FOTO FRIDAY

FOTO FRIDAY may need to be retitled LOOKING FOR NOAH or WAITING FOR THE ARK!!!

We had 4 inches of rain from about 10 p.m.Thursday to early this Friday a.m. Parts of town claimed 6 inches.

The cold front which collided with a much warmer front moved south of us and is drenching the rest of Arkansas, while moving eastward. Earlier in the week we had 2 inches 0f rain, so now, Friday, we've had 6 inches and one more day to go. The forecast is for at least two rainless days...wait and see is the key.

Update on Small Town Tragedy:
The weapon used in the murder/suicide did not belong to the alleged perpetrator. There is nothing to gain by speculation but to let the law enforcement agencies do their job. The only other clue printed in news releases is the manager's office gave the appearance of a scuffle occurring at some point.

Before this horrific event, there had been two restaurant break-ins and several residences. Small change or portable items of value were taken while larger items of much greater value were not. These events. some of which have been solved, point to the difficult economic times. However, in a small community where 55% of 2000+ population are above age 60, anxiety and vulnerability levels elevate with news of petty lawlessness or catastrophic events.

I shopped in the grocery store today and so did others. The store was closed for two days, and reopened Thursday. Employees were helpful. A local minister was located outside the building, seemingly to help those who need some counseling.

NOW A FEW PHOTOS-not anything special today. However, brief excursions between showers captured a few items of interest. I was impressed there were still wildflowers in full array. I missed several shots as I would have had to climb in and out of our open drainage ditches--not a good idea for 73 yr old 4'10" old lady with double knee prostheses.

Raindrops on Deer Netting
If this photo will enlarge, it looks more like tiny floralettes around each intersection of the netting material. The camera was perpendicular to the netting so the drops actually magnify the intersection of the netting.

Dogwood Assume Autumn Color
I have 3 Dogwoods, two of which indigenous to property: one with red berries, one without, which may indicate male/female dogwoods side and side. The third dogwooda pink/red) was planted this spring after we lost 8 mature trees the 1000 -year ice storm.

Poison Ivy Displays its Coat of Many Colors

Despite being a nemesis to most of us, poison ivy arrays tree trunks, fences, and
the ground in this vacant lot with color,ranging from yellow to crimson.

Red, White and Blue
I spotted these little delicate flower
next to the fire hydrant on my block.

Delicate White Flowers Macro
These are the same flowers as above by fire hydrant.

Sumac - Early Harbinger of Autumn*

Measles?
I am known for not always focusing on the 'perfect' subject. Everything is perfect in the Creator's creation. We are the viewers with the imperfect eye.

The Redbud leaf under the post title has not begun to change to its usual yellow. Something has eaten the lower half of the leaf. It was taken at the same time and after the same rain shower as the deer netting.

*I am not a plant expert. This appears to be sumac. Usually sumac is found in clusters. There were a few sumac-like shrubs on this vacant lot.

Blue Sky and Sun Day

Normally, Sunday is Slider Sunday for me but today I could not resist a short post for Monday.

Although leaving home for church services in rain-free cloudy weather, I observed glimmers of hope for seeing sun today. I was not disappointed this afternoon.

How appropriate: Sun on SUN Day and some Blue Sky thrown in for good measure. A rainbow would have been that little hors d' oeuvres of life, but I am assuredly peachy pleased.

Unlike Noah I had no doves to test the receding waters, but then the covenant of Noah was no flood ever again would destroy every living thing in the entire world.

A happy camper am I, for at least one day. How can you beat sunshine and 75 degrees???

SO I've been humming one of my favorite old time joyous hymns about sunshine. I found a YOUTUBE rendition for your listening pleasure--Sorry! Breathe a sigh of relief-I have no recordings of myself. In a much younger life I learned to sing a cappella, in school, church and a quartet for weddings and funerals (not much difference in the latter music).

Asthma, chronic bronchitis and COPD inhalers and drugs have severely limited my voice, but not my JOY.

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt, an US songwriter, penned 1,743 known hymns. Among her many hymns I love are Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown? and When We All Get to Heaven.

Another US songwriter and favorite of mine, Frances J. Crosby, known as Fanny Crosby, penned over 8000 hymns. Crosby was blind shortly after birth.

THERE IS SUNSHINE IN MY SOUL TODAY
[YouTube Mormon Tabernacle Choir link]
Text: Eliza E. Hewitt, Music: John R. Sweney

Refrain (Chorus)
O there's sunshine, blessed sunshine,
While the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face
There is sunshine in my soul.

Verses 1-4
There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my light.

There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King;
And Jesus, listening, can hear
The song I cannot sing.

There is springtime in my soul today,
For when the Lord is near
The dove of peace sings in my heart,
The flowers of grace appear.

There is gladness in my soul today,
And hope, and praise, and love,
For blessings which He gives me now,
For joys laid up above.

My fingers and toes are tapping after listening to this song!

If the sun does not shine on Monday I'll play it again!

[Until I figure the photo muddle out, I may be leaving photos at top of post.]

Where's Noah?

Raindrops on Mums

[Macro Straight Out of the Camera]

Liquid formula, known to scientists as H(OH) or H2O, or water, has been falling in my area since Sept. 12. Sometimes light and steady, other times deluges for 5-10 minutes; we've accumulated several inches.

The current forecast is for periods of showers and sun through Wednesday, Sept. 23, but lately these forecasts seem to be extended daily into the future.

Rainfall reports of bloggers and family in Texas and central Arkansas are even greater than here. An half brother in Texas had 6 inches a few days ago.

On a rainy Wednesday, I caught this photo of a fiberoptics technician working in a tent on the front corner of my lot at a new dropbox for my home. An out-of-state contractor, he appeared to have a self-contained mini-motor home/work home on wheels.

Our independent telephone company has designated a huge outlay of funding to upgrade service to our little town using underground fiberoptic wiring. My neighborhood which is a part of Phase- I is nearly completed.

Upon completion of Phase-I and activation, the phone company may provide faster DSL or video feeds (essentially cable TV) and possibly a different kind of telephone service.

Contractors work with deadlines and are often penalized for unmet deadlines, so if work can continue during inclement weather, it usually does. Hence this technician is splicing and connecting various fiberoptic cables, protected from the elements by his utilitarian tent.

Now if we had Noah among us, he had a direct pipeline (maybe not the best word) to God, who kept telling him when it was gonna rain, and how much. I doubt Noah knew how big " the whole world" was, but he had a Texas sized 10 gallon hat full of FAITH.

Noah's God inspired instructions included heavenly blueprints for building a giant ship called an ARK of certain dimensions and materials. It's a good thing Noah had the pipeline, because nobody knows exactly what gopher wood is! I trust if I'm told to build an ARK, God will pick measurements and materials like oak so I can fulfill his orders. [My beloved 100+ year old red oak, which bit the dust in our 1000-year ice storm, would have been a good start on an ARK!] 

Then there were those 120 years of preaching, not to mention the subject was RAINFALL for 40 days and nights, an event which heretofore had never happened. No doubt Noah took a lot of hootin', hollarin', hecklin' and rolling-on-the-ground, side-splitting laughter from his contemporaries, His only converts were seven members of his immediate family.

I wondered if 120 years could be classified as preaching without ceasing. Modern day men of the cloth point to Noah, a "preacher of righteousness," for their inspiration of endurance, "keeping the faith" in difficult times and unbelieving audiences.

My husband will testify I could easily preach 120 days without ceasing, but years, he would be long gone.

When it came time to pack and move into the ARK he had to round up a litany of animals not to mention his  seven family members. He had a long checklist.

But the reward of a covenant signified by the beautiful rainbow kept driving Noah for those 120 years.

Whether the rainfall spigot is controlled by natural forces of the universe, or divine intervention, a Creative Force set the universe and probably other universes still unknown, into being.

Rainfall, or the lack thereof, became a natural event in the lives of Biblical people living in primarily agricultural settings. Today, is not much different, but encompasses the earth. No agriculture, no food; no vegetation, no oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange. Unfortunately, humans have disturbed the O2-CO2 balance. 

This year has been a "wet" year so far in Northern Arkansas, but the amounts generally have been sufficient, without overloading our flood controls, as in recent years.

The importance of rain reminds me not too fret when the days are gloomy.

May I suggest an awe-inspiring series of  of DVDs originally commissioned by BBC, shown on the Discovery Channel, THE PLANET EARTH. It is being re-runned periodically, on Animal Planet, TLC and probably other cable channels, too. What better way to while away a rainy day, than an educational, beautifully filmed series on our planet?

The photography is unbelievable...I repeat- UNBELIEVABLE!  I bought the 4-DVD series so I could revel leisurely through the superb cinematography, importance of rain forests, jungles, balance /original harmony of life on the planet. It doesn't sugar-coat man's damaging contribution to imbalances.

Three segments stood out to me: (1) the plight of the polar bear (2) the tracking of a rare large cat (in Russia, I think) by photographers for months in the extremely harsh conditions for a shot of the rare cat. (3) the time-lapse photography of the effect of cutting ONE tree out of a forest canopy--life sprang up in response to the small amount of sunlight from one hole in the canopy.

I am sure The Planet Earth is available in libraries and video rental stores. My set was purchased from the Discovery Channel and included a bonus disk entitled Planet Earth: the Future. There are newer series like The Blue Planet: Seas of Life. Amazon.com has many listings.

I am writing this on Thurs. Sept. 17 for posting 19th. I spent my morning at the opthamalogist office. I was two years overdue.

A free screening glaucoma test in May with borderline reading in right eye convinced me I should overcome my dislike of the more comprehensive glaucoma tests. It is very hard to touch my eyeball, even numbed. It is a reaction to a childhood event--I know all in my head.

After a dose of Valium we managed with much difficulty to accomplish a better reading. The dilated eye exam results indicated other factors pointing to glaucoma in the right eye, maybe both eyes.

While dilated, three other tests were performed and I return Monday for a final test. I expect to be put on drops. I think we have caught it early with out damage to my eye. Peripheral vision seems to be fine, but that is Monday's test.

Believe me I can handle drops in eye once or twice daily. It is just one of those little annoyances that come with age.

I bought some computer-only glasses, and special clip-on polarized sunglasses for fishing and/or driving, ever though I have Transition lenses.

POST SCRIPT: ALL PHOTOS TODAY ARE CLICKABLE TO ENLARGE. IT SEEMS IF YOU MOVE THEM AROUND ALOT SOME OF THE HTML GETS SEPARATED, ESPECIALLY THE PART THAT ENABLES THAT FEATURE. 

NOW I HAVE TO LEARN SOME HTML....YUCK.