365 Project - Days 305, 306

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32

I awoke this morning thinking about kindness. Quite a nice way to begin a Sunday morning. This section in Ephesians entitled, "Instructions for Christian Living, appears to simply inform us as to how we are "expected" to act. My perspective, however, is this is more a set of habits that would make our lives far more enjoyable should we exchange current behaviors for these new ones. I always have a choice in how I handle the situations before me. When I choose to handle them with consideration and compassion, that is as much a gift I offer myself as to the other person (regardless of how they may behave). It's up to me to remember that whatever I do for (and to others), I also do for myself.

There is an extended family of woodpeckers enjoying my garden. They sing, play and peck. It is a joy to watch them. Despite their size, they are respectful of the tinier birds that share the food and garden with them.

Blessings.

Today's Photos: Female Downy Woodpeckers

"It's a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research & study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to each other." Aldous Huxley

365 Project - Day 278

“Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
― Langston Hughes

Feeling this in spades today and in every dimension. The day has been a rough one, but God has had my back at every turn. I do wish, though, that he could have prevented me from pressing the quality button on the back of my camera when I was fumbling in the dark - I hate when that happens.

I have been pressed for time and this was put in draft and delayed. I have been pulled in a lot of different directions with multiple demands on my time, wearing many different hats. I changed the photo I had planned for Day 278. Still a bird - so I left the quote above, but I just had to use the woodpecker at the hummingbird feeder.

Ever feel like this? A bit of a desperate misfit. It seems you have all the right tools, but not quite. I'm fairly certain the woodpecker knows this is not his space. Yet he sticks his beak in there anyway. He may enjoy the nectar, but it cannot be as fulfilling as banging his beak against a firm wooden tree. Yet, still, he burrows in the hummingbird's hole. I watch and wonder. Why is the woodpecker so insistent on enjoying the fruit of something a third his size and clearly something so ill-fitting him? Perhaps, he is just thirsty. Perhaps, he wishes he were a tiny hummingbird. Perhaps, he thinks, if only ...

I know how the woodpecker feels.

Best wishes.

Today's Photo: If only ...

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:1-2






EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 800
200mm
f2.8
1/500s

365 Project - Day 191

Happy Mother's Day!

"Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face." George Elliot

I had organized and planned a new still life for today's photo. As I looked through my daily photographs, however, the photo below stood out as the best of the day. As this project is designed to select the very best, I had to forego my planned still life.

Quite a nice surprise that the female Downy Woodpecker rose to the top on Mother's Day. I do love this photograph. I rarely find the females in our garden. Though, the woodpeckers are beginning to travel as families more often lately. Many of my backyard birds arrive in pairs, but the woodpeckers seem to come in groups these days. They eat, chat and play. Watching the woodpecker family enjoy their time in the garden is delightful.

The woodpecker family dynamic reminds me of my own. I catch a couple frolicking about amongst the trees, flying together in a moment of frenzy, much like my children wrestling. I see fathers gathering at the feeder for a long meal. And, as in the photograph below, I see a mother intensely working alone.

"The family is one of nature's masterpieces." George Santayana

Today I honor my mother as full of grace, love, intelligence, strength, wit, courage and Christ. A fantastic guardian, provider and champion on this journey. I am eternally grateful for the gift of all that she is and has been. She is forever love.

Today's Photo: A Mother's Work

" 'Honor your father and mother' - which is the first commandment with a promise - 'so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.' " Ephesians 6:2-3






EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 400
280mm
f/4
1/180s