On a Beach with Some Birds on a Summer Day

   When I awoke this morning, there was a book title on my mind:

   In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day

   The book and the content had nothing to do with my yesterday's story (but it is a good book). It just seemed as though I could borrow some of the wording to introduce my blog today.

   (The mind is a funny thing and especially the connections it makes out of the blue.)

   Anyway our day began with a quick trip to the beach before the summer people got all the parking places at Gould's Inlet.

   People were doing all the usual beach things:

         Getting a kayak lesson before going out into the river..

         Paddleboarding

         Fishing

   My charming wife suggested I go for a walk on the beach, and she would wait for me in the car. She does not navigate the sand too well these days. So, I took my camera and started out across the walkway to the sand bar and toward the ocean.

   As I walked along, I noticed a person ahead of me looking at something over in the middle of the bar, and this person looked like they had a camera, and so I went that way to see what the interest happened to be.

   Turned out it was not a camera but a scope that she was using. As I approached, the lady asked if I wanted a look.

   Sure, might be a good photo somewhere around here.

   She was looking at some small birds.

   "Terns", she said anticipating my question. "They are Least Terns, and they are nesting here on the beach".

   She introduced herself as Lydia and proceeded to inform me about the birds and their migrations and habitats. "They are raising their chicks, feeding them, teaching them, and getting them ready for life. They migrate to the Brazilian coast for the winter and then return. My job as a Bird Steward is to monitor the nesting site and inform any asking beachgoers about the species."

   We talked about the birds for a few minutes, and I tried to get some shots of them. They were pretty far away but I managed a couple with my regular lens.

   I began this day with a plan for a short walk on the beach and ended up with some bird knowledge. My bird education is not extensive. I didn't know a sea gull from a tern or a plover or whatever else there is out there. There were just sea birds, and that was OK with me.

   But when I came home, I looked the Least Tern up in my bird book, and read about them on the internet, and now, at least I know, that this little bird is not the same as all the others, and all because of striking up a conversation with a lady who knew.

   Hopefully, I will see the beach in a different way when I go back again.

   God did not make just birds, but a huge variety for our enjoyment.

   This last shot is not too sharp, but it shows a chick on the far right, with some family nearby. The chicks move around from hiding place to hiding place, and ofttimes the ones they find are not too concealing. Good luck, chick.

   It was a good morning..

They Came, They Saw, and then......They Left

   It was a bright, sunny, humid Summer day back last week when the flowers welcomed our Arkansas family to our Island for a few days.

   For 3 days and nights we got together for food, games and conversation, either in their rented condo or our own.

    Archer (rising 11th grader), kept us straight with stats and rankings on various games

    One of our favorite games, i.e. the one I could understand the rules and procedures..

   We let them do the "Island things" on their own, walking to the pier, going to the beach, eating out, while we rested in the air conditioning.

   I think Cady Gray found a Ga. Tech friend near the Village

   Donna and Noel (in the weeds), and the whole Family in the Spanish Moss

   No matter where I turned, there they were, this time reflected in the window of the Cleaners

   We cooked for them one night, Noel cooked for all the next night, and then we had leftovers for the third supper. It was all good, and we had plenty of ice cream for dessert.

   But soon it was time for them to continue their vacation on a cruise ship out of Jacksonville. So we loaded them up..

   (Jacksonville Cruise Port (ready to sail away))

   And wandered back to our home condo, sat on the porch with the sunset, and remembered good times together with family.

   And a good time was had by All

   Thanks Noel for bringing your, not-so-little and growing-up-too-fast, family to see us. Come back soon.

Not a ME But a WE...

   My bike racing career was pretty short, but it did have one bright moment..

   1987 was the year..

   Tour de Mountain was the event..

   35 miles of rolling hills atop Signal Mountain just outside Chattanooga..

   And I picked up the trophy for a 3rd place finish in the 50+ category (just be sure not to ask how many were in that select group of "old" riders).

   But there is one bike race that I love to watch on TV. The Tour de France which consumes 23 days of racing, along with 2 rest days.

   2017 is the year of the 104th Tour.

   The 21 stages of races will cover 3500+ kilometers which is almost 2200 miles. The terrain varies from flat stages to sessions in the Pyrenees and the Alps.

   This is an endurance race for sure.

   There are 22 teams of 9 riders each at the beginning. As men are hurt, get sick, or disqualified, or fail to meet the time constraints of each stage, the 198 beginning riders dwindle.

   Each day of racing takes up about 4 hours on the TV channel. It is an endurance event for the viewer as well.

   But what I have enjoyed, as I watched a lot of it this year (on tape and not live so I could fast forward through the commercials), is learning about what goes on inside the race. The roles of each of the 9 riders, be it sprinter, climber, lead out, yellow jersey (winner). There are also domestique jobs on the team such as grabbing food bags and water bottles to be passed out to the others.

   On a team, there is one man whom the others are working for. He is, the hope of the team to end up in Paris as the winner of the Tour. He is the one who will end up in the yellow jersey at the end, and, although there are three other jerseys to vie for (white, green and polka dot), the yellow is the big one.

   The rest are "domestiques" helpers, servants, and they sacrifice some of their own ambition for the best of the team and its objectives.

   All of the riders on the Tour are professional cyclists. They are the cream, and the #1 on each team is the cream of the cream.

   In an interview the other day, a rider related how, when he signed on to his team he felt he was good enough to be the #1, but as the season wore on, he realized another had emerged as the best. So, as a good loyal team member, he sensed that his strength and speed made him the logical choice for lead-out. This rider explained to the interviewer that he had dedicated his riding life to being the best lead-out cyclist that he could be and thereby assist his team in their quest of glory on the road.

   Aren't there so many similarities to other sorts of teams, be they churches, businesses or other sports?

   There is not too much glory on the winner's podium for the "domestique", but this is not a "look what I did", but rather a "look what we did".

   I like that attitude.

   Wouldn't we all be better with it?

Is There Any Correlation Here?

   I have been in the process of putting together a puzzle sent to me by my daughter as a present. The picture on the box shows a bunch of pencils, some with advertising on them and others either devoid of any words or, at the least, pencil hardness or maker.

   When I looked at this 1000 piece thing, I saw all the words in it and thought, "just put the words together and fit them in, no problem. There are so many clues it should be a snap".

   Here is a glance at my puzzle strategy:

      1. Look at the listing on the box for the size when completed...say 24"x36"

      2. Search the pieces in the box for corners and straight side ones..

      3. Place the corner pieces (if found) in the proper position on the puzzle board corresponding to the overall size when completed.

      4. Then, checking the box top frequently for clues, try to fit in the side pieces

      5. Realize you may be missing a few side or corner pieces, search the puzzle box for these that were hiding the first time around.

      6. Repeat items 3 and 4 again

      7. Then repeat item 5 then 3 and 4 again.

      8. Go with what you have and begin to work on main body of the picture

   With these puzzles that have a lot of clues, here is what I do:

      1. Forgetting the frame, and knowing all the pieces and groups will fit inside it, I try to start with an easily distinguished grouping...like this one which began with the white pencil with Statler in large letters.

      2. I match pieces together, making the group as large and complete as I can.

      3. Doing this several times, I have various groupings scattered around the board in various sizes. Early on most of these are of the two or three piece variety.

      4. Frequently checking the puzzle picture on the box, I add pieces the groups already started by looking to see what fits in around it.

      5. Realizing the puzzle is quite a bit larger than the box picture, and that some of the writing is too small to read, I find my magnifying glass so as to see where the writing I can actually see on the piece, fits in

   On and on I go, for days on end, making new groups, attaching them to the border, attaching them to each other and looking for individual ones to fit in the blank spaces.

   Until Finally...

   But aren't there some correlations here between the puzzle and the life that we live?

   First of all, the boundaries of our earthly life are fixed ahead of time. God, who operates in the past, present and future all at one time, knows where and when we will appear on the scene, and also when we will exit.

   The God of the Universe also knows what "pencils" will mark our lives, and how they will be grouped together.

   He also knows where the individual ones, and their combinations will fit into the blank frame, and how they will affect and connect to each other.

   We've got a drawer full of "pencils" that have been important in our lives, and maybe we can see how some go together, but not until the frame is all filled in will we realize the extent of the interconnection.

   Some will be readily recognized, but some may need the magnifying glass.

   We are all making a puzzle picture as we live our days.

   What pencils am I accumulating and how do they fit together?...

   What will the final product be?

   How many of these "pencils" did I pick up myself and how many were given by others?

   It's a Puzzle...

Three Generations...

   It is always good to have family around.

   We have a great place to live, a pretty island setting with all its amenities, but there is a drawback, no family close.

   So it is always a special time when any of them come.

   It was the Virginia circus group this 4th of July season.

   Here three generations pose for the requisite shot. Front row: Laken, Granny Lou, Caroline, David, Dawn and Lucy. Men's row: Doug, Papa and Drew.

   And what did we do for three days?

   We played a lot of Sorry (notice the yellow men all in the Home Spot)

   We swam in the condo pool.

   David especially..

   Beach was on the agenda.

   There was a puzzle in progress (and still is..)

   It had a lot of writing on it, but was not as easy as it appeared..

   Then there was golf. It was hot over the 4th, but Drew and I managed 6 holes one day and 3 another.

   A view from the tee box to the 3rd green (par three, 105 yards from the men's tee)

   Drew's tee shot rolled right beside the hole and ended here for a birdie...Best Shot of the Rounds..

   I should allude to our lodging arrangements:

    Of course, we grandparents stayed in our own condo. Doug and family rented a condo at the beach, and they loaned us a couple of kids for each night.

   Our condo was the best place, and the kids got ice cream for breakfast..

   A couple of things I noticed as we spent these days together. One, we all had fun together, and Two there seemed to be no generation gap, at least in our play times and conversations.

   But I noticed also that Doug and Dawn were caught between their kids and their parents. Concerned about both generations, they wanted us old folks to enjoy the time, and they were in the process of making memories for their own.

   I remember that same situation with my parents.

   All guess most young families struggle somewhat with all that.

   But we are glad these took the time to come and stay in our neck of the woods for a few days.

   Our NC folks are in San Francisco for the summer and our AR people will be down here in a few days, so it is a good summer (and HOT, too)

   And we are grateful for all of them..

In The Midst Of It All...

In the Midst of all the Patriotism...

In the Midst of all the Concern...

There is One Answer:

"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Let Us Pray