Tag Archives: sky

Patches of Tangerine

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Have you ever come across a brilliant sky and simply admired the magnificence of it?

Fleeting is the word, and opportunistic is the vehicle to capture such a sight before it changes into a totally different canvas.

As I drove into town this morning, this is what I saw. I had my camera with me in the Jeep so I pulled it over and took a few shots. By the time I made it to my destination the sun had peeked out and the sky looked foreign from only ten minutes before.

Certainly I have taken more dramatic photos of the sky, as have many of you, but this one just appealed to me a lot. The soft streaks of tangerine colored clouds against a faint blue background and the dark side of a large tree line made it irresistible.

Life is rather like the sky…ever changing. Sometimes it is brilliant and at other times it is gloomy. Often it is simply dull. The good news is that, like the sky, our lives do change on a regular basis. I hope your lives illuminate the world as this sunrise did for these clouds!

CONTRASTS

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The wheat is long gone-harvested in June. Barren fields now stand where the Staff of Life used to grow; ready to be plowed and replanted come late winter.

The deep blue skies and brilliant, cotton ball clouds yield to the darker grays of Autumn.

Contrasts are everywhere.

Trees shed their leaves while hedge rows bear their balls of fruit. Rains drench the good earth where wastelands once stood.

Calves are putting on fat for the winter while squirrels are busy hiding nuts for the long cold season ahead.

Contrasts are everywhere.

Birds of all sorts begin their yearly migration to warmer climates. Rodents dig deeper tunnels and store up food for the shut-in days of winter.

Even vehicles are ‘winterized’ in anticipation of frigid temperatures and people prepare for the cold by exchanging wardrobes. 

Contrasts are everywhere.

The last major hurricane, Michael, just made its way through Florida and up the eastern seaboard leaving a wake of destruction in its path. Too many lives are changed in a not-so-positive-way.

Communities gather together to respond to the crisis while strangers donate money and supplies to those they don’t know.

Contrasts are everywhere, and there is no way of escaping them. May we all engage them in a spirit of optimism and generosity. 

Change can be difficult, but also very rewarding. May it be so for each of us.

 

Mediocrity?

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Creativity is an odd thing…some possess loads of it while others have it within them, but can’t seem to squeeze it out all that often. In my case, the desire is there, yet the enthusiasm wavers a bit. Hence, not much creativity being published.

I like quotes, quips and prose. I read a lot…not a big deal. What do I gain? The more important question is, “What do I contribute?”.  Oh, I love a wonderful photograph and painting ! Great sculptures also capture my heart.

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I woke up early this morning before the sunrise, but as I saw the illumination upon my dining room wall, I quickly grabbed my Canon and took this image. The sky was changed within seconds. Literally.

Mediocre photograph…which may equate to mediocrity. What do you think ? I wonder ?

I like it because it reflects the ever-changing gift of God’s creation. Please take a moment and study the makeup of the clouds…the odd color and shapes…the background…the tree tops which just emerged from winter’s grasp.

Mediocrity. I am not sure I know the meaning of this word. However, I like this photograph because it reflects a peacefulness about it. I hope you like it, too.

Embryo

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“And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and to let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth”. And it was so. God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.”

Genesis 1:14-16 NIV

Reflective

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I’m a sucker for colorful sunrises and sunsets. The splendor of the Sun’s rays illuminating heaven and earth is quite inspirational…almost a spiritual experience for me.

Watching an Appalachian mountainside come to life or a golden ball drop from view into the ocean is enchanting. Living in the middle of America this geographic area has no mountains or oceans, but we still have magnificent sun rises and sun sets. We are located in an area where warm air bumps into cooler air regularly and clouds often develop. I enjoy clouds as much as the morning and evening light shows.

I recall as a child lying on my back and staring at clouds as they passed by. Usually with a friend or my sisters we would call out to one another the variety of shapes that resembled objects we were familiar with. Often, we would see animals and people’s profiles. Clouds could appear happy or sinister and would change quickly as they moved through the sky. Pure joy.

I recall a time where I was with a group of people and we hiked up to the top of an eleven thousand foot mountain. It was a bright day, but a storm was fast approaching. As the initial wave of clouds began passing over us I recall feeling so small and helpless. We were in an area of the Rockies where there are many Fourteeners. These huge mountain peaks and valleys which surrounded us became even more menacing as the large clouds passed by. Their shadows rolled over the rocky terrain effortlessly. As the wind increased and became much cooler I easily imagined how one could perish atop one of these peaks without proper clothing and shelter. It was intimidating.

The image above captures one of our colorful sun sets. I like taking reflective photographs occasionally and thought it fun to shoot the sky reflecting off my Jeep’s window along with my silhouette. It appears I am shooting myself with the camera. However, I can assure you that my Canon has no bullets, only buttons and dials.

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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Fire in the Sky !

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“Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams                                                     Seeking grace in every step he takes                                                                                     His sight has turned inside himself to try to understand                                                         The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado rocky mountain high                                                                                     I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky                                                                                               You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply                                                                   Rocky mountain high…”

John Denver (1975) partial lyrics to Rocky Mountain High

Quote & Pic of the Day, No. 3 of 24

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The photograph below was taken on the morning of this year’s Spring Equinox, March 20th. What you see is exactly what I witnessed as I pushed the shutter button on my Canon. I couldn’t resist sharing such a stunning and vibrant sky.

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” I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes- that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens- that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses.

The creeping of an aphid over a rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence- the fall of seer leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche “.    Charles Spurgeon

Autumn’s First Sunrise

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9-23-14 014As I left home this morning I rode into one of the most stunning sunrises I have ever witnessed. I couldn’t help myself so I stopped at a couple of locations as I headed east and took multiple photos. Each photo is untouched and the colors were as rich and vibrant then as now. 9-23-14 015I hesitate to share too many images, but am compelled to give you a half-dozen just so the intensity of this sunrise captures you as it did me.9-23-14 017Having a stationary object included in a sky photograph usually accents both the sky and the object, as did this utility pole. However, only one stayed still, and it sure wasn’t the clouds!9-23-14 022I couldn’t resist taking a photograph of the photographer. I like reflections from glass, water or from any reflective material.9-23-14 028Within minutes the shapes and colors of God’s palette changed. I never knew ambers so rich as these. And the shadows so vivid while the reflections were so brilliant. Ablaze was the eastern sky this morning. And just think, this is eastern Kansas and not some exotic locale. What a privilege to have witnessed this unfolding of morning on September 23rd, the Autumnal Equinox. Perhaps this Fall will be special. It certainly started out that way for me…and now for you!9-23-14 032

Into the Sun

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7-30-14 057I drove into the sun this morning. First, the sky was yellow and it had a western facing rainbow (odd with no rain). As I drove I watched a glowing ball of super-energy rise from the horizon like Godzilla lifting out of the sea…all very dramatic. The sky colors turned into an intense red-orange canvas. Within five minutes the drama was over, the clouds evaporated away, and the horizon melded with the landscape in the foreground.. Amazing, isn’t it? Every morning, no matter where one is on this planet, the sun can be seen rising or setting. Okay, I’ll grant you that the sun moves horizontally at the extreme north and south polar regions, but who lives there anyway? Such a strange sight those horizontal sunsets.AM Sky 7-26-12 001The thought occurred to me (yes, I really do have thoughts occasionally) that we live our lives in a vacuum so-to-speak. The air we breath is the same wherever you travel, except it may be purer in one local than another. The same holds true for water. Food is a bit more complicated as some types of vegetation can grow only in certain geographic regions so we don’t all enjoy the same cuisine, unless it is captured and brought to us or we visit where it is actually harvested. Shelter is another example of great variations; one can live in a hut on the Serengeti, in a tent on the sands of Arabia, in a brick house in New England or in a Chateau in France. Shelter is a necessary commodity for survival. So, in one simple, but profound way, we are all the same in that we need shelter, warmth in winter months, food and water. Safety and good health are wonderful things to have, as well, but not all are so fortunate.Friday Morn 10-14-11 006As the sun rises so it sets…each a unique print encased in God’s book, volume one, Sky Paintings. As the earth turns and the sunshine escapes for another night, our habits change due to darkness converging on us like a cloak thrown over our head. Artificial light tries to turn night into day, but it’s not the same. What is it about us humans that we are constantly trying to thwart the natural for the unnatural-all in the name of some sort of progress. What used to be accomplished only during the daytime is now an eighteen hour episode of busyness which accomplishes much-but who is to say how much is beneficial. So, as I began the day looking into the sun and planning what I must accomplish, I now view the end of the day from a different perspective…was it all worth it? Am I better off now than I was a dozen hours ago or am I simply spinning my mental, physical and emotional wheels-going nowhere? Or, perhaps I am whistling a tune of joy for having the privilege of experiencing another day. I want this to be the case.Morning 11-29-11 007A rear view mirror offers a completely different perspective while traveling forward; we can see where we have come from. And we can sense if the trip was worth the fare. Let’s hope so, but if the feeling is that we somehow got ripped off, then it’s time to re-evaluate…and rest a while before we drive into the sun another day. To be still is as important as all the other commonalities that keep us alive…perhaps even more so.