Change of Plans

So, initially I was going to update everyone on the backyard project/ addition, but then I saw something this morning that made me change my mind. 

We have been so blessed by where we live: our neighborhood is convenient to EVERYTHING; our neighbors are great; our home is in good condition (even if we have been updating it here and there); and, unlike many homes in this area, we actually have privacy thanks to our wooded lot. 

Though I am not a tree-hugger or environmentalist by any means, I do enjoy and appreciate nature (after all, it is God's creation and one of many ways in which He demonstrates His creativity and His love for us). So is it any surprise that I often find myself scanning the backyard for critters of one sort or another: chipmunks (so cute... but so destructive! Argh!), squirrels (eh, see one, seen 'em all), chickadees (can't get enough of these. Maybe that's because of a report I wrote back in elementary school), doves, woodpeckers, cardinals, rabbits (don't see these often enough), foxes (thankfully our yard is usually just a cut through; too often, these are rather mangy looking), deer (REGULARLY! Scott keeps telling me that one day he's going to hunt them from our deck), snakes (ugh!!), turtles (saw a baby one crossing our driveway last year), toads, and hawks (saw one just last week. He hung around for a few days. Friday he was on our deck. Saturday he went zooming past Scott's ear while Scott was outside working.).

And then Sunday, and again today, I saw something I hadn't seen in our neighborhood before. Something beautiful, majestic, and strong: a bald-eagle. As I was driving to church, he flew over our street. Then today, as we were playing outside, he flew down our street, prey (a squirrel) in talons. So amazing. Guess I know what I'll be keeping an eye out for now.