DAY 211: GULLS - LOVE 'EM OR HATE 'EM?

                   Photograph & story by Dale Williamson, My Shot

"During a weekend getaway to the Oregon Coast, my wife opened a window late one afternoon to toss bits of a cracker to some waiting gulls. Before many tosses, several gulls lined up for the treats, sometimes entering the room with their wings as they swooped past. I started clicking away (Canon PowerShot Pro 1).    It was only when reviewing the captured images that we realized how acrobatic these beautiful birds can be"

They certainly are amazing, but greatly unappreciated especially by restaurants i.e. at

the Cape Town waterfront.  I remember sitting trying to enjoy some great fish & chips

at the old fish & chip shop there, and these cheeky blighters would almost take the

food out of your hand.  The restaurant owners had signs up all over the place urging

people not to feed the seagulls, as this encourages them to make even more of a

nuisance of themselves. 

Oh well, everybody gotta live!! 

DAY 210: CLEVER CARRION CROWS

The story is told of CARRION CROWS on one Japanese university campus.

Since the early 1990’s they (the crows, not the university guys!) have developed a marvellous technique for cracking the walnuts that they pick from the trees that grow by the roadside.   

They place the nuts in front of the traffic when the lights are red & the cars at a halt.  When the lights turn green & the cars begin to move, they fly to the top of the traffic lights & keep watch.  When the lights turn red again, they return to collect their booty, conveniently crushed. 

If the cars miss, the crows sometimes move the nuts to one side.   

If the cars go on missing, they sometimes take the walnuts up to the phone wires & drop them in front of moving traffic.  

Whichever clever method they use, they are determined to get the job done!  

Go, clever crows!

DAY 209: HEY THERE, BIRD BRAIN!

I recently bought a book entitled ‘The Secret Life of Birds’ by Colin Tudge.  It is a fascinating read and contains some really good fuel for this little fire of mine!

For instance, have you ever called or thought of someone as a ‘bird brain?’         I confess that I have, but never again! Oh never again! We humans may sometimes act ‘dom’ but birds certainly do not:

Think about migratory birds. Yes, we know that they operate by instinct, but how awesome this is.  In some species of migrating birds, including swallows, the young set off for the south AFTER their parents have left, with no-one to lead them.  This shows that they receive the most amazing pre-birth (pre-hatch) programming…….

DAY 208: SHALOM - PART 3

Yet another interesting thing about shalom - 

The word 'mind' used in Is.26:3 means 'creative imagination' - 
implying that the person whose creative imagination,
(which is the seat of all our plans and ideas) is firmly founded 
on our eternal Lord and God, will enjoy peace - 
shalom shalom - in all it's fullness.

DAY 207: MORE SHALOM

More about SHALOM: PERFECT PEACE

The same word is used in the well known Isaiah 53:5 
in reference to the suffering of the Messiah, Jesus, who
is the Prince of Peace:

He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities,
The chastisement for our PEACE (shalom) was upon Him
And by His stripes we are healed.

DAY 206: SHALOM: PERFECT PEACE

Everyone wants shelter from the rain, so to do what the eagle does - fly above the clouds - takes a strong heart! When the storms of life hit, hearts falter.  

I've recently been revisiting the biblical meaning of 'peace' -

Isaiah 26:3  
'You (God) will keep him in perfect PEACE (shalom shalom)
whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Perfect peace is expressed in Hebrew by 'shalom shalom'.
This is a Hebrew method of putting great emphasis on a word.
 
Shalom shalom implies so many things:
Health, happiness, well being, completeness, safety, 
soundness, tranquility, fullness, rest, harmony, 
the absence of agitation or discord.

DAY 205: PAST VS FUTURE

Human nature is so interesting when it comes to the things we remember from the past.  The unpleasant memories seem to become blurred, and our good memories become exaggerated in their detail.   Many are grateful for this strange ability.

But the future is more important than the past, so once we've dealt with our baggage and learnt from our mistakes, we can dream some more and aim higher.  

DAY 204: HOLD WITH CARE

How much wisdom is needed to get this right?
More than any human being ever possesses!
But nevertheless, you have to do your best, keep trying, 
keep caring, keep praying.
To err is human, to forgive is divine - so it's with the help of
The Lord that we can keep making right where we have wronged.

DAY 203: GOD'S LOVE : MAN'S LOVE

The only thing that can be said in response to the above is:

"If you love something set it free.
If it comes back to you, its yours.
If not, it was never meant to be."

DAY 202: RISKY STUFF

It's easy to stay in our comfort zones, watching from the sidelines. 
But the guys that have the greatest times, the most fun, the joy of achievement, are the ones who launch out in faith. This week, let's 
take some risks, conquer some fears, and live life!

DAY 201: LIVING WITH PASSION

 

This one is for those who are feeling tired, worn out, stressed, under great pressure - well I suppose that describes a great number of us! 

But....its only just past the middle of January!!!   

So, put yourself in the place of the bird, or the fish, or the horse, and fly high, swim deep and run fast, with passion.

How?  

By casting your burdens onto the Lord, who promises to be our burden bearer.  THEN:  fly high, swim deep and run fast!

DAY 200: GENTLE ON MY MIND

It's quite lovely when someone tells you they have been thinking of you.
Especially when the thoughts have been pleasant and kind thoughts!
But what do we actually do when someone comes to mind? 
A good plan is to pray for them, that they will be blessed in whatever they are doing, and that their needs will be met.  

DAY 199: 5 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING

 

 

 

 

Unsurprisingly, the most common bird on earth is said to be the chicken.

This is probably due to the practice of farming them for their meat and eggs. 

Originating from a species of jungle bird found in Asia, the chicken has been cultivated into an array of breeds with strikingly unique characteristics. 

Although many people don't realize it, these birds can make excellent pets when properly housed and socialized, so if you are looking into future bird ownership, don't overlook these interesting birds when you are researching potential pets.

We recently visited McPhersons for morning tea, and there were a few of these characters wandering around the outside tea facility.  So lovely to see them going about their mindless existence!!   Not so nice would be the raucous crowing of the rooster - imagine that at 5am or 6am, waking you up in that rude fashion they have............

DAY 198: THE SKELETON OF THE STORY.....

 

It makes sense that birds fly because they own feathery wings. 

But it appears that there are other reasons that birds can fly.

 

Ask anyone on the street what sets birds apart from other animals, and nine times out of ten they will tell you that it's their ability to fly. 

While birds certainly do have their wings and feathers to thank for helping them take to the air, what most people don't know is that they also have highly specialized skeletons that play a large role in making flight possible. 

A bird's bones are hollow, very porous, and extremely light -- in fact, if you were to weigh a bird's feathers against the same bird's skeleton, you would find that the feathers weigh more than the bones do!

DAY 197: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF SNARGE?

Continuing our chat about airplanes and birds..........

One might reasonably wonder how a small bird like a starling, gull, or goose can possibly cause damage to a huge airplane like a Boeing 747. The answer is physics. The plane is going extremely fast, and when something collides with something which is going very fast, the resulting damage can be very significant. If a bird hits at the right angle or in the right spot, it can bring a plane down, especially in the case of a multiple bird strike, where a plane hits several birds.

Ironically, airports often provide great habitats for birds and other wildlife. Since the area around an airport is cleared for navigational purposes, the off-limits areas around airports create an ideal spot for birds to live, especially around airports in coastal cities, as these airports are often surrounded by natural wetlands. Birds tend to congregate around airports because they provide habitat, and as a result, they increase the risk of bird strikes.

Some airports use a variety of measures to control birds, with the goal of reducing the hazard by reducing the number of birds. Many planes are also designed with failsafes to prevent bird strikes or to ensure that the plane will continue operating if it is damaged by birds, and pilots are trained about bird strikes and how to avoid them. Tools like radar, for example, are used to identify flocks of birds so that they can be avoided. Fatalities are a result of bird strikes are very infrequent, but BASH incidents cause substantial amounts of damage to civil, military, and private aircraft every year.

Incidentally, for those readers who may be wondering, there is an official term for the smear of pulverized bird left behind after a bird strike: SNARGE. Aviation safety officials often inspect the snarge to identify the species involved and to learn more about the precise path of the bird strike.

(The above info was obtained from wisegeek.com)

DAY 196: THE MAGNIFICENT MEAN FLYING MACHINE

In my previous post, I mentioned the danger to aircraft posed by birds.

The above picture (by Nicole Rager Fuller) shows that the Bar-Headed Goose    and some Cranes and Swans can actually fly at a similar altitude to a jet aircraft.  

Below is the Bar-Headed Goose, looking like an ordinary goose, but is
actually a magnificent mean flying machine!!!

DAY 195: MISSING THE FLIGHT

This, of course, is quite dangerous for an aircraft.

But on the funny side, maybe these are the ones who missed the flight!

To get back to the dangerous aspect though,  the Royal Air Force in Mildenhall, England,
employ a bird control company which use Hawks, Peregrines, Eagle Owls and Lanner Falcons to keep away flocks of birds on the flightline.

 

DAY 194: HAPPENSTANCE!

I guess you can make anything look like something different with
(a) photoshop
(b) fortuitous happenstance (right place, right time)

So, here the photographer would have us believe that that rooster is kicking the ball and outclassing its counterpart.  

I think the rooster is scared out of its feathers, and squawking like a chicken!

DAY 193: LETTING IT ALL HANG OUT!

There you are on your way out on a visit, or to a restaurant, or whatever, thinking you look like the bees knees, but meanwhile something's not quite right.  For example, a zip or button is undone, or .............(you fill in there!)

Now a real friend takes you aside and gives you the info in the most tactful way possible.  A frenemy has a good laugh and lets you carry on in your ignorance.

We were at a live show recently, and one of the gorgeous dancers had an appendage - something had come loose from her frilly skirt, and there she was giving it all she had, not knowing about the piece of skirt that had come loose.   But, of course, the show must go on and I'm sure most of the audience thought it was part of her outfit!  (Maybe it was, after all!)



 

 

DAY 192: NAILED TO A TREE

Here's a good plan for your old trainers, boots, or shoes.  Your castaways
can be brilliantly used to house a whole family of birds.

There are people who simply can't bear to throw things away - we once went
to a flea market where we found a pair of the most imaginably dirty, stinky, 
and extensively used pair of old tennis shoes - and blow me down if they weren't on sale for 10c!!!  

Much better to nail them to a tree somewhere, and wait for the birds
to make use of them.

 

DAY 191: SUPERB FAIRY WRENS

Superb Fairy Wrens teach their embryonic chicks a secret code.  This "incubation call" contains a special note that will later serve  as a password. When the chicks have hatched, this password  enables the adult birds to identify their babies in the darkness  of their domed nest. A species of Australian cuckoo lays its  eggs in the wren’s nest, hoping to pawn off the task of parenting.  But wren chicks learn their mother’s song and incorporate the  password note into their begging calls. Who knew all that!!! The thing that got me interested in these birds (the male is the  beautiful blue-coloured one, and the dowdy brown job is the  female....that's NOT right!) - is that my sister Pat gave me a  beautiful Maxwell Williams mug for my birthday recently -  and it's a designer homeware mug.  Not just any old tea mug!   The little blurb card inside says: 'The Superb Fairy-wren is a favourite Australian bird.   They live in low bush vegetation & are frequently seen  in family grfoups in parks & gardens in south eastern  Australia, feeding on insects and seeds. So now we all know about the Superb Fairy Wrens - isn't that superb!

DAY 190: GO WITH ALL YOUR HEART

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

Sounds like an excellent new year's resolution?

But wait! 

Those things never last, and half-hearted resolutions are bound to fail..

What to do...

What does scripture say:

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NKJV)

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

A timely reminder not only of the preciousness of life, but of what The Lord expects of us.