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Sunday, June 27, 2010

More Birding

Spotted a few new additions to the bird species checklist over the weekend...and even managed to snap a few pics. I snapped a better shot of the Cardinal than the one in the last blog, but I need not post that one, we've all seen a million of them. The only one I missed was some sort of large, dark, water bird, something like a Loon or a Night Heron. It flew over the house and before I could get a good enough look at it, it was gone. Ah well....it's all part of the sport, I guess.

Bird Watching's a "sport", right?

More of an "activity", I suppose.

Perhaps an "event" in very favorable conditions.

Anyhow....without any further adieu:


White-breasted Nuthatch- Male


American Goldfinch- Male


American Pink-Baby- Female: at rest


Future Bird Watcher


In other Leo family news....The garden is coming along nicely...lots of green 'maters and some little peppers. TONS of blossoms on the squash and pumpkins. Harvested a bunch of herbs, beans, spinach, lettuce, a few peppers, and a crown or two of broccoli so far. Strawberry season has wound down, but the red raspberries are just about ready, and the blackberries and blueberries are ripening up like champs.

I ran into an old family friend today who asked me "How's life at 'Quiet Cove'?".
Quiet Cove. I like that.
I think I'll make up a sign.



Have a great week!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Gavinisms Chapter One

Every parent must think that their kid is the funniest thing on earth. We are no exception. I'm starting a new label within this blog: "Gavinisms" also known as: Funny Stuff My Kid Says:

First Entry:

"I'm going to play you a song on my drum
called 'Turkey In The Heart'. It's about
Jesus eating turkey off a big plate.
And about Jesus killing turkeys."

- June 24, 2010 by Gavin M. Leo, age 3 1/2




I LOVE this kid.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Consider The Ravens

"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse not barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?"
Luke 12:24 (NKJV)




I'm getting old. I know this. I'm fine with that. Honestly. All anyone needs to know about me to know that I'm getting old is what my new favorite hobby is.

Birdwatching.

yup. Love it.

We have a bunch of feeders and bird houses dotted throughout the yard, and I've taken quite a liking to identifying the different species of birds that I spot, either by sight or song. Chrissy and the kids bought me a Birds of Massachusetts Field Guide and a pair of binoculars for Father's Day. It turns out that there have been over 460 different species of birds spotted and recorded in MA. This field guide lists 121 of the most common species. There is a checklist in the index of the book, where you can check off a species that you have spotted. Starting now, I'm checking off birds that I spot, but only ones that I spot in my back yard. I've spotted 24 different species, just since Sunday. I tried to get pictures of some of them, but most took off before I could get to the camera. Here's a few photos I was able to snap of some less shy birds:


American Tree Sparrow- Female



Common Grackle- Male



House Finch- Male



Eastern Bluebird- Male



Eastern Bluebird- Mr. and Mrs.



Great Blue Heron- Gender not known. In flight.



Northern Cardinal- Male. Playing "hard to get".


More to come!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Found Him



Spotted him this morning while taking out the compost. He stuck around just long enough for me to run in and grab the camera.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Time, Hospitality, and Varial-Speed Reversible Drills

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" -Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV)

God is good. All the time.

Over the past several months, Chrissy and I have been praying for the Lord to bring us into friendships with Christians who have strong families. Specifically, those who are homeschooling. The Lord has directed us to homeschool our children, and we have many questions on the subject and also, we really just wanted to spend some time with families that have older school-aged children who have had success homeschooling and are committed to building strong, Godly families. Well....He delivered. Quickly and plentifully.

This past weekend our family attended the NCFIC (National Center for Family Integrated Churches) Road Trip Conference in Taunton, MA. We were so blessed to be invited to spend the weekend with The Axbergs, a wonderful family of 6 who we had met only 2 weeks earlier. They are just the sort of family that we had been praying for connections with. We also spent time fellowshipping with other families who share the same convictions as us and the Axbergs. We saw God's love exemplified in so many wonderful ways...especially in the hospitality and selflessness shown not only by the adult hosts, but also by their children.

In the verses at the top of this post, we are warned of the condition that our world is in....evil. We are also encouraged to be educated and make the most of the time that we are given. To "redeem" is to take back. We are told to take back time that we had previously squandered and offered to fruitless and trite pursuits, and to use it to learn...to be calculated and wise. Sound advice in a culture that is producing it's most foolish and least-skilled generation in history.

Throughout our time both at the conference and in peoples homes last weekend, I saw the fruit of this time-redeeming. Families who took back time from foolish and worthless endeavors and are giving it back to the Lord in the form of educating their children and pursuing wisdom for their whole family. I watched 13 year old girls fully manage a kitchen and prepare meals for their families. I saw young boys show genuine care and interest in connecting with and engaging small children in fun, active play. Teenage boys with a strong working knowledge of tools and machinery. Teenage girls with passions for reading. On Saturday morning, I woke up and headed downstairs to find that quite a few people had already been awake. I was happily greeted by the daughter of one of the other families who was staying in the house with us and asked "Would you like a cup of coffee, Mr. Leo?". I was blown away. But I was blown away with a cup of coffee in my hand thanks to the genuine caring heart of a young woman who has been brought up to truly care for the needs of others.

Our media-crazy culture is making billions off of distracting us with nonsensical amusements to keep us entertained....dumb, and entertained. I have interactions with so many young people who hand away hours of their time to amusements that offer no redeeming value in return. I see 9 year olds buried in their Nintendo DS who can't hardly hold a conversation with another child. I see teenagers text messaging nonsense again and again and again and again. It breaks my heart.

My intent is not to put the young people who I spent time with this weekend up on a pedestal, but to mention how blessed I was to be able to see, firsthand, the fruits of "redeeming the time". These kids watch very little tv. I didn't see one of them use a cell phone all weekend. They couldn't comment on Lady GaGa's latest video, or how good Iron Man 2 was, or who got kicked off of American Idol last week. Some folks in some circles might look at these kids and call them "out of touch" or even "geeky". I call them fantastic examples of what happens when you follow God's word and not allow time to be stolen away by foolish pursuits in the name of "fun" and "entertainment". These kids were some of the most wonderful, skilled, funny, and joyful young people that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Getting to spend time with them and learn from them and their parents last weekend was a true gift to our family.

One last story. Last Saturday the weather in Taunton was super hot and muggy. We were installing a HUGE air conditioner in the living room window. The father of the house told his teenage son to grab the tools and install the brackets that would later support the AC unit. The boy immediately jumped up and grabbed the cordless drill and in minutes, had the brackets securely in place. The dad didn't check the work. He didn't need to. It was done right. Years of training, he and his boy, had given both of them the confidence to perform this task no sweat. I look forward to the day when my children discover the beauty of using time wisely, and glorifying God in their wisdom and endeavors.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Canada Goose Mind Freak

I have a problem.

I have geese.

Canadian Geese... or "Canada" Geese, to be ornithologically correct.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm big into birds, especially water foul. The blog name says it all. There are scores of different types of birds that stroll by our bird feeders every day. And I'm getting better at identifying of them. I love 'em. And I love the Canadian Geese, too. Every year we see 6 or 7 families of geese who live in our pond. I don't have a problem with them.

Just with their poo.

It's everywhere.

It's EVERYWHERE!!

Our lawn is full of clover, the geese love the stuff. They eat it like it's their job and leave these disgusting landmines of goose poo all over the place.


Look at them...looking all smug, trying to act like they didn't just poo all over my lawn

Usually, our best solution is to send the boy down to chase them out of the yard and into the water. But they come back. They always come back.
I'm trying a new solution. A solution that I bought online. A solution that I paid retail price for. For those of you who don't know me well enough...this is very, VERY not my style.

Our philosophy on purchases, for the most part, is "make what we can, fix what we break, and if we have to buy it, get it on sale". This attitude mostly came from my family not having much money when I was growing up.

BUT...for the amazing low price of $21.95 (plus shipping and handling) we have an artificial food chain deterrent singularly manifesting itself in my back yard as we speak. Are you ready to see it?


See it yet? Wait for it....


Waaaaaiiiiittttt fooooorrrr iiiiiiiitttttt..........



That's right, it's a......


2D High-Density Plastic Collapsible Weather and UV Resistant Full Color Coyote Decoy!!!!!

I know, I know...there's no way it's going to work, right? We'll see, but so far....


It scared the snot out of the cat.

We'll see how this one plays out. Stay Tuned.