Poems

Sometimes my grandma finds things from her past and shares them with us. The other day she found three poems that she wrote when she was younger that I thought I would share...

Dreams and Realtiy
by Linda Andrews

When I was a little girl, my hopes were all a dream.
Someday I'd be a mother, someday I'd be a queen.

I'd own a lovely castle, with children all around.
I'd have a loving husband, to share my royal crown.

Now I am not a little girl, but somehow I have found,
My dreams are a reality, my castle and my crown.

I have four lovely children, to give me love and joy.
To share with me their treasures, their dreams, and their rewards.

My husband is the fortress, in all that's said and done.
His strength and hope surrounds us, we're guarded with his love.

What more could I have hoped for, what more could I have dreamed,
I have the love, I have the joy, so few have ever seen.

Poems by Linda Andrews

I called to God in my distress,
I prayed for joy and happiness,
He told me just to love and pray
and ask no more than for this day.
He said He'd guide my every step
and give me joy of inner depth,
A peace and joy for each new day,
to guide in all I do and say.

I took Him at His word and prayed,
for guidance all along the way,
I asked no more than for today,
and prayed for Him to guard my ways.
He filled my life with hope and love,
with His great guidance from above
Now I have peace for each new day,
and happiness along the way.

Animal Activist... Check!

Yesterday I saved a red-tailed hawk... No big...

So here's the story. I was at work just finishing up running breakfast when one of the guests pointed out a beautiful hawk that was hanging out on a rock close to the kitchen. Ed and I watched it for a bit while trying to take some pictures. Ed got pretty close and spooked it to where it hopped down the hill a little bit. I thought it was pretty weird how it let us get so close but then when I saw it hop away instead of fly away, I knew something was up. I sat and observed the bird for a good twenty minutes and noticed another smaller hawk (which I later found out was a red shouldered hawk) was attacking the larger hawk (the one that was acting strange... which I later found out was a red-tail... I usually can spot them but this one was on the ground and I didn't get a good look at his tail). The larger hawk wasn't flying away (or flying at all) and even used his talons and beak to climb up into a tree...

I decided it would be best to call the Ojai Raptor Center to have them come pick up the bird and see what was up with it. After a runaround of call this number, and try this number, and "I'm out of the office, call this person...", I was able to get a hold of Bob who happens to be the snake guy who comes to do snake programs at Outdoor Ed and works for the Raptor Center. He came out and tried to catch the bird with a fishing net, but it climbed higher into the tree and we eventually lost track of him. Bob left and told me to call him again if the bird showed up again. Sure enough, later that afternoon, the hawk showed up again in the same area so I called Bob. He came out again and was able to catch the bird. From his initial assessment, he could tell that the hawk was extremely underweight and his flight muscles were extremely underdeveloped (which explains why he wasn't flying). I love the Raptor Center because they are so concerned about the animals but they also love educating people on the animals. Bob told me what they were going to check for with the bird and what could be wrong and how they might need to feed it. He even let me feel the chest of the Hawk to see how underdeveloped it's flight muscles were (that's right, I touched a red-tailed hawk... have you?). Bob called me later that evening and said that the Hawk was 22% underweight which is a lot for a bird. He said when they get to be 30% underweight, they just fall over dead. He also said in another day or two this guy would probably be dead. He told me that he had to insert a feeding tube to start bulking this guy up, but he was super happy that we got him when we did.

It sounds silly, I know. I really didn't do anything but call the Raptor Center. But if it weren't for Outdoor Ed and the few times I sat through the Raptor Center class, I wouldn't have known who to call or really took the time to watch the bird. I am so thankful for the Raptor Center and the work they do. If you ever have a chance to sit in one of their classes (the Raptor one with Kim or Bob's snake class), I would highly recommend it!

Ode to the Yellow Bug

I don't know what you listen to when you are in your car, but I personally enjoy listening to my ipod. Unfortunately I do not have a tape player in my car, so I am stuck using an FM transmitter to play my ipod through my stereo. It's a pretty cheap one, I will admit, but it does a great job on this one station... But there's this yellow bug that goes to my school; let's call him NIKZBUG (that's his license plate)...

Well, NIKZBUG likes to use the same radio station that I use... And his FM transmitter is way better then mine... So whenever he comes within 5 car lengths (that's not an exaggeration either...) of me, I pick up his radio station (which I am guessing is maybe an XM thing, but I'm really not sure)... This would be fine if his radio station was good, but his station just talks about sex... I don't want to hear that crap... So whenever my station starts to get a little fuzzy, I frantically look for that stupid yellow bug... I've become so paranoid that when I see other yellow bugs, I start to panic a little and drive faster or slower to avoid it (even if it's not him...)... Ridiculous I know... But I can't stand that stupid yellow bug...

Bon Voyage

My friend Cory moved today. I am very excited for where God is taking her. I admire her for her patience and faith in the Lord these last few years of her life which has led her to this point. I know God has great plans for her and I am excited to see how He is going to use her in Detroit...

But I'm sad. I miss my friend. I am sad that tomorrow morning when I get up and get ready to go get coffee, I won't have a friend to sit and share a cup of coffee with... I'm sad. But happy for her.

Hunter Imagery

Ryan asked me today about my cousin's photography which spurred me on to look at his stuff a little more... Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you my favorite photo...

For more great images, visit his website http://hunterimagery.com/ and/or like him on Facebook.

Work

I'm almost two and a half months into my "new job" (I put it in quotes because it's not really "new" but it's more full time/consistent then in the past) and I have to say I am really enjoying it. Yes, some weekends (most actually) are exhausting; Running around all day cleaning/stocking bathrooms, vacuuming, running meals, interacting with guests, lifeguarding (not anymore cause the pool is closed...), working rec (not as much now since the pool is closed and we have enough staff...)... By Sunday, I am usually pretty wiped out. But despite how much work it actually is, I really enjoy seeing and serving the different members of the body of Christ that come to our camp. It is such a joy to see how they run things and what they believe and how they interact with others. True, some are rude and pushy. Some are disrespectful and downright messy. But to serve them and love them really has been a joy and a blessing that I have really enjoyed.