Beautiful Birds

This spring I’ve been so excited to get a variety of birds to come to our feeders! Within the past several days we’ve had:

Baltimore Orioles

Fun fact:  “The Baltimore oriole is a small blackbird.  It received its name from the resemblance of the male's colors to those on the coat-of-arms of Lord Baltimore.”

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Fun fact: A hummingbird must consume approximately 1/2 of its weight in sugar daily, and the average hummingbird feeds 5-8 times per hour. In addition to nectar, these birds also eat many small insects and spiders, and may also sip tree sap or juice from broken fruits

American Goldfinches

Fun fact:  “Goldfinches can feed upside down! Often goldfinches are observed hanging upside down from the top of a big sunflower, plucking out the seeds below.”

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

Fun fact:  “Rose-breasted grosbeak is a songbird that belongs to the cardinal family. Female lays 1 to 5 pale green or bluish eggs. Both males and females participate in the incubation of eggs during a period of 11 to 14 days.

Some of these are new to our feeders this year. We’d never seen a Rose-breasted Grosbeak come before, it was neat to see! I found these pictures online since  it’s hard to get good ones with my phone. The Orioles and finches in particular have been fun to watch, their colours are striking.  God is so good, I love being able to watch the birds He created for us to enjoy. 

“All things bright and beautiful 

All creatures great and small

All things wise and wonderful 

The Lord God made them all!”

Thankfulness

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”   1 Thes 5:18

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Eph 5:3

“Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for [he is] good: for his mercy [endureth] for ever.”  Psalm 106:1

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” Col 5:15

God Has Called us to Holiness

“But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."  1 Peter 1: 15-16 KJV

"He then that would be holy must be like Christ, and he that would be like Christ must be 'filled with the Spirit'. ..., He that would be like Christ, moreover, must study Him. .... He that would be holy must steep himself in the Word. ... It is through the truth that we are sanctified "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17).  -H. Bonar

There is not a book in the world that can compare to the importance of the GOD's Word: the Bible.

 "Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be."--R.M. McCheyne

Psalm 5:11

My 2018 Garden

I have greatly enjoyed gardening this year in my raised garden beds! (Mentioned in a previous post).  It’s now starting to feel like fall, and sadly my garden is winding down for the year, we’ve already had one frost and more are called for. I thought it would be fun to do a post about what I planted this year and how it all went. :) 

This is how things looked in early May. I was waiting on dirt to fill up the beds. 

Around the middle of May the dirt arrived! Actually we got it from the canola field behind our house, we are blessed with good rich dirt where we live. 

I was excited to go shopping for all the plants! I knew I wanted one 4’x8’ bed to be for strawberries, several of the little side beds were going to be for flowers, the one 4x4 bed was for my herbs, and the last 4x8 would be used to grow a few vegetables, namely tomatoes, spinach, and peas. 

Flower seeds (and one herb seed package).   Thanks to my sister for giving me these! :)

I redid the edging of the existing lily bed and also made it smaller so it would be easier to maintain. 

Planting the strawberry plants! 

My little herb garden. 

The four tomato plants produced very well! 

I took this picture a few weeks ago. The lilies were finished blooming, and I had already pulled out the peas and spinach, which were done producing. 

I’m already looking forward to gardening again next year! :) 

Show Me Thy Ways

“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.  Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”

-Psalm 25:4-5

Do What is Right, Not What is Easy

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phil. 4:13

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Cor. 10-15

A Fun Project: 2x4 Garden bench

Not long ago I went exploring in the barn and discovered a pile of 2x4 boards.  I had been thinking about buying a park bench to put in the yard, instead here was an opportunity to try to make one out of the boards.  I looked up a few ideas, but being in a particularly frugal mood at the time I decided not to spend money on plans. :b After all, I didn’t have the proper saws to cut angles anyway, I had a handsaw, tape measure and a borrowed drill and impact driver, I was set to give it a try. :) 

Online, I found a bench I thought looked nice to use as an idea. For most of the measurements I checked our porch swing to see how high to make the seat, armrests etc..

Trying to figure out a plan of action! I wanted a reclined backrest to make it more comfortable to sit on.  It did require several angled cuts, and a couple rounded cuts for the armrests, though not perfect, I managed with the handsaw. :) 

Pile of potential :)

Still trying to figure it out at this point. 

The sides were mostly done here and I was trying to decide out how long it should be. 

After I had all the boards cut and partly assembled, it was time to apply wood stain. Many thanks to my Mother-in-law for picking up the stain and brushes for me at the store! 

This was the slightly apprehensive stage, seeing if it was actually going to work. 

Ta da! :D in the end all the pieces fit together pretty good and it turned out mostly to my satisfaction. :)

I moved it over by the raised gardens and flower bed where there was a good spot for it.  The children and I have already used it quite a bit.  It was a fun project to make! :)

Flowers of Spring

Besides dandelions, these are the first flowers I’ve seen blooming in the wild this spring. So beautiful! It was fun watching the butterflies and bees that were visiting the blossoms. :) 

“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

 -Psalm 34:3

For Moms: A Friendly Reminder :D

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine...”-Proverbs 17:22