venue again.

happy day.....