 1 Kings 4:32-34 Solomon wrote three thousand wise sayings and composed more than one thousand songs. He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. Kings all over the world heard about Solomon’s wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.  Large beautiful yellow and black Swallowtail Butterfly. Walton County, GA, USA. Georgia designated the tiger swallowtail Papilio glaucus as the official state butterfly in 1988. 
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 Mark 4:1 Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. -- William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation.  Blue sky evening sunset reflecting off water of Lake Hartwell at Tugaloo State Park, Franklin County, Georgia. A nearby Georgia State Park, Tugaloo State Park was hosting an interpretive program by “Hiss Ministries” by Allen Ash. This was perfect! We were able to combine a day of hiking, a reptile program, and a gospel lesson all into one! Lake Hartwell was very low and we were able to walk along the bare banks for several miles looking for things that would normally be buried beneath the water’s surface. We found plenty of cool driftwood, fish parts and an entire deer skeleton. Most likely the deer was shot during one of the park’s quota hunts, but the hunter didn’t find his kill.  Dead Whitetailed Deer found on the shore of Lake Hartwell in Tugaloo State Park, Georgia. Bones and ribs. Probably shot during quota hunt and not found by hunter.  Blue sky evening sunset reflecting off water of Lake Hartwell at Tugaloo State Park, Franklin County, Georgia.  Ezekiel 47:9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. -- William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation.  Large Blue Catfish in pond, Walton County, Georgia Blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, typically are bluish-gray above, fading to white on the sides and belly, and do not have spots. They have a deeply forked tail, an overhanging upper jaw, pale chin whiskers, and an anal fin with a long straight margin. The retention pond behind the public works building is loaded with catfish of all sizes. All summer long we are able to lure even the big ones to the surface. And what do we use to bring this catfish to the surface? Cat food, of course!  Large Blue Catfish in pond, Walton County, Georgia Blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, typically are bluish-gray above, fading to white on the sides and belly, and do not have spots. They have a deeply forked tail, an overhanging upper jaw, pale chin whiskers, and an anal fin with a long straight margin.  Common Musk Turtle swimming in Georgia pond. July 19, 2012.   William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- Genesis 1:20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.”  A brown toad with warts hopping on fresh cut green grass. A toad is an amphibian member of the family Bufonidae, in the order Anura, frogs and toads. Green ghoto copy space. Photographed in Athens, Clarke County, GA USA Saturday, 7:40 PM - The lawn and mulch beds around my house are so inhabited by toads in the summer, you practically have to watch where you step at night!
True toads are toothless and generally warty in appearance. They have a pair of parotoid glands on the back of their heads.  Creation Speaks is a Biblical teaching ministry that uses nature writing and photography to glorify our Creator and teach the truth of creation. “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?" Job 12:7-9  Summertime cumulonimbus clouds in Georgia. Dense, towering vertical cloud observed during a storm, these clouds may be referred to as thunderheads. July 10, 2012 Isaiah 44:3 "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground." Scientists may have discovered the water cycle, but God created it! Unlike any other planet, our specially designed dwelling place is covered in water. There is water in the seas, water in the oceans, water in lakes and ponds, water underneath the ground, water in the polar ice caps… water is everywhere! In fact, NASA scientists say there are more than 326 million trillion gallons of water covering over 70% of the earth’s surface. Unless you live in a humid part of the world, you may not realize it, but there is even water in the air. Scientists estimate that on a typical summer afternoon, there are about 50,000 tons of water vapor in the air above a square mile of land. (Although I imagine there are at least several thousand more gallons on a humid rainy night in my home town in Georgia!) All of the water on our planet is constantly moving and changing states. As liquid water evaporates from the earth’s surface and becomes a gas, it enters the atmosphere where it eventually condenses and falls back to the earth again. This process is known as the water cycle. It is an incredible design thought of by our creator to keep our planet from drying out. Instead of vaporizing into space, the water returns and waters our planet. Ecclesiastes 1:7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.  Summertime cumulonimbus clouds in Georgia. Dense, towering vertical cloud observed during a storm, these clouds may be referred to as thunderheads. July 29, 2012. Some of our water gets into the air through vegetation. Not only do plants need and soak up water, but they also release it back into the air; a process called transpiration. God designed plants to water themselves! A field of corn is reported to give off enough water to re-cover its own field eleven inches deep. Self-sustained recyclers! Psalm 65:9 You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with corn, for so you have ordained it. Because of the water cycle, we are able to use the water that God originally created over and over again. The raindrops that hit your umbrella last time it rained have existed for thousands of years and have travelled this world over and over in various places. The “rain falls into the rivers, and the rivers flow into the sea, and yet the sea never overflows” because of the way God has designed our incredible planet.
 William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message Some random photos from July 2012  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2  The checkered garter snake Thamnophis marcianus slithering on a rock with red forked tongue. A species of garter snake endemic to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Driftwood, TX, south of Austin, Hays County.  House Geckos are a common crawler on the stucco siding of my parents' home.  There is a small creek running through LaVentana that was dammed to form a small cattle pond. This watersnake lay partially concealed in the root of a tree. He shot so quickly into the hole that no other photo was possible.  The checkered garter snake Thamnophis marcianus slithering on a rock with red forked tongue. A species of garter snake endemic to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Driftwood, TX, south of Austin, Hays County.  The checkered garter snake Thamnophis marcianus slithering on a rock with red forked tongue. A species of garter snake endemic to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Driftwood, TX, south of Austin, Hays County.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2  Spotted Baby Whitetailed Deer fawn in Driftwood, Texas. Texas Hill Country Trail My parents live in Driftwood, Texas in the Hill Country Trail Region between Austin and San Antonio. Their property sits on acres of former ranch land turned residential. Because there is no hunting, the Whitetailed Deer abound. At the entrance to their neighborhood, LaVentana, there are several Longhorns pastured.  White tailed deer female doe. Driftwood, Texas south of Austin, Hays County. The white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus, also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America.  Texas Longhorn Bull Cows behind barbed wire pasture in Driftwood, Texas. Texas Hill Country Trail  Widow Skimmer Libellula luctuosa is one of the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers. This species can be found commonly across the United States around ponds, lakes, streams, and creeks. Photographed in Driftwood, TX, south of Austin, Hays County.  Longhorn in barbed wire pasture fence with tongue licking nose. Driftwood, TX, south of Austin, Hays County.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2  White Winged Dove, Zenaida asiatica, in Driftwood, Texas. Texas Hill Country Trail. Photos from one of my annual trips to Driftwood, Texas to visit my parents. I have to admit, although birds weren't a primary interest on my Texas trips at this point in my life, a spark of excitement began to grow for the avian kind. Instead of keeping my lens pointed at the deer and reptiles, birds began to take the spotlight. I recall sitting and watching the hummingbirds feed in the lantanas when a brilliant red Summer Tanager appeared nearby. From this point forward, birds began to appear much more regularly in my photo journals.  Red-winged Blackbird perched on a limb near a creek waterfall cattle pond. Driftwood, TX, south of Austin, Hays County.  Summer Tanager; Hays County, Texas. I remember being mesmerized at the appearance. "A red bird that isn't a Cardinal???" It lit sort of a spark in me.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- "God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon." I Kings 4  Roadkill copperhead found on the curb during a walk around my neighborhood. June 18, 2012. Clarke County, GA.    William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- Psalms 9:1 O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.  A White-tailed Deer doe in the meadow behind my house pauses to look at me before bounding off. Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. June 17, 2012.  A White-tailed Deer doe in the meadow behind my house pauses to look at me before bounding off. Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. June 17, 2012.  Nehemiah 9:6 -- You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.  A Northern Mockingbird sings in silhouette before a dusk backdrop. Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. June 16, 2012.  A Chipping Sparrow perches briefly on my neighbor's chain link fence. Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. June 16, 2012.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- Ps 146:5-6 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever  Great Blue Heron; Walton County, Georgia. June 12, 2012.  Eastern Kingbird; Walton County, Georgia. June 14, 2012.  MallardRed-bellied Woodpecker; Walton County, Georgia. June 14, 2012.
 Pond Slider Turtles; Walton County, Georgia. June 14, 2012.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation. -- Psalms 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  My first photograph of an Indigo Bunting; Walton County, Georgia.  Belted Kingfisher; Walton County, Georgia.   Psalm 147:9 "He gives food to the wild animals and feeds the young ravens when they cry." -- William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the wonders of God’s creation.  Juvenile Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, immature plumage feathers, Athens, Georgia. Monday, 5:43 PM - Without any ponds or streams in my neighborhood, I had never seen a Great Blue Heron except as a flyover. But that all changed one afternoon when a confused juvenile came to visit! I was on my way home from work and was on that last half-mile stretch of my 38 mile daily commute when I spotted a Great Blue Heron standing in a neighbor’s front yard, not 25-feet from the sidewalk. “Now that’s weird”, I thought to myself. He was standing alongside a dry, rock-lined drainage ditch like he was fishing for food. That little ditch only has water after heavy rains, and even then it is about an inch deep. I supposed the rocky edges and sun reflecting off the concrete lined rut had attracted his attention. Looking more closely, it looked like his feathers weren’t fully formed. Short, neatly rowed, un-tattered feathers lined his side and back. No long plumes down his back or from the crown of the head. Perhaps this was an inexperienced juvenile, striking out on his own to find new feeding grounds. Well, he wasn’t going to find any food in a dry, cement lined drainage ditch! Athens, Clarke County, Georgia  Juvenile Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, immature plumage feathers, Athens, Georgia.  Juvenile Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, immature plumage feathers, Athens, Georgia. |
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In December 1993 I came to know the Designer and Creator of this wonderful planet and its creatures: Jesus Christ.
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