Consider the lilies of the field ...

"How could I say there is no God?
  When all around creation calls!!"
                           [Brian Doerksen - Creation Calls]

Memories of spring

First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus —
Crocus.                            (Lilja Rogers)

For the first time in 4 years, we weren't greeted by a blizzard upon our return from down south. And those who stayed and braved the winter tell us that there have already been enough April showers to bring out the May flowers. soon.

Those of us who have grown up in cold(er) climes fondly recall those first days of spring when we could finally shed our coats and bask in the warm rays of sunshine. Today was one of those days as I cleaned winter's detritus from the pond.

I trust that no matter where you live (at least in the northern hemisphere), you'll also revel in the newness that spring brings to God's good creation, and to our spirits.

A tale of 2 cities

A couple of our daughters sent us photographic evidence yesterday that winter had not quite yet released its icy grip up north. We're harbouring a not-so-secret hope that it will slip quietly into history and make way for spring before our return.

Here's what we found in our southern yard yesterday:

Contrast that to their experience:

Committed to memory

[“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.”  Job 19:25.  I trust you have experienced and will continue to experience the joy of Easter.]

The sounds of laughter have receded into the family annals and all is quiet around here again. Our last visitors returned home this past week to face the beginnings of spring (which seem more like the final gasps of a winter that won't let go easily). We're left to wonder where the time went.

Many memories were captured and embedded in silicon, but I think they were surpassed by those embedded in our own memories. The 5D performed remarkably well despite the operator's lack of mastery of its many features.

And amidst the busyness of vacation hosting and capturing memories, there was even time to grab a frame or two of other subjects:

But you'll have to agree with me that my primary focus over the past couple of weeks would have been directed towards Hailey and Lilly (oh, and assorted other family members, of course):

I plan to visit many of you this week, and look forward to 'meeting' my new followers.

Snake birds and pirates

You might well wonder how these could possibly be connected. Well ...

It continues to be unseasonably cold down here in Florida, so the pool is not in high demand by our guests, although our grandson did briefly consider it today. Instead we made our way down to a local park this afternoon so he could release a little pent-up energy. Graydon had a lot of fun on the swings and slides, while I had fun capturing some of his antics. He continued clambering over the playground equipment when I left him with his parents for a few minutes, while I stole over to a nearby lagoon for a look around. That's where I discovered this snake bird (or anhinga), presumably after a successful afternoon of fishing since he was now drying his wings.

I'm still gaining experience trying to photograph a very active 3-year old (aren't all 3-year olds very active ?). It's a bit like trying to nail jello to the wall. My best success came when I caught him in those rare instances when he stood still. So here he is with a pirate's headdress (fashioned by his father), followed by a shot of him with a handful of playground mulch that he was scheming to stuff down his father's shirt. [my shutter's had a great workout during their stay with us so far. I'm trying to squeeze in a few visits to blogland when I'm not on call as grandpa or family chronicler].