Hope!

This little sparrow is perched on a limb braving the cold north wind. It is puffed up to help conserve its body heat and it must be hoping for spring and much warmer weather!

"Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops.... at all."
        Emily Dickinson (1830-1886): American Poet

Solitude

     

"I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."

            Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862): Naturalist, American Author, Poet

White Pelicans!

"God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest."

        Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881): American Novelist, Poet

What a treat to see a group of White Pelicans on the Tennessee River in North Alabama.

Miracle of a Flower!

What a difference a few months makes. Picture above is of the same flower that I took a picture of late last summer. What was so beautiful in full bloom now stands as a withered and dead stalk caught in the grips of ole man winter. Not even a small resemblence to the beauty it once possessed. But not to worry. For as sure as God made the spring, this beautiful lotus will sprout from the roots and bloom again, willing to bless those who may take a minute and look its way.

 "If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."

       Buddha-Spritual Teacher from ancient India-Founder of Buddhism



The Fisherman!

Just happened to catch this Great Blue Heron going in and pulling up a fish for lunch on the Tennessee River near Wheeler Dam in North Alabama.

"And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethern, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
           Matthew 4:18-19 King James Version Holy Bible

Snow Sleding in Dixie!

        Snowflakes
Out of the bosom of the air.
Out of the clould-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent and soft and slow
Descends the snow.
     Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-1882): American Poet and Educator

Well we just had the first white Christmas in memory in Mississippi and now we get a 6-10" snow a couple of weeks later! Wow! Who was that feller that was talking about global warming? Jessica and Ryan just had to break out the sleds and have some fun courtesy of ole man winter.

Prosperity with Adversity!

"In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider"

            King Solomon Holy Bible-Ecclesiastes 7:14

As in the picture above, food is plentiful, but the frozen snow makes getting it difficult if not impossible. How many times do we find prosperity at our finger tips only to be denied because of adversity? Many times things that come too easy for us are not recognized for their true value. A little work sometimes helps us understand the value of having something! To have things within one's reach does not always mean to have things in one's possession.

Sunset on the Mountains



"How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!"
         John Muir(1838-1914): Scotish born American Naturalist, Author, Preservationists