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
Archive for the ‘Outdoors’ Category
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 »
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).
Labor Day Play
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Outdoors, Photos on September 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »
After a good sleep in we went to the park. It has all kinds of things to climb on and swing on. Active but chill, that’s my kind of holiday.
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- It will hold you.
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- Is it fun up there?
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- Hanging out
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- On the ropes
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- Outside, in a box, upside down
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- Keep trying
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- You can do it.
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- I did it.
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- Down elevator
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- Spectators
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- Stop! No more. Go home.
Singing in the Rain
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Outdoors, Photos, Relationship on September 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »
To paraphrase, children and grandchildren are a gift from the Lord. As distance and years pass it is harder to have quality time with either. My daughter commented that with a child you can do things that most adults (so called responsible adults) wouldn’t do. It is good that my grand-daughter has a mother who will play with her in the rain. It has been an exceptionally wet summer where I live, but 4 hours away where my daughter lives it has been an exceptionally dry summer. I’m thinking, “Oh, rain again.” My daughter is thinking, “Oh, rain again!” You have to supply intonation based on context.
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- Gutter Marching
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- Against the Flow
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- Curious George or Little Bear perhaps?
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- Come on out and play!
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- Uncles watching
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- One uncle participating
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
Sandblast
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, Travel, tagged Outdoors, Photos, Travel on April 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I having been blogging since July of 2007. Until the past year I have been very regular, blogging between 1 and 4 times a month with the most being 12 times in one month (need to go back and see what that was about). I have missed a month or two now and then. For 8 years and 2 months I missed blogging 8 months, more than I realized. September is my most missed month; I’m a teacher and life gets busy about then. Since last September I have missed 4 more months. I do not desire to slow down or quit but opportunities and responsibilities seem to keep increasing. So I find myself in a quandry. I don’t want to be so busy naval gazing that I don’t live life, but neither do I want to rush through all of the events of life without reflecting on them which allows me to live more deeply.
Here I am with a few moments only to record part of a privileged event from April. I went to a seminar in Clearwater, Florida. It was very worthwhile and may open more opportunity and I may comment on it later. But in the midst of 10 1/2 hours of driving there and 12 hours back (There is something surrealistic about miles of stopped traffic for construction in the middle of the night on what would otherwise be a lonely stretch of interstate.), 20 hours of class in 2 1/2 days, and a 45 minute commute before and after each day of seminar, 2 hours on a beach just before sunset was glorious. I ran 3 1/2 miles barefoot to the north end of Honeymoon Island and walked through surf, collected shells, and took pictures on the way back. Such mini-vacations are what I find to be the balm for frenetic schedules. Many people I am around seem to take their comfort in interacting with people and food. As a teacher who happily interacts with people every day (OK, some people are annoying but I like to converse and teach and help.) and sits or stands far too much, I prefer to go “away” when break time comes. I hope that you may enjoy the thought of the break I took in these pictures and find ways to take breaks yourself.
American Oystercatcher
Honeymoon Island State Park Beach facing south toward Clearwater
Tide coming in
Plover or Least Sandpiper in its Winter Plumage?
Got one!
Working Late
Wind in you hair; sand between your toes
Evening Glint
Day’s End
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
Peru 4
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, Travel, tagged Outdoors, Photos, Travel on July 26, 2015| 1 Comment »
From Ollantaytamba the train winds down the ever narrowing and deepening gorge toward Machu Picchu. The trip takes 1:45 including a few short pauses on siding for passing trains. The gorge only has room for the river and the cut for the train in many places where an extended arm would literally touch the jagged rocks of the cut. Some of the rapids are intense looking and the vegetation slowly increases in density, height, and variety from semi-desert to cloudland rainforest. Students in their uniforms and farmers in their work clothes were headed to school and field. Terraces still hold corn and grazing animals.
I spent most of my time looking out of the windows.
The Whole Tour Group at the first good view of the city
The Narrowing Urubamba River Gorge
Terraces still used
The village of Machu Picchu is not more than 100 m wide and is cut in two by the Urubamba River and the railroad. Densely vegetated cliffs rise easily 1500 feet on either side. I find the topography the most amazing characteristic of the village and the ancient site. Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by over one million people each year. Many details about the construction, location, and history of the site are amazing. Being in a rainforest, the Inca engineers provided it with a subterranean drainage system without which it would have long since eroded away. The temple and Inca rulers’ structures are built of the smooth, fitted stones that are earthquake resistant and yet the Temple of the Sun is slowly splitting apart due to a minor fault line that extends across the concave city green. A wire stretched across the green from one side to the other and made taut by a weight and measured by an instrument indicates that the green is expanding by a few millimeters per year. A quarry on the brow of the ridge was the source of the building stone.
Inca Trail (25 miles to the Capitol Cusco)
Main Gate to the City
Temple of the Sun has a fault
Living and Working Spaces
Llamas wander throughout the site
Steep Real Estate (note the archaeologists in blue)
Chinchilla Chillin’
Huayna Picchu overlooks the ridgetop city
Hiram Bingham, the Yale historian who revealed Machu Picchu to the world in 1911, was not the first person of European descent to explore the terraces and temples. It was not the Spanish who saw it though, for they never found it. Why? It had been abandoned before they came and conquered the Inca. The actual reason for its abandonment is unknown but the well worn theories about religious, political, or military causes are not very convincing. Our trained Peruvian guide seemed to think that the evidence of syphilis in the bones of some buried at the Temple of the Condor suggests that an epidemic caused the inhabitants and would be inhabitants to forsake the city. It seems most plausible to me since the Spanish never seemed to have even heard about it. Their writings make no mention of its existence. Also, syphilis was a new world endemic disease before Europeans arrived. Epidemic levels of syphilis result from a sexually debased society. A mere 10 years of abandonment would have been sufficient for the jungle to cover all evidence of its existence. Hiram Bingham would not have found it if farmers had not shown him exactly where it was and had several terraces cleared for farming. The Europeans who discovered it before the American were treasure hunters who did not want Peruvians or anyone else to know they had come and gone.
Inca Bridge-a secure gate against an enemy who never came.
Farmers were in good shape
Built in about 1450 and abandoned before 1520, the 140 stone buildings of a construction project in progress testify to both the semi-permanence and futility of all that we do apart from God. Syphilis, war, superstition, drought, or whatever caused the peoples of Machu Picchu to leave give testimony to the ultimate powerlessness of an empire to perpetuate control and forego God’s judgment on evil practices. If we assume that empires and culture are simply short-lived because that is the way it must be, then we fail to remember that this world is fallen and it did not have to be that way. God did not create life for death; man chose death. The enemy is not outside the gate but inside the heart.
A Belated New Years Tale
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Climbing, Outdoors, Photos on January 12, 2015| 2 Comments »
I hope that doing hard things on New Year’s Day will not become a trend. There was a white ash tree in my side yard that leaned significantly toward my neighbor’s house and about 25 feet away from the corner of his house. The tree had split half of its main trunk into our yard about 5 years ago during a drought. There was very little wind when it happened, just hot dry air. That left the other half of the trunk leaning predominantly over his house. Recently I gave him permission to take down the largest limb that extended halfway across his roof. I did not want to risk removing it and perhaps felling it on his roof. With three friends pulling on a rope he climbed 10 feet up into the first fork and fell the limb, completely missing his house. The tallest part of the trunk, some 60 or 65 feet tall still leaned over his house. The day he removed the one limb I noticed the end approaching. On one side of the bottom most fork were large white patches that I determined must be fungus eating away at the moist rot in the fork. If I didn’t take it down it would come down on his house for sure and the other half could reach my house as well. Weather and health and sons to help did not come available until 1/1/15. The most time consuming part of the job all the way through was getting rope over the appropriate forks for me to prusik up or for the truck to pull the branches down. The first two pictures show me standing in a fork about 40 feet up just after felling the first high limb successfully.
I don’t know which makes me more nervous, getting involved with the chainsaw that is near or above my head or the limb that I’m removing with the saw. Two of my boys did an excellent job yanking the limbs away from me and my neighbor’s house and even the other trees in the yard. It took nearly 8 hours to climb, rope a limb, cut, move, and repeat, and finally descend. Proper tree climbing and removal equipment would, of course, make this all go more quickly with less risk. This is the third time that I have done this operation and almost certainly the most risky. I really think that should quit now. Coming down was fun though.
We took down the main trunk just above the bottom fork before quitting for the day. That left just the left most branches. We took down the left most branch one evening after work. There was only this large, hard leaning middle branch on the left fork. I knew it would be hard. We planned and deliberated and tried the next Saturday. Notch, pull, back cut, pull harder, and then it fell on my house. The tops of the branches were all that reached but they could have done damage had it not been for the large limb on the Catalpa tree that took the brunt of the blow and eased it down onto the gable end as it came to the ground. No harm was done to the house but it uglified the Catalpa real fine. With the huge success of the first two days of cutting and the moderate success (no hospital, no repairs needed, no equipment breakage, just a branch down we hadn’t wanted down) the last day we only had the last 15 feet of double trunk to raze. Given the risks and the fact I like trees in my yard I had second guessed myself several times during this project, but when I fell that last trunk section it split in half when it hit the ground. Out came water and it was coated with mud inside. There was a reason for the fungus patches on the bark. We had with the prayers of friends and help of God, the pickup truck and my two sons’ help, and various pieces of equipment gotten the tree safely on the ground. Considering how ash splits when stuck wrong, it makes me wonder why bats are made from it. I guess I’ll have to research that. Perhaps I should take a easy stroll in the woods next New Year’s Day.
Traditions worth Transmitting
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Outdoors, Photos, Relationship on November 29, 2014| 1 Comment »
Tradition has frequently gotten a bad rap and frequently with good reason. Tradition as an excuse not to move forward, not to learn and grow, is a hindrance to be done away with. But tradition that strengthens relationships and belonging and remembering what is good and right and passing these on to the next generation is good. I think where this good kind of tradition goes wrong is when it is not explained to the new people (children in this case) and when it becomes more important than the truth it is supposed to point toward and when it becomes an excuse to be lazy and not grow. My family’s Thanksgiving traditions have changed slowly over the years growing into a 2 1/2 day event. Wednesday night is soup dinner and games. Several people usually run and race on Thursday morning. As many brothers (there are 4) as can come to the eldest brother’s house with children (8) and grand-children (12 + 1 on the way so far) to eat at 1 PM. In the late afternoon the willing and able (male and female, young (about 6) and old (oldest this year was 54) play flag football. On Friday we go for a hike and then meet again for one last dinner of leftovers. Those able to come, willing to participate, and able to participate changes from year to year and each event within the set of events and some sit and talk rather than participate, but the general way of things remains the same. Conversation is lively and involves catching up. It is a good constant in my life and I am thankful for the stability of my extended family. God has been good to us in so many ways; a godly heritage is much to be sought after. It is good to hear conversations about God’s provision and elements of our faith. It is good to celebrate and have fun.
Olfaction Reaction
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Random thoughts, Remembering, tagged god answers prayer, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Random thoughts, Remembering on July 8, 2014| 3 Comments »
The ability to remember and associate smells is one of the most powerful forms of memory, enhancing a sense of time and place and visual cues. The Olfactory Glands are located in the sinuses very close to a part of the brain that processes and retrieves memories and emotions, the amygdala. Scientists have isolated a thousand different enzymes that bond to odiferous chemicals in the identification of smells in humans.
I’m originally from East Tennessee where the clay is nearly as orange as this print and hard enough so that you are not be able to stick a mattock into it more than 2 to 3 inches no matter how hard you hit it. There is abundant clay where I live now but it is most usually infused with muscovite mica (the silvery sheet mineral that you can see through) which makes it much easier to dig in. My number three son and I are building a deck for a colleague of mine. Where the deck is located there is no mica in the clay (odd) so it digs like East Tennessee clay. On the way home the other day I inadvertently put my hand on to my face and smelled the clay/dry grass mixture on my fingers. Memories began to flood in from so many times and places that I couldn’t ruminate before the next set of life experiences were upon me. Being dirty is repulsive to many but when it reminds me of things I have enjoyed doing it becomes a perfume. I immediately thought of helping friends and strangers put up hay on a hot or balmy June or September day. I thought of setting fence posts for a horse training ring and the one hole where the Sassafras root filled our noses. Or the many fences I have built or repaired over lawn and woods when the scent of clay on the posthole diggers is matched with leather warming up on the wooden handles. I thought of collecting spiders for research and digging in the back yard where I grew up to make a hide-out with my brother. I remember tilling in the garden in The Horseshoe and caving in a number of East Tennessee sinkholes or repairing pipes or foundations for many evenings and nights until a dropped into bed. All of these thoughts flooded my mind in less than a minute. Odors can be very subtle and yet bring back some of the most vivid memories. I was surprised by the sudden onset and pleased by the thoughts of life lived to the fullest.
When I was a youth, I once prayed that the Lord would let me experience life to the fullest. They say you should be careful what you pray for but I believe you should be bold in what you pray for when your heart is right. God is wise and kind enough to sort out how He should answer. God has abundantly answered that prayer, but of course, not in ways I would have ever expected or wanted. With the many good and significantly pleasant memories are the hard and mundane and heartbreaking ones. You can’t really experience all of life without difficulty. I’ve never been afraid to work hard, so many of my good memories are high energy, even difficult experiences, that only later mellow into good memories. I am thankful to God for allowing me to experience so many varied activities and interactions with people over the years. He is good to me far beyond the necessities of physical and spiritual life. I have truly enjoyed life and want to share my love of the outdoors and science and beauty and solid thinking with others. Though read by few, that is the reason I write this blog, to point to the One who creates, saves and sustains so abundantly.
Life Begin
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Poem, Why?!, tagged Beauty, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Poems, Why?! on June 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »
For those of you who understand, this is the season for poems, when the moments of musing through many days ooze out during hours of forced repose. Here is the most recent that hearkens back to Spring’s delights:
Life begin and again When Spring sprung and birds sung Blooms no lack eggs will crack Life renewed beauty viewed Why this show? ebb and flow? Could it be God’s plan see? Life from death Christ’s last breath Rose again life beginCut 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
Bright Friday
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, tagged Outdoors, Photos on December 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »
A quiet refusal to participate screams that there is a better way. Yes, I’m a consumer, but not of crowds and things and money saved and first in line. I prefer to consume fresh air and exercise and quiet, rustling leaves beneath my feet and re-aquaintance conversations with family not often seen and memories of sun and trees and unrushed moments. Check out the results:
Bouldering is like Life
Posted in General, Outdoors, Random thoughts, tagged Climbing, Outdoors, Random thoughts, Strength on October 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I requested of my son that I be allowed to reprint his musing on life and bouldering. Climbing just a few feet off the ground with just a pad and spotter under you has its mental challenges; It also has some significant physical challenges, but so does life. Check out the insights my son has about the two:
Bouldering is like life:
The objective is to go up
The right way is never the easy way
And the easy way is never satisfactory
Those ahead have left marks of their effort
Every step forward is pain
And only the strong or resolved continue
Strength comes from trying
Every moment rushes towards fatigue
And hesitation only rushes towards failure
Often we try problems before we are strong enough
Every season brings us closer to that strength
And failure doesn’t mean, “Don’t come back later”
Singularity is dangerous and unwise
Always have friends to spot your progress
And wholeheartedly trust them to catch your fall
Maintain a positive attitude in the face of difficulty
Always encourage your friends on in their climbs
And cheer them whether they make it to the top or not
The last move at the top is most strenuous
Every fiber of your being strains at the mantle
And all your strength, balance, endurance, and skill is tested
The peak may be your goal
But the joy of companions is sweet
And the peaceful and beautiful view surpasses
CreatorWorship 