APED - A Picture Every Day

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Heron Thursday 01-07-16

Hello and happy Thursday. Are you looking for Friday? I think my heron is as well. Ooooh, I think he sees it. Meanwhile, Thursday is a really good day -we're over the Hump Day and ready to fly into Friday - so we "fly" happily through the day. Hooray!

I hope you had a wonderful "fly-by" Thursday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Wet and Wild Wednesday 01-06-16

Hello and happy Wednesday. "I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in." George Washington Carver. My feelings exactly! George Washington Carver was an American botanist and inventor born into slavery sometime in the early to mid 1860s (exact time unknown). Check out more about him and his accomplishments at the website http://shs.umsystem.edu/historicmissourians/name/c/carver/.

It's Wednesday and many people attend a church on Wednesday nights. Nature is my favorite church and I attend regularly. To understand why, just re-read the quote above and know that I enjoy tuning in.

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Tuesday Wild Life 01-05-16

Hello and happy Tuesday. Today I have my portrait of one of the Muscovy Ducks that I enjoyed photographing the other day. I hope this recent cold weather hasn't sent him packing more south. I have another quote from my coloring book that fits this guy and it goes, "Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals 'love' them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more." (Edwin Way Teale)

Edwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer and Pulitzer Prize winning writer. He sounds like my kind of person.

I hope you had a terrific Tuesday. Maybe you were lucky enough to enjoy viewing wildlife. That would have been so cool. Thanks for looking. See you tomorrow.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Monday's Solitude 01-04-16

Hello and happy Monday. How about taking a seat on the bench today, get your feet wet and enjoy the "smoke" on the water. Solitude. Solitude is what's needed on Monday. Almost everywhere, Mondays are really busy days. What if you could get a little peace and quiet on Monday? What would you do? Where would you go? Would you really go put your feet in water and sit on a bench and watch the fog roll over the water while the sun rises? I would.

I hope you had a great Monday and managed to sneak in a little solitude. I thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Sunday Steeple 01-03-16

Hello and happy Sunday. This year, on Sundays, I think I will bring you a church - or at least a part of one. This country has no shortages of churches so I think I can come up with 52 of them. While there is only one God, there are many different ways to worship - and I hope I can show many of the different types of buildings used for that purpose. Maybe I can give a little history about the particular church and we can all learn something. Religion is a very personal choice - we choose what we want to believe and join others who feel the same. I want you to know that I feel that everyone is entitled to worship the way they want and I make no judgements as long as there is love felt and given. My God is a loving God and I won't show churches that I learn are spreading hate toward others.

With that being said, the steeple you see above comes from a church of love. This is Camp Creek United Methodist Church in Lancaster, SC. This church was founded in 1798 by Bishop Francis Asbury. Please read more about the history of this church at http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/lancaster-county/camp-creek-methodist-church.html.

My maternal grandparents went to this church; then my mother; then she brought in my father and, of course their three children. This is where I learned the love of God from people other than my parents. I grew up coming here almost every Sunday, I learned all the books of the Bible, how to pronounce difficult words and names (and there are many), and how there are different opinions, different ways of interpreting the same Bible verse(s), and how each interpretation may be right. I learned that thinking and asking questions is OK! People here weren't all "my way or the highway", but encouraging and loving. The people here really make this church a welcoming and loving place.

It was truly a great Church for me to grow from child to adult. One of my sisters and her two sons still attend. It's still the place I go sometimes. Feel free to check them out.

I hope you are having a great Sunday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Natural Floating Dock Saturday 01-02-15

Hello and happy Saturday. I bought a coloring book yesterday. It is called "Life on Earth, Relaxing Art Therapy For Adults". I didn't buy it because I want to color. I bought it because every other page has a wonderful quotation that matches how I feel. For instance, the quotation I want to use today is from an unknown author that says, "The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man".

What you see here is what I call a natural floating dock. When we were paddling to it, we thought it was a piece of land, but when we arrived we found that it was just an intricate mingling of vine grasses that held our kayaks in place while we fished, photographed and ate. It was wonderful and moved only slightly left or right with the current. We were on Cox Lake in Mullins, SC. Cox Lake is fed by the Little Pee Dee River which has swollen more than 2 feet in the last 10 days due to many heavy rains. We stayed on Cox Lake instead of taking our usual water pathway to the Little Pee Dee River due to those heavy rains and the increase in water levels.

It was a great day for a paddle. I hope you had a great Saturday. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year Friday 1-1-16

Hello and happy Friday. Also, Happy New Year!! I knew that today, on the first day of the year, that my blog had to have something to do with kayaks, water and wildlife. Well, I must be living right! I wanted to go kayaking today but it started getting late and colder, so we had to scrap that idea. As I was wandering around the yard, I saw these Muscovy Ducks making an entrance near my kayaks. Yay. Now I had everything I wanted to include in my first photo of the year. Now only 364 days to go.

This is the first day I had ever seen Muscovy Ducks in my yard or in my neighborhood. Usually I see Canada Geese, so this was indeed a welcome surprise. My front yard is somewhat smaller today thanks to many recent, heavy rains so that, once these guys stepped out of the water, they were close to my kayaks and me. In fact, before they left the yard, they came less than three feet away from me. The New Year has been very good to me so far.

I hope you've had a great New Year's Day. Thank you for looking. See you tomorrow.