Color and Emotion

Posted on by Fred D

Color holds power to impact our moods, emotions, and behaviors. It’s documented color influences 85% of shoppers’ purchase decisions.

What are your favorite colors? What emotions do they evoke? . . . red’s passion? – blue’s calm? – yellow’s happiness? – orange’s warmth? – black’s power – white’s purity? Generalities? . . . yes, but our color preferences and the emotions they arouse are as unique as each of us  Personally, I’d prefer to drive a red Lamborghini, but price and potential traffic citations temper my emotions, and I drive an off-green Subaru 😊

Remove red’s blaze from an ocean sunset; blue’s calm from an alpine lake; yellow’s brightness from a sunflower’s petals; orange’s glow from a mountain sunrise; black’s background from the midnight sky; white’s brilliance from a snow-capped peak . . . Unthinkable!

Today God brushed creation with animate and inanimate wonders of white to evoke a rainbow of peace in my soul.

“Who is like you among the gods, O Lord -glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?”

Romans 2:24


Keep Looking Up . . . His best is yet to come!

First Flight
Majesty
Relaxing Together

Rebirth

Posted on by Fred D

Temps reached into the 40s as Mother Nature granted a brief reprieve from winter’s arrival. Snow melt transformed to translucent droplets exhuming a colorful re-birth of leaves carpeting the forest floor . . . reminiscent  of the tears Jesus shed to offer all who claim Him as their own a glorious, forever rebirth.

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” –  1 Corinthians 15:55

Leaf Speak

Posted on by Fred D

Winter’s approach has stripped the forest whose fallen leaves display beauty in cryonic death, and silently speak endurance to the ‘naked’ wilderness.

“In every change, in every falling leaf there is some pain, some beauty.” – Amit Ray

Freeze Frame
Last Leaf

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Keep Looking Up . . . His best is yet to come!

Dawn’s Splendor

Posted on by Fred D

Creation’s awakening at dawn spurs a grateful rebirth of joy in my soul. Here’s a few glimpses of dawn’s wonder that was mine to behold this morning.

“The whole earth is filled with the awe of your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy”.

Psalm 65:8

I M Blessed . . . May U B 2

Chugach Range Dawn
Dawn Angel
Dawn Cathedrals
Dawn Greeters
Dawn Spawners

Flight School

Posted on by Fred D

Flight School needs to start soon if these cygnets are going to accompany their parents south before freeze-up. This young Trumpeter swan pair hatched their cygnets the end of June , much later than previous Trumpeter parents . . . Frosty Eagle’s watching.

“Love to Live, Live to Love” – Amy Carmichael    
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Keep Looking Up . . . His best is yet to come!

Forever Young

Posted on by Fred D

While our birth days are 5 decades apart, wilderness wanderings with my son helps me forget my age and live life young again . . . undeservedly blessed . . . living each day as though it’s my last . . . grateful yesterday wasn’t . . . knowing His best forever young is yet to come.

“Love to Live, Live to Love“. – Amy Carmichael

I M Blessed . . . May U B 2

Father and Son
Last Frontier Majesty

Snow Squalls and Sunshine

Posted on by Fred D

A short morning snow squall followed by brilliant sunshine made for an interesting wilderness wander today . . . . Gotta’ love the Last Frontier! 😊

Snowy Trumpeter Swans
Cool Waters
Schroom Cone
Castle Mountain’s New Blanket

“Love to Live, Live to Love” – Amy Carmichael    
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Keep Looking Up . . . His best is yet to come!

Life’s Seasons

Posted on by Fred D

Winter Invades Fall

This after-the-storm picture of Winter invading Fall had me contemplating my mortality. From first to final breath, much like the changing of the seasons, life is a continuum of seasons.

The Spring of my life witnessed a carefree childhood morph into an adolescence of uncertainty and tentative teens before yielding to the Summer of adulthood, running the gamut of experiences and emotions from gain to loss; joy to sorrow; trial to triumph; happiness to heartbreak. Fall followed suit, but with slightly more intensity, enhanced by increased awareness of both life’s responsibly and appreciation.

Gazing on this scene today, I realized, albeit somewhat reluctantly, my life’s journey has entered Winter. Spanning nearly eight decades, my journey lies somewhere below life’s summit in Winter’s snows, above Fall’s fading colors. Given the genre of my life’s journey, I suspect my current location resides in that fog below the mountain’s summit 😊

Regrets?  . . . many, most self-attributable.  Blessings? . . . many more, attributable to God’s unfathomable Grace alone. And so, I gratefully journey on towards the summit, uncertain of my arrival time, but assured of a forever room at the top is waiting for me . . . Hope to see you there.

“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2

Raw – Wild- Rugged – Vast

Posted on by Fred D

TCD – Tire Changeover Day – the official first day Alaskans are permitted to mount their winter studded tires on their vehicles . . . perfect timing . . . on the trip home from town along the Matanuska River, cold, blustery winds heralded an impending storm . . . and now it’s sn😊wing!

Here’s a minuscule glimpse of the Last Frontier’s raw, wild, rugged beauty along each of the 25 miles to town . . . a drive through an ever changing postcard of creationscapes. Its vastness never ceases to instill me with a sense of infinitesimal smallness, while its grandeur paradoxically soothes my soul.

Matanuska River – Chickaloon, Alaska

“He who forms the mountains, who creates the winds, and who revels His thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth – the Lord God Almighty is His name“.

Amos 4:13

Storm Brewing

I M Blessed . . . May U B 2   
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Keep Looking Up . . . His best is yet to come!

Denali Farewell

Posted on by Fred D

A solo kayaker, bathed in the rising golden mists of a sunrise, bid us adieu as we left Denali National Park this morning. Lord willing, we’ll return again someday to this spectacular corner of creation.

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship“. – Psalm 19:1
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Keep Looking Up . . . His best is yet to come!

Denali – 20,310 ft.