Kissimmee Prairie Preserve, Okeechobee, Florida
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” ~ Matthew 2:16-18 Catholics and others report anywhere from 16,000 – 64,000 baby boys were executed, but being as how the towns in the surrounding area were quite small, and the fact that no historians seem to have reported the gruesome, hate-filled act, it was most likely closer to twenty, more or less. However, even one is too many! Everyone talks about Herod doing this, but it was by his order, not his hand. I have trouble imagining the men who actually carried out the order. What kind of sick-minded man was able to do such a horrific thing? And of course, we come back around to questioning God in this. What purpose did this serve? The answer is, we don’t know, other than to fulfill prophecy. And that’s where faith comes in. Faith in a God Who is Good – – all the time.
At 8:00am, we began our day by riding out to Alligator Alley. We encountered a bit of an obstacle this morning as a rafter of turkeys decided they wanted to cross the road. Why? Well, to get to the other side of course! As we continued our approach, Tom was shouting his impatience with his ladies to get on with it.
We spent about twenty minutes or so at the Alley, observing nature in the quiet and peace. We saw two turtles and at least nine gators, along with a small assortment of birds.
We picked it up and placed it alongside the road so maybe the Park Rangers would spot it and pick it up.
Back up the crushed shell road on our way to the Prairie Loop trail, and this time, we managed the entire loop. Last time, we turned around and went back the way we’d come, but today, we decided to pursue the most difficult route and finish the loop up a sandy road all the way to the Visitor Center and then back home. It was hot. It was sunny. It was difficult. And it was only half-past 10!
And then it opens up and . . .
He was sitting quiet when we came by.
Part of the time we were able to peddle in the grass, but the grass was kinda deep, so it was still difficult.
Back home, a secondary, bachelor Tom took up residence in our yard. He doesn’t care a bit that we’re around. How fun!
