Puddle in the Pasture

A view of the Pacific Northwest from the back yard.




Monday, December 15, 2008

Turkeys


Turkeys are a funny bird.
They are not very smart and can't see in the dark at all,
even when I go out a little late I can still see but they go scurrying in the wrong direction.
_
In the pic above these ones have just been let out in the snow for the first time.
They gobbled constantly and ran around a little more crazy than usual, and that was after not wanting to get out of their barn. Snow really freaks some folks out!
_
I have had a lot of fun raising my turkeys,
although it hasn't been all perfect, I've lost a few to the coyotes and other vermin.
_
But I love learning about them and their instincts.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

St. Nicholas Day



Hurray, hurray for St. Nicholas day,
we can start reading his autobiography!
He loves goat cheese and chocolate chip cookies,
and would prefer it if we would all leave him some,
there is no goat cheese at the North Pole.

He started life in Lycia, in the third century,
was orphaned at nine years old,
his parents having had him in their fifties
didn't live long in his life.
He became known for being a secret gift giver.
When the father of the young women who received
Nick's legendary first gift of money for dowries,
confronted Nicholas, he was told that it was
God alone
that the father should thank.


St Nicholas is a good example of
Christian gift giving.
The thought of him inspires me to
give not only gifts but also
hope and the love of Christ
to those who need Him.
The credit going to God alone.





Isn't this cloud cool?

Can't you see this as Santa's hat
or the swirl of air
caused by his speeding sleigh?

It is an altocumulus standing lenticularis,
or lenticularis, because it looks like a lens.
Nicknamed lennies, they indicate large
vertical air movement, big lifts
where moist stable air moves over a
mountain or mountain range.
All that technical stuff
But it is still a
cool cloud.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Advent

The calendar has turned.
The first candle has been lit.


The Nativity Scene is set.


My favorite Advent calender has been started.


Christian practice can be summed up by the word
patience.
In the New Testament
patience means waiting for God
for any length of time,
not going away,
and not giving in to boredom
or discouragement.
—Thomas Keating Cistercian priest and monk