Beyond Day SixMy sometimes-daily blog of a photograph or two with a few words, celebrating all the days of life that flow through creation into perspiration, inspiration, reflection, sabbath, and resurrection. Window Week 2Continuing the theme of "windows" this week is this image from Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Is there a story here? Well, I wonder about the obvious new concrete blocks beneath the painted sign "entrance", and wonder if those were replaced, how did they do that? And no reason to repaint the "entrance" sign. And no reason to paint the frame around the window either.
Window Week 1This photo is not one of my typical subjects although there was a blog post recently that included a window, so I guess this might be considered the second. I found this wall appealing because of the color of the paint and the resulting texture. The windows are of different size and one is open. The frames are painted different colors. And there are odd other boxes or "things" attached to the wall. I'm not sure what this building was originally. I think it is a curiosity, a mystery, a wondering. Maybe it's two pictures...
And There It WasI am participating in a six week Google+ mentorship on Creativity. And as part of the assignment this past week in which we were to capture images that express our gratitude, I noticed the morning light on this basket. Out front door faces east, has a large faceted glass window, and the morning light streams though it. And this particular morning, the rays caught this basket. And so I remember buying this basket with Judy and that it has shells that we have collected along the ocean shore. So I am grateful for color and sunshine and memories. Life is good.
Third Sunday After EpiphanyI share these words of Walter Brueggemann from Texts for Preaching, a book that I purchased 22 years ago, about the biblical texts for this Sunday during the season of Epiphany: "Light does not merely illumine, but it brings a changed situation, in which people depressed by the darkness, under assault from known or unknown forces, mired in anguish can experience the new day. ...everything becomes possible." That will preach this weekend. I certainly saw light on Saturday.
Hope, StillI don't know what to say. Oh, I have emotions, concerns, convictions. I have friends and family that share them, and I have friends and family that don't. So I hope. I pray. "Love will never end." I didn't take this picture. But it is me and my granddaughter, 10 1/2 years ago. I held her in my arms, amazed with her newness and prayed. And I suspect it was the same prayer all grandparents pray for their grandchildren: for health and safety and faith and love made real in her life. Tonight I will be with members of my Sunday School class sharing what love we can with the homeless. And praying. And remembering this moment not so long ago. And I suspect that will be better than anything I might have seen on television today.
Grand Seems Like Such an Inadequate WordI am grateful that I can see. Last February, I stood at the edge of this awesome wonder. No photograph, certainly none of mine, begins to show the scope of the Grand Canyon. It is immense. I wonder at the centuries that it took to create this. Geologists note that the rock exposed at the bottom is from billions of years ago. I find it challenging to comprehend. "Grand" seems such a small word for such a vast place. And I am grateful that our nation has deemed it important to set aside portions of this country as national parks for the enjoyment of all. This visit last February was at the top of Judy's bucket list. She did skip the mule ride when she saw how icy the trail was.
Peering Through A MistOpportunities for new beginnings are all around us. Even as I begin a new adventure in exploring my creativity, I realize that I cannot see too far into the future. I am reminded of this familiar biblical passage in 1 Corinthians 13 that is given fresh language by Eugene Peterson: "We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright. We'll see it all then, see it all clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as {God} knows us."
Open, Open All the WayWow, it's been three months exactly since my last blog post. It's time to change that pattern. I began to participate this week in a six week online group that is already stirring my creativity. I give thanks for that. It is a beginning, a new chapter, a re-opening, a gateway to something different.
We all have opportunities to begin something new, all along our journey. We can turn this way or that, walk though this gate or that one over there. It is the process by choosing to go through the opening that we find something new. I'm looking forward to the adventure. Today's image is the gate to the Melrose Plantation in Natchez, Mississippi. Sony a7rii, 90mm, f/5, 1/800, 1600iso, adjusted in Lightroom. Near the Northern TipOur friends, Mike and Marcia Eischen, live near the northern tip of Door County, Wisconsin. So while it is in the 80s (still) in Brentwood, it is much cooler here. We had a hard freeze a few nights ago. The fall color is a little delayed behind what it was like last year. But the trees are beginning to approach peak color. Sandhill cranes were in the field across the road from their house this morning. It's always a delight to visit our friends.
Almost LostThis photo was taken in eastern Tennessee on the Hiwassee River. We followed a gravel road in the National Forest, over an unmarked railroad crossing, along the river, until we came to a parking spot along the road. I noticed that these trees were reflecting in the river. So, yes, this images is upside down from the way I saw it. But it gives the trees an abstract, pixelated look. Notice it especially in the green areas of the photo. Quite obvious when seen full size.
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