Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Hints of Spring...

What a beautiful sunrise we had this morning...


Misty sunshine highlighted the heavy frost this morning. We've had several nights of it the past week... Hopefully some of the foliage that began to appear all over the landscape is still ok.



I love mornings like this... The whole field felt full of heaven's light. God is so good!




Here's a picture of a much warmer misty summer morning captured on my cell phone's camera a few years ago... It's one of my old favorites.




Wildflowers blooming in our woods the last couple of weeks...






More wildflowers...








Chocolate mint unfurling it's leaves. You might be able to see the chocolate colored stem...




And a patch of lemon balm nearby...




New growth on the top of a golden Euonymus shrub. It's so hardy! It grows for us with such little fuss in our dry, windy spot. It adds yellow color to the landscape all year, and is even prettier in the fall with shades of orange-y pink on it's leaves as well. I had to look this one up online... What a fancy name.




Lovely violets! When we lived in the village, the leaves would grow 1 or 2 feet tall in a beautiful, deep green color every summer. Here in the country, they don't seem to like the drying wind since the leaves stay small... But they still grow in beautiful waves of soft green, with blueish violet flowers in early spring.




One of the Phlox plants almost ready to open up it's little cluster of pretty purple flowers... They smell so nice! We have tried to cover most of these at night the past week. I have a feeling these particular flowers were harmed by frost... Hopefully they will grow back in the next few weeks. :)

I hope you are enjoying Spring! Or maybe it's Autumn, depending on where you live. What a beautiful time of year Springtime is... As we breath in the sweet scents of growing plants, & see the colors emerging all around us, our senses are filled with a hope of new life. It's part of God's eternal plan - new life. Since God's creation is a picture of who He is, we find illustrations of His eternal plan for us & all of creation throughout nature. Thankfully, God has made a way (since before the creation of the world Ephesians 1:4) for us to become brand new in ChristBy receiving the gift of savlation in Jesus Christ, He brings light into our souls where darkness once prevailed. He brings us healing and the sure hope of eternal life with Him. He washes our sins away and makes us like new again, in a spiritual way. He sends us His Spirit to help us live and love like He did. He sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for our imperfection, and all we have to do is believe - receive the truth... And this brings about a thankful heart for all God has done for us, rather than for what we have done.

Romans 5:3-5, 8,9 ... But we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us... But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Wildlife Pictures


A blue jay in the woods...



This Spring we've had a mother fox with 9 pups (at least that's what I counted once) near our woods behind the barn. Since they are wild animals, I took these close up pictures with the zoom on my Canon camera... I was standing a good distance away from the den. The picture above is from a couple weeks ago. Oh, the babies are so cute!



The mama sitting in the field, watching all that's going on around her...



From earlier this week... Don't the nursing pups look like furry little bunnies?



One of the fox pups sitting on the top of their den... They had been scurrying around, jumping and pouncing on one another. I think this one was getting a little sleepy.



A little pup sitting quietly, at least for a moment or two... 

I've been singing this song along with my guitar all month - What A Friend We Have In Jesus. I love that one. It's message reminds us to take all our troubles to the Lord in prayer. It's message never grows old for me. God wants us to keep praying to Him, and seek His strength and help every moment of the day. Sometimes I pray, Lord please help me to pray more! I know He hears me and will help me.


Philippians 4:6-7,13 Be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus...I can do all things through Christ which strenghteneth me.

I hope you have been having a great week! Thanks for stopping by today. God bless, Danielle