Goodbye To August

With one big jump, this little guy has hopped right into September. As he was flying by, he looked down at me to pose for my blog. And then he was on his way.

O.K., I made up the entire story. But I wish it HAD been that way. In reality, while I was in the car he perched on the windshield. I was so glad it was clean enough for these shots!

"Happy September! The world shall now transform into pumpkin everything."

 ~ Keith Wynn

The Jewels

I discovered a new flower this summer! It is a bush called Jewelweed. It really doesn't look like much until you look up close.

Then you will see many tiny flowers hanging like ornaments from the bush.

They are really tiny, maybe not more than two inches. But so exquisite!

Jewelweed has a long history of use in Native American medicine. When applied topically, sap from the stem and leaves is said to a variety of ailments, including hives, poison ivy,  even athlete’s foot.

Have YOU ever seen a Jewelweed bush?

I will be the gladdest thing

Under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers

And not pick one.

~Edna St. Vincent Millay

The Path Part ll - Bitten

This evening, we went to the entrance at the other end of the Greenway Path. This end of the path was very different from the other. We parked by these old railroad pillars.

The first thing we saw on the path was a Blue Heron fishing for dinner.

We continued on, under this little shelter.

Does this look like a Dragon to you?

This is where things started to go wrong. This part of the path was right on the river, which was very exposed.

Small flying bugs were swarming everywhere! We got bitten within an inch of our lives! Here is my arm, and Phil's is just as bad. I don't know what they were, so I call them River Gnats.

Fleeing the biting bugs, Phil turned my chair around and we headed back to the car. But a slow train was coming on the tracks over the shelter, it was deafening! The tracks were vibrating and it looked like the entire train would come crashing down. So there we stayed till the train passed...getting bitten the whole time!

Once we had driven away, we went up on a hill to snap the sunset, while we madly scratched and scratched.

Later tonight, we were sitting on the couch scratching and we heard a loud buzz, like a weed eater. A huge hornet had gotten in the house!!! But that's another story...

“God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and strike the dust. The dust will turn into gnats all over Egypt.’”

Exodus 8

The Path

A few years ago, our city made a new walking path. It runs along the river, and is paved and fairly level. It  is called the South River Greenway, and is a little over a mile long. For the first time, we went to take a look on Sunday. It is less than five minutes from our house.  Since I cannot walk any distance anymore, Phil wheeled me in out transport chair. The first thing I noticed were these lovely trees lining the sides of the path.

These are River Birch trees, and I love the trunks!

There was Pokeweed that was just a bit past it's prime.

And assorted small wildflowers.

The squirrels were enjoying the trail too.

Through all the bushes, you can see a peek of the river. It runs alongside the entire trail.

As we left, I spotted this man with his walker, oxygen, and dog.

“‘…those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever.”

Daniel 12

“We cannot hold a torch to light another's path without brightening our own.”

 ~Ben Sweetland 

The Artist's House

We were driving through a residential area, and passed this. I asked Phil to turn the car around and stop in front of this house!

The door was wide open and the place seemed to be deserted. But here you can see that it looks like the home of an artist or group of artists.

“After God perfected the sunrise, he created photographers, artists, and poets to ensure his feat remained immortal.” ~Terri Guillemets

Sunday Sunset

The sunset was beautiful tonight! In order...

“That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith.”

Psalm 19

August Moon

Tonight was the full August Moon! This one is called the Sturgeon Moon, as fishing tribes found this large fish of the Great Lakes region more easy to be caught in August.

Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them. They filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.

Luke 5