Everybody's Thirsty

W're having a drought in north Texas, and every one is thirsty:

Wildflowers at Cedar Hill State Park

I think north Texas is in the midst of a considerable drought,

but there are still some lovely wildflowers showing their colors. Click on the photos for a closer view.

And the bluebonnets are especially nice:

The Backyard in a Dry Spring

It is early spring, so there should be some rain falling, but I guess it all went to the east coast this year. We don't want our "Isabella Tree" to die, so Gary wheeled out some water. This elm was planted when she was born, and it is growing very well, just like she is.

There are violets in the back yard again this year, but not very many and they aren't very big.

If you want to see the picnic we had, click over to my family blog.

Monk Parakeet

(photo stolen from the internet)

I almost got clobbered by the giant JAARS truck yesterday when, halfway across the street, I involuntarily looked up in response to a loud and unfamiliar sound. I managed to force myself to finish crossing the street before pulling my binoculars out of my work bag--four Monk Parakeets on the electric wires.

Slow Start to the Wildflower Season

False Garlic

Violet sp.

Bladderpod sp.

Basket Anemone

The earth on our nearby hiking paths is very dry, so it seems we might not have a good wildflower season. It also seems like I need a new book:

Critical

One of my work duties is to find other people's mistakes: an editor of documents; a tester of beta software; a checker of websites. I'm good at what I do.

But the problem with being good at finding fault is that it can be hard to do otherwise.

Sunday Dinner Traditions

I grew up hearing on Sunday mornings the pow-pow-pow of my mom beating a round steak into submission on its way to becoming Swiss steak. Well, not every Sunday morning, because some times it was Shake'nBake chicken she was fixing. Into the oven, then off to church. Yes, a long-winded preacher received our scorn while eating an overcooked meal.

When I got married, my husband told me that his family's tradition was to go out for lunch after church. Hmm, it didn't take me long to decided that I liked his family's plan better than what I had grown up with! So we've always gone out after church, and more often to Taco Bueno or McDonald's than anywhere else, as fits our station in life. :-)

I was recently talking about the topic of Sunday dinner with someone and later I mentioned it to my husband. At that point he told me "the rest of the story." Turns out that his dad started the eating out tradition in direct response to what he had grown up with--his mother always said she couldn't go to church because she needed to stay home and cook Sunday dinner. He never wanted that to be the case in his own family.

Someone's actions from more than half a century ago are still influencing me. In a good way.

Birding Before Breakfast

Well, I can't really call it birding since I was just sitting on my deck this warmish morning. The end of backyard birding is coming soon because the trees are rushing to open their leaves--and then I can't see the birds anymore.

So far this morning I've seen:
mourning doves
white-winged doves
chipping sparrows
field sparrow
cardinals
juncos
brown-headed cowbirds
myrtle warbler
red-bellied woodpecker
house finches
and a yellow-bellied sapsucker

Death and Life

As we in the choir stood, faced the congregation and began to sing "I Will Rise," my eyes fell upon Mrs. Cowand, widowed just six days earlier, holding her great-grandson.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Great Backyard Bird Count--Day 4

Last day. Good thing, too, so I can get back to work on the rest of life.

Here's my list for today. I went to our local city park which has a yucky little lake, but it did have a bunch of ducks on it today. I don't feel 100% on the IDs of the ring-necked ducks, but I'm going to claim them anyway. Also, I saw a Common Yellowthroat, but I wished I could have gotten another look. The Brown Creeper was only the second one I've ever seen.

Gadwall - 4
American Wigeon - 6
Mallard - 8
Ring-necked Duck - 4
Lesser Scaup - 6
Turkey Vulture - 1
Mourning Dove - 2
Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Brown Creeper - 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
European Starling - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
Great-tailed Grackle - 30

Great Backyard Bird Count--Day 3

Here's the list for today:

White-winged Dove - 3
Mourning Dove - 7
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 3
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Carolina Wren - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1
European Starling - 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Chipping Sparrow - 6
Field Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 5
Northern Cardinal - 3
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
House Finch - 2
American Goldfinch - 5

Great Backyard Bird Count--Day 2

'Tis the Season

On this day we took a lovely picnic at Joe Pool Lake, so I did my "backyard" there. Here is the scoop:

Record ID: S7651823
Email: linda.simons@gmail.com
Email: 75236, Dallas, Dallas County, TX
Observation Date : FEB 19, 2011
Total Birding Time: 2 hours
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: good
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
suburban
freshwater
Number of Species: 16
All Reported: no
Checklist:
Mallard - 10
Pied-billed Grebe - 1
Turkey Vulture - 2
American Coot - 20
Ring-billed Gull - 10
Forster's Tern - 2
Belted Kingfisher - 1
American Crow - 20
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Bewick's Wren - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 2
House Finch - 2
American Goldfinch - 2

Great Backyard Bird Count--Day 1

I participated in this citizen science effort and got this email:

Thank you for entering your observation in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count. Below is a report summarizing the bird checklist you submitted.

Here is the information you gave for this observation.

Record ID: S7634345
Email: @gmail.com
Email: 75236, Dallas, Dallas County, TX
Observation Date : FEB 18, 2011
Start Time: 7:15 AM
Total Birding Time: 1 hour
Party Size: 1
Skill: excellent
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
suburban
Number of Species: 19
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
White-winged Dove - 5
Mourning Dove - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 1
American Robin - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 2
European Starling - 1
Cedar Waxwing - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2
Chipping Sparrow - 2
Dark-eyed Junco - 4
Northern Cardinal - 3
House Finch - 2
American Goldfinch - 5
House Sparrow - 2


Information submitted through February 21, 2011 will be included in online reports within 60 minutes. Information submitted after February 21, 2011 will be included in online reports within 2 hours. To see how your results fit into the big picture, go to the Great Backyard Bird Count home page http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ and click on "Explore the Results." If your bird checklist included unusual species or high numbers of individuals, you may receive an email from a regional editor requesting more details.

Thanks for participating in the 2011 Great Backyard Bird Count. Please join us again for next year's count. Mark your calendars for February 17-20, 2012.

If you enjoyed the Great Backyard Bird Count, check out eBird at http://www.ebird.org, where you can report the birds you see every day of the year. eBird helps you keep track of your lists--and archives your sightings so they're accessible to everyone, including other bird watchers and scientists. It's easy and fun to use--and it's absolutely free!

The Great Backyard Bird Count and eBird are joint projects of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada. Please help support these and other efforts on behalf of birds by becoming a member. Visit http://birds.cornell.edu/join for membership in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, http://www.audubon.org/gbbc/index.shtml for membership in the National Audubon Society, or http://www.birdscanada.org for membership in Bird Studies Canada. Thank you for your support!

Winter Vacation Birdcount

I finished adding my recent bird list to Birdstack while watching a really dumb movie last night, so here are the final totals: I identified 62 different species (click here to see the list) and of that 62, these 27 were all lifers for me:

Bufflehead
Black-necked Grebe
Bridled Titmouse
Green-tailed Towhee
Crissal Thrasher
Lesser Goldfinch
Red-naped Sapsucker
Black-throated Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Pyrrhuloxia
Evening Grosbeak
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Scaled Quail
Vesper Sparrow
Brewer's Sparrow
Chihuahuan Raven
Northern Harrier
Audubon's Warbler
American Yellow Warbler
Cinnamon Teal
Black Phoebe
Green-winged Teal
Eurasian Collared Dove
Sandhill Crane
Ruddy Duck
Northern Shoveler

I have to also say that there were probably 3-4 different species of sparrows that I couldn't manage to identify, and probably a hawk or two like that also.

My life list is now up to 288.

If you want to see photos of some of the birds we saw on this trip, click here.

Around the World

Just got an email from Andrew who is in south Ethiopia, near the Sudan border, asking how to do a global format on footnotes in a large Word document. I didn't know, so I phoned Gary who was sitting on the plane about to leave for Hawaii. Sent the answer back to Andrew so he can finish his multimillion dollar proposal.

The world is getting smaller.

Apparently I've Been Hacked

I'm just back from vacation and am working on sorting out my photos and will post some soon. But in the mean time I have discovered that I've been hacked and that spurious messages are being sent from "me." Ugh, sorry about that if you received any of them. The said something stupid like " haha I know what you mean..." and had a link to click. They were sent via gmail's automatic vacation responder feature where the hacker had placed that message.

I cleaned it up and hopefully the problem is solved--at least I hope so!!

First Day of Vacation

Photos not so great, but we had a great first day birdwatching. Chilly, even rainy, but we saw 23 different birds and 9 of them were lifers for me!

I Peter 2

I'm pretty slow at this, but here is the next chapter of I Peter in the Bible study exercise I am doing.

* What should I know? I should know that:

1. By drinking pure spiritual milk I will grow up and be saved.
2. The scripture says: You have found out how kind the Lord is.
3. The Lord is the living stone who was rejected by man as worthless, but chosen by God as valuable.
4. The scripture says: I chose a valuable stone which I am placing as a cornerstone in Zion; whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.
5. The stone is of great value for we who believe, but for those who don't believe, scripture says: The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. And also the scripture says: This is the stone that will make people stumble and the rock that makes them fall.
6. Unbelievers stumbled because they did not believe; that was God's will for them.
7. On the other hand, we are the chosen race, the King's priests, and the holy nation, God's own people chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God.
8. God called us out of darkness, into his marvelous light
9. At one time were were not God's people, but now we are. At one time we did not know God's mercy, but now we have received it.
10. Paul appeals to me, and he calls me a friend, yet a stranger and refugee in this world.
11. Bodily passions are at war with the soul.
12. God wants me to silence the talk of foolish people by my good works.
13. If I as a servant submit to my master, God will bless me.
    
14. There is no "credit" if a servant endures deserved beatings for wrongdoing.
    
15. On the other hand, God will bless the servant to endures undeserved sufferings.
16. It is God himself who called us servants to suffer unjustly, for Christ himself did that and left us an exact example to follow.
17. Christ committed no sin, not even one lie.
18. When Christ was insulted, he did not respond in kind. When he suffered, he did not threaten back.
    
19. Instead, Christ placed his hope in God the righteous judge.
20. In fact, Christ carried our own sins to the cross in his physical body in order that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
21. It is by Christ's wounds that we find healing.
22. We were like lost sheep, but now we have been brought back to the Shepherd who is also known as the Keeper of our souls.
    

* How should I think/not think (or be/not be)?

1. I should be like a newborn baby who is always thirsty for pure spiritual milk
2. If I am a servant, I should submit to my master with complete respect, whether my master is kind and considerate or whether he his harsh.
   

* How should I feel/not feel?

1. I should respect everyone
2. I should love my fellow believers
3. I should honor God.
4. I should respect the Emperor.
   

* What should I do/not do?

1. Rid myself of all evil
2. No more lying
3. no more hypocrisy
4. no more jealousy
5. no more insulting language
6. I should come to the Lord
7. I should come to the Lord as a living stone
8. I should let myself be used in building the spiritual temple where I will serve as a holy priest in offering spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus
9. I should not give in to bodily passions
10. My conduct in front of the world should be so good that they will have to recognize my good deeds and thereby praise God.
11. For the sake of God, I should submit to every human authority including the Emperor, governors.
12. I should live a a free person, yet not use my freedom to cover up any evil.
    
13. I should live as God's slave.

* How should I treat/not treat people?

1. I should respect everyone
2. I should love my fellow believers
3. I should honor God.
4. I should respect the Emperor.
   

* How should I pray/not pray?

New Bird!

(Image stolen from the internet.)

Today walking home from the office there were 4-5 tiny birds buzzing around and up and down a tree at the center. They let me get pretty close and I got a good look without binoculars at a small flock of golden-crowned kinglets. They were a first for me. They are a common bird, but until now I had only seen their cousins, the ruby-crowned kinglets.

Leaning to Digiscope

I've been playing with my new spotting scope. I made a homemade adapter to connect my digital camera to the scope--more on that at another time. Here are a few of my backyard birds.

Pink Macaroni and Cheese

I may have taken recycling to new hights with this gourmet dish--macaroni and cheese made from a leftover almond-encrusted holiday cheese ball! I just wish they had left out the red food coloring--yikes!

Questions For Me

I'm giving a little thought about my plan for Bible study this year. Here's my latest idea--slowly read a passage and ask myself these questions:

• What should I know? That is, what knowledge or information is God wanting me to hold or be aware of?
• How should I think/not think? (Maybe this is too similar to the above question?)
• How should I feel/not feel? Recently I've become aware of how stupid it is when people say "I can't help how I feel." There are many, many examples of emotional commands in scripture, so I can only assume that God thinks we can control how we feel, at least to some degree.
• What should I do/not do?
• How should I treat/not treat people?
• How should I pray/not pray?

I'm giving this a go with the book of I Peter. For instance, here is what I've gleaned so far from chapter 1

• What should I know?

1. I am chosen by God
2. I have new life because of Jesus
3. My faith is more precious than precious metals
4. The price that was paid for my salvation was not imperfect gold but the sacrifice of the perfect lamb
5. Christ was revealed to the world for my benefit
6. My faith and hope in God are via Christ's death and resurrection
7. Sincere love for others is possible if I obey the truth which purifies me
8. The living and eternal word of God is what let me be born again
9. The word of the Lord lives forever
   

• How should I think/not think?

1. I should expect some trials, but know they are for my good
   

• How should I feel/not feel?

1. I am filled with hope
2. I look forward to blessings
   
3. I am kept safe
4. I should be glad
   
5. I should not let my life be shaped by past desires
   

• What should I do/not do?

1. I should give thanks
2. I should rejoice because I believe in and love Jesus
3. I should be obedient to God
4. I should be holy because He is holy
5. I should be alert and ready
   

• How should I treat/not treat people?

1. I should love people earnestly with all my heart
   

• How should I pray/not pray?

Our Kids Move On

I felt sorry for my friend Barb today. She had to say goodbye to one son this morning who is headed for Afghanistan, then send her daughter and son-in-law off to East Asia to be missionaries. Last week it was Honduras to marry another son off--at least that was a happy occasion! I think she's going to need some emotional down-time!

The Two-year Bible?

Almost exactly two years ago we left the church we had been attending and moved to another. The first church passed out "read the Bible in a year" schedules, so I took one and started reading. (Some of those OT stories are rather depressing!) Then the new church had One-Year NTs, and I took one of those and dug in. Finally, last night at 11:40pm, I completed both churches' plans, reading the OT once and the NT twice over a two year period. I finished off Revelation by listening to the dramatized version on this dedicated mp3 player. (These struck my fancy in November and I gave several of them away for Christmas presents, though the non-dramatized version.)

I think it is great to read the whole Bible in a year, but I do find that sometimes it isn't so great to be led by a strict schedule. That is because so much of the Bible needs to be pondered slowly, read and reread. I have an elderly friend who calls it her "slow-read through the Bible."

Not sure what my Bible reading plan for 2011 will be, but I think I should do more pondering and then practicing. :-)

Van Camping and Bird Watching

Gary got me a spotting scope for Christmas, something I be wanting. We got it at Dick's Sporting Goods, and found a no-name one that was about half the price of the name-brand ones. It might not be as good, but we decided it was just fine for a beginner like me.

I want to get the gadget that holds a small digital camera up to a spotting scope so I can do "digiscoping." The above photo of an Eastern Phoebe was taken thru the scope. The originally was badly vignetted, but it looks pretty good after cropping.

We went "van camping" last night at Joe Pool Lake. The weather was very mild, so it was actually quite fun and restful and it gave me a chance to try out my new toy. If you want to see photos of our trip, click here. If you want to see the list of the 24 bird species I saw, click here.

All That and a Bag of Chips

Only at my place of work would they walk around handing out free bags of chips. You know, chips delivered to the Center by the boxful, days away from expiration, but still plenty good enough. Missionaries aren't all that picky. At least when it comes to eating.

New Bird! Western Osprey

OK, my photos are horrible, but I really think I saw an Osprey while I was having lunch at the Oaisis restaurant at Joe Pool Lake today. I saw a large bird hovering in a stiff wind over a calm little patch of water next to the boat launch. It dove down and came up with a fish in its feet and beat its wings hard to gain altitude, then came around closer to the place I was standing and then off. I didn't have my binoculars with me, but I did have my camera. Like I said, terrible photos, but I think they prove that it was an osprey.

That puts my life list up to 257.

Emergency Edit

Friday mid-afternoon we headed to Granbury for our annual sleepover with three other couples. Always a great time. But this year I asked Gary to leave earlier in the day so that I would not have that low south sun directly in my eyes for the drive. Leaving early was OK, except there was "just one more" thing he had to do. So once we got to Granbury we found a hometown coffee shop that had free wireless internet. I pulled out my netbook and read the two-page proposal to Gary who then edited it and sent it off. He's hoping the proposal gains $37,000 in year-end giving to fund the development of a short documentary about "shellbooks"--a tool for delivery of localized information into the languages of the world. (And by "information," I mean everything from translated scriptures to booklets on health and hygiene.)

Fish Story

Today I took a few minutes in the middle of the afternoon to run to the nearby city park and talk a walk around the little pond. I found two non-mallard duck species and I saw this guy walking to his van with this 23 lb fish.

Another Proxy Post--Andrew in Djibouti

I haven't been posting here much. Not much to say at the moment, I guess. I have posted a few things on my family blog, including a post about Andrew visiting Djibouti. Now how many people do you know who have been there?