Tag: Nature

  • The Drive Into Town

    What’s your drive into town like? Mine is like driving through a postcard.I M truly Blessed . . . May U B 2 “I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the  Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 Keep Looking Up…

  • Farewell Road Trip

    Prior to jumping on a jet headed to the Greatland we and took a Great Smoky Mountain road trip to bid adieu to some locals, who graciously obliged us to pose for a few photos. Lord willing, I’ll send along some of pics of their brother Grizz and  and uncle Bullwinkle relatives after arriving. All…

  • Wonder and Gratitude

    The splendor of a lily bursting into bloom today immersed me in wonder and gratitude. Wonder of my Creator’s immeasurable greatness . . . Gratitude that the One who decks the fields with flowers (Luke 12:27); numbers and names the stars (Psalm 147:4); knit this infinitesimally small, wayward prodigal together in my mother’s womb (Psalm…

  • ‘Lions’ and Lying

    The game cam recently captured this large local bobcat strolling along the path by our stream-side ‘Quiet Bench’. A persistent rumor exists that mountain lions still roam the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mischievously curious (one of my ‘Needs Improvement’ character traits), I envisioned an opportunity for prime rumor enhancement. Stretching the truth just a…

  • Creation vs. Invention

    Fur and feather together . . . from my Quiet Bench I watched these two of His wild creatures sharing the stream together, and got to a-musing . . . Who among mankind could have designed a sleek otter or gangling heron with their intricately functioning life support systems uniquely suited for their survival, and…

  • Promised Land

    As a young boy . . . a really long, long time ago 😊. . .  I spent summers fishing and wandering the forests of Promised Land State Park in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Eight decades later it remains my Happy Place where life’s trails and responsibilities consisted of running out of worms and bailing out…

  • The Quiet Bench – Part 2

    During my quiet time morning, a yellowed page saved from somewhere long ago fluttered from my Bible. Looking at it, I realized it was one of those ‘Ah-Ha’ moments . . . an Divine addendum to the ‘The Quiet Bench’ musing posted yesterday on my blog. I don’t remember where I found this eloquent writing,…

  • Wapiti Wanderings

    The Cherokee National Forest borders our Great Smoky Mountains environs. Except for sections lying within the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, it comprises the border area between eastern Tennessee western North Carolina. A pristine retreat John Muir once described  . . . “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my…

  • Silent Time Capsules

    The Arctic Blast that brought record setting sub-zero temperatures and snowfalls to parts of Tennessee’s  Great Smoky Mountains has finally begun its departure.  Above average temps and lotsa’ rain are predicted to follow later this week . . . century climate change condensed into two weeks 😊 Ice mystically captures flowing water’s soothing serenity in…

  • Anthropomorphic Humor

    Anthropomorphism – a six syllable term for attributing human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena. I wonder . . . are dogs guilty of ‘feralpomorphism’ when we ‘bark’ at them for being disobedient? 😊 Here’s a few Outstanding Wildlife Photography winners I’ve added anthropomorphic captions to that hopefully will evoke…