Category: Nature (Page 5 of 7)

God of Earth and Outer Space

May 11, 2020 / kristen / 3 Comments

Wren loves space, so it’s not a surprise that she was drawn to this hymn. Even though she found this in the hymnal I grew up with, I never remember singing this. I really like what it’s saying though…(even though Wren says she doesn’t really understand what it’s about!)

Here are a couple of verses of this hymn:

God of earth and outer space,
God of love and God of grace,
bless the astronauts who fly
as they soar beyond the sky.
God who flung the stars in space,
God who set the sun ablaze,
fling the spacecraft through the air,
let man know your presence there.

God of man's exploring mind, 
God of wisdom, God of time, 
launch us from complacency to a world in need of thee. 
God of power, God of might, God of rockets firing bright. 
Hearts ignite and thrust within, love for Christ to share with men.

words by Thad Roberts, Jr.

Honestly, I’m not sure I understand all of the words, but the important part to me is that it will show Wren that God is with us in all we do, and we can be His light to the world in any vocation!

I made these photo composites for Wren last Halloween. She worked so hard on this costume, and it was a fun way to use my star and moon photography! We enjoyed using our imagination!

Big Day!

May 9, 2020 / kristen / 3 Comments

Today is the Global Big Day (of birding). Cornell University is known for its ornithology lab. Any birder knows about this lab and probably uses “ebird” – a place where every birder can log the birds they see anywhere in the world. The lab collects so much data about birds and bird diversity! During our “Shelter in Place” I’ve been working on my birding skills. Honestly, I’ve always been the kind of birder that “real” birders aren’t very fond of – I take pictures to help with identification. However, thanks to having more time at home, I’ve been learning bird calls (the Cornell Ornithology Labs has online courses) and I’ve been working on my visual IDs as well. This morning, I took off early, camera in hand (I’m not giving this up), and went birding to contribute to the Global Big Day. I saw a lot of birds! I was even able to recognize most of the birds I saw while in the field! I’m nothing like the serious birders out there (the top list from today was (the top list today from the United States listed 193 species) , but I do love it! I thought that it would be appropriate for Wren to play His Eye is on the Sparrow today as her hymn of comfort. Photos from my “Big Day” follow!

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Sunset walks

May 7, 2020 / kristen / 2 Comments

We love them!

Tonight we saw 7 owls total!! We went to check on the little one we’ve been watching for several weeks. He’s really growing. I’m saying “he” only because Wren refers to him this way. You can’t tell the sex of a great horned owl by looking. I only know which of the adults is the mom because I know which one was on the nest. Also, the mom stays close. We saw dad tonight too, but he maintains a rather aloof distance. Here are some new pictures so you can see how the little one is growing!

mom and owlet (R) – getting close to fledging

Here is one of the other 4 owls I saw tonight…another mommy owl! She has 3 owlets.

We also enjoyed other migratory birds. We saw a common yellowthroat, a blue-winged warbler and a blue-grey gnatcatcher (one of my favorites!)

Wren’s hymn of comfort today is the hymn tune “KINGS FOLD”. She wrote the accompaniment.

Kings Fold

We hope you enjoyed our sunset walk as much as we did!!

Blessed…

May 3, 2020 / kristen / 1 Comment

…in so many ways. We had a nice weekend together. Today was especially nice. I got to spend the morning birding:

Swallowtail
(I wish you could smell these flowers!!)

In the afternoon, we all went out to Batavia to see an Eagle nest with a 2-week-old eaglet!

Wren’s hymn of comfort is Blessed Be the Tie that Binds:

Some Days…

May 2, 2020 / kristen / 1 Comment

…are hard, and you don’t get a video made. So today you’re getting a video that I made this week for my students. I hope you enjoy!

Thoughts on Generosity (poem by Mary Oliver)
Music: Morning Mandolin by Chris Haugen (free use on Youtube)

May!

May 1, 2020 / kristen / 2 Comments

On this first day of May, the wood poppies are blooming:

The white-throated sparrows are here:

The lilacs are blooming!

I met a Swainson’s thrush and a Blue-gray gnatcatcher…

Wren’s Hymn of Comfort is a hymn-tune called Daugava.

Daugava

An Afternoon Gigue!

April 27, 2020 / kristen / 1 Comment

It’s a gloomy afternoon here, so why not a little ditty to get you up and moving! Wren wanted to compose something for today’s “hymn of comfort”. We have been watching the baby squirrels clown around in the backyard, and this is what her inspiration was for this piece. It’s pretty short, and I can hear her composition teacher now… you need to make this longer!! For now, just listen a couple of times 🙂

Afternoon Gigue

Like a River

April 26, 2020 / kristen / 1 Comment

I found the most amazing place today. It was just me and the creatures! While this post is named for the Hymn of comfort, when I finished my hike it did look “Like” I had tried to cross “a River”… And the Hike was “Glorious!” This place has no developed trails – this may be why I was alone!

I am definitely going to have to come back to this place to follow the seasons! Of course, I was excited to see the birds, but it was equally exciting to see all of the green coming up throughout the prairie and many things starting to bloom!

some kind of Hawthorn? This definitely has thorns

Swamp Sparrow or Chipping Sparrow…I can’t tell them apart!
Leave a comment if you can!!!

Like a River Glorious
arranged by Anna Laura (Nonnie) Page

We Aren’t Alone!

April 25, 2020 / kristen / 0 Comments

The Hymn of Comfort for today is In Christ Alone. We hope you are finding peace and joy in these days…

In Christ Alone

There are so many reasons for hope!

Wonderful World

April 23, 2020 / kristen / 1 Comment

I want to keep celebrating Earth Day (Week) by sharing some photos of this beautiful world with you! There is beauty everywhere you look, including your backyard, but I want to share some photos from some amazing places I’ve been, and of some amazing creatures! Wren’s “hymn of comfort” is not a hymn today…but we thought Louis Armstrong’s Wonderful World was appropriate!