The Sky's Proclamation

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Psalm 19:1

Linking with Skywatch Friday

Early Rounds

At the close of a summer day, the sky holds its breath as a bright golden ball hangs on the rim of the horizon, waiting to drop into the net. Hummingbirds are making their final attack on the feeders, and deer and raccoons are waiting for the cover of night to raid the garden. I can live with giving up the beans and some tomato and cucumber greens, but if they mess with the cantaloupes, there's gonna be war.

Mama Raccoon made her rounds early last night, before the light had faded. As she sipped from the birdbath, climbed the stairs to the deck, and vacuumed up the remains of the bird seed, she appeared to be on familiar territory.

 More than likely, she has a nursery tucked into a nearby treetop. If she'll bring the kits by for a visit, a few greens and some sunflower seeds will be a small price to pay.

Linking with Saturday's Critters
and Skywatch Friday

Full Moon

Linking with Skywatch Friday

Looking Up

A slight breeze ripples the surface of the lake this morning and it's quiet 

except for the hum of insects and the sound of small waves lapping against the rocks.

The sun rises and everything—clouds, mist, and and a ribbon of light on the lake's surface—turns to gold. 

As the light grows, a boat is made ready...

...and a solitary fisherman takes his hopes with him out on the water.

What will this day bring?

There will be treasures, if we look for them, and some will show themselves even when aren't looking. 

There may be rain, but after all, we know where rainbows come from.

One thing is certain; God's mercies will be here for the taking.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22, 23 (ESV)

Linking with Skywatch Friday

The Clouds Hang Poised

Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge?

Job 37:16

Linking with Skywatch Friday

A Memorial

We remember.

Taken at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Branson, Missouri.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Morning Glory

Being married to a real estate broker has it's perks, and one of them is getting to see some really nice property. I often go along with Don to shoot pictures for his business, and this morning was among the best. This was shot from the deck of a beautiful home overlooking Bull Shoals Lake.

For more information, click here.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.

False Spring

It doesn't take much to get everybody's hopes up. We get a few days of nice weather, and even nature starts thinking, "Spring!" 

Yesterday, when it was still January, there was a fly and a cricket in the house, a small snake on the front porch,
and two ticks rode back from the woods on Barley. 

The trees have not capitulated to the siren song of spring yet, but some of the fields have already turned green...

 ...and the snowdrops, though always early, were swaying in a springlike breeze today.

Of course, it's only February 1st, and even if we didn't follow Kevin on channel 10, or Ron and Abby on KY3, 

we'd still know that these balmy days won't last.

About this time every year, I'm reminded of the ancient promise God gave to Noah:

“As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night

will never cease.” 

Genesis 8:22

The promise has never been broken, and I believe we can safely say that, sooner or later, spring will come.

Don doesn't even like to hear me breathe this prayer, but Barley and I can't help asking:
"Please, God, can we have at least one good snow first?"


Linking with Saturday's Critters,

Skywatch Friday

and Wednesday Around the World

Blue Skies

It was beautiful yesterday, with skies as blue as Paul Newman's eyes.

I visited the Theodosia Marina, where a mature old sycamore stands tall, its white branches bright against the sky. 

At my feet, a piece of sloughed off bark caught my attention, the back side crisscrossed with insect pathways. 

When I was a kid, my neighbor friends and I used to pretend that these were ancient maps that would tell us the way to hidden treasures.

  

We don't always get blue skies in this life, nor clear maps to guide us. 

One of my Mother's favorite songs, by Annie Johnson Flint, was "God Hath Not Promised Skies Always Blue". 

It holds great truths for any generation:

God hath not promised skies always blue,

Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;

God hath not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,

Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;

Never a mountain rocky and steep,

Never a river turbid and deep.

Refrain:

But God hath promised strength for the day,

Rest for the labor, light for the way,

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing kindness, undying love.

Perhaps we've found those hidden treasures, after all.

First published 1/29/11

Linking with Skywatch Friday

Daylight Deer

Whitetail bucks rarely make an appearance around here in the daytime except during the rut, when they throw caution to the wind and chase the does, or when something is wrong, as seemed to be the case this past week. Early in the morning, as sunlight crept over the ground, a four point buck lingered near the tall grass below the house, holding his head high. He didn't seem at all embarrassed that his four antler points were all on one side of his head. Since bucks don't normally shed their antlers until at least January, we envisioned a fierce battle with Four-point on the loosing side, but his carriage seemed to say "you should have seen the other guy".

We just may have seen the other guy a few days later. It was one of those mornings that pose a dilemma for photographers. Fog hung in the valleys and the sunrise could be promising either from a nearby hilltop or down at the lake.

I opted for the hilltop, driving through thick fog in the valley and emerging only at the last rise in the road. 

A misty white blanket lay below. I shot a few pictures, then headed back by the lake, where the fog was too thick to see much of anything.

Returning home without the photo I had hoped for, I found the photo op of the day munching leaves in our yard. A trophy ten point buck was systematically defoliating the tall phlox a few feet from our bedroom window. He lifted his head and looked at me as I drove into the garage, closing the door behind me so as to disturb him as little as possible.

Once inside, I saw that Don had already been clicking away with his camera, and, amazingly, the deer was still enjoying his phlox breakfast.  The animal's reactions seemed slow; he didn't have the wary attentiveness that usually characterizes deer. He turned his head briefly, and deep wounds on the other side of his face seemed to indicate a fight. From the looks of him, he must have taken second. That would certainly explain his malaise.

The deer moved down the smorgasbord line to the Sweet William, a few yards away, and took his time browsing. 

Then he walked, a little unsteadily, past the dog kennel, down the hill and into the woods.

We probably won't see this trophy buck again, but we hope the hearty breakfast gave him a start toward healing, and that he can return to full strength.

Linking with Saturday's Critters

and Skywatch Friday

Eternity

Have you ever had one of those “glimpse of heaven” moments? The trigger may have been something as simple as clouds parting to reveal a patch of clear blue sky, or light streaming through an open window, and for a split second, you’ve ached for heaven.

Those moments can be brief and unexpected, and characterized by something close to pure joy, and then maybe there’s a small catch in your throat, and you’re left with an ache for more. I think that’s what C.S. Lewis was referring to when he said, "Our best havings are wantings".

The Bible gives us glimpses of eternity in word pictures, using things we already know and love, to give us a glimpse of the unknown. Let’s consider a few of them:

BROAD VISTAS

Your eyes will see the King in His beauty, and view a land that stretches afar.

Isaiah 33:17

WATER

...the Lord will rule there as our mighty King.

Rivers and wide streams will flow through it...

Isaiah 33:21

 
"I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the End.
To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the springs of the water of life."

Revelation 21:6

LIGHT

There will be no more night.

They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, 

for the Lord God will give them light.

Revelation 22:5

TREES

On each side of the river stood the tree of life,

bearing twelve crops of fruit, 

yielding its fruit every month.

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:2

PEACE

"The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent's food.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain," says the Lord.

Isaiah 65:25

Though heaven may be mysterious, God never intended the way to heaven to be a mystery. On one of Jesus' last days on earth, He had a conversation with His disciples about heaven, and Thomas voiced what a lot of people wonder about:

"Lord, we don't know where You are going, so how can we know the way?"

Jesus answered:
"I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:5, 6

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God,
so that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:13

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

Isaiah 35:5, 6

Linking with Still Saturday
Little Things Thursday
and Skywatch Friday

Crazy Clouds

On my list of the most amazing things I've witnessed in nature, right near the top, not far down from the meteor storm that Don and I watched from the bed of the pickup parked high on an Ozark hilltop, were the crazy clouds that filled the sky here 4 years ago.

A couple of friends and I had spent the morning picking blueberries at Eckart's Farm in Dora, Missouri.  Engrossed in our conversation and the treasures at our fingertips, we didn't even notice the sky until we were almost ready to leave.  It looked quite threatening, and we hurriedly paid for our produce and headed for home.

Along the way, dark waves of clouds filled the sky and it was hard to keep my eyes on the road.  We were certain that some wild weather was apon us, but after a few raindrops, the clouds blew away.

We learned on the news that night that the clouds had stretched as far as Springfield, Missouri, about 75 miles from here, and possibly even farther.  They are a rare form of cloud, called Undulatus Asperatus.  This photo was taken from the bridge at Tecumseh, Missouri, over the headwaters of Norfork Lake.

Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of Him who has perfect knowledge?

         Job 37:16



Linking to Skywatch Friday

Thunder

After a long cold winter, the earth has heaved a sigh of relief, 

its warm breath moistening the air and spurring new growth. 

In the afternoons, thunderheads have been sprouting against blue skies, promising rain and delivering little, though showers poured down all around us. But this morning, a storm kicked off with Goliath's bowling ball bouncing on the roof, followed by raging wind and rain. 

I love Midwest thunderstorms; they always sound like they mean business. Growing up in the Northwest, most of the thunder I remember was distant and didn't send dogs slinking under the bed. 

I was in my twenties the autumn I moved from Oregon to Kansas City. Dad had recounted with fondness the storms of his youth in Illinois, and I waited through a bitter winter before experiencing my first Midwest spring storm. Thunder jolted me awake in the middle of the night, and deciding to get all I could out of the show, I padded into the tiny apartment kitchen and popped some popcorn. 

Back in the bedroom, I sat on the floor near the sliding glass doors, my neck craned, and watched in wonder as lightning split the sky, and the heavens roared. It was spectacular, everything I had hoped for.

I will never tire of the marvel thunder and lightning, or of the reminder that the One who made the storm is the One who loves us more than we can comprehend.

Who can understand how He spreads out the clouds,

how He thunders from His pavilion?

Job 36:19 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son...  

John 3:16 





Check out more sky images at the Skywatch site!

Also linking with Mandarin Orange Monday
and Weekly Top Shot

Sky Dragons and a Million Dollar Bridge

When the Theodosia Bridge was completed in 1952, it was called "The Million Dollar Bridge". A few years ago, the government mandated that the old paint be removed and replaced with one that was more environmentally friendly, and the new paint job cost more than it did to build the bridge.  The material didn't hold up as well as the original, and it's slated to be painted again soon.  They're estimating four million this time.

Aside from all of that, it certainly looked like a Four Million Dollar bridge this morning,

enveloped in sun-lit fog.

The breeze was constantly changing the formation of the fog, 

swirling it to form hawks and dragons...

before the sun started to burn its way through, casting its gold on the water.

A window in the fog revealed distant hilltops.

Nearby, a fisherman had parked his boat and trailer, and was out on the chilly water, 

but in this particular spot, it was only God and me 

and a lone gull, soaring over the bridge.

It wasn't a bad way to start the day.

I headed home through the fog, and contrary to appearances, 

the other end of the bridge was still in place.

Priceless.

Linking with Weekly Top Shot
and Skywatch Friday

Gathering Storm

Click on photo for a larger view.

This isn't a typical Ozark August scene.  Last summer, under the sky's blank blue canvas, arid ground crunched underfoot, and weeds wilted from lack of moisture.  Now the days are enlivened with thunder and lightning and rain pouring from the clouds.

It's said that the Eskimos have a dozen different terms for snow.  We already have a couple for rain: gully-washer and toad-choaker, but if this stretch continues, our vocabulary may sprout a few more.  

Any suggestions?

Linking with
Weekly Top Shot
and Skywatch Friday

The Sky is Not the Limit

He wraps up the waters in His clouds,

yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

He covers the face of the full moon,

 spreading His clouds over it...

And these are but the outer fringe of His works;

How faint the whisper we hear of Him!

Who then can understand the thunder of His power?

Job 26:8,9,14

Linking with Skywatch Friday

Front Row Seats

Late afternoon thundershowers washed over our part of the Ozarks recently. 

 Campers at the park at Theodosia on Bull Shoals Lake 

had front row seats to glimpse God's majesty

brushed over the sky.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The skies display His craftsmanship.

Psalm 19:1

Linking with Skywatch Friday 

and Tuesday Muse

From the Hilltop

 Over a quiet valley...

  rich with woods and pasture...

the morning sky explodes with light.

Linking with Skywatch Friday

and Weekly Top Shot