Posted in General, Metaphor, Poem, Problems, Proverb, Strife, Wisdom, tagged Metaphor, Poem, Proverbs, Quarrels, Strife, Wisdom on March 29, 2020|
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This poem is quite simple
Similar to a pimple
Which has really a short life
Full of passion and much strife
It causes a stir and pain
May nearly drive you insane
But soon will come to a head
Then burst, forgotten and dead
But note how it leaves a scar
The complexion ever mar
Cover it to make it small
Or accept me warts and all
Best to never have begun
From quarrels and strife you run
Better bring kindness and truth
Than discord and be uncouth
The first two verses of this poem came to me one day when I was considering strife and its ill effects. I knew generally where I wanted to go with it, but could not see how. Just this morning when I brought it up from my drafts file, the way forward began to dawn upon me. In one sense I might like to have developed the kindness and truth way of doing things more. On the other hand, the first and third lines preclude such a tome, and the short version seems to have punch.
The truth I see behind my verse comes from Proverbs:
17:14 “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.”
3:3 “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”
26:17 “Like one who takes a dog by the ears is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him.”
15:18 “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.”
See also Proverbs 6:14,19; 10:12, 13:10, 16:28, 17:1,19; 18:6,18; 20:3, 22:10, 26:21, 28:25, 29:22, 30:33. Evidently, avoiding strife and those who promote it is a valuable consideration and pursuit.
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Posted in General, Grandchildren, Hike, Nature, Outdoors, Photo, Travel, tagged Grandchildren, Hike, Nature, Neversink Pit, Photos, Travel on March 27, 2020|
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My last post was about my third son’s wedding. You can see the pictures by clicking here or scroll down. This blog entry is a little commentary on stops along the way there and back.
On our way through Knoxville, we stopped to drop off some children’s clothes and baby equipment that Mamaw had gathered from the consignment sale. I got to meet and hold my seventh and newest grandchild.Â
Newest Grandbaby
1st 2nd granddaughter
Yawns mean mom will get a break
We had a few minutes with the other grandchildren. May God bless, protect, and know them.
with Big Sister
My son’s former roommate and friend came along, too. He is good with children. As you can see, there was a one-sided water balloon fight.
Water Balloon prep
All things Scottish are greatly admired by my oldest son’s family.
Scottish watch soldier
The masked man next to the little guy was said to be wearing a cape and carrying a dear over his shoulder. Robin Hood stands between him and Maid Marian.
With the artists
The missing, shy, sleepy brother arose from a nap just before we left.
The following pictures were taken on the trip home. I told my partner that I wanted to stop somewhere along the line in order to stretch our legs. We left at 5:22 AM, as he reminded me several times. The sun rose in central Louisiana. Below is the Visitor’s Center in Jackson, MS.
I-20 at Jackson, MS crossing of the Big Muddy
Remembrance of darker days
The leg stretcher was a quick jaunt up the ridge to Neversink Pit in Jackson County, NE Alabama. The sign informed us that we needed a permit to even hike on the property. It is amazing what you can do from a cell phone these days. We filled out the permission slips and had approval is less than 10 minutes. I should have taken a picture of the map. It showed the squares of land that individuals bought to set aside this natural wonder.
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Interesting Preservation and Access
The wildflowers were popping all over.
Fire Pink
Limestone has the weirdest looking forms
Not too close!
Neversink Pit, AL
My expert sister-in-law (in identifying wildflowers at least (couldn’t pass up the left-handed compliment, Sis)) assures me that it is Violet Wood Sorrel.
162 foot pit
Would love to rap it someday
flint sandwiched in limestone
Younger brother and oldest son
No expense withheld
In extravagant training facilities
The topics of conversation widely varied, though we are both science geeks. For example, we spent perhaps two hours on the way down reading and discussing the history of the development of longitude all because I made the comment, “I wander why they called it Meridian, MS?” We later found out that it stemmed from an argument two developers of the town had, but the discussion about longitude from 1541 to 1767 was interesting. If you are willing to explore and ask questions and be flexible, then the world has many wonders small and large to keep your interest. And we stayed well away from everyone else in the process. Social distancing is not all that bad.
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Posted in Family, General, Marriage, Photo, wedding, tagged Christ and His Church, Commitment, Marriage, Road Trip, wedding on March 24, 2020|
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The final one of my 5 children to get married was scheduled for the big event on April 4. Travel restrictions were beginning to be talked about and even instituted in one state. They decided to get married two weeks early. I got a call at 8:15 in the morning and was on the road by noon.
Long distance travel; distance working
There were hours of good conversation and plenty of drivers to make the 15 hour trip seem shorter.Â
sunset over Alabama
We arrived at our destination in Texas at 2:45 AM. The next day was rest, a little distance, online work, getting to know people, and setting up for the wedding. It was surprisingly cool and rainy.
Set up for the Reception Dinner
The venue has everything you need for a beautiful wedding. There is a two car garage full of props (everything you see in these pictures and more).
making an aisle
talented and generous bride
cozy
well equipped
Preparing for a reduced crowd
The owner told us that this venue had been the home of her family of 7. It would be roomy for a family of twelve, I think.Â
- former roommate
Almost time
The Bride’s Parents
The commitment is both a serious and joyous event.
The Happy Couple
Her family
coats after the ceremony
The couple, in God’s providence, instrumental in bringing them together:
Rose Petals instead of rice or birdseed
going away now
A wedding before a pastor who reviewed the challenges and joys of the commitment of a man and woman before they made their vows and signed a covenant is a Christian event. The whole ceremony points to the larger event one day when the Bride of Christ, the Church, will be presented before the Groom, our Savior and Lord, Jesus. He has and is doing all of the work in presenting His Bride in pure white, purified from all spot or blemish. It seems odd that the One due all of the glory is pictured as standing in duller tones of attire, waiting for the glorious procession of His Bride. But He receives all of the glory for going to the extreme degree to bring about this transformation to present her in this fashion. A lifelong commitment lived out in marriage is the stronger picture of an eternal life lived with the glorious Savior in the abode He has prepared and to which He will whisk away His Bride for the Wedding Feast and life together.
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From last Thursday until Monday afternoon I either drove or rode in a car for about 35 hours. The reason for the trip was well worth the effort and the company and conversation were stimulating and substantial. But it did remind me of a time when I could aptly describe the a trip as purgatory.
When I was in college I studied spiders.* Deep into a research project, my major professor realized that she needed some DNA samples in order to verify her hypothesis and realization that she was dealing with two different species of spiders. It was not the field research season- Summer- so she decided to send me on a Kamikaze bus trip to collect samples.Â
I took a Trailways bus from Knoxville, TN, to El Paso, TX. Wait, it gets worse. I slept overnight in the Trailways headquarters bus terminal in Dallas, TX. I carried a box of the approximate dimensions of 18″ x 18″ x 36″ tall containing a DeWar flask full of liquid nitrogen. The purpose of this container was to quick freeze collected spiders at my destination, Southwest Research Station (SWRS) in the Chirichahua Mountains of southeast Arizona. I could not flip the Dewar flask on its side since this would lose its contents. Bus drivers wanted to insist that I put it in the undercarriage luggage compartment, but it was too tall to stand upright. Much of the trip it sat upright in a seat beside me, but when the long distance bus became a commuter bus from Memphis to Little Rock and beyond, with standing room only, I had to hold it upright in my lap. Drivers and riders alike must have thought I was carrying a bomb. In every little town across Texas we would stop under a street light where the many insects circled around, waiting for a new driver or passengers to board. In El Paso I had to catch a taxi to the airport in order to rent a car for the remainder of the trip.**
My previous visit to SWRS had been pleasant and un-rushed. This trip was during colder weather at a station without heat, quickly collecting and marking specimens and returning to El Paso for another taxi ride back to the bus terminal and more time aboard a bus. The green of the East never looked so good, the Mississippi River so welcoming, or Knoxville so beloved. I felt as though I had escaped the dark tunnel of purgatory for real life again. I like adventures, even those that are spontaneous, but sometimes one gets more than he bargains for.
*That could be the beginning of many of my stories.
**It was not possible to transport a full Dewar flask on an airline.
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Posted in Beauty, General, Hike, Nature, Outdoors, Photo, Snow, tagged Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Hike, Mt. Cammerer, Outdoors, Snow on March 12, 2020|
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We haven’t had much of a winter this year. If it has reached the teens more than twice, I don’t remember it. But I went on a hike with one of my great nephews (in both senses). He had never been to Mt. Cammerer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and I had never been there coming from Cosby Campground. It was 20 degrees when I left the house and the top of the mountain is about 4000 feet higher. I suspect from the reported low on a mountain of similar height closer to home that the Mt. Cammerer saw 15 or lower. It also snowed 1/2 inch, clinging to the branches and needles. It was still below freezing on the north slopes when we reached the top around 11:30, indicated by the hoar frost on the branches and ground frost columns in the bare spots. There was quite a chilling wind when we began, but when we arrived on top the air barely stirred and the sun warmed the rocks to a comfortable lounging temperature for lunch. We felt so good that I suggested that we consider going back another way that would add mileage- 3 miles by my estimate. I was wrong and the hike extended out to 16 miles total. The way back along Lower Cammerer Trail was an easy grade on smooth ground. We hiked at our own paces in places and together conversing at others. There was so much to clear the mind of stress and consider God’s goodness in our lives and in creating the world. I have yet to hear how my partner fared for soreness, but I had relatively little. It was an overall pleasant day.
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Beginning point in Cosby Campground
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Good flow from abundant rainfall
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Mid-sized Yellow Poplar
My sister-in-law gives an excellent explanation of how this frost forms (click here) and my great-nephew had a a better camera to capture the effect. I am always fascinated by how it elevates pebbles and flat rocks.
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Ground Frost
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Still Fresh
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Which way?
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Ground Frost
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Snow Line
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Main Ridge north of Low Gap toward Mt. Cammerer, GSMNP
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Still well below freezing on the north slopes
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Treetop and Beard Frost
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Took some wind to produce that
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Such intricate outline
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English Mountain in the background
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Good to see in a warm, snowless year
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Pleasant experience, good reminiscing
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Mt. Sterling! rain gauge?
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Restored Mt. Cammerer Firetower
The next two pictures show how intense the short-lived snow shower must have been. It would have been an adventure, though not so fun, to have been at this location during the snowfall.
Many names of mountains have changed. The benchmark says Sharp Top, but the internet says it used to be called White Top because of white rocks jutting out. Mt. Cammerer is the name given it after the early Park Commissioner who helped to secure the parklands.
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BM Sharp Top, 1928. Why do they rarely include the elevation?
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Pine tree on a south facing slope with limited soil
The following two images I borrowed from my great-nephew’s site (with permission) to highlight the immensity of the scene and the smallness of us sojourners. John Piper says that we were made for something bigger than ourselves, meaning God. The proper response to the bigness and beauty of creation is worship of the Creator.
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I-40 and the Pigeon River
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Galax, lichen, and snow
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Time to head down
The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid has decimated Eastern Hemlocks in recent years. The Park Service treats some of the larger ones that are left. Evidently the treatment has to be repeated (For details click here.) to save the trees. Are the two paint marks two successive treatments?
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Treated Hemlock
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Treated Hemlock next to the untreated one
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Christmas Fern
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Barely over halfway point
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Seep
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Mountain Silverbell seedpod on oak leaves
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Cemetery
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The only marked stone and probably the newest at 1912.
Many of the draws showed more evidence of high flows than the black width of drainage way here.
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The high water must have been something.
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Cruising the easy way in a north facing woods with little underbrush.
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Was the bridge nearly toppled by high water or poorly set to begin with? Bridges across the wider streams are a welcome and easy passage.
With all of the amazing things that cameras can do, I am still amazed at what the eye does better. The following scene revealed 360 degrees of mist penetrating rays to the eye, but several attempts with the camera failed to show any of it. It does show how low the sun was. With the driving to and from home, the hike, and the time on top, I was gone from home for 13 1/2 hours. It was well worth it.
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Almost there
My sister-in-law helped me identify this little beauty on a short detour we took off of the main trail. After the late winter snow and cold up above, it was a surprising harbinger of Spring after a brief brush with winter.
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Trail detour Hepatica
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CreatorWorship 