All the Trees of the Field Clapped Their Hands

The Econfina Creek is a gem of Northwest Florida and it's only a few miles from us. I really enjoy the day canoe trip that is available through the nearby canoe livery- they'll pick you up at the end and transport you back to your car for a reasonable fee.

On a recent weekend, I mentioned to Builderman that I missed doing that this year and we should go. The creek is spring-fed so the clear water is ice cold and refreshing on a hot day. After some discussion, he determined that the all-day trip was more than he was in the mood for and that we would create a shorter trip ourselves. After all, he knows those woods quite well, being the adventurer that he is, so off we went.

It was a beautiful day and it was a good thing I was in the hands of a capable guide. The portion of the river we were on and had not been cleared of downed trees and it took skillful steering and actually hauling the canoe across several obstacles. The reward was we didn't see anyone else for hours. The sound of the wind in the trees accompanied us. We saw a kingfisher (bird) that that was quite beautiful as we quietly made our way.

A change of pace brings refreshing. This past week, the weather changed and we welcomed fall. I'm thankful the sun kissed us for our last day of summer...and all the trees of the field clapped their hands for us.

Night of Terror

I don’t want to mislead you into thinking I was terrorized on Friday night. No, it wasn’t me. It was the peeps.

I woke up in the dead of night, as is my custom, prepared to lay there in the dark until sleep claimed me again. But I kept thinking I heard cheeping noises. I'm familiar with the normal night sounds of crickets and frogs, but as I strained my ears I felt pretty certain this was cheeps. I got out of bed and opened the back porch door to listen and then I was sure it was the peeps. So I shook Builderman awake and said, “Your peeps are cheeping when their supposed to be sleeping. You’d better check on them.”

I won’t give you the blow by blow details since I didn’t even want to know. But when Builderman came back in more than an hour later, the report was of massive casualties. Something had torn through the chicken wire and 12 of 15 chicks were dead or missing. Our first thought was that it was the coyotes that have been really close to the house recently. Here is the line-up of three perps. Which do you think is guilty of this crime?

A. Annie the Lab


B. Rocky Racoon



C. Wiley Coyote








We finally got back to bed and had almost drifted back to sleep when there was a clatter. Builderman jumped to his feet and grabbed the flashlight and ran outside to see red eyes glinting back at him from within the pen. He had placed boards over the torn chicken wire for a temporary repair at 2:30 in the morning and that sweet black lab pictured was busted… she was IN the coop. AGAIN. Our own dogs are guilty, guilty, guilty and have been in the dog house for days. Granted, they have a proclivity to hunt birds. Our expectations for their obedience exceeded the temptation that was before them. Hmmm. Sound oddly familiar?

All of this predatory activity around here really had me thinking, “what am I supposed to learn from this?”

preda•tory (pred′ə tôr′ē) adjective
1. of, living by, or characterized by plundering, robbing, or exploiting others

Does that definition bring to mind a scripture? Maybe John 10:10, which are some of those words in red letters?

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”

I’ve seriously pondered this whole thing for a few days and what I’ve learned is that we must be alert and vigilant. We have been given authority over the enemy but we have to speak it and enforce it. We will be safe as long as we don’t cower in fear, but we musn’t ignore the danger either.

The good news is the second part of the verse above! The warning is followed by encouragement,
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

So there you have it. Our 3 remaining chickens are blissfully carrying on. They’ll have company soon as Builderman is not easily deterred. And we've embraced the spiritual lesson and are armed and vigilant.

So forget the terror. We're not chickens.
May you prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers.