Some Quiet Time

The other day, after nearly a week of bad weather, I was able to get out and get another bike ride in.  I took my camera because there was a stretch of the trail that I wanted to stop and take a closer look at.  I was hoping to be able to take a closer look instead of just riding through like I often do

The area is in the back end of one of the local parks but its not a part of the park that gets much traffic because its tucked way in the back.  The only way to get to it is to walk or ride a bike father than most casual park visitors go.  You canʻt drive to it.  Well, that may not be entirely true. You can drive near it but the way its situated most people arenʻt aware its there. I hadnʻt been until I began riding my bike back into that part of the park.

Thereʻs a small river that flows through the park and the trail goes back and forth, near the river, then away, than back near again.  A "wet land". Lots of water plants.  Its actually a very pretty little stretch of the trail.

So I rode through the park and back along the trails and came to a stop.  It turned out nice, too, because as I stopped I was the only one there.  Thatʻs not an infrequent occurrence, being the only one in sight, but this time it was what I wanted because I wanted to be able to just stop, look and listen.  Birds were all over the place.  Saw lots of red-winged blackbirds.  Theyʻre pretty common around here. Out in the reeds, up in the trees.  There were lots of them

On the river there were other birds as well.  Ducks and geese.  I watched them, trying to get some good pictures

 Í was watching this duck swim back and forth and around on the river.  At one point, just as I was snapping the picture he dived under the water - just in time to not be in the picture.  All I got was a few rings growing out from where heʻd been.  Had to smile at that.

Along with the ducks there were also geese floating around on the river.  You see and hear them over head often enough but I donʻt see them actually swimming on the water all that much. Not up close, anyway.  While they donʻt seem to be able to fly without honking all along the way, they swim quietly.  The other day I came upon a pair of geese standing next to the trail.  I tried to get by them without disturbing them but one of them was pretty excitable and ended up taking off and flying away from me.  That set the other off.  He was behind me at that point but when he saw the one take off and fly away he started honking and took off, flying just a few feet above me, trying to catch up to his friend, honking with every flap of its wings.

 After a while it was time to move on and get headed for home.  But just a little farther down the trail I came across a pair nesting ducks.  Their nest was right on the ground, out in the water a little ways on a clump of reeds and dirt. I thought it was cool so I stopped again and watched them for a few minutes before heading home.

 And, as I went a little farther, there was another goose, standing next to the trail again.

 This time I got passed him without getting him all worked up.  All in all it was a very nice ride. Got to see some nice territory and got plenty of nice pictures. It was a nice time.

Yeah, Almost

I was looking through some old pictures earlier today and came across these two.  Had to chuckle.  I can look back at it now and be entertained but at the time it was kind of irritating.  This happened about 15 years ago.  Where we used to live was on the main drag out of town, just where the road curved.  Down the road from us were two bars.  So as you might imagine, sometimes the people driving passed our house really shouldn't have been behind the wheel.  That gentle little curve in the road was just too much for some people.

So when we moved into our house it had a nice little foot bridge that went across the drainage ditch to where our mailbox was.  Then one day while we were away someone came barreling up the road and didn't make the nice, gentle curve.  Instead they went into our ditch and took out our little foot bridge and mailbox.  Yeah, that was kind of irritating.  This is Maulbeere and Himbeere standing on what's left of the bridge.  The rest of it is laying where it landed.

Well, we were able to find out who they were (which was a lot of work - I was amazed at how hard the police made me work to get a copy of the report) and contact their insurance company - fortunately they had insurance.  We made a claim for the bridge and got enough to replace it.  So I rough drew out a plan for the new bridge, which I wanted to be a little longer and sturdier, figured out what wood I needed and then spent a Saturday and, with lots of help from the little people, built the new bridge.  Here is Schwatrzbeere standing on the new bridge.

I thought it turned out really well.  And it definitely was sturdier than the old one.  We got to enjoy it for a year or two before someone took it out again.  As a testament to how much sturdier the new bridge was, getting hit didn't scatter the new one out near as much as the old one had been scattered.  But it was still damaged enough that it was beyond repair.  This time I just made the claim and pocketed the money but didn't rebuild the bridge.  I just moved the mailbox so it was next to the driveway.  Aw, well.  It was a nice little bridge but I figured if people were going to keep running into it I wasn't going to keep rebuilding it.

Life at a Slower Pace

I remember a trip to a family reunion when I was a kid that my grandmother went to with us. This was her side of the family so we were going back to the area of her childhood home. And it was in the opposite end of the state we lived in so it was pretty much an all day ride in the car. And except for that last 50 or so miles the whole trip was freeway. This was a trip she'd made numerous times in her life, she was very familiar with the trip. This was in the late 60’s when we made the trip in several hours. At one point in the trip she lamented how the freeway had changed the trip so much, you no longer really got to see much of the ride because the freeway took you around all the interesting little towns whereas before the freeway had been built you went through each little town and got to see what each town was like and what was going on there. And even before that, back when she was younger and would make the trip by horse and buggy, the trip was much, much slower - then you really got a good look at each town and all the scenery, at a slow, easy pace so you could really get a good look at everything all along the way. She then proceeded to name each and every community along the way, tiny towns and big cities; she named them all without missing any. I was pretty impressed.

Anyway, I was thinking earlier that riding my bike around town was in some ways a similar situation. My bike riding takes me around at a slower pace than when I'm in a car and it takes me to places in town that I would never see in a car, some you can't really get to by car. So the experience is significantly different from traveling by car. 

I often find myself, as I'm driving around town, thinking, “I've been here with my bike!” or “I ought to come here on my bike.” Or I'll find myself pouring over maps of my community and its trails, thinking about where to go next on my bike.

 This year we had a couple weeks of halcyon days early on where I was able to get out and get several rides in but then the weather turned cold and wet again as winter struggled to hang on. I'm looking forward to the weather getting better, more bike friendly again so I can get back out on my bike.

Its nice to be out and about.

Scientific Fun

The other day there was a science fair in town so we decided to go.  Actually, we had other plans for the day but the weather didn't cooperate so we found ourselves looking for alternatives at the last minute because we wanted to do something but that's another story.  As it went, we ended up at the science fair, which turned out to be a very fun time indeed!

The whole thing was held in one of the local museums so there were plenty of exhibits that were long-term displays.  They were cool.  Often such displays get old and dusty looking but many of the displays at this museum were fresh and clean, that was nice.

But in addition to the normal displays, they had brought in some additional activities, many of which were hands-on activities the kids could get their hands in on and have fun with.

One of the one's I thought was the coolest was a dynamic topographical map activity.  They had sand under a computer that must have used ultrasound to detect the shape of the sand in the box and then project topographical lines onto it, as well as colors as the elevations changed.  At "sea level" the color changed to blue that moved like water.  But if you stuck your hand out over the sand it did something similar to represent the water in clouds.  Incredible!

They had sandbox toys the kids could play around with to change the shape of the sand piles with and watch the colors and lines react to what they did.  We spent a fair amount of time at that one - the kids loved it.  It was also very entertaining for the adults.

They had the obligatory dinosaur bones and skeletons on display.  One they had hooked up to a recording of what someone imagined a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have sounded like - the kids had fun playing that recording over and over again.  And the lower jaw moved up and down like it would have in life.  That was another favorite.

They even had hands on things for the littlest kids.  This little munchkin had a lot of fun with the puzzle.  We had to keep an eye on her as she kept making a break for the hall with puzzle pieces.  I think they were all there when we left that area  . . . ?

That same display presented a certain challenge for some of the adults present as well.

Rock displays, another hands on activity.

Fascinated as much by the hole as by the rock the hole allowed you to touch.

In another part of the science fair they had animals that the kids could touch, including a well supervised snapping turtle.  Pretty fearsome looking creatures.

There were snakes, lizards and turtles that the kids could touch and pet. That was popular, the kids visited that one and then came back to it later.  They had several different kinds of snakes, lizards and turtles, all available for well supervised touching.

And what kids activity would be complete without face painting?

They picked their own design and colors.  Though, being primarily a reptile display, the options tended to be reptiles.

But that was perfectly okay with the kids!

They each got to pick their own painting and were quite happy to wear them the rest of the day!  And the people doing the painting were really good with the kids, as well.

In fact, all the people hosting, supervising, and explaining everything were really good with the kids.  I didn't see a single one that looked like they would have rather been someplace else.

And when it was all done we hit our favorite ice cream place for a cool treat, even though it was only about 35 degrees out.

It was a very fun way to spend a couple of hours with the kids!  We may have to do something like this again!

The Glorious Day of the Lord

Easter, the Glorious Day of the Lord. On the one hand it has always struck me as out of balance that Christmas gets so much more attention and observance than Easter when the birth of Christ was simply a precursor to the main event. Then again, the LDS are sometimes criticized for not giving Easter as much attention as most of the rest of the Christian world gives it so maybe that's playing into my perception of Easter getting less attention than Christmas. Be that as it may, it's my feeling that most of the Christian world kind of misses the boat on where the emphasis of Easter ought to be.

My understanding is that the Christian world begins the Easter celebration with Lent and Ash Wednesday. Lent goes on for 40 days in commemoration of the 40 day period of fasting Christ went through in preparation for His public ministry. Then comes Holy Week, actually the last week of Lent, and includes  Paschal Triduum, commemorating and celebrating the events of the last week of Christ's life leading up to the crucifixion. For many Christians Holy Week is followed by Eastertide, which goes on until Pentecost, a date that moves around with Easter.

The LDS celebration is much more quiet and focused. Quiet in the way that it is more personal, without the outward show, ritual, and ceremony. To me it seems it is more after the manner that Christ spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount, regarding prayer and fasting.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ...”

“But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret ...”  

(Matthew 6:6, 17 & 18)

Throughout His ministry, in most of His teachings, Christ seems to have been more concerned with the inward observance, the disposition of the heart, than the outward observance. Christ went so far as to chastise some of His detractors for using traditions and observances to get out of keeping the commandments (Matthew 15:3-6, Mark 7:8, 9). As the Lord told Samuel when he identified David as Israel's King, “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

The LDS observance is also more focused on the events of the two gardens, Gethsemane and the Garden Tomb. It was in these two places that the heart of Christ's mission was culminated. Christ's death, horrific as it was, was only something that needed to happen so the miracle of the Garden Tomb could take place.  

Christ, prior to His death, spent His ministry teaching His Gospel. He knew from the start of His public ministry how His life would end and what possibilities that would open for mankind. He used His ministry to teach us how to take advantage of the atonement. So while the atonement and resurrection were critical, the two most important accomplishment to occur in the history of the world, without having taught the Gospel, so that we would know how to put the atonement to work, Christ would have missed a critical element in His mission.

So the LDS don't focus on the whole Easter season and Christ's agony, suffering, and death. That was significant and important but it wasn't everything. It is more the question the angels asked Mary when she came to the empty tomb; “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). The main point of Easter is not that He died, but rather that He lives again.  This is the focus of the LDS observance of Easter; the atonement and resurrection and how to put them to work. The everyday application of the principles He taught during His ministry. That, combined with deep gratitude for what Christ made possible, is the message of Easter. This is what makes it the Glorious Day of the Lord.

Two hymns sum it up.

The first is “He is Risen” (hymn 199), written by Cecil Frances Alexander:

“He is risen! He is risen!

Tell it out with joyful voice.

He has burst his three days’ prison;

Let the whole wide earth rejoice.

Death is conquered; man is free.

Christ has won the victory.  

“He is risen! He is risen!

He hath opened heaven’s gate.

We are free from sin’s dark prison,

Risen to a holier state.

And a brighter Easter beam

On our longing eyes shall stream.”

The other is “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” (hymn 200), written by Charles Wesley:

Christ the Lord is ris’n today,  

Sons of men and angels say,

Raise your joys and triumphs high,

Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply,

Love’s redeeming work is done,

Fought the fight, the vict’ry won,

Jesus’ agony is o’er,

Darkness veils the earth no more,

Lives again our glorious King,

Where, O death, is now thy sting?

Once he died our souls to save,

Where thy victory, O grave?

These celebrations of song sum it up: the work is done, the victory won, death is conquered, and man is free. That is the focus. A Christ who was alive three days after his death, 30 days later, teaching His apostles, and who lives today, still leading those who are seeking and willing to follow Him.

Gone but not Unforgetable

Not quite six years ago Schwartzbeere wanted to paint his room.  He was in high school then and thought the perfect color would be black.  Totally black.   

On the one hand, that he wanted it painted was understandable.  The family we bought the house from had smaller children and the room Schwartzbeere ended up in, while it had been a boy's room, it was a little boy's room. Schwartzbeere had never been very fond of the clouds that adorned the blue walls.  But black?

Well, as you might imagine, that didn't go over too well.  There was some discussion and a compromise was reached.  So he ended up with gray and purple walls and a black ceiling. Yeah.  I thought it was good.  And with that the painting began.

 Well, as you might imagine, that didn't go over too well.  There was some discussion and a compromise was reached.  So he ended up with gray and purple walls and a black ceiling. Yeah.  I thought it was good compromise.   

Anyway, even though he got married and moved out quite some time ago the room has remained as Schwartzbeere had wanted it.  I don't know, maybe there was always something else more pressing than painting.  That can be, after all, a bit of work.  But the time had come.  Brombeere picked her colors and got to work.

Now all her children will tell you that Brombeere prefers to decorate around shades of white.  So the room went quite a bit lighter than gray, purple and black.

But trust me, the room did not go totally white.  Can you see the contrast here?  The ceiling was white but all the walls are gray.  Yes, gray.  But a much lighter gray than Schwartzbeere had it.

Blaubeere came over one day and helped with the painting. That was fun. 

So, while the room isn't totally done, it is coming along quite nicely.  It looks much more inviting now.  And its amazing how much brighter the room is - you no longer feel like you have to turn the light on in the middle of the day.  Who knows!  Maybe this will even help lower the electricity bill.

Its been drying a day now and is getting to the point of being almost done.  I like it.  Her kids give Bromnbeere grief about always painting everything white.  Even when she goes with a color other than white its such a pale shade of the color that unless you look real close you pretty much don't notice that its not white.  But I like it.  I like living in a house that is bright and light colors.  Suits us just fine.

Maybe Not Chess

We were visiting Erdbeere and her family again the other day.  This time Blaubeere went with us.  While we were there she and Townsend were doing something with her phone.  I wasn't privy to the conversation so I don't really know what they were doing but in looking at the pictures afterward it sure reminded me of a chess match.

And the contest begins.

Taking the measure of one's opponent.

Contemplating not only the next move but several moves ahead.  That's the way to best your opponent. 

Checkmate?  Well, maybe.