Autumn says good-bye leaving us gifts to bring new life back to the earth. Praise God for the workings of nature!!
Dying Breath (Haiku)
Leaves float on water
Brown, dying, hint of new life
Fall, enrich the earth
Tag: Photography
Haiku for Today
I saw these red berries on the greenway the other day. They’re everywhere this fall. Just thought I would try my hand at a haiku to fit this photo. May God bless your day!!
Fire Goddess
It was beautiful yesterday in my part of the world. The sky was a crystal clear blue with no clouds. The sun was out, and it was cool but not too cool. I could not resist a photo of one of the gorgeous trees. I hope God blesses your day. Praise God!!
Fire Goddess
Tentacles reach
With at first timid
Gestures toward space,
That crystal blue dome
Above the flames.
Fiery red, consuming
Summer’s older green
Pledging life
Although different
Yet just as good.
The goddess blows by
Whispering their names
Touching, brushing
With her burning hands
And brilliance, her spirit.
Consuming flames
Brilliant reds, golds,
Oranges
She touches, flings,
Breathes out her power
Over life, more colorful
Exuberant from her
Passing by.
Her gift of this last glory
Before the cold sleep
Returns to place a
Blanket of chilly rest
Upon the trees, ground
And airy sky.
Insisting on being remembered
She moves on, painting
Slinging bright colors
Unavoidably in plain view
Every warm hue
Possible from an earthly palette.
She will not be
Overlooked, extolling
her beauty without words
she sighs, simpers,
fully satisfied with this self
she is, will be.
We see, enjoy, grateful
For a last beautiful bliss
Before winter’s icy fingers
Destroy her unrelenting work.
We look up. Stay, stay
We beg. Tell us your
Name
Pleading we listen, hoping
To learn what to call
This creator of glorious color
Even if only temporary.
She stops in passing, hesitating
To reveal, at last relinquishes to
Whisper. . . . Autumn.
Eight Year Drought
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Because of my cancer treatments, I had not taken a vacation trip in eight years. Finally this year, I traveled with my family(husband, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren) to the Smokey Mountains National Park. It was the first year since 2011 I have had the strength to travel anywhere. Also because of my little grandson’s autism, my daughter and son-in-law were unable to take him on any trips. Some places are friendly to handicapped children, but unfortunately most are not.
We stayed in a cabin so as not to disturb other people. My grandson has irregular sleep patterns and can make noise at night.
But Praise God, Praise God!! We had a wonderful time, and both children behaved much better than we expected. Baric, my grandson, seemed to enjoy the trip more than anyone. Autistic people can be fascinated by water and its movements so they took him to the Aquarium there. He loved it and enjoyed the mountain streams. They even let him dabble his toes in one.
I did not know even where to begin to look for a cabin to stay in and just took the first nice-looking one we could afford. It turned out to have a outstanding and beautiful view of the mountains and size-wise fit all of us.
God gave us a wonderful vacation, and all of us really needed it. Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!!! May He bless your life like He has blessed mine! I came into life an orphan with nothing, and He has given me more than I could have thought possible. All He wants is your love and respect and of course, humble obedience. Have a blessed day!
Early Morning Breakfast!
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Everybody was hungry this morning! Our greenway system which runs through the middle of a city was very, very busy this morning. I guess since the animals are so used to people by now, they have lost almost all their fear of humans. I was walking camera in hand when a full-grown female deer slowly walked out in full view onto the greenway making her way toward the river for water. I followed at a distance until she stopped to eat on the leaves of a bush. I kept on slowly and quietly until I must have been only 8 yards from her. She turned to look, and I started talking to her like I would my pet cat or dog. She stood there, perked up her ears and just listened for several minutes. It was amazing! She was so beautiful. Earlier I had a squirrel on the edge of the greenway who kept on eating as I practically had to step over him to move forward, and there must have been at least 25 to 30 mallard ducks in the river peacefully swimming and eating as all us two legged greenway users cruised past them. Seeing the animals up so close and personal makes the experience so much more pleasant and enjoyable.
Nature is beautiful, and it reminds me of Psalm 19 which starts off with:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Praise God!!
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Saturday Vibes
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I love to get out of the city into the countryside and into smaller towns(although the town I live in is not too big). My husband and I went to a smaller town and the state park nearby. We never had seen the dam and lake at this particular park. It was a beautiful day. Some of the heat and humidity had finally left.
It’s also amazing what you can find at antique malls in smaller towns from old school desks, children’s wagons to cement angels plus I could not resist some of the lovely old restored homes and peaceful small town churches. We got to eat lunch in a small Mom and Pop city café with the best fruit pie I had ever tasted. I recommend taking a journey to smaller town America if you get a chance. Some of these small towns remind us of the peace and liberty we fight for in this country. Get out and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. Praise God!
First in Line!!
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I guess everybody wants to be first in line for almost everything, even plants I guess. These are the first of the plants that are just starting to show some of the fall colors of yellow and red. For those of you unable to get out in the beautiful sunshine today, I took some more photos. This time I got a natural bog or wetlands in the city I live in. It is behind a Discovery Center or science center for children. It has a natural spring that comes out of a cave. The water is covered in plant life especially algae so thick in spots the water looks like green pea soup. I can’t believe I was actually able to get a dragonfly sitting still long enough to get its picture along with Mr. Turtle who is always obliging. It’s so nice they have this for the children of the city I live in.
We live in a smaller town that has done an excellent job of preserving its downtown courthouse square. The building was used during the civil war by soldiers who would climb to the top of it and use it as a lookout post. I hope everyone has a blessed day and Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!!! I’m always so grateful after all the cancer treatments to be able to get out and enjoy His world!
Dignity
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Along the river walk they have preserved as much of the nature as they can. They’ve left the trees and undergrowth at the river’s edge. I love the old trees, especially the larger, oldest ones. It’s always amazed me that they were here before me and will probably be here after me remaining after I’m gone. That just seems amazing to me. Here is a poem about my few thoughts on that subject. Hope you enjoy it and Praise God!!
Dignity
(Of Trees)
Ancient, unmoving
Imprisoned into a primordial
Earth, sustaining your
Existence.
Your bones lie locked
Deeply beneath a surface
flowing life to your limbs
dancing above in free-air.
At times, you lean
To dip your fingers into
An icy stream or wave lacy limbs
Of colored leaves into
sometimes gentle, sometimes violent winds.
I move past, wondering,
Wondering a why.
You were here before I
Had become a thought.
Whether naked or clothed
In your royal dress of
Green for a season,
or Gold, or red
You drip with, exude
Your form of wisdom,
Dignity, if you wish,
Reminding of an eternity
Existing before us.
You were here before I,
Will probably be here
After I
Living on to tell and testify
Of a beginning of life
Unknown and an unending
Of life foretold,
Teaching without speaking,
saying without words.
Displaying a Power beyond us,
Unseen but felt, glory beyond
my weak physical Senses
Yet proven in your existence.
The Last Hurrah!!
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Well, it’s the last hurrah of what felt like a very short summer. I can’t believe it’s already September. As I have said before we have the most beautiful greenway system in our city as it runs right at the edge of a river. I like to try and take photographs, and the greenway gives me a chance to catch some of nature. The butterflies are here I guess moving from north to south for the winter, and although it was hard, I did manage to catch a few sitting still for two or three short seconds.
A few wildflowers are still out, but some of the tree leaves are starting to turn yellow for fall. It makes me think of pumpkins and bonfires. We had some friends that every year for Halloween would invite us over for roasting hotdogs and marshmellows over an open fire. Fun, fun, fun!! Only problem is I will miss my pink mandevillas and white blooms on the crepe myrtle bush. Oh well, they’ll be back next summer. Praise God for the beauty of His world that He made for us!! I hope you have a peaceful and blessed day.
