My Elusive Goldfinches

Goldfinches flit and flutter. They zip in and around the red bush in our backyard. In the spring, I tucked some finch feeders in the bush beside our back porch. Several times, I've relaxed in my Adirondack chair camera in hand, in hopes I would capture these acrobatic little birds on film. 

Male and female both eat from the feeders, along with house finches. They seem to enjoy hopping around from branch to branch on the bush. Do they do this when I'm out with my camera? Nope. But when I'm sitting on the porch talking on the phone, here they come.

Do they feel safe when my focus is away from them?  Maybe. But I'm determined to try from time to time to photograph them. Today they came by for a moment, buried in the shadows of leaves. I snapped a few pics, nothing stellar. But maybe, just maybe, they're getting more comfortable with me. I can hope!

Do you have something you're determined to do? A dream to fulfill? A goal to reach? I'd love to hear about it.

One thing is certain, and I have always known it - the joys of my life have nothing to do with age. They do not change. Flowers, the morning and evening light, music, poetry, silence, the goldfinches darting about. -May Sarton

Hope in the Lord

My Great-Uncle Walter

I am posting this in honor of my great-uncle Walter Leo Smith, who died during WW 1; while serving our country. I never met him, but my grandmother told me his story. Many of the soldiers who served during World War 1 were exposed to the 1918 influenza epidemic. And that included Uncle Walter. Grandma remembered going to the camp in Chillicothe, Ohio where he was in a medical unit being treated. Unfortunately, he died from the virus. Several of the men serving succumbed to this terrible disease. Not only do our soldiers die in battle, many are taken due to illness and environment. Regardless, they are dying for our freedom. God bless those who have lost loved ones in service. 

Fiction Review: Unintended Consequences by Dan Walsh

Book Description:

Jack and Rachel leave Culpepper for their long-awaited honeymoon trip, a driving tour through New England. On day three, they stop at a little bayside town in Cape Cod to visit Jack’s grandmother. After he gets called away to handle an emergency, Rachel stays and listens as Jack’s grandmother shares a remarkable story about how she and Jack’s grandfather met in the early days of World War 2. It’s a story filled with danger, decades-old family secrets, daring rescues and romance. Jack is named after his grandfather, and this story set the course and direction for Jack’s life to the present day. After hearing it, Rachel is amazed that anyone survived.

My Review:

Even though Unintended Consequences is part of the Jack Spencer series (book 3) this book is a great stand-alone read. And that's how I will review it. I like both Jack and Rachel. They're smart and kind. When they stop by Jack's grandmother's home on their honeymoon, I find them even more endearing. After Jack heads home for a quick few days, Rachel settles in to visit with Grandma Renee. That's when the real tale is told. During WW2 Jack heads to England to find a long lost relative. At the same time, Renee flees there to avoid the attacks on France. The story is a little slow to start but once it does, it's filled with action, romance, and the realities of war. I found the perspective of fighter pilot's interesting. My dad was in the Army during WW2 and didn't talk much about it. He's was proud of his service, but I think the terrors of it all were too difficult to discuss. Although this is fiction, it's an interesting and fact filled story. If you've read the other Jack Spencer books, you'll find the history in Jack's family interesting. If you haven't read them, this book stands alone just fine. On this Memorial Day weekend as we remembered those who gave their lives for our freedom, I find this an appropriate and entertaining read. I received a free copy of Unintended Consequences from the author.

They Will Walk and not be Faint

Isaiah 40:31
...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

When I worked in an elementary school library, I met a lot of children. Fortunately for me, my path has crossed with many of them over the years. I enjoy learning who they've become as adults. I've even had a few of them work for me at the college library. Today my story is about one little girl. As clear as day, I still see her sweet face peeking at me over my desk as she waited to check out a book. She had a beautiful smile with a hint of shyness. My husband delivered bottled water to her family, and he'd told me a little bit about them. "Good people," he said.

Hannah attended our school for a while, but eventually moved to a different district. But the Lord had plans for our paths to cross. We met up again at church, where I got to know her family. Though our journeys have taken us different directions again, I still keep in touch with her folks. The other day, her dad posted Hannah's photo on Facebook. In the picture, she's wearing glasses, her hair is pulled back, her cap pulled down and she's carrying a huge pack. But under it all is the sweet, shy girl I remember. And that sweet girl is all grown up and going through basic training as she prepares to serve her country. I'm thankful we have people like Hannah, who love God and the USA. God has blessed me just by knowing her.

This Memorial Day, I say a prayer of thanks for the men and women who gave their all for our freedom. I also ask you to pray with me for those who are fighting the fight. I pray the words of Isaiah and ask that "They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Passion and Purpose

Some fun for #WorldTurtleDay

A Poem

Sea Turtle

Imagine the ocean as home.

The vast water, salted.

Haddock, lobster, jellyfish, porpoises, sharks. Neighbors.

Imagine floating.

Wings without feathers— flippers— gliding, guiding.

Weightless.

All I did was imagine— crammed under the granules of siliceous rock. 

Brothers and sisters piled in a heap.

Until one day. We boiled up out of the nest.

One by one, we skittered across the pebbly sand.

One by one, we scooted to the vastness.

The sea.

The beautiful blue-green sea.

Imagine. Freedom!

A Matching Game

Sea turtles swim, eat, and sleep in the ocean. The females travel to sandy beaches to lay eggs, and then they head right back to the salt water. As soon as the babies hatch, they work their way out of the sand and move toward the ocean. Let’s see what you know about sea turtles!

Can you match the sea turtle with its fact?

Length Weight

1. Leatherback sea turtle 52”-70” 550-2000 lbs.

2. Kemp Ridley sea turtle 24”-28” 80-95 lbs.

3. Green sea turtle 32”-48” 144-450 lbs.

4. Olive Ridley sea turtle 24”-31” 85-100lbs.

5. Hawksbill sea turtle 30”-35” 95-165 lbs.

6. Loggerhead sea turtle 34”-49” 176-440 lbs.

7. Flat Back sea turtle 30”-39” 154-198 lbs.



___My large head looks like a log.

___I am the largest sea turtle.

___I eat green sea grass and algae that makes my fat green.

___I float in the sea and let birds sit on my smooth table-like shell.

___I am the smallest sea turtle.

___My mouth is shaped like a bird’s beak. I use it to find food in small spaces.

___There are more sea turtles like me in the ocean than any other kind. 

*Answers at the bottom of this post

Sea Turtle Facts:

• Leatherback sea turtles would rather eat jellyfish than jelly on toast. 
• If sea turtles lived on the land, they would need eyeglasses. Their eyes are made to see in the ocean with perfect vision, but once they leave the ocean they are nearsighted. 
• If you see a sea turtle crying, they are not sad. They are emptying extra salt water from a gland behind their eye. 
• Sea turtles flap their front legs like a bird flaps its wings. They fly through the water like a bird flies through the air. 
• Some leatherback sea turtles measure as long as a person does tall. They can grow up to 6 ½ feet tall. 
• Green sea turtles don’t take bubble baths to get clean. They let the ocean’s cleaner fish slurp off their grit and grime so they look sparkling clean. 
• Even though the black sea turtle looks black, it is considered part of the green sea turtles’ family. 

Books kids might like to read about sea turtles:

Baby Sea Turtle by Aubrey Lang
Little Turtle and the Song of the Sea by Sheridan Cain
The Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle by Bobbie Kalman

*Answers: 6, 1, 3, 7, 2, 5, 4.

Work Cited

"Marine Turtles." NOAA Fisheries Services. 2008. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service. 03 Mar. 2008 <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/>.

"Sea Turtle Information." North Florida Field Office. 31 Aug. 2007. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 01 Mar. 2008 <http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/seaturtle-info.htm>.


Spolita, James R. Sea Turtles : a Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2004. 24-119.