Downy Woodpecker...

We've had a little woodpecker visiting our backyard lately. This is a small female downy woodpecker and it has been enjoying some seed treats from our hanging suet feeder. It's been lovely watching all of the interesting birds this spring and summer. :)

Amish Bike Shops...

Riaan and I went for a drive into Amish country recently. We visited a couple of bicycle shops in the area. It was awesome to see the modern selection of bikes as well as safety equipment, like helmets, available. I was quite impressed. It was also a gorgeous day - as you can see from this photo here! :)

Riaan loved seeing all the bikes! :)

Falcon and Dragon Launch...

Riaan and I were riveted by the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule back on Saturday, 30th May. We even watched it dock with the International Space Station the next day. It was the first crewed space launch from US soil since the shuttles were retired in 2011, and it was amazing to watch the launch and docking live over the Internet! It felt quite historic and the views of earth were breathtaking! :)

Riaan and I watching the launch.

Streaming it live on Saturday, 30th May.

Approaching the ISS on Sunday, 31st May. :)

Lego Chameleon...

Riaan wanted me to build a chameleon out of Lego a few weeks back. And here it is, complete with its tasty lunch! Yum!

Pesky fly! Thank goodness we have a chameleon in the house! :)

House Wren Nest...

A pair of house wrens built their nest in Riaan's bird house recently. He was very excited! (Riaan built this bird house with his grandpa last November.) It was fascinating watching them flying back and forth as they built their nest. We discovered three eggs in the bird house several days later! :)

Singing its pretty song!

Three tiny eggs in the bird house!

Flooded Road...

We went for a family cycle towards the end of May. We headed out west towards the White River, but had to turn around due to flooding in the area. The past month has been quite dry, and so the fields have dried up recently. It's amazing to see huge corn fields completely flooded. They look more like lakes than fields of corn!

The end of the road. The water was flowing quite swiftly.

Cute little turtle we rescued off the road.

Flooded corn field.

Riaan in his bike seat.

Crossing over Prairie Creek.

Simple joy...

I really want to see nature through fresh eyes. Eliza showed such wonder and joy at a little ladybird we came across the other day. She watched it intently for several minutes, and it was so sweet to see her excitement. There's a lesson for us all here, and I pray that we might all rediscover the simple joy and beauty in creation!

She watched intently for several minutes.

Time to fly away, little ladybird! Thanks for the lesson!

Siblings Group Chat...

Modern technology is wonderful. I was able to pull over to the side of the road and take a video call several weeks back. It was a group video-chat with all of my siblings. Candace and I were planning on visiting Cape Town again this year, but with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our plans have had to be placed on hold for now. Skype and Whatsapp have become, in this new world, extremely important. It was lovely to be on the same call with my brother and sisters! :)

Front Porch Flower Bed...

Candace has done some great work with our landscaping lately. She has created a lovely flower bed just off our front stoep. It looks beautiful!

View of the front of our house.

It really looks so nice with plants growing just off our stoep. :)

Baby Number THREE!

We were both rather shocked and surprised back in April when we discovered that we have another baby on the way. Although not part of our plans, we are very excited about our latest addition! It'll be an adjustment for us all, but God is good and we are very thankful. Baby number three is due towards the end of November. :)

 My mom just happened to be working on her Granny shirt when we called them to tell the news! :)

 Candace at 14 weeks this past Friday. :)