Archive for the ‘Beauty’ Category
Beautiful But Broken
Posted in Beauty, General, Glory, God Thoughts, Poem, tagged Beauty, Corruption, Creation, Nature, Poems on May 20, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Beautiful but broken
Beauty marred by man’s sin
Though all Creation groans
The sons of God revealed
Reminiscence Rarete’
Posted in Backpacking, Beauty, Camping, Experience, General, Glory, God Thoughts, Grace, Outdoors, Remembering, Reminiscence, tagged Backpacking, Beauty, Camping, Experience, Nature, Outdoors, Remembering, Reminiscence, Worship on May 19, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I live in the present for a number of reasons. I like adventure, even if ever so small, so I seek out new experiences. I have never been able to attach times with events; I have a friend who can name the year, month, and frequently which day an event happened. I have discovered, save a few rare jewels, that few people want to hear about what happened long ago. But today at lunch a definite opening to the past came about and I related a story and asked my colleague to relate a similar experience, “What was the most interesting night you have ever spent backpacking?” She related that it was the first and last time she ever saw a porcupine. Part of her adventure was a lack of understanding at the time of how quills work, that is, how porcupines use them for defense.
I told of a night when it was snowing hard, large wet flakes at dusk and we were looking for an opening with a flat spot for our tent. We came down to a road where a man was checking his mailbox. My friends got into a conversation with him about the weather and camping sites. He offered his barn loft and we jumped at it. The loft smelled of hay but there was none other than a dusting on the floor. We swept the loft so we could start our cook stoves without burning the barn down. Svea stoves sound like small jet engines, so it drown out the windy storm for awhile. Candlelight caste eerie shapes and shadows on the rafters and slats. I took several time exposures with my film SLR. We told stories, read abit and lay down to a long winter’s slumber. It was a pleasant place to sleep not having the tent flapping in the breeze. The next morning it was in the upper teens. My wet boots had frozen overnight and were painful to put on and to walk. I am sure that up on Whitetop Mtn. there were significant drifts, but there was dry snow here, too. I feel like I have experienced a small taste of what life used to be like when I have done things like sleeping in a barn. Of course, our forebearers didn’t have nylon sleeping bags and packs, or pre-packaged food or white gas stoves or SLR cameras, but they did live simply and sleep hard on occasions.
Telling this memory reminded me of other memorable nights in the woods. Once with another friend we spent the night in a forest of young, straight trees. It was hard to hang our packs with no branches within throwing distance of our cord, so we hung our packs between two small, understory trees with the bottoms of our packs hanging barely above our reach. It had been a very wet day and now set in for a foggy night. We may have napped an hour in our tent when we heard pack rattling noises. Our flashlights revealed three large cubs, perhaps even yearlings, taking turns climbing one of the small trees and jumping out to swipe at the packs. We had left the pockets unzipped so that any mice that managed the climb would simply enter rather than chew holes in our packs. This detail meant that the cubs’ swipes were effective at knocking out our granola and snack bars and meat packets, and so forth. Before they had done much damage to our food supplies or torn open any stuff sacks we were out of our tent yelling and banging tree trunks with sticks, to which they scurried into the rhododendron out of sight. After several exchanges of this kind we could see that they thought it was a wonderful game, but we were becoming more leery at the thought of mother bear being just out of sight ready to attack if our admonitions were not to her liking. Wearily and warily we decided that there was no help for it other than to start a fire under the packs to keep the cubs away and mother hidden from sight. It was the hardest fire I have ever started. My friend collected every potentially dry twig and leaf possible, from under rocks and under logs and in tree hollows. There was only relatively less wet; dry did not exist. With a little of our toilet paper, some white gas from our stove, many minute twigs and needles we somehow got a fire going, but keeping it going and drying wood in the smokey fire was just as hard. Walking most of the day with a pack on requires two things: lots of food and good sleep. We were not getting much of the latter. We took two hour shifts of keeping the fire going and sleeping in the tent. Some time during the wee hours the fog lifted to reveal a moonless, starlit, branch filled sky. It was perhaps the first time that I realized that the sky begins to lighten as early as 3 AM in the summer. What is not perceivable to the eye around light pollution is a wondrous sight to the dark adjusted pupil. We didn’t see the cubs again and can’t say with any assurance that mom was anywhere around, but our packs smelled of smoke for a long time after that.
Another memorable night I spent on Camp Town Bald, which I think was renamed Viking Mountain. There are few fire towers left in the mountains and probably none used for their original purpose, but one of the larger ones stood on top of the Bald in the late ’70’s- I estimate 80+ feet tall. My most frequent backpacking partner and I camped at the base of it in the tall grass. After dark I mounted the tower to the deck above. The glassed in portion was locked so a sat down, curled up in my sleeping bag, leaning against the wall of the enclosed space. I had a wonderful time of prayer and singing hymns as I gazed over the lights in the valley and the stars above. I began to see flashes of lightning in the far distance, so I moved around to the other side of the cat-walk in order to watch the fireworks. Above the trees and over 5000′ elevation, I could see the storm many miles away. Now that I reflect on it, it was odd that the storm was coming from the East over the mountains moving toward me. Thunderstorms rarely come from that direction. The storm kept building in my direction until I figured that perching atop a metal tower in a thunderstorm was probably not the safest vantage point. Having such a grand view of it I feel sure that I abandoned my post in plenty of safe time, but my friend down below had been getting worried. This story doesn’t make for quite as interesting telling or hearing, but if you can envision the scene with its three kinds of lights and the opportunity to worship the Creator of all that is light and life and beauty, you may imagine the depth of peace and joy the situation brought to me.
For it is this same Creator who has saved me and given me purpose and a future with Him. He commands the thunderstorm and the snowstorm, sets the stars in their places, gives man shelter and provides all that he needs, grows the trees and provides for the bear cubs, and will extend to you grace also if you will acknowledge your sin and His Son’s work to put it away. Glory to God for His goodness and His benefits to those upon whom His grace abounds.
Marvelous Mondays
Posted in Beauty, Experience, General, Outdoors, Photo, Random thoughts, Science, tagged Beauty, Experience, Outdoors, Photos, Random thoughts, Science on December 20, 2017| Leave a Comment »
I have the privilege (really!) to patrol Monday morning parking lot duty from 7:15 until 7:50. On most Monday mornings there are no more than 2 or 3 cars in the parking lot when I arrive. That makes for some quiet moments to consider the day, pray about concerns, and look around. Quiet allows you to observe better. One morning I saw various seeds under the trees: Bald Cypress cones, acorns, and Sweet Gum balls. Another morning I saw oak leaves of various sizes and broadness on the ground. Looking up into the tree I could see that smaller ones generally came from the top of the tree and larger ones from the bottom. These larger ones are called shade leaves. They are competing for the sparse sunlight in the shade cast by the rest of the tree. Yet a third morning I spied leaves popping up a few at a time in the direction from one bush to another. I kept watching and every 5 to 10 seconds the leaves would pop up an inch or so. After every few minutes the movement of the leaves would retrace the path back toward the first bush. I concluded that I was seeing a mouse or other vermin forging a tunnel just under the leaves and mulch on this frosty morning.
Speaking of frost, the very next week the morning was even colder, around 27 degrees (-2.8 degrees Celsius). As I approached my usual vantage point for watching cars, students, and nature, I saw that the golden brown Bald Cypress needles had fallen to the ground in the last week and this morning were fringed in frost. I went to investigate and caught a hold of an early arriving former student, requesting that he snap a picture and e-mail it to me (gonna have to get one of them new fangled smart phones one of these days).
The most Exquisite Lace
I retreated back to my self-appointed post. Still there were but few cars in the lot and none nor no one stirring. I glanced over toward the frosted needles once or twice. Then between two bushes I spied a curious sight about which I was at first incredulous. In fact, a few minutes later a student came to pass my way and I requested the use of her young eyes to see if she would see what I think I was yet seeing. She confirmed that there were indeed the appearance of heat waves between the bushes. Imagine, heat waves on a frosty morning! She went on and I was left standing to contemplate how this could be. Moments later a small breeze kicked up and the waves were gone. That only served to confirm my belief that they had been heat waves.
Heat waves are caused by varying densities of fluid (air in this case) refracting light passing through them. Usually the warmer fluid is rising, forming a convective cell. As it randomly snakes upward the background images are gently contorted by the light passing through the foreground fluid.
But what was forming the heat waves? As my eyes scanned the parking lot and Cypress needles, it seemed to me that the frost was heavier during the short period I had been standing there. That may have only been to my sight because of the increasing light as the sun rose, but it brought a possibility to mind. When frost forms, water vapor in the air turns directly into solid ice crystals on the grass or windshield. This process is called deposition, which is the opposite of sublimation, and skips the liquid state going either way. The heat given off by changing from gas to liquid and liquid to solid is about 8 times more than the heat given off by the same amount of liquid water cooling from 100 to 0 degrees Celsius. Needless to say, a significant amount of energy is given off by the deposition of frost. Frosty heat waves, that is shimmering amazing.*
*If my conclusion is correct
Spring’s Grace
Posted in Beauty, General, God Thoughts, Grace, Outdoors, Poem, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, Grace, Outdoors, Poems on June 16, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Bright new day Mockingbird has his say Lush and green Rain brings Spring's early sheen Season's start Foliage and plumage art All dainty Nests and blooms aplenty All things grow Matter, energy flow Life's cycle Replenish, recycle Young ones sup Foal, calf, kitten, and pup Insects buzz Peach, leaf, and mildew fuzz Remember God's mercies are tender He provides Creates, sustains, abides
3 Lines of Evidence
Posted in Beauty, Creation Articles, General, God Thoughts, Random thoughts, Science, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, Random thoughts, Science, Worship on March 19, 2017| 1 Comment »
Evidently, last night a spider had laid three lines of silk down the windshield of my truck squarely in the line of my vision for driving. The Sun shining in from just south of my predominantly easterly direction on the way to church down the interstate produced little repeating rainbows in the silk. From bottom to top they gleamed: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and the last two just looked like black gaps before the next red. The colors were brilliant and made the silk appear much wider than it did when the Sun was obscured once or twice by tree branches. I noticed that when I moved my head left or right the colors changed. When I moved to the right the color transitioned to longer red beads up and down the silk. When I moved my head left the color transitioned toward blue. Just before I exited the interstate the roadbed trends slightly more North and I finally began seeing violet when I leaned left.** I was thankful for light traffic on the interstate since I was focusing on 5 lines, one solid white, one dashed, and three multicolored. I thought of lunar eclipses, when the Moon is blood red or orange. Light from the Sun is refracted by the atmosphere onto the surface of the Moon which is moving through the shadow of the Earth. The shorter wavelength colors bend more evidently, careening off into space between Moon and Earth. I also reflected on the refraction that occurs in a droplet of water on a leaf producing and fisheye view of flowers or landscapes behind. The Sun was also pleasantly warm on me. I praised God for beauty He instilled into Creation which points to His superior beauty and His goodness that allows me to be aware of and see it and experience warm Sun and have a truck to travel in, and so on. I went to a corporate worship service later, which I would always recommend, but I got started early with three lines of evidence for God’s beauty and love of beauty.
**I don’t think that I ever see indigo, or is it violet I don’t see? That is, I don’t discern two colors, indigo and violet. I had the thought for the first time today that perhaps I don’t see violet. When I get in discussions with my family about a transition color between green and blue, they always say it looks blue and I most usually say it looks green. Does that mean that I see colors differently than most people, seeing what normal (whatever that means in this situation) eyes discern as blue as green or that I just name them differently? If it is the former, then perhaps I also see indigo as blue and violet as indigo and don’t see a separate violet color. If this is true it in no way changes reality, but only casts a shadow of doubt on my perception of reality. Afterall, certain people certainly hear more or most frequently less than 20 to 20,000 Hz frequency of sound.
My God, How Wonderful Thou Art
Posted in Beauty, General, God Thoughts, Grace, Poem, Song, Work of Jesus, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, Grace, Poems, Songs, Worship on January 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »
The hymn by this name has become one of my favorites over the years because it conveys the holiness and glory of God by transporting the mind to the mercy seat both in the tabernacle and in heaven. The version I have has 5 verses. The original, written by Frederick Faber, has 8 verses: (for a choir rendition, albeit too slow for my liking, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4VtpEu3CDQ)
My God, how wonderful Thou art,
Thy majesty, how bright;
How beautiful Thy mercy seat
In depths of burning light!
How dread are Thy eternal years,
O everlasting Lord,
By prostrate spirits day and night
Incessantly adored!
How wonderful, how beautiful,
The sight of Thee must be;
Thy endless wisdom, boundless power,
And glorious purity!
O how I fear Thee, living God,
With deep and tender fear;
And worship Thee with trembling hope,
And penitential tears!
Yet, I may love Thee, too, O Lord,
Almighty as Thou art;
For Thou hast stooped to ask of me
The love of my poor heart!
No earthly father loves like Thee,
No mother, e’er so mild,
Bears and forbears as Thou hast done,
With me, Thy sinful child.
Only to sit and think of God,
Oh, what a joy it is!
To think the thought, to breathe the Name,
Earth has no higher bliss.
Father of Jesus, love’s Reward!
What rapture it will be
Prostrate before Thy throne to lie,
And gaze, and gaze on Thee!
As I sang this wonderful hymn, and others, and mused on Psalm 103, more verses came to me. They are not of a quality of the original but I do intend them as worship to God:
He righteous deeds each day performs Judgments for the oppressed Compassionate and gracious He With love for the distressed As high as heaven above earth So great His steadfast love Is toward all those who fear their God The God who dwells above As far as east is from the west Transgressions He removes A Father who compassion on A child who his God fears For all is peace, my soul at rest Submitted to His will Our God is good and great and kind To know Him is a thrill One day in heaven we will be Adoring face to face But now we see His glory great Through His redeeming grace
A Soggy Day in the Graveyard Fields
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Photos, Relationship on September 24, 2016| Leave a Comment »
After a fire in 1925 the stumps of the recently logged area appeared as grave markers to some and the eroded soil and shallow bedrock prevented the forest from coming back in places, thus the name. 
Upper Falls
From the top of the Upper Falls
Light rain, fog, lush spruce and wildflower growth
Viburnum sp?
Any idea which species?
Just above the Lower Falls
Looking down over the Lower Falls
Lower Falls
Enjoying some time together
The day could have been a wash, driving 2 hours to see it rain. Upon approach, the fog seemed unavoidable. The light rain started soon after we started walking and continued almost the whole time. When we got to the top of the Upper Falls, thinking to just take a quick look and head for the car, we found a spruce tree, rhododendron combination that was keeping the rock at creek’s edge dry. We sat down for a lunch and snooze. I walked upstream a bit while my son snoozed on. It was a quiet time together with no one on the trail all the way back. In route to the Lower Falls we crossed the “fields”, heather thicket really, with scattered wildflowers. The hike was shorter than we had planned because we didn’t really want to get up on bare, Black Balsam with the possibility of heavier rain or lightning, but it was pleasant and relaxed. We both agreed it was an enjoyable time together and in the woods (fields).
Water Falling, Friends Calling
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Photos, Remembering on August 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Before I ever started rock climbing I used to hike… alot, thousands of miles over the years. In high school and college it was backpacking with day hikes to get in shape. I continued after marriage but increased responsibilities as time went along resulted in reduced overnight trips. Not to worry, because I used to take my green daypack, a child on my shoulders, and go. Summer, winter, it made little difference. About 15 years ago I scrambled into the more vertical sport so that the majority of hikes were approaches. I still climb but I see that climbing may have to be set aside in a few years (not slowing down at the moment, though). The time off from hiking just warms my desire to do some more. I like new places but I’m not shy about visiting old haunts. I have hiked (in a day or overnight) to Hump Mountain on the Tennessee/North Carolina border nearly 30 times since 1977. It has been my go to when someone wants to experience backpacking for the first time. I have hiked several times this summer, once to Purchase Knob (see previous blog entry). Several weeks before that hike I went with some new friends to South Mountains State Park. It has one hike that most anyone would enjoy and is not too overwhelming- High Shoals Falls.
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- Inviting Pool along the way
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- Innocent Joy
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- This is fun!
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- Posed Family Portrait
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- Hiking Buddies
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- What are you cookin’ up?
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- Did you notice how beautiful nature is?
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- Agelenopsis (Funnel Web Spider or Grass Spider)
The water was low at the falls, which is odd considering how much rain we have had. I guess the water level drops fast after just a few days of no rain. That didn’t dry our enthusiasm a bit. There was plenty to talk about and plenty to see along the way.
I enjoy getting to know people on a hike. You can talk about nature which leads to many subjects you might not otherwise find out about a person. They certainly learned some things about my spider research in college. I studied Agelenid intraspecies competition in the lab, the woods, and the desert. (Curious side note: As I am composing the number of spiderlings that just left their egg sack and are moving back and forth across my computer screen is growing. They are too small for my unaided eye to discern variety although P. tepidariorum (“common house spider”) is the most likely candidate.) There are about a baker’s dozen of Agelenid species in the US. I remember that most of my study involved the A. aperta from New Mexico and Arizona.
The picnic meal was particularly good- Mexican on the grill. I had hiked with the father and young children several other times to mountain tops. This was a nice change. We played in the creek several places, seeing crawdads and minnows. We talked about plant life along the trail both herbaceous and arborescent. It was an enjoyable day, the likes of which I’d like to repeat. We even left just before it began to rain. God gifted us with a beautiful day and good conversation.
Purchase Knob
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Beauty, Mushrooms, Outdoors, Photos on August 20, 2016| 2 Comments »
Before two weekends ago I had not seen any of my brothers for a year and a half, some for much longer. We had a cookout at my youngest brother’s house with spouses and a few children and grandchildren. During the conversation we planned a hike for Friday to the Purchase Knob area of the Smoky Mountains National Park. It is the location of the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center. The hike we took went along the border of “The Swag”, a Bed and Breakfast that allows hikers to visit their viewing lawn. The weather has been moist for a month and the fungi are out. With more time and patience I could have gotten some really good pictures of the abundant and colorful fruiting bodies of diverse mycelia. One of my sister-in-laws is known for her love and identification of wildflowers. She said she wants to know fungi better. Here’s a place to start.
Cep or Penny Bun?
Lush creek side
Green Cracking Russula (Russula virescens)
Students coming down from the Learning Center
Bee Balm soothing a Pipevine Swallowtail
Winesaps?
Furguson Cabin
Black Earth Tongue
Doll’s-Eye or White Baneberry
Yellow Wart (Amanita flavoconia)
“Good Fences Make Good Neighbors”?
Orange Peel Cup Mushroom
White Coral Fungus
Earth Cup Mushroom?
Catch some rays and relax
Maggie Valley
Nice smiles! OK, I was trying to make sure the camera was working.
Great Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum)
Insulation, flight, camouflage, mating, ….versatile… not by chance!
Coral Fungus
Chanterelles?
So many colorful varieties
Death Angel
Taking in The Swag view
The Real Purchase Knob
Hiding under a rock on top of the knob
Do you see the fairy ring that I found near the top of Purchase Knob?
Elegant Stinkhorn
The variety and beauty of God’s creation! I could go out every weekend and never get tired of learning and looking.
Await the Fall
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, Poem, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Poems on July 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »
It is perhaps an odd subject for a midsummer’s evening, or maybe not after another day of sweating profusely at chores and listening to the day’s thunder rolling over the mountain. The oddity really comes down to how it came about. The first two lines I wrote last fall one morning looking out the window by my desk before work was to begin. The pleasant thoughts that it brought to me caused me to think it was the beginning of many more thoughts but I laid it aside on my desk until a break. I found it when cleaning up papers at the beginning of summer. I took it home and laid it next to my rocking chair where I read and pay bills and think. It laid there for a month. The next time I saw it I thought, now or never. Don’t construe the poem to mean that I dislike summer. There is much to like about summer, but we all have preferences and mine is Fall. I am thankful to God to live in an environment where there is a definite change of seasons and deciduous trees to mark the occasions.
A fair, crisp morning Grass glistens with frost Birds' feathers fluffed up That heat not be lost Chill braces the lungs Nips at nose and cheeks Rescue from summer's Many draining weeks Oh, how I love Fall When insects retreat Reptiles slow and stall Dry mildews defeat No more sweat required Only now by choice Humidity low Lightens heart and voice Skies are clearer now Leaves have joyful hues Stars are brighter, too Grander mountain views Change is in the air Every front attests Animals store food For their winter rests Crops have all matured Bring the harvest in Celebrate bounty With neighbors and kin Yellow blooms abound Earth tones more I see Dried herb fragrances Nature's potpourri Outdoor things to do Cool air is the best All await the Fall For change and for rest
Time to Unwind and Reflect
Posted in Beauty, Climbing, General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Outdoors, Photo, tagged attributes of god, Beauty, Climbing, God Thoughts, God's Word, Outdoors, Photos, purpose in life, Relationship on August 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »
I kept wanting to go to the mountains but people, responsibility, and other priorities kept preventing it. Seeing my repeatedly frustrated efforts my wife said that I should go tomorrow. I wasn’t going to second guess the cessation of chores and her encouragement to go. Besides, after taking a walk with her early on this August 1st I knew that it was an exceptionally clear, low humidity, and cool day. (65 degrees was enough for several people to say it felt like the first Fall day- wishful thinking with August and September ahead.) So a hasty breakfast and quicker packing job and I was gone. I like solitude but I like company, too, but the whole reason I was going alone was because I couldn’t find anyone and one had even backed out.
I even enjoy the drive up on a very curvy rode in a small, good cornering car with a clutch and adequate power. The air was crisp, the sky totally blue, and my heart was light. Bouldering by yourself is considered to be quite risky by some, but I have observed others doing it with care. You only attempt climbs that are straight up over the pad with no barn door potential. The weather meant exceptional friction, almost unheard of in the humid South in the summer. I was climbing well, but I can’t say if I was climbing exceptionally well because I couldn’t try anything really hard because of the ground rules for climbing alone I’d set down. During rest breaks I took pictures of fern and tree leaves.
Rockcap Fern (Polypodium virginianum) I believe
Frazier Magnolia
I set up several videos of me climbing (I just admitted to a selfie! I will not let this become a regular event and certainly not an addiction. I must keep this under control.) You may check them out by clicking on the names below. It will be immediately obvious that I’m no rockstar, but I enjoy the challenge, nonetheless:
Disc and Throw
Chainsawleft
Trillium fruiting
American Chestnut “bush”
After bouldering around until my forearms were quite tired, I walked up to the top of the ridge, sat down, took in the view, ate lunch, and read my Bible. Actually, when I first arrived up top I lay down on the bouldering pad a prayed for awhile. There was such a rest in telling my Father all my burdens about work, family, and internal stress. I have been enjoying, not just tolerating reading Leviticus and Numbers. Numbers 2 and 3 seem like lists of camp arrangement and numbers of fighting men, and numbering religious servants, but they reveal several things about God’s character. He is orderly and efficient and given to detail. The arrangement of Levites reveals His concern for His holiness among the people and grace to not destroy them with His fierce justice. The taking of the Levites in place of the firstborn and the redemption of 273 additional Israelites by a gift of five shekels each reminds us of the depth of our sin problem and the gloriousness of God’s solution in salvation. The more I read the Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy) the more I feel like Jesus is repeating Himself when He points to God’s holiness and the Law. As a man did He have “aha!” moments of learning the Word from His parents or the synagogue teachers, moments when He said, “I remember saying that.”? All of His Word speaks of His character and what is important to Him. Are we bored with it because we have little passion for knowing Him and what He cares about? Knowledge of Him is our ultimate goal here. Beautiful days in the mountains and hard days of difficulty or frustration are profitable and meaningful if we allow them to direct us to knowing Him more. Yeah, I prefer one over the other but I am slowly learning to muse, “Hmm, I wander how this situation may draw me closer to Him?”
House Fly
Shining Clubmoss (or Shining Firmoss) Huperizia lucidula (Thanks for the ID help Sister L)
The view up top increased my enjoyment of my time concentrating on God. He created all of the beauty around us to remind us of His beauty and the enjoyment we may have from these gifts from His good hand.
Left to Right: Table Rock, Hawksbill, Gingercake
Exceptionally Beautiful August Day
That’s What I’m talkin’ ’bout
Posted in Beauty, General, God Thoughts, Grace, Sustaining, Work of the Holy Spirit, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, purpose in life, Random thoughts, Relationship, Sustaining, Work of the Holy Spirit on June 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »
It was what church should be: lively discussion about the truths of God’s Word, challenging preaching that conveys God’s truth, hugs and handshakes, words of encouragement, a little extra effort to reach out to the hurting among us, words to get one thinking and rethinking, offers and procedure for help, appointments to get together later in the week to further the effect. God used my brothers and sisters to bless my wife and me both in terms of ministry offered to us and ministry offered for us to do. Was it perfect? Certainly not. Was it Spirit-led? More than I’ve seen in quite a while. Was it encouraging? Very. Was it an indication of things to come? Hopefully and in the longer term, absolutely. Was it a fluke? Not if we continue praying as I know for a fact was happening this past week. It reminds me of a quote we heard in VBS this past week: “Our good is for God’s glory; God’s glory is for our good.” I give Him the glory for all that He is doing at His church in this locale and know that it will in turn be for our best. May it draw others in to hear and taste the Gospel.
Cut or Prune?
Posted in Beauty, General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Outdoors, Photo, Strength, Sustaining, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, God's Word, Outdoors, Photos, purpose in life, Strength, Sustaining on April 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Spring has significantly sprung in our neck of the woods. We may yet have another wintery storm but the bluster is mostly out of that season. Flowers seem particularly profuse this season: carpets of red trillium, bluets, grape hyacinth, and violets. The hardier varieties of Daffodils have already shown their glory. Leaves are sprouting rapidly on the trees.
Neighbor’s Redbud
Violets and Grape Hyacinth
Violets and Ground Ivy
Variety of Heal All?
As the transformation has occurred, when not out in the yard or woods, I have been watching from the dining room window as I eat. One sight in the last two weeks has arrested my attention, however, and it is of my own doing. I’ve long wanted fruit trees that produce. I lived for six years across a dirt road from a pear tree that no one cared for or seemed aware of. It would produce a few pears each year that were the old style: hard and sweet- moon glow pears I think. One year just before we moved the spring and summer conspired together with a perfect combination for this old pear tree. It produced so many large pears that it bent over with some of the pears touching the ground. Even more fascinating was the almost total lack of worms or other insects. I ate pears for lunch every day and most usually with yogurt after super. I ate them with my cereal for breakfast. We froze some and I ate them relentlessly. My wife ate her share as well. The tree produced for 3 1/2 months until heavy frost. It was simply amazing. The next year the pear tree produced a few worm eaten pears just like it had in all of my previous notice of it. Soon afterward we moved to our present house. One of the things that drew us to the house we bought was the trees: oak, redbud, catalpa, pitch pine, white ash, chinese chestnut, and two apple trees. I was too busy with house repair and job to prune them the first several years, but I read up on pruning and pruned them later on. I believe that it was the season a year and a half after that they produced some decent sized and number of apples. A fair number were without worm. They are probably what is referred to as cooking apples because they lack much firmness, and much sweetness or tartness desirable in an eating apple. Since then frost has gotten the flowers and worms have rotted the fruit. I sprayed them one year with soap just after the blooms fell off, to no avail. I’m not a pesticide kind of guy and I haven’t figured out the natural ways of preventing apple worms. I have pruned them somewhat since then but finally let them go. My son pruned them heavily last year but they are so tall that you can’t reach half of the apples and those that fall are severely damaged. There is a point to all of this story. I went out to try again this spring and found that the larger tree had several rotten places in the trunk. If there was any possibility of producing apples, it seemed to me, this problem must be dealt with. I cut most of the rot out. Now I sit and look at the sad results of my decisive action.
- Ouch!
I was immediately reminded of two Scripture passages: John 15:1-11 and Luke 13:1-9 Hear a little of each passage:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit… he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” John 15:1-2, 5-6 “And He began telling this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine, but if not, cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9
Perhaps it is a parable for my life just now. No, by God’s grace, I do not believe I will be burned up because I belong to Him, but does cut down mean eternally separated or ‘fallen asleep’ as those who were disobedient (I Corinthians 11:30)? I have been severely pruned or cut; difficulties with career, health, loved ones. Has my life been unfruitful and full of rot so that it needed a major pruning? Am I too apt to be content, complacent when I have orders to fulfill? There are other ways to look at the reasons for these trials but I don’t want to be oblivious to the obvious. I certainly feel like this tree looks. And I don’t see it or mean it as complaining. I just want to learn the lessons that are here and serve my Lord better rather than have to recycle remediation. The flowers bloom all around; the sun shines brightly; the soil is warming and wet; the grass is greening. Am I connected and abiding in the vine (trunk and root) so that I may bloom, leaf, and bear fruit. I want to be a fruit tree that produces. I want to be pruned, not cut down.
By Night
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, Photo, Travel, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Photos, Travel on March 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »
I have the occasional ideas in the back of my head of things I’d like to try. I don’t frequently voice them and then only to certain people. So try this one out. Get up at 2:15 AM. Meet before 3 AM and travel to begin a hike before 4 AM. Make it a cold, windy morning on an exceptionally rough trail. Add patches of ice that you didn’t know would be there. Include parts of the ridge that are windswept and the trail runs along the cliff edge. Make it your goal to reach the summit at 4.5 miles at sunrise. That describes the first half of our hike from Boones Fork Parking Area on the Parkway to Grandfather Mountain on Saturday. The two guys that I persuaded to go along agreed that the trail was significantly easier by light of day than by light of headlamp. I had to throw out a full half of the pictures because steadying yourself in 30+ mph wind makes pictures a blur. I got back home before noon and spent the remainder of the day with my wife conversing and pruning the apple trees. It was a wild idea but I’m glad I tried it once.
Windy Time exposure
Clouds Obscured Horizon Sunrise
Attic Window Peak
Coming off McCrae Peak
In the Boulder Patch
McCrae Peak from Attic Window Peak
Morning Glow
The Attic Window
Indian Cave on Ice
Hump Mtn “just beyond” the Grandfather Golf Course
Alpine Meadow Rest
Attic Window Peak from Calloway Peak
Subtle Skirmish Cherished
Posted in Beauty, General, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Poem, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Poems on March 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »
If it sounds like whining, so be it. 2014 may well be my year of stress. It just is, so to keep from dwelling on that I won’t itemize. The stating of this fact does explain why I found myself on the yard swing on this balmy, early March day (3/8/14). I needed a few minutes to soak in nature. The amazing part is just how much God showed me in 30 minutes in my suburban backyard. Many of the observations I made will reveal themselves in just a moment but here are some others: wild onions are up; shadows are sharper at their edge now (clear sky, sun angle (near Equinox), low humidity? I don’t know); I still need to clear the remaining leaves that were protectors to snow holding on (insulating it from the ground? insulating it from the UV radiation sublimating it? I don’t know); moist ground; pitch pine trees still have cones up high; at least 3 different kinds of songbirds sounding off and many more numbers chirping; Spring grasses turning green while Summer grasses not close; a squirrel placing a twig in the log pile just under the shed roof (nest initiation? funny place) and another taking twigs off of the roof (got to get ready for those babies); English Ivy tattered after a long winter; Sun quite warm on the back of my neck. Are you still long enough to observe your surroundings? You can learn from nature’s patterns. In “The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pa Ingalls stood mouth wide open when he saw the muskrat building his nest thicker than Pa had ever seen. He knew it was a harbinger of a long, hard winter and that all wise critters best take heed. God has put the obvious signs of the Sun, Moon, and stars in the sky, but are the other patterns that mark the passing of the seasons also set there to inform us if we are quiet to hear them and wise to see the patterns? We well observe some of the easier hints of changes of seasons, subtle skirmishes of the uneven heating being re-balanced by fronts and currents, winds aloft and pressure systems, North battling South in a far older and grander way. Past seasons tell me that all we enjoy now on this pleasant day will be soon forgotten by Winter’s last hurrahs before Resurrection Day. Spring and new life sprouting will win out. The curious nature of the skirmish revealed and the pleasant moment quieted my soul enough to be thankful and express my thoughts as follows:
Maple buds bursting in dark blue sky
Framing a first quarter Moon up high
Early evening sun casting warm glow
Spring is come speaks the varied breeze flow
Red-tail hawk screams from overhead glide
Snow’s quiet threat at woodpile’s north side
Branches still leafless, grass is still brown
Ending a winter of much renown
Robins pace and listen for the worm
Passing to reside for Summer term
Screech owl rasps, the song birds do their best
Spring has won the daffodils attest
Long Distance Piano Delivery
Posted in Beauty, Climbing, General, Outdoors, Photo, Travel, tagged Beauty, Climbing, Outdoors, Photos, Relationship, Travel on December 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »
We had said that when they settled into a house we would give them my father’s piano. We wanted to visit children and grandchildren anyway, but delivering a piano via the back of an open pick-up truck in winter north of the Mason-Dixon Line is a challenge, especially when it is fine mahogany and the forecast calls for intense rain. We made the first leg of trip and got the instrument under cover for two days of intense rain without any hitch, visiting with my daughter, grand-daughter, and son-in-law. We started off on the second leg of the journey from Virginia to Pennsylvania thinking the rain was over and met with some light showers but the covering repelled and the padding softened. It was good to hear it sing again at the hands of my daughter-in-law and their church pianist, albeit out of tune from the long temperature, humidity, and vibrational changing delivery. We had all of the family present but the youngest who was at the a Georgia beach with his girlfriend and her family. The possibility of getting them all together in one place at the same time diminishes as the years pass. On Tuesday my second-born son and I went to Chickies Rock on the Susquehanna River. Afterwards we went down to Muddy Run Preserve and walked around the lake. On Christmas day I ran 9 miles, the most distance for a continuous run I have ever done. I may be able to run a 1/2 marathon in the Spring. The next day we had a totally unexpected snow of 2-3 inches that was only forecast to be a snow shower. That prevented a trip to Gettysburg but we went to Reading Rocks indoor climbing wall in the afternoon. The next day we visited Valley Forge and many of the historic sites downtown in Philadelphia. Before the day was over we collected two pieces of furniture from my son-in-law’s grandmother to take to Virginia on the way back home. On Saturday we had all of the family, save the youngest son as I have said, over for lunch and a visit. On Sunday after church we visited with some friends, a family of 11 children. They are so pleasant and well behaved. In the evening the pastor, who is also my eldest son’s father-in-law, and several of his children came to visit. It was a full but enjoyable day. I was able to run several times over these days and my second son gave me a Garmin satellite watch that I can register distance, pace, course, and time. The watch is fun and allows for further goal setting but all of this technology reminds me how easily we may be watched. I am thankful that my Father up above is watching, directing, correcting, and providing. Submission to such a kind and benevolent Authority is restful and I wander why I ever resist it. I desire to submit and succeed by His grace in the coming year. A blessed New Year to you all.
Chickies Rock
Muddy Run Preserve
Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge
Great Blue Herron
Washington Memorial Chapel
City Hall
Christ Church
Ben Franklin’s Print Shop
Carpenter’s Hall
Independence Hall
Liberty Bell
Philadelphia Train Station
De-stressing
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, Photo, Sustaining, tagged Beauty, internal strife, Outdoors, Photos, Sustaining on September 1, 2013| 1 Comment »
I should never be too busy to observe beauty and reduce stress. I fully realize that the very nature of stress is that it causes you to not be able to see the end of the tunnel for all that you have to do. Therefore, you must decide that some things are more important than constantly being stressed. I can’t do that you may be thinking. I don’t have the money. I don’t have the time. Who will go with me? Where do I begin? I’m not interested. It’s not important. It’s too hard. That’s not my cup of tea. I don’t know why you think it’s such a big deal. I’ll get around to it.
Actually, no you won’t. Perhaps you don’t have mountains or beach or whatever around you. But most of us have something of beauty and solitude somewhere close at hand. Is there a single tree? Go sit under it. Mark out time to lower stress by considering all the good God has done and looking at the beauty in nature that He has provided. Do you have transportation? How much does it cost and how long will it take to walk in a park, or drive a short distance to a scenic area to enjoy. Life is short, so yes, hug your wife and kids, work hard, be honest, but also find a few moments in each week to get away from the blue light and the flat screen and the earbuds and just absorb natural beauty.
While I’m on my mild little rant, pass this mode of de-stressing onto the next generation. They are being sucked in by brain-numbing music and images that are literally robbing them of the ability to think (check the research, particularly for children under 6). Teach them to sweat on a walk a little; lie and gaze at the clouds; identify a mushroom or the difference in bark on various trees or concentrate and focus on a distant object from a high vantage point. It will greatly widen their perspective and lower their whine factor.
Go with friends. Talk about things of substance. Take your time.
OK, I’m done, but yesterday was an example. I enjoyed the time with friends with both substantive adult and child talk, saw a great view, and participated in some mild exercise. Check it out.
Friends taking a break at the top
Linville Gorge from Hawksbill
De-stressed me
My little friend
Hazy late summer day
The Galax strongly disseminated its astringent odor
M
A Parting Adventure
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, Photo, Remembering, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Photos, Relationship on July 9, 2013| 3 Comments »
God definitely brings special people into your life, but He also takes them out of your life at times. As we discussed today we Christians are just sojourners in this world passing on to the next. When we cross paths in a significant way with other sojourners, however briefly or long-term, it is a privilege, and we will meet again in the country of which we are permanent citizens. Knowing that we may well one day have to part ways with a new or old friend is no reason to hold back from becoming as fully invested in the relationship as time and personality permits. Giving yourself away is the best way to also be given to. So I wanted to spend one more day with this friend and colleague of six years doing what we both like to do, be outdoors to see the beauty of God’s creation and challenge our bodies. We were able to do the latter by the added challenge of time constraint, hiking 9 miles on Grandfather Mountain in 4 1/2 hours. If you have not been on this trail the pictures cannot do justice to the view or the roughness of the trail. Enjoy the pictures.
Sitting in the middle of the trail
View East
Calloway Peak southwest toward Attic Window
From Calloway Peak
Attic Window
Attic Window from MacRae Peak
Swinging Bridge and building
Beacon Heights
East end of MacRae Peak Outcropping
Northeast view toward Calloway Peak and Profile Rock
A moment’s respite from a blistering pace
The Ups and Downs of Gorging
Posted in Beauty, General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Beauty, Outdoors, Photos on June 15, 2013| 2 Comments »
Gotcha! Thought I was going to talk about eating disorders didn’t you? No, I don’t think it is a laughing matter but at times our language is. I could have said, “What a gorgeous day,” which would at any rate be correct. My two youngest sons and I hiked about 10 miles in Linville Gorge today, and it was challenging, and it was beautiful.
For those of you who know the Gorge, the following description will make some sense. We parked at Spence Ridge Trailhead and walked the old forest service road to meet the Mountain-to-Sea Trail which heads alongside Table Rock and joins its trail so that we traversed the parking lot. Then we continued along the ridge toward the Chimneys. The picture of the bird is evidently a Junco, though I have never seen one with quite this coloring. The most interesting part to me was its black bill. Now guide or internet picture has one with a black bill. All of the feather coloring shows up in pictures but not in this combination. I thought I’d found a Linville Gorge variety, and perhaps I have. Boy, were the climbers out in force at TR and the Chimneys. We passed quite a few weekend backpackers, too. Out of the more crowded climes, we continued to Chimney Gap and then veered right onto a little known and unmaintained trail on the spur that runs between the Gap and Shortoff called Cambric Branch Trail. I had attempted it with two of my sons on a winter day with little daylight and missed. I was back to find it from the other end. We succeeded, flying down the narrow,brush grown trail. At the bottom we forded Linville River and headed upstream on the Gorge Trail. I had quite a fright when a water snake moved on a rock next to me. It was harmless. At various points upstream I saw driftwood at least 25 feet above the water level. The flood water must have been awesome to behold and loud. At this point I began to get weary given the frantic pace my youngin’s were laying down and the slight case of dehydration that was developing. It is nigh on to impossible to stay hydrated when you a sweating bullets. I began to think that the bridge had been washed out and I had missed it. Well, it had been washed out but the site was merely further upstream than my legs wanted to admit. The boys were there before me, and so was a crowd of swimmers and backpackers crossing, perhaps 20 people in the 30 minutes we hung out. I went for a swim in the river. Cold water always relieves tire muscles and cooled me below the temperature to need sweating out more moisture. My two sons were pretty chill but didn’t want to swim for some reason. The Spence Ridge Trail is steep but not excessively so we came out reasonably well. Wildflowers, wildlife, blue sky, time with the boys, wilderness, rock cliffs, trees, river, challenge to the body, and finding the trail I’d failed at before made for a good day for which I give thanks to the Creator of it all.
CreatorWorship 
Peru 5
Posted in Beauty, Cultural commentary, General, Photo, Travel, tagged Beauty, Cultural commentary, Photos, purpose in life, Travel on August 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Culture is an odd and interesting phenomenon. Though the word has now been co-opted to refer to interaction in a business office, the more traditional definition looks more like the http://www.merriam-webster.com first entry: “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time”. Therein is the oddity and interest. That is a very broad definition trying to capture all that goes into a culture. You can mix and match the first three terms (and the “etc’s” for that matter) with any combination of the “particular” last four terms. Try for instances this combination that helps to explore a situation our tour explored in Peru: ‘art of a particular society in transition through time‘.
Pressing out the air bubbles
Glazed and painted and drying in the sun in readiness for the second firing
We toured the Seminario Ceramicas in Urubamba of the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The head potter, Pablo Seminario, along with his wife the head painter, Merilu Behar, developed a style of glazed and decorated pottery that has elements of ancient Peruvian cultures and modern stylistic exploration. The style was further developed by the isolation necessary for survival during the Shining Path insurgence of the 1980’s. One motif that the potter declared to me that he finds ever new is the shape of the arrowhead. As he said, “It was a tool for gathering food…is similar to the water drop or a leaf”. So Pablo continues to explore splashes of modern creativity mixed with hints of ancient continuity.
Moderno-paleo creations
I was temporarily separated from my tour group because I was taking some pictures in this gallery of creations of the artist. When I exited the room outdoors I didn’t see anyone. I assumed a whole group could not have gone far in a minute so I went to the nearest doorway. When I entered, there was Pablo wielding a small carving tool on a large arrowhead. Realizing I had entered his private studio, I began to back out but he waved me forward, not even slowing the pace of his work.
Pablo manifesting a new vision of the arrowhead
For the next 10-12 minutes we amicably discussed the creative process. He seemed to be quite interested in talking with me because I had brought students to tour Peru and because I talked intelligently about art and science. I asked several questions about how he begins a concept and carries it out. One question involved the arrowhead, “You obviously like to make arrowheads. Why did you start with it and why do you continue with it now?” He related the request from an art exhibit many years ago that he combine modern and ancient elements of design. This request caused him to reflect on the usefulness and ubiquitousness of the arrowhead shape he noticed in nature as quoted above. He continues to see new things in the shape and strives to continue to grow and so pursues more content in the arrowhead. This discussion led to me commenting on how one should be thankful to the Creator for instilling the gift of creativity. He retorted that it was far more work than creativity. I countered that the work is necessary but without merit if the person lacks the creative ability; each of us should work to develop the gift we have. The waste of potential that he sees as an artist and I see as a science teacher consumed some of our interaction. We also interacted over the similarities in science and art, how each involves elements of the other, and how both center around the abilities to think and work hard. It was one of those moments when we both knew that we had connected in a meaningful way even though before that moment we had been total strangers from different cultures pursuing different vocations and avocations, separated by different worldviews. Our connection was musing on life, its processes, and its meaning.
His life had been one sufficiently isolated from the insanity of the violent culture around him in order to survive and thrive, and yet not isolated from creative interaction, as his collaboration with his wife and 50 potters and painters in training attests.
Decorating the forms with Inca symbols
Main Gallery
I think that in this discussion and on this trip I discovered a more complete reason for why I like to travel. It extends my musing on life through observation of diversity in nature, culture, thinking, history, distance, science, people, God’s work in the world, and a host of other providential allowances given by a good Creator. We want to see beauty and substance and understand its meaning and purpose. But many are not willing to wade through the meaning of ugliness and triviality to reach the beauty and substance that does not lend to their preconceived ideas of what it should mean. I agree with Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Don’t be afraid to examine yours and others and risk having to change what you hold dear for what is true and good and beautiful and full of substance.
Contrasts of Hues and Properties
Courtyard Beauty of Seminario
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