Shoot For The Moon

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. Les Brown

The big red "M" is part of the neon sign I snapped on the front of the drugstore we went to tonight. It stands for MOON. My intrepid researcher friend REMINGTON alerted me to the fact that tonight is the full Hunter's Moon. And when I went out to find it, I was delighted to see that there were no clouds! I shot for the moon and this is what I got.

"The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter." Psalm 74:16

I'm No Dummy

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can suceed against the Lord." Proverbs 21:30

Several years ago, I went with my husband and a friend to tour the Crash Test Center, better known as "The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety Vehicle Research Center". This is where they crash all the cars to determine how safe they are. Home of the original Crash Test Dummy. I do NOT like the picture of me with my friend in front of the dummies, but I weighed considerably more back then. These dummies are amazing. There is a whole family of them, from a large daddy to a three month old baby. The dummies mimic the movement of a real human body in a crash and record what the injuries would be. They have a complex spinal column, and 25 to 40 sensors to record forces on each body part. So these dummies are pretty smart, after all. Sometimes one who appears to be a dummy can really surprise you.

"Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight." 1 Cor. 3:18

Walk This Way

"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God." Isaiah 50:10

Many people in our area have taken to lining their walkways with spooky things for the Halloween season. Some are quite creative. But at my age, I already have enough scares, and don't need any more. The only thing on my walkway will be my cane as I try to navigate it without tripping, and that's a scary enough sight!

"I will guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. ...Do not set foot on the path of the wicked...Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way. Proverbs 4

Making A Good Thing Better, Or A Bad Thing Worse?

One of my favorite things about holidays is the special candy and sweets that go with them! So I just had to share my latest unusual finds for Halloween! Here you see neon green Hostess Snoballs. Also a chocolate covered Peep pumpkin, chocolate covered candy corn, and fall Andes mints in three assorted flavors. If food manufacturers take something that is bad for you and make it even worse, I'll be the first to find it. I like candy corn, and it has no fat content, but it does now that it's dipped in chocolate! And I'm sure the snoballs are worse for me than regular ones, with all that glow-in-the dark green dye. I try to rationalize the eating by thinking that it's only till the holiday is over, but there's always another one coming up right around the corner! What is your biggest food temptation, and your favorite holiday sweets?

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path." Psalm 119:103,104

While The Sun Shines

We all need to make hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes. And the farmers around here do just that. They have all been very busy getting the hay made. These are actually pictures that I took last fall at about this time, and all the fields are very close to our house.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Nothing To Fear?

Yesterday I asked if you had faced a fearful situation in order to get a picture, and some of you amazed me! You have done much scarier things than I have, so I see I'm not the only one who loses my mind with camera in hand! I also promised to show you pictures I have taken in frightening situations, so here are just a few. We trespassed (only a bit) to get these alpaca pictures, and Phil again was worried about attack dogs. He kept the motor running and we didn't leave the car. Here you see two kinds of bees and a European Paper Wasp that I took close ups of. When Phil saw the wasp picture, he thought I'd lost my mind. I was less than an inch from it. I also got a wee bit too close to this fire performer. There were no barricades and I actually got my face burned from the hot wind of the fire. But you can see there was an ambulance in the background in case I got even more carried away. And lastly, we got a chance to pose with the scariest person ever, Mr. Edgar Alan Poe. Since we have both read his works, Phil was very scared indeed. When we are born, we are only afraid of two things: loud noises and the fear of being dropped. Everything else is learned. But there is only one fear that is truly beneficial for all eternity.

"The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them." Psalm 25:14

"Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing." Psalm 34:9

"He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them." Psalm 145:19

"The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." Psalm 147:11

My Obsession

Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky,

We fell them down and turn them into paper,

That we may record our emptiness.

Kahlil Gibran

Guess where I was today? Have you fugured out that I'm obsessed with the silver maples? We had to pass by them again, and I spent awhile there. I can't get enough of them. They sit on the edge of a busy highway, but actually seem to be on the edge of soneone's backyard. I want visitation rights. Phil is extremly nervous to drive off the highway and onto their grass, and is constantly looking around. He keeps mentioning a silly little thing about me not leaving the car because the owners may have attack dogs. Oh, fiddle-de-de! He just has a thing about not trespassing, I don't know why! Actually, I have done far scarier things to get a picture. I have quite a few fears, but it seems that my camera makes me brave and turns me into someone I'm not! It's kind of like a magic talisman that changes my personality. And tomorrow I will show you some of them. What about you, will you snap scary things? What's the most frightening thing you photographed?

"And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." Genesis 2:9