











After the Snow Melt
After the snow
all melted away,
the flood of water
brought not only greenery
but overflowing creeks
and the smell of swamp water.
Yet the beauty remains.

There are so many turtles in this little lake. They just love to bask in the sun.




I saw ducks through the trees.

I saw red-winged Black Birds.

I saw this small deer–quite friendly.

I saw this beautiful swan.





It was impossible to walk along the shore of the Mississippi, as I usually do–see the flooding full river. The upper trail was nice and dry.

I saw this bird while walking on one of my favorite trails. I had to look it up. It is called an American Coot. Notice its white beak and long toes. Here is the description I found.
The waterborne American Coot is one good reminder that not everything that floats is a duck. A close look at a coot—that small head, those scrawny legs—reveals a different kind of bird entirely. Their dark bodies and white faces are common sights in nearly any open water across the continent, and they often mix with ducks. But they’re closer relatives of the gangly Sandhill Crane and the nearly invisible rails than of Mallards or teal.

A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding.
7 Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit (Prov. 14:6-8).




Last year on this day of March it was a lot warmer. As you can see, the ice on the river is thawed. And the geese are happy. So, it seems that we are at least a few week behind. Oh sun, oh warmer weather, please come. Melt all the ice away.

I am a tree
planted by a stream,
with fruit and
with leaves.
And I prosper.
(from Psalm 1)
