Monthly Archives: July 2017

Hard Right

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Talk about abrupt turns, this pine tree was hit with 100 mph winds ten days ago. The cutoff branch used to be pointed upward at an 80 degree vertical angle, but was snapped at the trunk, and then fell 90 degrees before the ground stopped it. Unfortunately, the tree cannot be preserved and will be removed soon. I planted a stand of Ponderosas on a section of our property shortly after we bought this house approx. thirty years ago.

Ponderosa pines are a beautiful evergreen tree, grow quickly and provide soft needles and great shape. Unfortunately, they are out of their temperate zone which is cooler and higher in elevation, so they are dying due to attrition. This particular tree must have been the weakest of the seven in this group. If you chose to, you can look at another post about this aging dynamic called SAP in last month’s posts.

However, this writing is more about people’s lives than trees-as vital as they are. Sometimes when I look upon a situation such as this storm damage, I resort to reflection and thinking about the days when I was younger and virile. I was invincible! Remember? Perhaps, that is how you may be feeling now…or just the opposite!

I have been encouraged by the profile statements and posts of so many younger writers. I see hope. Sure, there are the thrill seekers and those who boast about travel, but that equals adventure which is a good thing to possess. The self-emphasis will eventually erode away to quite confidence. In the meantime, don’t be surprised when a storm suddenly appears and takes you from the straight-away to a hard right. Go with the flow and see where the next path takes you. Reflect, accept and adapt.

D R I P S

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What comes to mind when you read the word drip? A leaking faucet, perhaps? A roof with leaks large enough to place trash cans underneath to collect the welcomed water? Images of thatched roofs dripping from monsoons? The outer edge of umbrellas shedding the rainwater away from your head? Or, dare I say, even the constant whining from a family member or acquaintance?

I thought of leaves and flowers dripping from a fresh watering. In the following photos, I almost waited too long to capture the dripping water. How beautiful water droplets are!

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T I M E

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Conversing with a long-time friend via email yesterday, Bill told me his wife was doing some decluttering and came across her dad’s wrist watch. He passed away 33 years ago-the same year my father died.

Something extraordinary was discovered. The watch was still running and had kept perfect time. And, we don’t know when her dad put a new battery in the watch…it could have been several years earlier before he passed.

How does one explain that? Pretty amazing.

The following photos represent a moment in time. On my return home from errands I came upon a vantage point where I could see an awesome afternoon sky. We had a thunderstorm the day before and these were the remnants of the cloud covering that had produced an abundance of rain.

You may ask what do photos of the sky and clouds have to do with my short story about the watch and time. I thought about that and came up with the following.  For every second I viewed the clouds moving and changing shapes and colors, time elapsed, just like the watch. Our every breath and heartbeat takes time regardless of how fast or slow they occur. That is the correlation.

My conclusion is that time is relative to circumstance, but not to the eternal clock which simply keeps on ticking until the day it stops. My incentive is to make the most of every minute because time, as we know it, may end at any moment for me and for you. It’s now time to share my images (all unedited)…pun intended!

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Maiz on Monday Morning

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Pre-Dawn Corn & Sinking Moon

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Close-up of Corn Stalk Tips as the Sun Rises above the Horizon

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Sunrise Diffused by Clouds

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Sunlight Breaking Through the Clouds

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Cornfield with the Sun Beginning to Illuminate the Stalks

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Close-up of Ripening Corn Stalks with Sunlight

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Infra-red Close-up of Stalks

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Infra-red Image of Corn Field

Pleasant morning with a palette of colors in just an half hour. Afternoon temperature was 95 degrees F…a twenty degree increase from the morning temperature (common for this climate and time of year). Tassels are just now developing with corn heads appearing within a week or two. We are blessed to have an abundance of rich and large tracts of land to grow crops for us and the world.

 

 

 

“What, me worry?”

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Walking the fence line with Carson this morning I almost strolled past this little guy before he caught my attention. Unlike most baby birds this one didn’t make a noise. A robin would have been yelling at me upon sight. This sparrow is confident that he can fly, although without tail feathers fully developed, I have my doubts. However, I have witnessed many baby birds motivate at very early ages. When I came back an half hour later he was gone, and so were his parents who were keeping a close watch on him.

Jesus said, “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns , and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Matthew 6:25-27