Abba's Art

Tag: Inspiration

  • Volcanoes and Bucket Lists

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    Fred D
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    We’re in the midst of a several day Smoky Mountains liquid deluge. While grateful for the needed rainfall, it dampens my desire to go outside on wander woods wanders or splash around in the creek re-arranging boulders to create reflecting pools. It’s not cold enough to turn the landscape white and snap on a pair…

  • Frozen Wonder

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    Fred D
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    It’s been a tad ‘chilly’ here in the Smokies lately. Folks here aren’t accustomed to lotsa’ snowflakes and ‘black ice’, or even regular ice other than ice cubes when the thermometer bounces around zero . . . it’s definitely not Alaska Virginia 😊 The magnificent winter wonderland surrounding our home up here in the mountains…

  • Quintessential Light Show

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    Fred D
    in

    No crowds  . . . No noise . . . No charge . . . A quintessential Aurora borealis display ushered in the Last Frontier New Year.  A friend of mine in Palmer, Alaska sent me this picture. Reason #1,001 to call the Greatland home 😊 “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is…

  • New Year Resolutions

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    Fred D
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    If New Year resolutions were as easy to keep as they were to make, 2025 will be a banner year for everyone! 😊 Each year (save leap years) has 365 days . . . bet you already knew that 😊. Each year is a one-of-a-kind, unique collection of opportunities, accomplishments, regrets, joys, and sorrows which…

  • Sentimental Gratitude

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    Fred D
    in

    Having witnessed over 8 decades of the final days of another year ticking off, 2024 is departing with a comforting aura of sentimental gratitude.   Sentimental because I’ve somehow survived to attain the stage of life where the trails seem a tad longer; my steps a tad shorter; other hikers a lot younger; and odds…

  • Christmas Journeys

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    Fred D
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    Christmas and Thanksgiving are America’s most family-oriented holidays. The latest Christmas travel statistics predict over 115 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles during Christmas, with 59% visiting family. Some two decades ago a single Dad and his two young sons embarked on a Christmas journey to visit family. Zooming through the skies at…

  • Happy Place

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    Fred D
    in

    Each of us has our special ‘Happy Place’ where our soul is most at peace. For some it’s walking along a beach, feeling the warm sand beneath your feet, listening to the surf’s rhythmic beat. For others, it’s being immersed in a city’s bright lights, activities and cacophony of sounds . . . never quiet…

  • Masked Messenger

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    Fred D
    in

    “Parting is such sweet sorrow” . . . Juliet’s poignant words to Romeo from the balcony echo mine from the Greatland’s snow-capped cathedrals as we pack-up to board high speed aluminum tubing on Monday, soaring through the skies for the Great Smoky Mountains. Lord willing, however, as Arnold often touted . . .  “I’ll be…

  • Peace on High

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    Fred D
    in

    ‘Invigorating’, below freezing wake-up temps have dramatically increased our wood stove’s log appetite; added windshield ice scraping to the car’s start-up routine; and nixed shorts and T-shirts as hiking attire . . . welcome to the Last Frontier 😊 From my admittedly, rural biased perspective, Anchorage, like all urban areas, is peacefully appealing . .…

  • Life’s Finale Choice

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    Fred D
    in

    In a chillingly pristine, flowing Matanuska River tributary, I watched in wonder today as spawning sockeye salmon displayed both this life’s genesis and finale . . . so like us. Conceived to life in an unfathomable act of co-creation with our Creator, we launched into life’s ocean. In a span of time known only to…