The Sun up close
So this big campfire just appeared one day millions of years ago?
Read more about this here.
Archive for Nature
Weeds
Some thoughts on weeds
- Weeds don’t need any help growing
- Some weeds are actually very beautiful
- Weed killer doesn’t poison the weed, it justs prevents photosynthesis from occurring, thus taking away its life source and starving it to death
- Weeds will grow just about anywhere
- Weeds will steal all the good nutrients from the ground
- People spend a lot of money trying to kill or hide weeds so no one can see them
- Who decides what is a weed and what is not
- Some weeds can’t be killed especially if they’ve taken over
- Some weeds laugh at you in their own special way, almost daring you to take action against them
- Weeds work together with other weeds to grow even faster
- Weeds like to transport insects
- Insects like to feed on weeds
I think God put weeds in the world to show us what can happen when other things become more important to us than Himself.
Lightning capped
Caught this picture from my front steps. We had an amazing light show without the rain as the heavy stuff just passed over downtown Nashville initially. Rains came later, but the sky lit up in many beautiful colors.
Stars - Something Constant
It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in Randy’s Watercooler Wednesday. This week we’re talking about nature. I’m always struck by the night sky. Especially on a clear night when I’m away from city light pollution. I’ve just moved to the country where my neighbors include a couple of horses, a few goats, and some mules. And did I mention ticks and snakes.
So the night sky is easily viewed from really anywhere on my property. It’s pretty big, this thing called space. There is no end as far as my eye can tell. It appears to be still, yet this picture above (not taken by me) shows the motion paths the stars take relative to our rotating planet. I look at the unchanging picture of the man on the moon. He’s been around since I was born. I saw the big dipper last night and just for fun used the two stars at the end of it to point to the north star like I did when I was younger. Still works. I looked for the milky way, but got caught up in the immensity of it to see it. Once in my Navy days, our submarine was cruising surfaced inside the great barrier reef off the east coast of Australia. For those that have been south of the equator, the solar system and constellations are completely different. I spent several hours during the overnights in the conning tower enjoying the stars in the completely pollution free atmosphere that the ocean provides. Amazing.
So here I am going about my day to day and this mass of rock, dust, and debris is out there just like it’s always been. Yeah, things have changed, somewhat imperceptible to me. Shifting and moving and such. In his research for evidence to disprove that God had anything to do with the design of everything, former atheist Lee Strobel actually found out the opposite to be true which he wrote about in The Case for a Creator. The design of planetary orbits, distance and position of the moon to the earth, rotations of the earth and its position relative to everything else, has to be perfectly designed or life couldn’t exist on earth. nothing… nada….
Just like the Creator, stars are always there, accessible to the unaided eye, still useful for navigation, and with plenty of stories to tell if we’d only open our eyes.
Point of Sail
I love sailing. I haven’t sailed in years though. My dad taught me how to navigate Highland Lake in Bridgton, Maine when I was just a young lad. We had a little red Sunfish sailboat made of fiberglass. It was small, flat, and was decked out with a little cockpit in the center with a tiny plug in the floor to let out the water that sloshed around at our feet. The drain plug only worked when you were making some headway so you learned quickly when to open it and when to keep it tight. The daggerboard was raised and lowered by hand. Just a piece of 1×12 curved at the bottom. The boat as a whole was really quite simple to sail and it was fun.
When we were young, the art of the capsize was king. We would purposely turtle that little boat to see if we could right her again. We’d put all of our might into pulling on the dagger board by standing on the hull while the water held the sail beneath the surface. Finally, it would give way and the sail would come soaring out of the water shaking itself free and raining down on us as we jumped out of the way.
I learned a lot while sailing. One of the most important aspects to understand about skippering a sailboat was how the wind and the sail fought eachother for control. I remember asking why we would aim toward the wind, and then, as if by magic, the boat would move in that general direction. Amazing. In sailing this is referred to as tacking into the wind. The boat moves forward with the same motive force in play as that of an airplane wing lifts the plane at takeoff. Baffling really, but somehow possible. The idea is to go as close to head-on into the wind to the point at which the sail begins to take on wind on the opposite side and flutter. This requires constant adjustment of the rudder and the reach of the sail, which helps to maintain the position of the boat relative to the wind. Through it all, a keen sailor fixes his eye on a point across the shore and lets the “feel” of the boat be his mentor. It is an awesome experience to be at that point where you’ve found the “pocket” (a bass player term, sorry) and you begin to realize the power of the wind as it’s harnessed and you literally fly across the water.
I suppose navigating life requires some of these tactics. You fix your eye to the target. You become aware of your surroundings. You begin to understand the forces that exist in nature and learn who controls them. You hold just tight enough to not let go. You never look behind you, always looking ahead.
Careful… the minute you let go of the sail (the very device whose purpose is to harness your power source), you run the risk of losing your direction or getting banged in the head by an angry and out of control boom (that’s the bottom most horizontal beam). When this occurs you’ll usually end up going opposite of where you were heading or stuck “in irons” where you actually are being pushed backwards by the wind. A frustrating place to be. And a headache too.
So keep the mainsail full, position the rudder well, and keep your eye on the opposite shore. You’ll experience the most fun you can know.
I hope you enjoyed this Watercooler Wednesday treat.
Kootenai national wildlife refuge
Last night we visited this refuge located in bonners ferry. Our host presented us with info on the refuge and the value of refuges in general. Saw a moose and lots of white tail deer. We are at that part of idaho where we are very close to montana. Mountains all around.
Bonners Ferry on the Kootenai
This is a great little town up in the panhandle of Idaho 18 miles from the Canadian border. Still has that small town feel. Trying to get some fishing in. Maybe some golf. Beautiful country.
Aftermath of CA fires
We traveled to Julian, a fun little mountain town northeast of san diego. On the way, we passed through the areas that were devasted by fires just a few years ago. Here is a picture (which doesn`t really do it justice) of a tree stand that was completely overcome by the flames. The amazing thing is the regrowth that has occurred since.
Another burned tree
This tree stands alone amidst much new growth. Mile after mile similar scenes were depicted.
