An Evening with the Ducks

          (This was written on Monday 20, September 2010 but not posted until after midnight of the 21st)

Despite the unseasonably warm mid-September heat, we have still been able to enjoy many evening hours outdoors. For the past week, Little Bear and I (and oftentimes, Peanut, too) have spent an hour or two tossing the football back and forth or we have visited with neighbors as the kids play in the yard. Tonight, however, instead of playing football or visiting, we chose to do something a bit different. For days now, Peanut has begged us to take him to feed the ducks. So, mom, Little Bear, Peanut, one of the boys' friends and I all took a late-evening walk to the nearby Saluki Lake to feed the geese and the ducks that call this small lake home. With small baggies of Goldfish crackers in hand, we made our way to the lake only to find that most of the geese had already migrated over to the nearby wildlife refuge for the night. Thankfully, we were still able to locate nine brown ducks and one large white duck a few yards away on a nearby embankment.

   

          After the boys threw a few handfuls of crackers, four of the brown ducks and the one white duck seemed to get the idea and swam over to enjoy the proffered snack. Soon, the five smaller brown ducks  who had initially stayed behind decided to join the fun and came running (yes, running) across the grassy bank to get their share of crackers, too. The three boys had so much fun tossing crackers to the ducks, listening to the funny grumbling and splashing sounds the ducks made as they fought over the floating multicolored crackers. After a short amount of time, the lone white Aflac duck became quite friendly to the boys, allowing them to hand-feed her (him?) and gently pet her as she ate. It was at this moment that I realized that, silly me, I forgot my camera at home. Yes, I know. Not having a camera on hand is so unlike me. I missed a couple of really great shots, too. Darn it. Making the best of the situation, though, I pulled out my cell phone camera to at least snap a few pictures, low quality though they will undoubtedly be.  



Peanut watching Little Bear feed the Aflac duck.



  

After watching brother, Peanut had to try and feed the duck, too. So stinkin' cute!

          A few pictures later, the boys ran out of crackers and we decided to head home. As we were leaving, I glanced back to see a beautiful sight; the landscape of trees and houses were nothing more than black silhouettes against an azure sky as the milky white moon shone brightly, its reflection rippling in the gentle lapping of lake water against the grassy bank.

  
  The pictures aren't great but the memories certainly are. The moment wasn't exactly life-changing, but it was laughter-inducing.  And I am reminded, yet again... What beautiful little details God paints into our lives, and what precious memories are made by an impromptu visit to feed the ducks!




 

New Beginnings

A new beginning, a fresh start. Like writing that first entry in a brand new journal after the previous journal has been filled or hanging up a new calender on the first day of January, a new blog is like a pristine canvas that is just waiting to be created into something special, something lovely. 

Truthfully, this new blog is something that I've wanted to do for quite a while. However, I had the hardest time coming up with a name that I not only liked but also a name that had not yet been used. Finally, I decided on the name that was my first choice to begin with, Life in the Details: Moments that Matter. I chose this name because it has special meaning to me, because the details of life are important to me. "Life in the Details" is one of the primary doodles on the inside of my scrapbook cabinet door. It is a reminder to me that our lives are composed of more than just the birthdays, the holidays, the vacations, the graduations and other memorable major life events. It reminds me that the simple, seemingly mundane moments of everyday life are also to be cherished and savored, that these are the moments, the details, that make our lives special, give us character and keep life interesting. These little details of life are the moments that matter. The sweet and innocent musings of a child, answered prayers, seeing the Hand of God in the midst of trials, precious moments with my Savior, times spent in merriment and laughter with loved ones, late-night card games, Friday night dinners at a beloved restaurant, the beauty of an autumn moon reflecting on a placid lake... details, moments that matter. This has always been the purpose of my writing and my photography. It is my way of capturing and savoring details of life.

As it goes for the moment, this blog is a far cry from the way I would like it to look. I am not at all satisfied with the background or the banner I have on here, and I have determined that I am simply going to have to design my own. However, since it is now after 3am and I have to be up in less than 4 hours, I think that this is about as far as it is going to get for the moment.