Category Archives: Plus

BLT at Noah’s ARK

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Interesting Things from Smiley CentralFrom another e-mail received, this one is about a Bear, Lion and a Tiger. They are affectionately known as “BLT” and housed at the Noah’s Ark Sanctuary in Georgia.

This is Leo the African Lion, Baloo the Black Bear, and Shere Khan the Bengal Tiger.

BLT 1

The threesome were rescued as babies from the basement of an Atlanta drug dealer’s home when it was raided by authorities.

BLT 2

They were starving, traumatized and had bacterial infections.

BLT 3

Since then, they were brought to Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary

BLT 4

… where they’ve lived in the same habitat together for 13 years.

BLT 5

The only time the three were separated was when Baloo was sent to surgery. [While at the drug dealer’s home, Baloo had been mistreated so profoundly that the harness that was put on him had grown into his skin.]

BLT 7

The two cats were distraught and cried for the bear’s return when he was at the vet’s. Since then no one has separated the group.

BLT 8

They clearly bonded during their earliest memories and never wanted to be apart.

BLT 9

Now they live together as if they were brothers of the same species.

BLT 10

They play together, nuzzle one another and are extremely affectionate.

BLT 11

The threesome are the only lion, tiger and bear living together in the world.

BLT 12

They’re just that exceptional.

BLT 13

Humans could really learn from the bond that these three have.

BLT 14

No one ever told them they couldn’t love one another, so they did just that.

BLT 15

And now, even all these years later, they continue to do so.

BLT 16

The trio are affectionately referred to as BLT, standing for bear, lion, and tiger. They might just be the most adorable sandwich ever!

That is the end of the e-mail I received. Their behavior reminds us that when the Lord returns, sets up His kingdom on earth and Isaiah is fulfilled:

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9 NKJV)

Here are two videos found on the internet about them.

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Noah’s Ark Sanctuary in Georgia

Parrot Mountain’s Prayer Garden

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And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. (Matthew 14:23 KJV)

The Prayer Garden at Parrot Mountain is very peaceful and lovely. Thought I would share some of those photos this time. At the entrance there are two angel statues and then as you enter.

Angel

Angel

There are three crosses and some signs with verses:

Parrot Mountain Landscape and Signs

Three Crosses and Signs

As you go in further there are more signs, a garden tomb with an angel and a place where the Savior was lain. More signs and walkway with sculptures in them. Here are more of the photos of this area of Parrot Mountain.

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Parrot Mountain in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Fellowship in the Smokies
Peaceful Stream
Salmon-crested (Moluccan) Cockatoo at Parrot Mountain
Are You Missing Something?
Sharing The Gospel

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Peaceful Stream

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Trees along the Roaring Fork Drive

Trees along the Roaring Fork Drive

The trees have not turned that much yet, but the two videos below are just relaxing to watch. In about two weeks or so the leaves should really be at prime.

He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. (Psalms 78:16 KJV)

But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. (Amos 5:24 KJV)

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:11 NKJV)

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Plus – Amazing Dolphin Show

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Pacific White-sided Dolphin by Ian

Pacific White-sided Dolphin by Ian

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius (nature). (James 3:7 AMP)

A friend sent me this link to a Dolphin Show in Israel. This is one reason my blog’s name ends with Plus so I can add “non-birdie” things.

Here are some more of the fantastic creatures that the Lord has given mankind. Enjoy!

Full-screen is best.

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. (Isaiah 40:28 KJV)

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Tattered Survivor Bandaged

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Michael Powell loves to take photographs of Dragonflies and other neat things – up close. This one caught my attention because it reminds me of a great promise from the Lord.

“Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.” (Hosea 6:1 NASB)

Thanks, Michael for great photos.

Visit – Source: Tattered survivor

Michael Q. Powell for more of his articles.

Why Should We Remember 9/11?

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Firemen at 9/11

Why Should We Remember 9/11?

By Stephen on Sep 11, 2015 01:00 am

Today is 9/11.

Read that sentence again.  It is very short.  But, It is a sentence filled with intense emotion and pain.  I hope you never forget where you were on September 11th, 2001.  I was in chapel at Bob Jones University when an announcement was made informing us all of what was happening.  I still remember seeing a girl clutching her cell phone and crying.  It was as if she was desperately trying to reach someone just so that she could hear their voice.

It has been 14 years since our country was attacked.  Today we must pause and remember what happened on 9/11. There are certain events in the history of America that every American must remember.  9/11 is one of those events.  Countless events have long been forgotten.  9/11 must never be forgotten.  Today, I want to give you four reasons why we must remember 9/11.

  1. The truth must not be re-written.  On 9/11, our country was attacked.  Islamic extremists murdered thousands of people.  These attackers were not Christian.  They were not Catholic.  They were not Mormon.  They were not Jehovah’s Witnesses.  They were not atheists.  They were Muslim.  They believed they were obeying Allah by murdering thousands of people.  They believed their actions were a holy act of worship.  We must remember 9/11 so that the truth is not changed.  It is possible that others will attempt to re-write the story of 9/11.  They may twist or alter the truth.  We must remember so that the truth will survive.
  2. The truth must be re-told.  The only reason I know about the attack on Pearl Harbor is because someone told me.  I was not there.  I was not alive in 1941.  But, I have been taught.  I have seen the pictures.  I have read the stories.  We must remember 9/11 so that we can tell the generations to come.  My children need to learn about 9/11.  They need to hear the stories.  They need to see pictures and watch the videos.  It is important for future generations to know what happened on 9/11.
  3. We must honor those who died.  Nearly 3,000 people died on 9/11.  Most were civilians – just like me.  Many were firefighters, policemen, and other emergency responders who were trying to help.  If we forget, we will fail to honor them.  We must remember that thousands of men, women, and children were murdered.  Their lives matter.  Every life matters.  We must honor their memory by remembering what happened.
  4. Our turn may come.  Remembering 9/11 will help us prepare for the future.  You may find yourself on a hijacked airplane one day.  If that’s me, I hope I will have the courage (like the men on Flight 93) to stand up to the hijackers.  Perhaps one day, the terrorist attack will come to your neighborhood.  If so, I hope you will jump into action to help the injured and the hurting.  Thousands of Americans responded on 9/11 and on the days immediately following.  They disregarded their own personal safety to run to the aid of others.  There may come a day when it is our turn.  When that day comes, we must remember 9/11.  We must respond.  We must help.

Today is 9/11.  Always remember.  Never forget.

Stephen

Lee’s Addition:

“Remember the days of old, Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; Your elders, and they will tell you: (Deuteronomy 32:7 NKJV)

(Re-posted from the Window from Faith Baptist Church.) http://www.faithbaptistwh.org/2015/09/11/why-should-we-remember-911/

Twin Towers As Second Plane Hit

Twin Towers As Second Plane Hit

Twin Tower as it Collapsed

Twin Tower as it Collapsed

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Helps For Updating Bird List To I.O.C. Version 5.3

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Mourning Dove by Reinier Munguia

Mourning Dove by Reinier Munguia

Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field… (Genesis 2:19-20a NKJV)

Today I want to share a little behind the scene helps that really make updating a blog and your files. As you may be aware, we use the I.O.C.’s list of world bird names here. About every quarter, they (IOC) delete, add, and revise the species names and positions in the list of all the birds in the world. If you are nutty enough to have had the bright idea, like I did several years back, to list ALL THE BIRDS, then you have a headache every quarter.

Each update they (IOC) provide files you can download with all the birds listed. Most of these are in the Excel format. Spreadsheets like Excel and others can greatly speed up fixing the list to update my site. I use simple (and I mean simple) formulas to combine the bird’s name and its scientific name together with the parenthesis around it. Then just copy the formula down the 10,000 plus birds and “wa laa” you have a

Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) instead of  a

“Black-headed Ibis” and a “Threskiornis melanocephalus“ with no parenthesis to be found.

=CONCATENATE(E796,” (“,G796,”)”)

E796 is the cell of the English name and G796 is the cell of the Scientific name. The ,” (, and the ,”)” tells it to add a space and parenthesis, and a parenthesis at the end.

I also came up with a naming system to help find the photos of birds on the hard drives. I use a 3-letter code – All Caps – for the Order of birds, a dash(-), followed by a 4-letter code to represent the Family of the birds. It really helps in aiding to find bird photos or to rename them. (that is next)

Another great program, this one is free, is ReNamer from Den4B.com. I use this a lot. ReNamer lets you change the name of files enmasse. File explorer will let you rename a group of files, but you cannot go in there and just change parts of it like ReNamer can do. As I mentioned in the last post about I.O.C. Version 5.3, the Parrot family was split into two families. Fixing the pages that list all the birds was tedious enough, but having to separate the photos on my hard drive was another situation.

My File Explorer - For Parrots

My File Explorer – For Parrots

My Code for the original Parrot family was PSI-Psit (PSITTACIFORMES order and Psittacidae family) and now with the new Psittaculidae family I came up with PSI-Pstt. So how am I suppose to rename over 200 photos in the new family to the new code? Easy with ReNamer. Drag the files you want to rename into ReNamer, add a new Rule (Replace PSI-Psit with PSI-Pstt), then press the “Rename” button and 200 plus photos are renamed. There are lots of other options. It is a fantastic program in my opinion.

ReNamer from den4b.com

ReNamer from den4b.com

I know for some of you, this was a little more technical than normal, but thought you might find something in it you can use on your projects. The CONCATENATE (combining) feature of Excel and the ReNamer program are both very useful.

Because of health issues and other events going on, the update to I.O.C. Ver. 5.3 has not moved as fast as other versions. I am working on it and here are the families updated so far. I have been making a change to the pages as I work on them. I am adding a slideshow at the bottom of each page. Stay tuned!

‘I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me. (Jeremiah 27:5 NKJV)

I.O.C. Version 5.3

Tinamous – Tinamidae
Ostriches – Struthionidae
Rheas – Rheidae
Cassowaries – Casuariidae
Emu – Dromaiidae
Kiwis – Apterygidae
Screamers – Anhimidae
Magpie Goose – Anseranatidae
Ducks, Geese and Swans – Anatidae
Megapodes – Megapodiidae
Chachalacas, Curassows and Guans – Cracidae
Guineafowl – Numididae
New World Quail – Odontophoridae
Pheasants and allies – Phasianidae
Loons – Gaviidae
Penguins – Spheniscidae
Austral Storm Petrels – Oceanitidae
Albatrosses – Diomedeidae
Northern Storm Petrels – Hydrobatidae
Petrels, Shearwaters – Procellariidae
Diving Petrels – Pelecanoididae
Grebes – Podicipedidae
Flamingos – Phoenicopteridae
Tropicbirds – Phaethontidae
Storks – Ciconiidae
Ciconiidae – Storks
* The Parrots
Strigopidae – New Zealand Parrots
Cacatuidae – Cockatoos
Psittacidae – African and New World Parrots
Psittaculidae – Old World Parrots
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Acorn Woodpecker and Rehab

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“Dewey” Acorn Woodpecker at Rehab Ctr by Lee

The steps of a good man (lady) are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (Psa 37:23-25)

While on our vacation, we visited the Living Desert Museum and Rehab Center in California. One of the “rehab-ees” was an Acorn Woodpecker named Dewey. He is 25 years old and “despite being geriatric with multiple health problems, he is very active.

“Dewey” Acorn Woodpecker Sign at Rehab Ctr by Lee

As you can see by this next photo his beak is really in bad shape. He can not return to the wild of course and so is being well taken care of.

Dewey's Beak - Cropped

Dewey’s Beak – Cropped

I decided to share Dewey’s rehab because of what has been happening around Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures place. Dewey and I are becoming older and things happen.

About three weeks ago I started having sharp pains in my back and found it hard to stand up.  Long story, short, my vertebrae in my back has slipped. Nine years ago, my S1 and L5 slipped and I had surgery to fuse those two with a rod and screws. They were not able to do one side because my bones were too soft on one side to be able to put the normal two rods in.

Now the L4 has slid about 50%. That is considered serious and surgery is the main way to fix it. For now, we are going to try other options first. I started “rehab” yesterday to help strenghten my back muscles to keep it from sliding any more. They gave me a brace and walker. Today, we took a break and here is a photo of me with my new “gear.”

Lee at Brevard Zoo 8-13-15

Lee at Brevard Zoo 8-13-15

Because of what has been going on lately, I haven’t visited your sites as frequently as I try to do.

This “Rehab” does not stop there. My computer has been in “Rehab” also. We switched to the new Windows 10 and it has been a real challenge. Lost programs and have had other challenges that go with an upgrade.

No, that is not all of it. We upgraded to the new Office 365 and that is not working right either. It works fine on Dan’s Desk and Laptops, my laptop, but not my desktop. Days and two chats with the Office techs, and it still isn’t working. I have an appointment with a Level 2 tech on Saturday to try to get it running. I need the Excel to work on the new I.O.C. 5.3 version that recently came out.

See why we came to the zoo today? I needed to get away from the “zoo” at home. :)

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. (Psa 71:18)

Thanks for your prayers as we work through these challenges. Not all that go in for rehab stay there forever. Many birds are patched up and released back outside to fly again. Soon these minor slow downs will be cleared up and the blog will be “flying again”. We still have more birdwatching adventures to share yet. The Lord’s creations are just waiting to be shown to our next generation.

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Gideon

Are Dinosaurs Extinct? (Re-post)

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Here is an interesting Creation Moments Minute from Creation Moments:

I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. (Job 30:29 KJV)

We see these quite frequently in the Zoos. Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa has one we have watched, but he usually just lays there and looks around. The one in the video surprised me that they can run that fast.

This one was taken at the Palm Beach Zoo in Florida last year.

Kamodo Dragon Palm Beach Zoo by Lee

Kamodo Dragon Palm Beach Zoo by Lee

The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. (Isaiah 43:20 KJV)

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Rebel Without a Cause? I Don’t Think So

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Reblogged from my friend Sandra Connor’s, In Love With Words

Sandra Pavloff Conner's avatarThe Happy Wordcrafter

Photo Courtesy of Clker.com Photo Courtesy of Clker.com

I generally post articles on this site that, hopefully, will be of interest to visitors and readers from all over the world, since I’ve been blessed with friendship by so many folks from other nations. That being said, I’ll let you know up front that this post is primarily addressed to the other citizens of the United States who visit here. However, what I’m saying about the removal of basic rights and freedoms in our nation is something that can be applied to every free nation on this planet. So, hopefully, even those of you who are not my countrymen, will find something here to make you think and/or encourage you to stand up for the rights of everyone in your own nation.

I came across a website last week (Dukes of Hillsboro) that is dedicated to and focused on clarifying and defending the Confederate battle…

View original post 1,937 more words

Arizona-Senora Desert Museum – Critters

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Gopher Snake Desert Mus-Tucson by Lee

Gopher Snake Desert Mus-Tucson by Lee

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals, And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion; Also the night creature shall rest there, And find for herself a place of rest. There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs And hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, Every one with her mate. (Isaiah 34:14-15 NKJV)

In Arizona-Senora Desert Museum – Vacation, I showed you some of the cactus, flowers and scenery of the Desert Museum. Today its the “critters” turn to be shown off.

Deserts are of course dry and receive little rain. So, in God’s Wisdom, He created critters, walking or crawling, that are adapted to this kind of environment. Many of these, especially the snakes and poisonous things were in exhibits and not roaming free. I enjoy seeing snakes, but not when they surprise me on a trail.

Desert Tarantula – Male Az-Sonora DM by Lee

There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: …The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.
(Proverbs 30:24-28 NKJV)

Here are a some of the photos we took of the “CRITTERS.” (I apologize, but I forgot to take the lens shade off.)

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