Glorious Day

My husband Bill travels every week to the two churches he serves about and hour and 45 minutes north of where we live.  To get to them he has to go past a large lake and for the last few weeks he's been calling me to give me updates on the wildlife he sees on the trip.  The last three weeks he's been able to add Eagles to the list of the things he normally tells me - you know deer, coyote, hawk, owl.  Part of the reason for the Eagles is the season.  Right now it is winter and the ice is frozen on the majority of the lake, with a few areas of open water.  Waterfowl are also present on the lake at this time although in reduced numbers because of the cold temps.  Today my husband suggested we take the time to drive to the lake and look around and see if we could spot any eagles.  I was more than ready to take him up on his offer since I love catching a glimpse of these majestic birds and since I'm a amateur photographer as well.  Besides the temperatures were predicted to be in the 40's today and who wouldn't want to be out in the middle of winter on a 40 degree day?!  We live near the Middle Loup in the Sand hills region of Nebraska and Merritt Reservoir was our destination.  On the journey North this morning we spotted several deer and witnessed one doe that cleared a barbed wire fence by at least a good three feet.  That was amazing in and of itself, but then we had our first eagle sighting.  The bird was in a tree near the North Loup River which is approximately half way between our starting point and our final destination.  When we were about 4 miles south of Merritt, Bill pointed to a tree where we had previously spotted a huge nest and guessed that it might be an eagle nest and we were pleasantly surprised to see a pair of eagles, one sitting on the nest and its mate sitting on a branch in the same tree but out far enough to have a good view of all the surroundings.  To say I was excited is an understatement.  Then we came around a curve in the road beside the lake and spotted two more eagles out on the ice.  We had to stop at the trading post and purchase a park permit to get any closer to the water, but it was worth every penny.  Not only did we spot 7 more eagles, but we were able to follow bobcat tracks in the sand, listen to the lake groan and gurgle as the ice heaved several times while we were there due to those warmer temps.  And we got to see an ice jamb phenomenon in one of the bay's.  With the sun hitting the many different jagged edges of ice, it was quite a spectacular view.  We also saw two porcupines in that same bay, just a little further down from us.  We kept our distance, but honestly I'm not sure they were even aware of our presence.  They were just out doing what we were, enjoying some sunshine and fresh air.  We pulled into one of the camping areas and found enough downed wood to start a fire in a fire pit and enjoyed the lunch I had packed.  What a delightful and glorious day for so many reasons.  The most important for me next to spending time with my husband, was seeing God's hand at work.  Every time I am outdoors and look around me I'm am filled with awe at how creative our God is.  He is the one who set the seasons in place when he created the sun and moon and the stars.  He is the one who gave us light when he separated the light from the darkness and called one day and one night.  He is the one who created all the creatures and the plants that we were able to see today.  Thank you Lord for the gifts of sight, hearing, and smell so I could experience the Glorious Day you had in store for me today.