Born in the Big Sky Country of Montana and now living in the Buckeye State of Ohio, Richard is the creative mind behind Big Sky Buckeye. Retired after 40 years of teaching, I enjoy writing, photography, traveling, and following a healthy lifestyle.
From Genesis 1:29-30: “God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so.”
God uses the grace found in His creation to bring our faith into better focus.
Do you write a daily journal? This inspiring thought comes from my journal, and much of what is written in my journal comes from reading and commenting on other bloggers’ posts. Thanks to many of you for adding so much to my journal.
From Colossians 3:1-2: “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.”
With every breath of acceptance in His Son we take, God’s grace continues to be sown into our faith.
Do you write a daily journal? This inspiring thought comes from my journal, and much of what is written in my journal comes from reading and commenting on other bloggers’ posts. Thanks to many of you for adding so much to my journal.
This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one. You are invited to participate with the opening question.
Brain Teaser Question
When my dad was 31, I was just 8 years old. Now his age is twice as old as my age. What is my current age?
(answer found at the end of this post)
Featured Facts
The United States is home to three types of vultures. These carnivorous birds of pray live a life of consuming carrion, which is decaying flesh of dead animals.
Here are the types of vultures and their territorial range:
Turkey Vulture: virtually every region of the country
Black Vulture: predominately in southeastern region of the country
California Condor: selected areas of California and Arizona
The Turkey Vulture is the most common species in the United States. Its appearance features an all black body, bald head, and pinkish bill. They possess a highly developed sense of smell, which allows for easier detection of carrion up to eight miles away. Lacking vocal cords, these birds can only make a “hissing” sound.
The Black Vulture is covered in black feathers, bald head with black skin, and wings with silver feathers on the underside. They possess excellent vision, and they prefer killing small animals (skunks, opossums, baby pigs, calves, and lambs) for food instead of carrion. They follow a habit of staying close to Turkey Vultures, who have a better sense of small. Since Black Vultures are more aggressive, they frequently chase their competition away.
The California Condor is the largest bird in the United States. With a predominately black body and wings, the underside of the wings is usually white. The bald heads range in color from yellow to orange to pink to purple to blue to red.
In 1987, the Condor is declared extinct in the wild. The few remaining birds live in captivity. Because of a very successful breeding program, Condors are released back into the wild in California (1991) and Arizona (1996). The Condor has excellent gliding skills when in flight, and they can soar as high as 15,000 feet.
All three of these raptors feature featherless heads and necks. This helps to keep the birds clean while consuming carrion. A powerful stomach acid protects each bird of prey from exposure to rabies, Black Plaque, botulism, distemper, and anthrax.
row 1: black vultures feasting, in flight, and looking for prey. Row 2: Turkey Vultures on left column, along with baby chick. on the right column, california condor with handler (notice the size contrast). row 3: california condor in flight. (all images courtesy of PINTEREST)
An artist’s interpretation adds much color to nature’s landscape, where another moment appreciates each positive paint stroke.
Do you write a daily journal? This inspiring thought comes from my journal, and much of what is written in my journal comes from reading and commenting on other bloggers’ posts. Thanks to many of you for adding so much to my journal.
This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
Big Sky Buckeye 