April Showers! A Good Day for Bluebirds, Sand Hill Cranes, Geese, and Snickerdoodles!

Hi all my friends in bloggy land!  It seems like I don't get to visit with you as much lately. Mommie says it's all her fault because she hasn't been taking me on as many adventures as before, and she says she apologizes!  But today we tried to make up for it!  It's the 2nd day of April, and it's been raining almost all day!!  Mommie said April is living up to its reputation of "April showers brings May flowers!" 

Well, this picture on the calendar says, "A Good Day for Ducks"

(John Sloane, artist, Country Seasons Calendar)

Mommie said it is a good day for ducks here at our own Still Waters Pond.  We don't have very many ducks...but we do have geese, Sand Hill Cranes, and Bluebirds!

I wanted to go outside and see the raindrops and also see what I could see on or around the pond. So I put on my rain poncho that Mommie's friend "Auntie Pamela" made for me last spring, and we went out on the back porch to see what we could see.

If you look really really closely at the birdhouse, you will see Mama Bluebird sticking her head out to look at me!! I guess she was just as curious about me as I was about her!! She poked her head out for a second or two,  and then...

when I looked again, she was gone!!! She flew away to the nearest tree, even though it was pouring down rain!  I hope I didn't scare her! Mommie said most likely she just needed to go get some more food for her babies, because she and Papa Bluebird have been very busy lately feeding the babies!

Oh lookie! There's Papa Bluebird now! And he's got a juicy bug or something to feed to his hungry little family in the house!!

Mommie said the Bluebirds take really good care of their babies!  She said God created them and gave them "instincts" so they would know just what to do to take care of their babies and each other.

And lookie here! There's another family taking care of its baby!  Mommie said she told you about the new baby Sand Hill Crane "Colt" HERE yesterday.  Well, this morning, before it started raining it got really really dark in the skies and was kind of scary. But when we looked outside we could see the Crane family way over on the little marsh island in the pond, and they had their baby Colt right there with them!

They were all walking around on that marshy little island poking their long beaks in the ground looking for food, and showing the baby how to hunt for his own food too.

Can you see him? Isn't he sweet?  I just love him so much!

Well, then the big thunderstorm broke loose, and there was lightning and thunder and lots and lots of rain! And the sky was really really dark.  I was scared and worried about the baby Colt, but Mommie said that Jesus was taking care of us, and He would also take care of the Colt and his parents out there on that little island.

Mommie said the mother crane was sitting on top of the baby, keeping him safe and dry under her wings.  She said the camera doesn't do a very good job of taking a picture so far away when it is dark and rainy like that, so please don't mind that these pictures are so blurry.

Mommie said this reminds her this Bible verse:

Psalm 91:4

"He (God) shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;"

Oh, the Sand Hill Cranes and the Bluebirds weren't the only ones out in the rain. Here are some of our Canada Geese swimming around the pond in the rain.  Mommie said it doesn't bother them because they live in the water most of the time anyway, and God created them to be in the water, so they, like ducks, are quite happy in the rain. 

Well, after all that, we came inside and decided to bake some cookies. Mommie says rainy days are good days to do some baking and make the house smell good with yummy things to eat!

Mommie said that today we would bake some "Snickerdoodle cookies!" 

"Snickerdoodles?" I asked.  "What kind of cookies are those?"  Mommie said they are really delicious cinnamon and sugar cookies, and that Daddy and my big brother Scott really love them,  and she thinks I will too.

Here's the recipe in case you are wondering what Snickerdoodles are too!

So here I am helping mix up the Snickerdoodles.  

And then Mommie said we had to roll the dough into little balls like the size of a walnut, and then we have to roll the ball in a dish of cinnamon and sugar:

I tried my best to help. It was a lot of fun!!!

And then I got to lick the beater!!!!!  Mommie said that she always got to lick the beater when she was a little girl, and that it never made her sick. And she said her three sons always got to lick the beater when they were little, and it never made them sick, and so I should also get to lick the beater, and she's quite sure it won't make me sick either!  Yummy! It was good!!!!

After a few minutes the hot cookies came out of the oven!  I had to wait a few minutes before I could taste one because they were too hot.

But when they were cool enough, Mommie let me take a bite, and WOW!! Those Snickerdoodles sure are delicious!!!!!

Oh, and then my big brother Scotty came out of his room (he's off from work today), and he tried one of the snickerdoodles, and he said, "WOW!"

 "These sure are GOOD!!"  I think he had to taste a few more just to be certain. At least that's what he said!

I asked Mommie if my puppy Bailey and I could have a little tea party and have some snickerdoodles.

She said sure, but that Bailey wasn't allowed to eat a cookie because she shouldn't have sugar.

So we got Bailey some of her special doggy cookies for her treat. She was happy about that!

And lookie! Her plate has a picture of Buster Brown and his doggy on it too, having a tea party!

The dishes we used for our tea party were my Grandma Mursch's Buster Brown Tea Set, which actually originally belonged to my mommie's Aunt Margie, who was Grandma's big sister. She said these dishes are very very old and special and we must be very careful not to break them. So we were careful, and we had a very nice little tea party.

Bailey loved her dog cookies, and I loved my snickerdoodle!

Well, it is still raining. And Mommie says it is time for us to quit writing and go cook supper. Maybe I can help?

Thank you for visiting with me on this rainy day. I hope wherever you are that you are safe and happy and warm.

Mommie said that this month we will celebrate Easter! I am very excited about that! And I am so happy that Jesus loved me enough to die on the cross for my sins, and that He rose again from the grave to show us how to find everlasting life!

I hope you are excited about that Good News too!!

Bye bye for now.

Love,

Lily Grace and Bailey

xoxoxoxoxo

Lily's Goose Story

 Mommie said today was my turn to tell about the new baby goslings on Still Waters Pond.  I've just been so excited about them I can hardly contain myself! I wish I could go play with them, but Mommie said Mother and Father Goose are very protective of their babies, and they probably wouldn't welcome me to get too close.  So, thankfully, Mommie was able to take lots and lots of pictures from a distance so we could watch them and then share them with you.  If you missed the story yesterday, HERE's the LINK to Mommie's story about "Special Delivery".  Then be sure to come back here and see the rest of the story!

So, this morning when the sun came up (after that beautiful full moon went down)  (Here's a couple of pictures of that in case you missed it!)

The Full Moon on Still Waters Pond in the early morning

I sat by the window and watched for geese to show up.

In a little while, before we even had breakfast, I looked out and saw Father and Mother Goose right along the shore of the pond.

I called to Mommie to come and see quick. I asked, "But where are the baby goslings? Why can't we see them?"

Daddy said, "Because they are under Mother Goose's wings! They are safe and warm under her wings".

Daddy said there are a lot of different Bible verses that talk about being under God's wings and being protected.

Psalm 91:1-6

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler

And from the perilous pestilence.

4 He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

Sure enough in a few minutes all of a sudden the baby goslings started crawling out from under Mother Goose's wings!  I was sure surprised!! I couldn't believe they could all be hiding under there!

Psalm 36:7

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings

Psalm 57:1

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,

For my soul takes refuge in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge

Until destruction passes by.

Psalm 17:8

Keep me as the apple of the eye;

Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

Psalm 63:7

For You have been my help,

And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.

Psalm 61:4

Let me dwell in Your tent forever;

Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.

Aren't they just so cute??? They were peeking out and wobbling around on their big black webbed feet, and exploring their new world.

Suddenly, Mother Goose decided to stand up and stretch her legs, and one little gosling was still stuck in her wings, taking a piggy-back ride!

As Mother kept going he was trying to climb down out of there, but she wasn't standing still to wait.

Finally they were all out and on the ground, running along behind Mother in the fresh dewy green grass.

They followed her up under the bird feeders, where there was some bird seed on the ground. It didn't take them long to figure out that it was something good to eat!

So they followed Mother and Father Goose around and pecked at the seeds on the ground, and just had a jolly old time having breakfast!

One of the goslings seems to be more adventuresome than the others...

After a little while Father Goose told Mother Goose to round up the kids and let's head back into the water.

About that time two of their friends flew over the pond and honked at them. They were headed east to another big pond on the other side of the neighborhood. Maybe that's where the big flock of Canada Geese gathers before they head back north for the summer.

Father Goose looked up and noticed them, and then he said to Mother Goose, "Come on! We need to get a move on!"

And so Father and Mother and all the little goslings lined up and headed back into the cool waters of Still Waters Pond.

I sadly watched them go from my window, wishing still that I could go pet the little goslings and hold them for a little while. They look so soft and cuddly.

But they seem to be in a hurry to get back in the water...

And soon they were all in and swimming away and around the edge of the pond.

Mommie took me out on the porch then and I waved bye bye to them as they swam away.

So all was quiet again on our waterfront, and we had our own breakfast and then Daddy and Mommie decided they needed to mow the grass this morning before it got too hot.

So while they were out mowing, Daddy noticed the Goose Family coming around the house and the shed and headed straight for the street in front of the house!!

He called Mommie to come see, and they both tried to redirect them away from the busy street because they were afraid they might get hit by a car.

Father and Mother Goose looked a bit confused, and they still wanted to cross the road, but Mommie and Daddy stood out by the road and told them to go back to the pond. 

But instead of going back to the pond, they turned and went into the wooded lot next to our house.

There was a lady out walking her two big dogs, and Mommie asked her to wait a little while before passing the lot because the geese were still trying to head for the road and she was afraid the dogs might get the scent of the geese and get all excited and try to go after them.

But the geese turned around in the empty lot and headed back out toward the pond after all. 

Yes, this lot is for sale, right next door to us. The geese checked it out, but decided it wasn't right for them. If you want to be my neighbor, you are welcome to come check it out for yourself...but I will tell you they have it way overpriced in Mommie and Daddy's opinion. However, it is on the pond...and next door to where we live. And we'd love to have some good neighbors!

Well, after that episode we didn't quite know what to do. The geese were in the woods headed toward the pond on the other end, and we didn't know what they would do next. So I sat and watched while Mommie and Daddy took  care of other stuff.

After lunch we saw them in the back yard again, but didn't notice anything unusual at that time. However, in a little while we looked out and saw them going back into the pond, but we could only see three baby goslings!

Father and Mother Goose and the three goslings slipped back into the water, but Mother Goose kept making a clucking sound like she was calling for her lost baby.  They slowly swam out in the water a little ways, and Mother just kept clucking softly and looking all around.  

Mommie went outside and walked around the yard and looked all around, but didn't see any sign of the missing baby. The little family slowly and sadly made their way across the pond over toward the island where their nest was.

We kept watching and hoping that the other gosling would suddenly show up, but it never did.

Finally the family made it to the island, and there they sat in the shade and watched for their lost child to come home. It was very sad.  Mommie and Daddy were sad, and I was sad too.

Daddy said that sometimes this happens in nature. Not every new baby makes it to adulthood. There are many dangers out there...we heard a hawk calling in the trees...we had seen the neighborhood cat out on his rounds early this morning and Mommie had shooed it away from the family when they were eating their breakfast. It could have gotten lost in the woods when they were walking through them back to the pond...

So I wish this story today had a happier ending. Daddy said we should be very happy that we got to see the goslings at all and that Mother and Father Goose had especially brought them to our shore so we could see them and enjoy them.  The fact that they were trying to cross the road already might mean that they are planning to head over to the other bigger pond with the rest of the flock and get ready to head up north to their summer home as soon as the babies are ready to fly. Maybe the little gosling that disappeared wasn't as strong as the others and wouldn't have been able to make the trip. 

Just as I was trying to finish this story for today, we looked out the window and saw the family swimming by.  We hope they will be safe and make it to their final destination.

Mommie said this would be a good Bible verse to end our story, as it gives us comfort and hope in God.

Psalm 62:2

"He alone is my rock and my salvation.

He is my fortress.

I will never be shaken."

Amen.

Postscript 4/28/2021: To see an update to this post, please go over to Closed Doors, Open Windows HERE for the rest of the story.