Instagram story viewer> @gailspratley> Posts

Gail Spratley

@gailspratley

311

followers

1550

following

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

by @gailspratley

8

0

a month ago

by @gailspratley

13

4

2 months ago

To illustrate this kind of hope, Peter Kreeft turns to a memorable scene in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo and Sam are deep in Mordor, drawing closer to the heart of evil. All the last bits of ordinary hope are gone. Frodo is asleep. Sam is keeping watch. And in that moment of utter despair, something catches Sam’s eye.

There, peering among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.

Kreeft tells us this is the scene Tolkien said he couldn’t read without weeping.

(The Two Greatest Novels Ever Written by Peter Kreeft)
#samwisegamgee #frodolives #jrrtolkien #theshadowisapassingthing #lightandbeautyareforever by @gailspratley

10

0

9 months ago

6:03pm tonight 3 January 2026, the full wolf moon will rise over central Florida. The last super moon until November 2026. Unfortunately, it's overcast and drizzly, so it's not likely to be visible here, but I grabbed this shot yesterday as it rose. And since it actually reached full illumination at 5:03am, in this photo it is still waxing, as opposed to waning as it is tonight. Yesterday's moonrise preceded a truly glorious sunset. by @gailspratley

10

0

9 months ago

Today's Guest Columnist article in the Orlando Sentinel by Kathy Hersh of DeLand FL, is well worth reading. I've photographed it, so it can be read without subscribing. by @gailspratley

12

0

9 months ago

For Dad. by @gailspratley

15

0

10 months ago

September 25, 2025 An eagle shows up on our neighborhood tower. A month and 10 days late. Usually the male of our neighborhood pair first shows up in mid August, followed by the female in mid September. This year I only saw one eagle on the tower. Until this afternoon, November 29, when Bob noticed two eagles! I wish I could know their story, so many possibilities.
Photo 1: Sept 25, 2025
Photo 2: crop of photo 1.
Photo 3: November 29, 2025 2:39pm
Photo 4: November 29, 2025 4:35pm - Two hours later they're still on the tower together taken in Winter Park, Florida by @gailspratley

13

1

a year ago

by @gailspratley

9

2

a year ago

Here's your opportunity to help a woman-owned small business get to the next level. @tealadyshop @tealadykatie #kickstarter #adaptogenictea #adaptogenicpowders #upwiththematriarchy by @gailspratley

6

1

a year ago

Nurturing womankind 🌿🌹 by @gailspratley

6

1

a year ago

#wtf by @gailspratley

9

0

a year ago

Bird of the Day!
Once a week Bob and I spend most of a day birding. Yes, including all summer in Florida. We keep lists of all the bird species (and # of birds of each species) we see or hear. Each week we choose several species to keep exact counts on, (explanation for nonbirders, often species counts are estimates as difficult to impossible to exactly count each individual bird in flocks). I'm thinking that last week we hit a species low for the year with 35 species. We also note a Bird of the Day. Yesterday we saw one female American kestrel, southeastern race (Falco sparverius paulus), a non-migratory falcon that lives in peninsular Florida year-round, while many migratory American kestrels arrive in autumn from northern regions to over-winter in Florida. We have followed this particular kestrel and her mate and offspring for several years. Here she is, Bird of the Day for Saturday, August 16, 2025. (Digiscoped using a Moto g power android phone through Nikon 82 mm field scope). Ain't she purty? by @gailspratley

10

0

a year ago