Just One

I have had so many extraordinary experiences on vacations lately and have returned with a thousand pictures. I have found myself posting connected pictures several at a time. I want to share the beauty of the places I have been fortunate to see this year. But the past few days I have felt the message that I needed to post JUST ONE picture and revel in its simplicity. That is why you see just one picture today of the hummingbird moth I photographed this noon. It is awesome to watch how God matches up the giver and the receiver~~sometimes difficult to discern which is which. We can be both at the same time, I believe. We are beings created in a way to be givers and receivers in the Body.

Today I got to visit a friend in the hospital after having surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. I took a mutual friend with me and we got to spend some time together afterwards in a garden, and then share some lunch. We had ministered to our friend and poured out what God had put in us for him. Then God filled us back up again with a walk in a garden and a healthy lunch. Taking time to balance other and self care is a wonderful way to spend a day, Just One at a time.

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Taste and see that the Lord is good!

Give us THIS DAY our DAILY bread.

Remembering

We (my mother and I) spent my Uncle's last birthday with him a year ago in and around his beloved Superstition Mountain and roads up into the hills surrounding Mesa, Arizona. Even though his legs were swollen and he was in great pain, he insisted on driving and showing us some of his favorite places. He is no longer encumbered by that broken and diseased body, and I can only imagine the wonderful trails he is finding with outrageously beautiful discoveries. Go Uncle!!! Thank you for sharing your precious places and precious time with us. It was an honor.

I bet his place prepared for him has an even better view than the Superstition Mountains at sunset from his backyard.

BEAR JAM

We were heading back to Canyon Village from Norris inside Yellowstone National Park. The conversation went something like this:

"Stop! There's a bear!"
"Where?"
"We just passed him...on top of those fallen limbs. He was digging grubs or eating something on top of the pile."

My husband turned around and we spied him still atop the mound of limbs digging to his hearts content into some delectable find. He was a small black bear, light colored. I was guessing he might have been a 2 year old now out on his own because his mama had a new young one.

We did an about face and got a few pictures. Soon cars began to stop and line up behind us. They were anxious to catch a glimpse of the animal that most will only ever see in a zoo. He seemed to be oblivious to his audience and continued to dig and wander around the area searching for more morsels to devour.

We had been the first on the scene to cause a BEAR JAM! Somehow, being the first to cause a 'jam' has great pride attached. I saw the animal first that was the cause of the traffic jam. My husband asked me how I ever saw him. I had my eyes peeled just hoping for such an opportunity. I had expectancy to see something and watched for movement and color along the road.

So, BEAR JAM is not something bears eat or made out of bears, but is definitely sweet! These 'JAMS' come in other flavors. My favorites are MOOSE JAM, GRIZZLY JAM, ELK JAM, FOX JAM, BISON JAM, and BABY CRITTER JAM.

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Sometimes He has given me the desires of my heart!! Be careful what you ask for...you might get BEAR JAM!!!

Ga Ga Geography

I have been a rock collector since I was a small child. The different colors, forms, textures, and mixtures fascinate me. I remember as a child walking country roads and bringing home my collecitons of shiny quartz, mica, and conglomerates that sparkled in the sun.

As an adult the striations in canyon walls leave my mouth open gasping at the amazing geological formations. I don't take rocks out of national parks, but do take out pictures of the amazing rocks, canyon colors, and hoodoos. All these particular formations of volcanic rock were explained this way: molten basalt (a volcanic rock) flows quickly in streams to form sheets of lava. The cooling crystallizes the basalt and it contracts into columns. These are the Sheepeater Cliffs and canyon walls around Tower in northern Yellowstone.

I went Ga Ga over them! Flowing rock...amazing God!

Watercolor Canyon

We were up at the Canyon rim by sunrise to beat the crowds to the trailhead. The clouds were still hanging in Canyon as the sun began to reveal the watercolor palettes of the walls. The thousand foot drop into the view of the wild turquoise waters at the bottom was breathtaking. I thought of my talented friend Karen who paints so wonderfully, loves these colors, and is quite adept at painting watercolors.

We were getting an early start walking the rim and turning away from the Canyon to walk the Ribbon Lake trail. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk along the sunlit canyon, but the trail did not make my favorite trails list. Even being washed in mosquito repellant did not hinder the little buggers. I managed through all our times in the woods, except for this particular morning, to avoid having to make a 'deposit' in the woods. Unfortunately, the little buggers made a breakfast out of my exposed bum in the process. Not a good time, and the lake at the end of the trail was not easily accessible. It seemed more like a buzzing jungle than a northern forest. But I know from some warnings to tourists and previous trips that the mosquitoes in northern forests are quite annoying and prevalent.

Returning to the rim again and seeing the carved walls washed in sunlight was delightful. I was grateful that we had sprayed ourselves well with repellant, and we gave warning to those headed into the woods to do the same.


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You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you...
Isaiah 55:12