Jewel # 170 (March 31, 2014)

To my dear grandchildren,

The Philippine Eagle

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;  

they shall mount up with wings as eagles.”

(Isaiah 40:31)

The Philippine eagle’s name identifies it with its Pacific homeland.  It is among the rarest and most powerful birds in the world.  It is critically endangered because of loss of habitat due to massive  deforestation.  It is also called the monkey-eating eagle and is now protected from hunters.  For many years they were killed, because many natives thought they kidnapped babies.

Perhaps this undeserved reputation came about many years ago when one of these eagles was seen carrying a small monkey to its nest, and the natives mistakenly thought it was a human baby!  Filipinos eventually were convinced that this could not possibly happen.  They have learned that this eagle’s food supply is mainly small animals, such as squirrels, snakes, bats, birds, the occasional monkey and even domestic animals.  Philippine eagles have no natural predators.

The Philippine eagle is large and powerful with a crest of bristly brown and white feathers surrounding its rather fierce-looking head.  Beneath its piercing eyes is a strong, blue, hooked beak.  This hooked beak is part of the Creator’s design to enable it to capture necessary food and to mercifully kill it quickly.  Sharp claws on strong feet are also part of this provision.

Its nest is always placed high in the tall kapok trees of the rain forests.  Just one egg is laid each year.  The female seldom leaves the nest during a two-month incubating period.  The male brings food to her, and occasionally he will help in the incubation.  After the eaglet hatches, both parents share in feeding it even after it learns to fly.  An eaglet is dependent on its parents for a long time.

The feathers of mature eagles form a pretty design when wings are outstretched and tail feathers extended.  Behind the white throat and neck feathers and out to the midsection of the wings they are mottled light brown, edged and flecked with white.  The remaining half of the wings is dark brown, but each feather is tipped with ivory white.  Long tail feathers are dark except for white tips.

The Bible speaks of eagles in many places, often referring to their strength and to the great heights to which they fly.  They are indeed an impressive part of God’s creation.  That holy book tells us that “the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).  But it is interesting that a promise in writing was given to the young people of Isaiah’s day (which is still a promise today), in which the Bible uses eagles as an example of God’s blessings to those who put their trust in Him (see our opening verse).  Without that trust, problems of life can be very troublesome, but God graciously helps His own people to overcome them.  Have you put your trust in Him?

Love you all.

Grandpa     

Jewel # 169 (March 25, 2014)

To my dear grandchildren, The Tough Badger “He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red,  and a covering of badgers' skins above that.” (Exodus 36:19) The verse refers to the tabernacle Moses was told to build as a place of worship for the Lord’s people in the wilderness. The heavy, dense fur of the badger was a shield that protected everything inside the tabernacle from storms and severe weather. Badgers are twenty pound animals with wide bodies, short necks, short legs and black feet.  They are courageous and strong, about two feet long and are covered with silver-gray fur.  The American badger, which lives in the united States and Canada, has a narrow white stripe that runs between its eyes onto its back.  It is this white marking (badge) on the face that gives these animals their name. Badgers are usually found on the open plains, prairies and deserts of the West.  Being night hunters, their food includes rodents, rabbits, birds, snakes (including rattlers), lizards and fish.  Coming across a beehive, they rip it open for the honey with no fear of the bees, which cannot sting through the badgers’ dense fur.  Badgers are very clean.  They don’t bring food into their dens. The Creator has provided several means of protection for badgers.  If unable to otherwise escape from an enemy, being an excellent digger, it can dig itself completely underground in less that a minute with its sharp claws.  Actually they have few enemies to fear.  Although timid, they are quite capable of routing dogs or coyotes with their claws and powerful teeth.  Also, being low to the ground, an attacker cannot get at their throats without being bitten first. In the cold of winter, they sleep in a den about twenty-five feet from their runway entrance, sometimes even sharing their den with a fox. Two furry babies are born in the spring and are blind for a month.  The mother raises the playful youngsters, training them to hunt and care for themselves.  By summer’s end they leave her. The activities of these interesting animals are beneficial.  Besides eating destructive rodents, their digging loosens the soil, making it water absorbent, which helps to prevent flooding. When underground, badgers know that they are hidden from everything.  But what they can't know is that an all-wise Creator sees them, for His eyes are always on every living thing. The Bible tells us, “HIs eyes are upon the ways of man, and he sees all his goings.  There is no darkness . . . where the workers of iniquity [sin] may hide themselves” (Job 34:21-22). Rather than foolishly trying to hide from God, He invites you to come with an open heart to Him.  He says, “Those that seek Me early shall find Me” (Proverbs 8:17), and, “The way of a fool is is right in his own eyes: but he that listens to counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).  Which group are you in? Love you all, Grandpa

Jewel # 168 (March 8, 2014)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts,

in that day when I make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren,

The Busy Gray Squirrel

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, 

and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.”

(Revelation 4:11)

The gray squirrel of Canada and the United States is definitely a favourite with many people.  No doubt this is because of its cute little barks and chattering, as well as its ability to play “hide and seek” by scampering up, down and around tree trunks when people approach it.  This animal is playful, and several will often play a game of tag.

Its top fur and bushy tail are mostly gray with white on the underneath parts.  Its tail grows extra long fur as cold weather approaches, making a warm blanket to cover its back and head or to curl around its body when inside its nest.  Its tail also acts as a rudder, which, together with its strong hind legs, enables it to jump from tree to tree.  If the the squirrel accidentally falls, its tail immediately spreads out like a parachute.  No wonder a squirrel spends so much time grooming it!  Gray squirrels signal to each other with their tails.

These small but tough creatures often show up in parks, making friends with those who feed them, but they can also be annoying.  They will climb into a bird feeder and eat only the sunflower seeds, spilling the rest on the ground.  They sometimes get into flower beds and eat buds and seeds or bury peanuts and acorns in potted plants, spilling dirt all over.  But aside from these annoying activities, many consider them intelligent and comical with their acrobatics and are willing to put up with the problems.

Squirrels are well equipped to shell nuts of any kind or to get inside pine cones with their long, sharp claws and curved teeth.  Through summer and fall, they bury nuts for winter food, as well as tuck dried mushrooms in branches of trees.  They sometimes forget where the nuts are buried, but with their keen sense of smell, even through a foot of snow, they usually find them or those of another squirrel.  The ones they don’t find often take root, and a new little tree shows up the next spring.

The nests of these squirrels are made of twigs and leaves, complete with a rainproof roof and are usually high in trees or may be in a convenient hole in the side of a tree trunk.

As many as six little ones are born in the springtime and for several weeks rely on their mother’s milk for growth.  But before long they are well covered with fur, have been taught the important things of a squirrel’s  life and are on their own.

These active little animals seem to fit in extremely well with the pleasure the Lord had in creating them, as our opening Bible verse says, and He watches over them with tender care.  And He assures us in 1 Peter 5:7 that “He cares for you” too. 

Love you all,

Grandpa