Birding in Belize 2023

MerleLeave a commentBirding and Photography

Rita and I were privileged to spend some relaxing time in Belize this winter, recovering and healing from life and health stresses. It was so good to visit several national parks, including St Herman’s Blue Hole and Mayflower Bocawina. We also just walked along the roads where our hosts, Loren and Mairi Helmuth, lived. It was especially satisfying to compile a list of 162 bird species on this 14-day trip, as we didn’t have birds coming to feeders, and we only had a bird guide for a few hours. I added 25 species to my life list. We’re getting more Read More

Because Political Outcomes Don’t Satisfy

MerleLeave a commentSpiritual Growth

On a day when election results are pending, on a day when uncertainty hangs like fog, on a day when fears rise like bubbles on soup, on a day when tensions are like a balloon with a nail pressing in on it, on a day when we wonder if reason and common sense will ever break through the overcast sky again–I have some thoughts I’d like to share especially with those who claim to be followers of Christ. As I consider being vulnerable while attempting to share life, encouragement and hope with those in my faith community world-wide, I decided Read More

Arizona Birds; March-April 2022

Merle Nisly1 CommentBirding and Photography

Rita and I just spent a few weeks visiting our daughter and her family in Scottsdale. We took time to do a good bit of hiking, traveling, birding and photography. Arizona has a wealth of diverse landscape and habitat, and attracts a huge variety of birds. We really enjoyed the hiking and exploring that this beautiful area offers. My favourite on this trip was Cave Creek Canyon, in the Chiricahua Mountains near Portal. I added nine lifers to my list on this trip, my favourite being the Lucifer Hummingbird. All the photos are taken by me, and are not to Read More

Embracing “Tidings of Comfort and Joy”

Merle2 CommentsLife Lessons

Some Christmas song lyrics are cycling in my head almost every day: “God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay…” and “O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy…” This December has brought into sharp focus the reality of death and the uncertainties about the plans we make for ourselves and for our families. Within a week, two elders who were dear friends of mine left their spouses, families, and communities grieving their sudden passing. It makes me wonder if my plans for Christmas and for my family will be altered just as suddenly. Would I embrace the Read More

Good Years and Solid Grace

MerleLeave a commentLife Lessons, Spiritual Growth

Yesterday I worked quite energetically at putting water on dry ground, making sure my tomato plants don’t wither. I spent long minutes at each of the flower beds for which Rita cared. I was trying to imagine how deeply the moisture was penetrating the ground as I sprayed expensive water from the garden hose. In the back of my mind, I could picture the water meter in our basement spinning furiously. Just a few hours later, we were celebrating a short downpour of rain. This rain wasn’t carefully aimed at a few tomato root systems. This rain wasn’t strategically planned Read More

The Impact of 215

Merle4 CommentsLife Lessons

Sadness, anger, horror, incredulity, shame, regret, and repentance are just a few of the emotions and responses that cycle through my soul since hearing of the discovery of 215 children’s bodies buried at an Indian Residential School in British Columbia. Read it here. These are people that died away from their homes and communities; people that disappeared without explanation and without record. It is the ultimate evidence of an arrogant, racist, and elitist system that married governments and churches into one deliberate machine intended to erase a people and to eliminate identity and to destroy any residue of ethnic sovereignty. Read More