Strange Weather

A second impromptu blog post today?!  That is unusual for me....but even more unusual were the clouds that rolled by my window at quitting time at work.  I started getting calls from friends and family telling me to go outside with my camera.  And when you see these strange clouds that blew by you will see why I had to share another post today!

I really don't think I did these clouds justice, but I tried to get a variety of shots to show the texture and many formations we observed.  My Dad said that a few looked like ribbons of gray marshmallows being swirled around.  Some we thought looked like waves of the ocean. 

 

By C.H. Spurgeon, 1855:

“…the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3

What great things clouds are to us! There we see them sweeping along the skies! Then they rapidly increase until the whole sky gathers blackness and a dark shadow is cast upon the world; we foresee the coming storm, and we tremble at the mountains of cloud, for they are great. Great things are they? No! they are only the dust of God’s feet! The greatest cloud that ever swept the face of the sky, was but one single particle of dust, stirred up by the feet of the Almighty Jehovah. When clouds roll over clouds and the storm is very dreadful—it is but the chariot of God, as it speeds along the heavens, raising a little dust around him! "The clouds are the dust of his feet." Oh! could you grasp this idea my friends, or had I words in which to put it into your souls, I am sure you would sit down in solemn awe of that great God who is our Father, or who will be our Judge!

Consider, that the greatest things with man, are little things with God. We call the mountains great, but what are they? They are but "the small dust of the balance."

Surfs Up???

Looking out my window now you would have no idea that a brief display of God's amazing creative power drifted past in a matter of minutes....but happily I had a heads up and a camera handy.  So please enjoy these snapshots....and stay tuned as I promise to get back on track tomorrow with my post from my urban assignment weekend!

I fiddled with the contrast on this image to really let you see the clouds textures.  Awesome!

A Special Post for My Brother-In-Law!

Upon marrying my brother-in-law, my baby sister dubbed him, "The friend of all creatures."  He catches moths and spiders in the house and "releases them back into the wild" as opposed to doing what most of us do...removing our shoe and squishing them.  He sighs when he passes little furry creatures that met with an ill fate on a country road.  (He brakes for animals!)

Apparently my recent posts featuring local park ducks has struck a chord with him. (As you might have seen from his humorous comment on my post Preen and Clean)   A few years back my brother-in-law, who owns adjoining property, got his children a couple pet ducklings to swim around on my Dad's fishing pond.  He cleaned them under the warming lights in his basement and garage until they were old enough to go out on the lake.  He then built them a spacious duck house, and has kept them fed and safe through several harsh winters.  And as he says, "They deserve respect."

Well, as a matter of fact, I do have photos of my neighbor ducks.  So I thought I would make a special, unscheduled post, to show the proper respect to these domestic critters.  (Although I must say they maintain their distance from people for the most part, so my brother-in-law  has not ruined their wild duck instincts!)

Thanks for the subject matter Big J!  You quack me up!

Leaves Are Changing

Front field outside my house

 Here is the third and final installment of photos taken at the duck pond two weekends ago. Of course with the exception of the above captioned shot I took outside my house that day!

I was able to get the first hints of changing color on the trees and leaves.  I was really wanting full fall color landscapes, but you can't rush a good thing.  So I opted for photographing and appreciating the slow change of color from the green of summer, to the flaming hues of fall.  Interestingly, I read later that the same process that turns a green banana yellow, makes leaves turn from green to color too.  The chlorophyll in the leaves makes them green....once the tree begins conserving nutrients for winter and the leaves not longer are producing chlorophyll, so their true color is revealed! 

I particularly like the close-up shots of the individuals leaves in this group of photos.  Seeing the veins of the leaf as the green color recedes from the leaf is pretty amazing. I put my favorite shot at the bottom....so no skimming this post guys!

And on this Lord's Day, please enjoy a wonder excerpt below that is the perfect thought to remember whenever you look at a colorful leaf this fall.  Especially a nice read for those that don't relish the change from summer to autumn!

By James Smith, 1861

“For I am the LORD, I change not…” Malachi 3:6

Every created thing is liable to change.

Angels have changed — and become devils.

Man has changed — and become a sinner.

The world has changed — and lost its original beauty and excellence.

The seasons change — winter gives place to spring, spring to summer, summer to autumn, and autumn to winter again.

Our feelings change — the sad gives place to the joyous, and the joyous to the sad again.

Our circumstances change — the poor become rich, and the rich become poor.

Our relations change — some are removed by death, others to a far distance, and some become alienated from us.

All within and without us will change, and there may be greater changes than we have ever witnessed yet.

But amidst all the changes we have experienced within, or witness without — we have one unfailing source of comfort: the Lord never changes! He is the same, and will be the same forever. He is in one mind, and none can turn him. Let us then seek to be impressed with this cheering declaration made by God himself, “For I am the LORD, I change not..”

No offense to Mr. Smith, but one change he didn't mention was the change of the Christian when they put off corruption in this world and put on incorruption in heaven.  Check out this post from the blog Joyful in Glory for a nice read and a perfect song from Handel's Messiah that is a nice musical compliment to this theme of change!