zoo trip

Here are a couple of pictures from my trip to the zoo today. Only a few actually came out of all the ones I took, but I think they are really cute.

The little critter on the rock is a meerkat. They are from Africa, and live in colonies. They have long burrows under the ground for safety and nesting. They have a fairly complex society with many jobs, such as babysitter,and sentry(who sits on termite mounds and watches for enemies). They have a different call for a land predator, or an aerial predator. The one in my pic is upset because of the backhoe being used near their exhibit. He relaxed a few minutes later.

The Serval was so relaxed next to the fence, I had to take his picture. He gave me a silent meow when I walked up to him. A warning, or a hello? Servals are also from Africa. They are extremely agile, and can jump 10' straight up in the air to catch a bird. They are hunted for their pelts, which are then sold as cheetah cub pelts. However, they are not cheetahs.

Bison of course are American animals. They used to inhabit much of N. America, but now are confined to protected areas. A bull may weigh over a ton, a cow half as much. They are our heaviest land animal. They can run 30 mph.

Hope you enjoy a little trip to the zoo!

Chela

Deep Sea Fishing

Let's see where to start this...we had visitors the middle of September, and thoroughly enjoyed them. My dad and sister came out to visit us, and go to FL for some deep sea fishing. I promise next time to be more organized, and avoid what turned out to be quite a comedy of errors. Although it didn't seem to be comedy at the time, that's for sure.

Our company arrived on Friday evening, and we were all packed to head to the beach. Then we find out our hotel has cancelled our reservation. Great. Okay, let's just stay here for the weekend then. We can go to the winery, paddle boating to look for alligators, to the pumpkin patch for honey, lots of things around here.

We call the charter boat company, and they say no way, you can't cancel. We need 18 people to take the boat out, (our group was less than 18 people, but the biggest group going) we'll charge you anyway. So in the car we go, and off to FL.

It was late when we arrived, and more hotel headaches of which I will spare you the details. By the time we finally got settled, it was about 1am. We did end up in a nice hotel with adjoining rooms, which was really nice to get. Off to dreamland, to enjoy visions of dolphins and big fish on our hooks.

Up again early that morning, 5am. We rush through breakfast, and haul tail over to the dock to catch our boat. We arrive a few minutes early of our 7:30am show time. See the tumbleweeds, hear the crickets? Yeah, there is no-one there. No other passengers; there should be 12 other people showing up now. No crew readying the boat.

We call, and it turns out, that although we can't cancel on them, they sure can cancel on us. And they did. Great, thanks. After all we've gone through for this trip, now the main event is cancelled. After some discussion, we decided to split up, and mosey on the docks, see if any other boats would be interested in taking us out.

I had the boys with me, and although we didn't see anyone else, we did find an interesting form of advertisement. One captain thought it would bring in customers to throw dead sharks on the dock behind his boat. Um, I don't believe in killing what you don't eat, so to waste those beautiful animals is not going to get my business.

By the time we rejoined, the other group had us a boat, and a crew. We would be going out on the Barracuda at 11am. This gave us time to stock up on provisions, and maybe get a bite to eat if we needed it.

We had a wonderful time on the ocean. The crew was so nice to us, and so friendly. They allowed us to be as "hands on" as we wanted, such as baiting our own hooks, etc. The deck hand talked to us about the fish we were catching, interesting stories about other fishing boats, just a nice guy all around.

The first two fish we caught were Bonita. They are really pretty fish, silver with rainbow colors on them. Then we got to our fishing spot, and started pulling in snapper. They are so pretty! Big red fish, little teeth in their mouths. Then ds got something big on his line. It took a lot of work, and several people helping for him to land his big prize. At one point, ds was getting really discouraged, and I leaned up and whispered "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil 4:13. Shortly after that, ds had his fish! A 15 lb grouper!

I don't know if I've ever seen ds smile the way he did with that fish. He was so proud of himself!! We took several pictures of ds and his fish. He caught the biggest one of the day. That just completely made the fishing trip for ds. If he caught nothing else, (and he did), it would have been enough. I am so grateful he caught it. Maybe later on in life, when things get tough, he can think back, and say, 'I can do this, I landed that grouper!.'

We saw hundreds and hundreds of huge jellyfish. They were everywhere, and I was so worried we would catch one. Imagine a Christmas turkey or goose, or ham. Then imagine how big the platter would be to serve it to your guests. That's how big the jellyfish were. They were everywhere! I sure wouldn't want to jump in and swim at that point.

We had our lines in the water, and suddenly noticed this thing swimming around them that looked like a little shark! We were close, it was a ramora, which is a smaller fish that attaches itself to the shark, and feeds on it's scraps. My sister moved her pole over next to mine, in hopes that one of us would catch him. He finally took my bait, and I had him hooked.

The deckhand showed us the suction plate on top of the fish's head. It made him look upside down. If you put your hand flat on it, the fish would stick to your hand. After we all tried, it, the guy stuck the fish to the side of the boat. He said it would stay there until we got back to the dock if we let it. We released him though. Then he stuck around and stole everyone's bait!

DD caught a snapper, and after admiring it, and getting pictures, she let it go. Unfortunately, the experience had been really rough on him, and he wasn't doing so well back in the water. He laid on the top of the water until a dolphin snuck in and gobbled him up. Oops.

The dolphins were amazing though. There was a pod of five, most of which were mommas and babies. Baby dolphins are adorable, by the way. A miniature replica of their parents. They killed the fishing, but we sure enjoyed watching them for a while. A dolphin cruise, and fishing trip in one!


Ds caught a trigger fish, he was pretty proud of his catch. Trigger fish have two sets of dorsal fins. They can make on erect, and the other one flat, then vise versa. This makes it incredibly difficult for predators to pull them out of holes, or swallow them.

All too soon it was time to head back to shore. The boys were done fishing by this time, but I could have stayed out for hours more. We had a truly wonderful time catching fish, watching dolphins, and admiring the jelly fish. Oh, and I learned something else out there. Sunglasses cut the glare on the water, making it much easier to see what is down below. A great argument for Transitions lenses.

We headed back to our hotel, then went to dinner. It turns out that the first charter cancelling on us was a blessing in disguise. I love when God does that! You can look back and say, "Thank you! I didn't realize it at the time, but now I see what you were doing!" If we had gone on the first charter, we'd have been out on the water with 12 other people, for 8 hours, with no food or water. I'm afraid we'd have been miserable. As it was, we were the only people out there, (6 of us), and we had food and water. A much more pleasant trip, and only 4 hours.

The next morning, we were trying to figure out what to do with our day. We decided to go to the beach, although this one was about an hour away. We went to one of our favorite dept stores, and browsed around. They sell beach supplies, clothing, shoes, swimsuits, toys, hermit crabs, shells, decorations, etc etc. LOL It's a huge store. Things had improved a lot since the last time I was there, which was a good thing.

The beach was a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed the sand bar, where you could be really far out, and still in shallow water. We found a lot of little shells as well. The birds were a lot of fun to watch as they hunted for food along the shore.

Thank You Jesus for such a wonderfully fun trip. Thank You for changing our plans for the better, and for all the fish we caught. We had a great time catching up, and catching fish. The dolpins were amazing, too. And thank You for ds' grouper. I love You! Amen.

The Creation

My daughter found this at her school, and thought I would enjoy it. I do, and decided to post it here. Very nicely done.

THE CREATION

by: James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)


AND God stepped out on space,
And He looked around and said,
"I'm lonely --
I'll make me a world."

And far as the eye of God could see
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,
And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And the light stood shining on the other,
And God said, "That's good!"

Then God reached out and took the light in His hands,
And God rolled the light around in His hands
Until He made the sun;
And He set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness,
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.
Then down between
The darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
And God said, "That's good!"

Then God himself stepped down --
And the sun was on His right hand,
And the moon was on His left;
The stars were clustered about His head,
And the earth was under His feet.
And God walked, and where He trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.

Then He stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren.
So God stepped over to the edge of the world
And He spat out the seven seas;
He batted His eyes, and the lightnings flashed;
He clapped His hands, and the thunders rolled;
And the waters above the earth came down,
The cooling waters came down.

Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms,
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,
And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around His shoulder.

Then God raised His arm and He waved His hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And He said, "Bring forth! Bring forth!"
And quicker than God could drop His hand.
Fishes and fowls
And beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and the seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said, "That's good!"

Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that He had made.
He looked at His sun,
And He looked at His moon,
And He looked at His little stars;
He looked on His world
With all its living things,
And God said, "I'm lonely still."

Then God sat down
On the side of a hill where He could think;
By a deep, wide river He sat down;
With His head in His hands,
God thought and thought,
Till He thought, "I'll make me a man!"

Up from the bed of the river
God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river
He kneeled Him down;
And there the great God Almighty
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of His hand;
This Great God,
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Till He shaped it in His own image;

Then into it He blew the breath of life,
And man became a living soul.
Amen. Amen.
"The Creation" is reprinted from The Book of American Negro Poetry. Ed. James Weldon Johnson. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1922.

Did you hear about...

I think I originally heard a version of this on the radio, and it has really stuck with me. It has a good message. So credit to whomever came up with it first.

You know that lady at church, June, the one who is always giving out the refreshments after service. I've heard she leaves her home, and sees another man nearly every day. Her children are left home alone for long stretches of time. You know she is married to Dave, that guy that plays the sax in the choir. For shame!

That paragraph paints a pretty sad picture of June. Her reputation is pretty much down the drain with that information floating around. She and Dave could both lose their good standing in the church if the elders found out about this.

What if I told you the man she visits almost every night is her father, who is terminally ill? And that her children are teenagers, who are perfectly capable of looking after themselves for a few hours. That changes things, doesn't it? Do you look differently at June now, when she hands you a cookie after service, or offers you a sign of peace?

How are we talking about the people in our daily lives? Are we giving the whole story when we speak of them, or half truths meant to tear other people down? In Scripture, the Lord tells us to "Therefore encourage one another, and build each other up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Speak of things that build our neighbors up, and encourage them. People will remember how you made them feel above all else, so speak in a way that leaves people smiling when they have been in your presence. Speak highly of others, even when you are not in their presence. You never know the burden another person is carrying in his heart.

I think my daughter says it best, "Don't be talkin' bout folks!"

God bless!

Chela

Faker

Friday morning, I was looking at my fish tank, and noticed my snail was missing. My huge yellow snail that college kid had given me as a gift. Looking closer, I found him laying on his side behind our shipwreck ornament.

Darn it, my snail died. What kind of pet owner am I that I can't even keep a snail alive. I need to just give up and keep plastic plants from now on. All day I felt sick about this deceased snail. To make matters worse, just the night before, the kids and I had been watching the fish, and my youngest had mentioned wanting to name the snail. After all, the plecostomus is Stanley. Now I have to tell the kids he died. Great, some pet owner I am.

Shortly before going to pick up ds from school, I decided to check on the snail one more time, just to be sure before I broke the news. I hadn't dealt with removing him just yet. To my surprise, the snail is happily sliding up the side of the tank, very much alive. He's lucky I don't turn him into escargot for his little stunt.

He earned himself a name after all for that stunt...Faker.

God bless
Chela

I am more...

You'll never amount to anything. You're a failure. You're so stupid. You're a loser, what a waste of space. You'll never be able to go water skiing. What an idiot..

Stop right there. I am none of those things. I am a child of the living God. Jesus bought me with His blood on the Cross of Calvary. He promises me a mansion in Heaven with Him. A mansion!! I love the house we live in now, but it's a bit cramped, and we are really rubbing elbows. I get a mansion?!! And I don't have to clean it!

He also promises me a table of plenty, dining with Him in Paradise! What a promise! He offers me a seat at the table with Him. My face shining, as much food as I want. He doesn't want me to cower at the sides, scrounging for scraps.

Jesus also promises me I can do anything. Jesus tells me in Phil 4:3 that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do ANYTHING through Jesus. I can rise above those who tell me I can't, that I am not strong enough, or good enough. Jesus will see me through it all. He believes in me, and knows I can achieve great things in life. He wants me to be happy, and to shine as a light for Him.

Jesus also has great plans for me in life. When he knit me in my mother's womb, he already had my life planned out. In Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus tells me, "For I have great plans for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jesus has my life in His hands! He has planned for my future, and they are good plans that will not fail.

I have nothing to worry about, no reason to feel ashamed in my life. Jesus loves me, and cares for me every day. What if I never learn to water ski? I'm not worried. One day Jesus will show me how to walk on water.

Chela

I thought it was funny!

It was about 10:30pm last night, and everyone was tucked into bed, dreaming about our wonderful weekend at the beach. I couldn't sleep, and kept hearing a strange noise. It sounded like a kitten, and I thought maybe our little Hershey was trapped in a room or something. I decided to get up and account for all the cats.

Julie was on my pillow, so I knew it wasn't her. My bedroom window is prime real estate, looking out over the pool, so I assumed someone would be on the sill. It was really dark as I reached my hand over to feel for a kitty.

Sure enough, there was a cat there! Bear jumped up and came flying out of the window, and tore across my dresser. With enough noise to awaken the neighborhood, he continued on flying out of my room, across the hallway, and into ds' room. Unfortunately, he made enough noise to wake dh, who surely thought the world had ended.

I quickly explained it was just the cat, trying not to laugh too loudly. I gave that up entirely when I had to tell ds why the cat had run into his room with the hounds of on his tail. Certainly I used up another of Bear's 9 lives when I touched him in that window sill. I'm not sure why I scared him so badly, I guess he thought everyone was asleep, so it must be a big monster after him. Poor guy.

Everyone else was quiet and accounted for that evening. I think it was the quail I was hearing after all. I kept chuckling about the whole thing until I fell asleep. I'm so glad animals are quick to forgive, or I might not be around to write this to you.

Chela