Abba's Art

Tag: Nature

  • Sanctuary

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    Fred D
    in

    As a child each summer was spent with my mother, siblings and grandparents at their cabin in Promised Land, PA . . . and indeed it was . . . my childhood sanctuary.  From sunup to sundown I delighted roaming its forests and streams . . . and a virtual little John Muir was born…

  • Thin Spaces and Bottled Tears

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    Fred D
    in

    Celtic Christians have a deep appreciation for nature and coined the term Thin Space . . . those transient, ephemeral moments when suddenly eternity seems to invade time, and heaven touches earth. Yesterday, my morning woods wander was graced with such a Thin Space interlude.  A brief cloudburst had soaked the forest in the fragrance…

  • Great Smoky Mountains Road Trip

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    Fred D
    in

    Blazing sunshine has pushed temps to near 80, a welcome respite from what has been an unusually cold winter here the Great Smoky Mountains. Energized, my permanent senior sidekick and I decided the day was custom made for a leisurely road trip. It quickly became obvious there were a million+ other individuals who had the…

  • Feral Family Gathering

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    Fred D
    in

    One of the joys of living in the ‘wilds’ up on the mountain – down in the ‘holler’ – by the ‘crick’ in the Great Smokies is enjoying the impromptu, ‘Stop By Anytime’ visits from the interesting menagerie of our friendly feral neighbors. “All creatures great and small, the Lord God made them all.“ We…

  • Volcanoes and Bucket Lists

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    Fred D
    in

    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…

  • Joy And Sorrow

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    Fred D
    in

    “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalms 30:5 The two recent tragic airline disasters in Philadelphia and DC accentuated the unknown brevity of this life we’ve all been given. The Philadelphia crash was especially poignant to  me. It occurred less than 2 miles from the home where I grew…

  • Frozen Wonder

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    Fred D
    in

    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…

  • A.I. Road Trip

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    Fred D
    in

    The Cherahola Parkway is a scenic, mile-high, two-lane highway winding over the Smokies between Tellico Plains, TN and Robbinsville, NC. Earlier this week Ellie decided to take a road trip along it before the forests shed their spectacular, multi-hued fall display of color. Somehow, I had managed to cajole my permanent girlfriend to explore a…

  • 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…

  • Bullwinkle Wins

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    Fred D
    in

    This past month countless nimrods have been roaming the Last Frontier’s vast wilderness stretches searching for trophy antlers to to adorn the wall of their dens and stock their freezers full of Bullwinkle burgers and steaks. ]Moose season ended today. With a feral flair of arrogant defiance, looked who strolled across our front yard today…