Photos taken by naross, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides) are Australian native birds and are members of the nightjar family. Often mistaken for owls, Tawny Frogmouths are more closely related to kookaburras and kingfishers than to owls.

Males and females look alike and are 14–21 in long. These birds can weigh up to 1.5 lbs to as much as 3.1 lbs in the case of overweight zoo specimens. They have yellow eyes and a wide beak topped with a tuft of bristly feathers. They make loud clacking sounds with their beaks and emit a reverberating booming call.

Tawny Frogmouths hunt at night and spend the day roosting on a dead log or tree branch close to the tree trunk. Their camouflage is excellent and by staying very still and upright, they look just like part of the branch.

The Tawny Frogmouth’s diet is made up of nocturnal insects, worms, slugs, snails, small mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds. They catch their prey by pouncing to the ground from a tree or other elevated perch. Some preys, such as moths, are caught in flight, which has led to many unfortunate instances of birds being hit by cars while chasing insects illuminated in the beam of the headlights. Unlike owls who fly around at night hunting, the Frogmouths sit very still on a low perch and wait for food to come to them, catching their prey with their beaks rather than with their talons. Like owls, Frogmouths have large eyes, excellent hearing, and are silent in flight.

The Tawny Frogmouth can be seen in almost any habitat type (except the denser rainforests and treeless deserts), including heath, forest and woodlands, urban and rural areas. They also have been seen in backyards and on fences, roosting during daylight hours in trees.

Source: Project Noah

~Eowyn

The worst part of leaving our fur-children is that we can’t tell them how long we’d be gone.

And so they just wait, and wait, and wait….

Tears.

A poem, author unknown, found on Facebook by FOTM’s CSM:

I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.
I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
“It’s me, I haven’t left you, I’m well, I’m fine, I’m here.”

I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops today, Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today, You tend it with such care.
I want to re-assure you, that I’m not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said ” it’s me.”

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It’s possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, “I never went away.”
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew…
In the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.

The day is over… I smile and watch you yawning
and say “good-night, God bless, I’ll see you in the morning.”
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I’ll rush across to greet you and we’ll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.

Be patient, live your journey out…then come home to be with me….

~Eowyn

Down a little ways from our church, there were tons of different birds all gathering together – either enjoying floating together (dipping their heads in the water every-so-often), or flying around in small groups! My little brother gave my friends, other brother and I the idea to walk down there and take a look, so I grabbed my camera on the way. Here are the photos my little brother and I took! I hope you enjoy them! (These first photo’s are by me).

The rest of these photos are taken by Matthew. He was dying to take some photos, so I let him use my camera the rest of the walk!

]]> http://jahphotoblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/a-new-perspective/ Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:59:33 +0000 Annalise JAHPhotoblog http://jahphotoblog.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/a-new-perspective/

You probably can’t tell what this is a picture of. Maybe you can, but it is hard to know for sure what it is. This is a game most of us have played before. Kendall (my beautiful sister) and I used to play a game like this when we were bored. We would take my camera, and one person would zoom in on a particular photo and the other person would have to guess what it was they zoomed in on. And if you got it right, then it was your turn. We had fun playing this. But sometimes it would get quite challenging. We wouldn’t know what it was, and we couldn’t change the zoom or get a new perspective. So, if you havent guessed the one up there yet, here it is:

Yup! It was a piano key.  Now try this one:

This one might be a bit easier. If you haven’t guess it yet, here:

Yup! It was a horse. This one’s a bit harder:

Have you guess it yet?

It was the center of that flower. Cool, huh? Anyways, my point of this little game here is that sometimes we need to get a different perspective or different view on things. We can’t always see the big picture or how it all fits together when you are only looking at one small part. If you are having trouble with something, try to look at it from a different perspective. It’s like a puzzle. If you are only looking at one piece, it is very difficult to see the ending picture and to understand how that one piece will fit in this beautiful puzzle. If you are struggling with something like this, just always remember that the Lord is in control. He created this puzzle and will give you one piece at a time. Some pieces might be ugly and might not look like they belong to this beautiful puzzle. But we can’t just throw that piece away and ignore it. It belongs in this puzzle and without it, you won’t have the beautiful picture at the end. God has a plan for your life, and his plans are not bad. His plans are the best plans you could ever want for you life! These plans are to prosper you and help you to grow in him, not to hurt or harm you.

Jeremiah 29:11

When I awakened today, I heard the beautiful rain come down, looked out and saw how green and clean everything became.

The rain reminded me of my mother who loved rain.  I remember watching her look outside from the kitchen windows observing rain storms.  I remember her funeral — that day it rained too.  I remember the day it rained when I was a little girl and she taught me about a very important prayer that I have said daily since that time.  It is called, “A Morning Offering.”  My mother taught me that we have many things to do during the day in our jobs, and that sometimes we cannot spend a lot of time praying using words to talk to God.  So, she said we offer our entire day to God as a prayer, which is why it is so important to do all things with great love like St. Therese, the Little Flower taught us, “The Little Way”.  Anyway, although this is a Catholic tradition, anyone can offer their day as a prayer to God.

The following are some versions of a Morning Offering that are beautiful:

My God, I adore You, and I love You with all my heart.  I thank You for having created me, enabled me to be a Christian, and preserved me this day.  I offer you the actions of this day, my prayers, works, joys and sufferings.  Grant that all of them may be in accordance with Your holy Will and for Your greater glory.  Protect me from sin and from all evil.  Let Your grace be always with me and with alll my dear ones.  Amen.

Lord Jesus, I unite myself to Your perpetual, unceasing, universal Sacrifice.  I offer myself to You every day of my life and every moment of every day, according to Your  most holy and adorable Will.  Since You have been the Victim of my salvation, I wish to be the victim of Your love.  Accept my desire, take my offering, and graciously hear my prayer.  Let me live for love of You; let me die for love of You; let my last heartbeat be an act of perfect love.

Finally, this version is the Morning Offering taught to me by my mother which I have said on a daily basis during my life:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.  I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart; the salvation of souls, the reparation for sin and the reunion of all Christians.  I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and in particular for those intentions recommended by our Holy Father this month.

The Morning Offering sanctifies work and our actions as a path to personal holiness and joy.  And of course when we do our work, we remember that we must do a wonderful job, doing our best in what we do, since we know that this work is an offering to God.

I hope all people of Faith participate in the Morning Offering.  It is a most beautiful way to begin your day.

Joan

Whatever God does, the first outburst is always compassion.

- Meister Eckhart

That the sun rises each morning is a sign of God’s compassion

This day we went was an awesome beautiful day, about 70 degrees and sunny. The trees are sporting their brand-new bright spring leaves and flowers were in bloom everywhere!  (So were our sneezes!)  We saw two snakes sunning on the trail, but they seemed to still be sleepy from their winter slumber, and  didn’t move at all as we walked past. We also found a box turtle half-hiding in the leaves.

Overall it was a really fun and beautiful hike, totalling 9 miles. This was our longest continuous hike so far and about what we plan to do each day on the Appalachian Trail this June. So we were pleased with our progress, and I was especially proud of my girls, ages 13 and 16, for being real troopers, hiking this far with minimal complaining! lol   We are really excited about our upcoming Appalachian Trail hike!

We saw two snakes. Don’t think they were poisonous!

This log had been washed under this bridge forcing it up and cockeyed

Apparently you cannot pick a trillium flower or it will not bloom again for 7 years

~Steve~                                         H/T   Nancy

. . . since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.  Romans 12:19-20

This past weekend I attended a Women’s Retreat where they taught about various worship styles. I love to worship God in nature.  The vastness of the heavens and the intricacies of the cell declare so clearly to me that the Creator is an all-wise, all-powerful Designer, and I want to get to know Him.

But others fail to see the One who made all these wonders.  I don’t really understand why.  But the Apostle Paul in Romans 1 discusses this reaction.

April 22 was Earth Day.  So many people celebrate the creation without recognizing the Creator.  That is a dangerous response.  Yes, we need to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to our care, but we must not go overboard and worship these things instead.

How do you celebrate Earth Day, and why?

When you see awesome things in nature, such as the Giant Sequoias, how do you feel? Do you think these ancient giants evolved by accident over eons of time, or does their majesty echo the power of the Creator/Designer?

What ways have you found to connect with God and worship Him?

“General Sherman” in the Sequoia National Park

I’m sorry , but I don’t think I could use this bathroom even if I knew it was on ground Floor.  :D

~Steve~

Yesterday, I was going through my box filled with Holy Cards and prayers, and I came across this most beautiful prayer written by the Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Denver.  This prayer is so appropriate given the status of our world.

Father, hear our prayers for the salvation of the world.  Grant mercy to all souls that turned away from you.  Open their hearts and minds with your light.

Gather your children from the east and the west, from the north and the south.  Have mercy, O God, on those who do not know you.  Bring them out of darkness into your light.  You are our saving God who leads us in our salvation.  Protect us from evil.

Bless and praise you, O Lord.  Hear our prayers and answer us.  You, our Savior, are the hope of all the ends of the earth and the distant seas.  May your way be known upon earth; among all nations your salvation.

We put the world in your hands.  Fill us with your love and grant us peace through Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.

My best friend and brother have been courting for 7 months, so they wanted to go on a walk to celebrate! It was such a beautiful day: the sky was blue and the snow was melting away! I took a lot of pictures, so I hope you all enjoy them all!

P.S. Feel free to leave comments, I love to hear from my followers!

Since coming to Christ I can honestly say I haven’t had the feeling of boredom. It seems boredom comes from the idea that we need constant stimulus or entertainment for the flesh. If we don’t have excitement all the time we moan “I’m bored.”

On the other hand walking in the Spirit keeps you living in a state of wonder and amazement. The Spirit of God enables you to sit and enjoy life even in what seem to be the most repetitive mundane tasks of life. Taking time to ponder the beauties of nature and how God moves through his creation gives you the ability to find intrigue in common everyday life.

Years ago Tracey used to say to me “Can’t you tell me one positive thing?” She seemed to be entertained by things that I thought were silly, and yet she was the happy one. Since being born again I have learned to enjoy the little things in life too. Things like clouds, flowers, trees, sunrises and the kids playing basketball in the street have begun to bring me enjoyment. When Jesus Christ comes into a life he really does bring them out of death and into life, and life’s not boring.

I don’t think society needs to necessarily go back to the good ole days of Andy and Opie walking down the dirt road to go do some fishing. I would prefer to do that, but I realize that everybody is not as inclined to such an idea.  Nor do I think the “golden days” were really any more “golden” than what we are currently experiencing.  I think circumstances have changed dramatically, but none the less, we are still living in God’s Creation as part of His Creation.

In his book, Louv begins by exploring the benefits of spending time in nature.  The mystery and exploration that occurs, the freedom one feels, the ease of life one might feel.  To be honest, these are all things I love about being out in creation.  I call to mind Psalm 98:1, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.”

That’s what I see when I go outside and experience the world that God designed and created with His hand and breath.  It leaves me in awe.  And that’s something I think society today is missing.  Most people don’t step outside and feel an awe, they either feel hot or cold, wet or dry and can’t wait to get back in the air-conditioned room they came from.

I would encourage you this week to take the time to step outside and be awed by God’s creation.  Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and just listen to all that is around you.  If you live in the middle of downtown, go to a park with trees and flowers and squirrels.  Just witness God’s creation with a sense of awe for what He’s created.

The rest of this week we will look at different ways to enjoy the outdoors, to be strengthened by God in your relationship to Him through these experiences, and even take a look at God’s own love for what He created.  For now, take a walk- let the air around you bring a sense of peace because God is with you.

Family Connection-April 22

—————————————————————————————–

BY RAT ON APRIL 19, 2013

http://mikesright.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/an-open-letter-to-liberals/

Dear Liberals,

I wanted to send along my condolences in regards to the rough week you guys have had.

Now that the Boston Marathon bombers have been officially identified as Muslim terrorists, I can only imagine how heartbroken you must be. Hell – I wouldn’t be surprised if Tingles Matthews is on 24-hour suicide watch. Then, you have the morbidly-obese Michael Moore, who immediately speculated that the bombers were “white right-wingers,” now pathetically claiming via Twitter that he was “right.” (Seems as if he missed the part about the killers being radicalized Chechen Muslims.)

Anyway, I can only imagine how embarrassing it must be that once again, one of your self-appointed spokesmen – er, sorry, “spokespersons” – is such a spectacularly sore loser.

Speaking of spectacularly sore losers, your president’s little temper tantrum in the Rose Garden after the Senate handed him his ass on the gun-control bill must have been embarrassing as well. To add insult to injury, it was the Democrat-controlled Senate that did the ass-handing – with five Democrats joining the ranks of the evil Republicans – or as O likes to call them, the “enemies.” I’m sure that the disappointment of being denied the opportunity to blame the bill’s defeat on John Boehner and the House Republicans was excruciating for him.

Take heart though; O’s humiliation, coming after he pulled out all the stops, including using Sandy Hook parents as props – multiple times, will only serve to motivate him to issue yet another slew of executive orders – and Congress will be circumvented again! So, see? All it not lost in your efforts to control the guns of law-abiding citizens. Besides, this is only one loss in the long march to confiscate guns; have a little patience!

I’m sure it must also be rough for you guys to read about the horrific testimony and see the grisly images coming out of the Philadelphia abortionist’s murder trial. Not very good for the cause, is it? Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place; your media refuses to cover the story in its effort to protect abortion at all costs – while it continues to draw an ever-increasing amount of criticism for doing so. I mean, it’s getting so bad that even liberal commentators are pointing out the hypocrisy. Too bad Gosnell didn’t kill all those babies with an AR-15, huh? How awesome would that have been?

Anyway, chins up, dudes – it won’t be this bad forever. Besides, if the fertilizer plant explosion in Texas turns out to have been intentionally caused by a white right-winger – better yet, a white right-wing Christian –everything will be good again on Planet Looney Tunes. Keep your fingers and toes crossed.

Have a great weekend,

A Concerned Conservative

P.S. Almost forgot: So sorry that the deluded nut job Elvis impersonator who sent ricin-laced letters to O and several members of Congress turned out to not only be a Democrat – but a Democrat activist, no less. Man, when it rains, it pours, huh?

~Steve~                                H/T My Lovely Bride

How good to celebrate our God in song;
how sweet to give fitting praise.
The Lord . . . heals the brokenhearted,
binds up their wounds,
Numbers all the stars,
calls each of them by name.

The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion.

A nebula (from Latin: “cloud”) is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases. A dark nebula is a type of interstellar cloud that is so dense that it obscures the light from the background emission or background stars.

First recorded in 1888 by Williamina Fleming at the Harvard College Observatory, the Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1500 light years from Earth. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of the shape of its swirling cloud of dark dust and gases, which is similar to that of a horse’s head when viewed from Earth.

~Eowyn

The beauty is everywhere; above the Earth, below the cloud-laden sky, beneath the rocks and growing on the trees.  There is so much to see, so much to smell, so much to experience that it always sends my system into overload.  It is the most wonderful of feelings.

Today, when I headed high into the mountain, my destination the old orchard, I was on a quest for the redbuds that are currently in their prime.  They are beautiful and they know it.  They show off their pink blooms and shout to the world “look at me … I am the epitome of spring and one of Mother Nature’s triumphs”.

They are as perfect this year as I have seen them in many years past, but they weren’t all I came into contact with.  While I didn’t see the family of bears that I always hope to come across, there was much to tempt the senses.  The moss is green, so green it nearly hurts my eyes and the fiddlerheads that I love so much have all but unfurled into the ferns that they will become, the fungi growing off of the trees sing their own sweet melody … I could go on for pages and pages of the wonders that I beheld on this day alone.

I love being a photographer.  It sustains me, centers me and reminds me that no matter where I may find myself at any given time, the beauty of my Creator takes my breath away.  The music and rhythm of nature is more beautiful than any written note that was ever thought of and the faces, each one made up of the same elements, though entirely different, is awesome.  There is no music that can compare to that which creation sings.

Once I reached the orchard, sliding in mud and wading through rushing mountain streams, I found myself spellbound.  All of the apple trees were in bloom and the honeybees were abundant; the sweet scent of the blooms seeped into my skin, weaving its way into my blood, making me one with them.  I was in awe of the beauty and still now, hold that beauty close to me and know, that when the dark times come, the memory of that beauteous experience will sustain me.

I love the orchard for many reasons, one being that, to me, it is as old as time.  My dad talks of eating apples from there when he was a boy as did his father before him.  It has stood the test of time and the apples, because they are high in the mountain, are sweet and would tempt Eve all over again were she here in this time and place … but the sweet nectar of the apples is still a few months away.  That being said, I will be in the orchard many times before the apples are ready.  It is a part of my center and blesses me on more levels than I can even explain.

I am blessed in so many ways.  I am blessed with an eye for photography.  I am blessed to have the equipment to photograph the wonders I see.  I am blessed to live in a perfect little slice of Heaven on Earth.  I am blessed to know that everything I see, everything I smell, everything I touch was made by my Father God who, for reasons that escape me, loves me in a way that I simply cannot fathom.

Yes, today was a day for wonders, for redbuds, for apple blossoms, for mushrooms, for violets and for the smell of springtime in my mountains.  I am humbled by His love for me and cannot, and won’t even try to repay Him.  I will instead, try to live each day with thanksgiving and praise to the God that I worship and will follow the urgings of the Holy Spirit as I go along the path that I have chosen.

Psalms 103:1 ~ Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name

Psalms 139 13-16~ ¹³For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
¹⁶your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

]]> http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dog-rescues-kittens-dumped-in-traffic/ Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:58:48 +0000 Dr. Eowyn http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/dog-rescues-kittens-dumped-in-traffic/ We need light!

Here’s your feel-good story of the day.

Megan Drake reports for Care2.com, that an Iowa woman named Kelly found a huge surprise as she pulled into her driveway. Her dog, Reagan, was sitting next to a crumpled Meow Mix bag. Reagan was known to bring “treasures” home for her but this was different. He whined incessantly at Kelly.

Reagan, the heroic dog

So Kelly opened the bag and, to her horror, found two tiny three-week-old kittens covered in the viscera of their littermates.

“What was painfully obvious to her was that these kittens were intentionally put in a bag and dumped on the road. It was also apparent that the bag had been run over and that at least two kittens, maybe more, had been crushed; and that her dog had retrieved the bag from the road and brought it up to the house for Kelly to find,” as described by Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary & Rescue (RVASR), the organization that eventually took these traumatized kitties in.

Kelly reached in the bag and took the frightened kitties inside her home.  She bathed, fed, and comforted the little critters. The next day she tried contacting various rescue organizations only to be told they could not help.  Finally RVASR told her to take the kittens to their veterinary group and from there, found a foster mom experienced in neo-natal kitten care.

Alone in the brightness, on an empty sandy beach. Loneliness here without You, O Lord.

Your Creation, so special, luminosity spread all over.

Everything mirrors Your Grace.

Reminder of Your presence.