What does a man say when words become inadequate to express the pathos within him? The photos I have selected are of my grandson-my first grandchild. He was born Wednesday, October 16 at 3:12 pm CST. My wife, Cheryl, took these images within the first two hours after he was born. Tears well-up as I stare into his eyes. His name is Elliot Michael and he is small, but oh so beautiful. Of course, every newborn is a beautiful gift and I gladly acknowledge my bias. Cheryl’s images are vital to me as they reveal how wonderful my grandson appeared shortly after his delivery into our world…his world now.
A flood of memories crossed my mind as I studied this little guy. I remember the days when our children were born, and the feelings that went along with those effulgent moments. I watched my daughter and son-in-law as they transformed from two people in love to a family of three…never to be the same again.
Not every child born is healthy or whole. Some have deformities, some have disabilities, some addictions, and some no food. Too many have no parents to hold them and cradle them. So, I submit to you that Elliot is among the fortunate, the blessed. There were complications which could have resulted in physical issues, but they didn’t. Had they, Elliot would still be fortunate. He has a mommy and daddy who adore him. He has grandparents and uncles and aunts that are thrilled he arrived. He has and will have all of his material needs met. So will he have his emotional and spiritual needs nurtured by a loving family. He has, and is, so much.
What will my grandson’s future be like? Only God knows for sure, but I know he will like the St. Louis Cardinals; he will enjoy the great outdoors; he will make a lot of people very happy; and he may break a few hearts along the way! His may be broken, too.
I couldn’t help but think of the Christmas story and the verse in Isaiah which predicted the birth of Christ…”For to us a child is born, to us a son is given”. Elliot Michael has been born, and in a very real sense he has been given to us. It seems as though the passage of time moves ever so swiftly. So, we must enjoy the journey and cherish each moment. Raising a child is not always easy and can be quite challenging, but the reward is well worth the investment in time and energy. We can lavish material resources upon our children until absurdity becomes evident, but we can never love too much. Thanks Ramie and Matt for giving Cheryl and myself another opportunity to cuddle a baby, your baby, our grandson. How utterly amazing is the birth of a child. Welcome home, Elliot.
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Color My World
The senses, especially our eyes, are treated to an explosion of color when the season changes from summer to fall. The foliage in our area is late this year to turning various shades of color due to milder than usual weather conditions. However, two weekends ago I was treated to this vivid reminder of how beautiful Autumn is (and will be). The subject matter is not extraordinary, but merely a potted plant at a local hardware store. The photo was taken with my Samsung’s camera. No enhancement was performed, and that’s the beauty of this image. It’s pure natural delight!
In contrast to the first image with the noticeable fall-like colors of ambers, oranges and such is this simple rose. Cheryl named this bloom The Last Rose of Summer (at the time she took this photo it was the last rose in her flower garden). The vibrant red petals and striking green leaves contrast sharply with the variegated plant above, yet both reveal the magnificence of nature’s glory. Soon, the trees and vines will burst into myriad colors, like a fireworks display, and the grass will give way to a carpet of leaves. The smell of burning wood will waft over us like perfume and wild animals everywhere will be scurrying about in preparation for winter. Football is in full force, and The Boys of Summer are playing like there is no tomorrow. A stroll in the woods can become a nostalgic vehicle for memories of carefree days when youth was innocent and the great outdoors was a giant playground.
Speaking of vehicles, I couldn’t resist.
Overnight Success !
What to my wondering eyes did appear, but several fungi sprouts. I looked out our kitchen window the other morning, after a good bit of rain the day before, and saw that these mushrooms had popped out of the ground overnight. I can imagine the ground parting and the stems erupting into canopies of white. Such a striking contrast to the green grass and colored leaves beginning to fall to the ground.
There used to be a Ponderosa pine tree at this location, but I had to cut it down two years ago. The stump was ground down well into the earth and dirt plied over the spot, and grass planted. However, the fungi found exactly what they needed in the organic soil. The weather conditions must have been perfect, as well. I dared not try to eat any of these mushrooms for fear of poisoning or hallucinations! Besides, I don’t like mushrooms. I do find them fascinating to observe…so many shapes, sizes and colors.
After three days they were still standing tall…until I ran the lawn mower over them. All good things must come to an end-even unexpected mushrooms. Perhaps you might have tried one?
Liquid Work of Art
There is something about moving water that fascinates me, especially when the water is natural and not forced as through a fountain nozzle. Fire, on the opposite end of the spectrum, can have the same appeal…hard not to be enchanted by watching it.
This afternoon I needed to get out of the office for a few minutes to stretch my legs and enjoy the beautiful weather. I drove to a nearby wooded park with a running stream called Mill Creek. From the vantage point atop a walk bridge I noticed a shallow area where water was moving quickly over rocks. Then, the leaf caught my eye. I decided to take a closer look and proceeded to make my way down the steep bank to the creek. As I knelt to study this site I marveled at the fact that this maple leaf had become trapped with all that water flowing over it-like it was painted on the rocks. The sun was illuminating the leaf and I realized that I had better capture this image before the water carried it off. I selected two of five images to share… a liquid work of art.
Another Walk in the Park & A Look Skyward
This morning, while on my way to view the progress at a construction site, I witnessed this most astounding sky at sunrise. I couldn’t help myself so I stopped and shot several photos. I hope you like orange!
After being inspired by what I just witnessed, I again decided to swing by the same local park and take a quick hike and shoot a few more scenery photographs.The park, called Craig’s Crossing (a long forgotten railroad stop), is on the way to our construction site which made it convenient to pause before becoming absorbed in multiple tasks of urgency for the rest of the day.
As I was completing my walk I came upon a Blue Heron standing in the park’s pond, fishing (and doing a fine job of it). I caught him standing and then flying away. I wish I had a higher power telephoto lens, but I was pleased just to see this guy and get a couple of shots. The wing span of these birds is up to four feet and they stand at least three feet tall with neck outstretched. Absolutely beautiful.
A Walk In The Park
Recently, I had the privilege of taking an early morning walk at a local park. This suburban park is bordered by railroad tracks with a field of wild grasses and flowers, a residential street and woods at both ends. It contains a small lake where beavers have made considerable progress and birds are often found resting on the calm water. This particular morning was unusually cool with a high level of humidity…condensation was on everything which made for a wonderful, eye-catching experience. I brought along my new camera, and set about taking some photographs. I soon found myself gravitating toward the macro end without a macro lens, so I shot with my zoom and played with various settings. The light was perfect. Below are several shots of what I experienced. I hope you find nature as awesome as I do. No matter how creative man becomes (and he is), there is nothing more beautiful than God’s natural, magnificent creation.
CICADAS
Summer in the midwest transforms the natural landscape into a region of lush vegetation with abundant weeds and wildflowers accompanied by hot temperatures, and occasional tornadoes. Summer warmth ushers in the return of many bird species and butterflies. This season also awakens snakes of all sorts, mosquitoes & ticks, and cicadas-just to name a few.
If you would indulge me for a moment, I would like to focus on the cicada which is a most unusual looking insect with a most annoying ‘song’ that is produced by the rubbing of body parts. It was this song from a choir of cicadas a few evenings ago that inspired this brief post. For reasons unknown to me there are considerably larger amounts of these insects in the branches of our beautiful red maple tree which stands adjacent to our deck, and which provides much-needed shade. This tree has always been a home to the cicada, but 2013 has produced a bumper crop!
The cicada lays her eggs in tree branches and after the eggs hatch the termite-looking insect bores into the earth in search of nutrients. Over a period of two to seventeen years (depending on the species) this stage of the cicada develops into a nymph. At this time the cicada bores out of the ground and climbs onto the trunk or branch of a tree. It then sheds its outer shell-like covering to reveal a prehistoric looking, winged creature. These insects are quite harmless with the only threat being their incessant ‘song’. From a distance the undulating sounds of cicadas in harmony is soothing and reminds me that summer is in full swing. However, when they ‘sing’ within a few yards from where one is sitting or standing, the noise can be deafening. Too long of exposure can lead to headaches…or worse!
There are over 170 varieties of cicadas in the United States, and over 2000 worldwide. Common, to be sure, and an integral member of nature’s food chain-cicadas are as much a part of summer as parades, BBQs, watermelon and apple pie at picnics. Annoying, but essential, the cicada would be missed if they were to disappear. As can be seen from these photos (taken with my Samsung phone), cicadas are a most bizarre insect. Summer wouldn’t be the same without them…preferrably at a distance! Now, where are my ear plugs?
Journey to Croatia…Post # 4 (completes series)
Gallery
This gallery contains 46 photos.
I can hardly believe that it has taken a little over a month to complete the four posts on our trip to Croatia. I have determined that Life often gets in the way of what we want to do which is … Continue reading
Journey to Croatia…Post # 3
I am excited to share these next set of photographs because they are of a little known area about one and a half hour’s drive NE of Split. The name of the old town is Skradinski buk, and adjacent to this town is KRKA National Park. This part of our trip itinerary was directed to Plitvice Lakes which is a much better known and larger national park with beautiful water falls and board walks. However, as we prepared to venture from our hotel in Podstrana, we asked the consierge what was the best route to take to Plitvice. He checked the time and advised us that we would be leaving too late to fully enjoy this area since it was a 3-plus hour drive and the time was already 10 am. He then directed us to KRKA and said we will really like it. He was correct. And, the cost to take a roundtrip boat ride to the water falls and park was very affordable. As was the case with Cavtat, this detour ended up being one of the highlights of our vacation. Funny how the unexpected can produce great benefits if we allow interruptions to become adventures rather than disappointments. As a side note, I have included a photo of a set of buildings which became the second electrical power generating station in the world-only after Edison’s at Niagra Falls (Croatia supplied electricity to a city before America because Niagra didn’t finish its distribution power line for several months after the plant’s completion). This generating facility was bult using Tesla’s alternating current rather than Edison’s DC power. Nikola Tesla was a Serbian born engineer / physicist. I find it rather interesting that this part of the world was ahead of its time (in some respects) back in 1895 !
The next set of photographs are of the boat ride from the town to the park and back. The boats shuttled visitors on regular intervals and took about fifteen minutes each way. This excursion provided some wonderful views of the town and Lake Krka.
These final set of photographs are of the town, Skradinsky buk. It is typical of many small old world towns throughout Croatia with antiquated buildings and churches, sidewalk cafes, locals chatting over espresso, and stone stairways to higher elevations. With surprises around every corner or alley, we didn’t want to leave. But alas, the Adriatic Sea was calling us to return to its shores so we reluctantly left with another confirmation that Croatia is truly a beautiful country to experience.
Journey To Croatia Post # 2
The west coast of Croatia offers vivid views of the Adriatic Sea, stark mountains, manifold islands, varied church steeples and old-world towns. As we traveled from Split to Dubrovnik and back, we explored different routes and experienced unique and stunning scenery along the way. We encountered pleasant and helpful citizens, much road construction, high gasoline prices (helps to have a small car), fresh food and good coffee.The next series of photos provide a glimpse of the beauty and diversity of the coastal region. Sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery. Thanks for traveling with us!
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