Summer Has Vanished - September 28, 2007

The Evening Primrose, clasps it's weary petals, trumpeting the end to Summers heat and light.

Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The Cattail is as a half eaten corn dog, as it's seeds blow away it's vigor and strength. It is Autumn now, and it has been a good growing season, now hopefully the seeds will bring new life. A time to let go and let
the growth cycle end, with a hope for tomorrow.

Gen 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.

Gen 18:11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

Gen 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

Gen 18:13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?

Gen 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Something jumped in the water as I turned towards the pond. It was a bass jumping, being hooked by the fisherman. The fish was placed back in the water as the fisherman spoke, "this is a new place, where not many people fish, it looks like a good place to catch more."

Rom 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Rom 15:20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:

Rom 15:21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

A morning harvest moon and a Turkey Vulture combine; light and dark,
one giving light, and one seeking death and food. We have a beautiful creation to enjoy and we must realize that life and death often approach together. We live to glorify God in his beautiful world, knowing that our time here is limited. We must make each day count.

Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.

Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

This evening picture was taken a few days ago, but it gives us an ending vision of a diligent fisherman, in the last light of summer.

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Col 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Beavers and Beatrice - September 20, 2007

It was a cloud covered morning as two beavers drifted in the pond. This one appears to be asleep, drifting into darkness. We, who are called Christians, must be alert and not drift into darkness.

Isa 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Isa 29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

When you awaken in darkness, you must remember who you are and who you serve. Like the prodigal son, return to God, your Father.

Luke 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luke 15:19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
Luke 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Luke 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luke 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
Luke 15:23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
Luke 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

We are in a race and we must stay in the light of God's truth. Then we will cross the finish line and hear the Lord speak, well done.

1 Cor 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1 Cor 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1 Cor 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
1 Cor 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Beatrice duck, is washing her hair? No, probably foraging for food in the water. The water of the word of God is our spiritual water.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Nice hair, or feathers? Walk in the light as Jesus walked in the light.

1 Tim 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.1 Tim 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Phil's Place - September 18, 2007

Yellow Jacket wasps, sip the water from a receding pond. They also made themselves pests at our outdoor picnic at Phil's place. We call them meat bees, because they land on the meat on the table, which must be covered.
In fall, foraging yellow jackets are primarily scavengers and they start to show up at picnics, barbecues, around garbage cans, at dishes of dog or cat food placed outside. They also like hamburgers!

Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

Heb 5:13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

Heb 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

A dragonfly rests on broken thirsty ground, showing the pond is in need of water. This has been a draught year in California.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

There were several of these tiny lizards running around. Phil said he killed a rattlesnake and saw two king snakes on his new property. He recently moved out into the country from crowded Los Angeles; out in the sticks where the lizards roam? Also deer and other wildlife.

Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:.

Poison Oak - September 14, 2007

I passed a family with their dog, this morning at the park. They asked me what did I find to photograph? I said, poison Oak, they said oh no, that's terrible. There was not much to see, but the abundance of poison oak, one of the most wide spred native plants in California.

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
It is one of the first plants to turn color in the fall. It is poisonous to the touch, making a measle like rash on the skin, sending some people to the hospital. Burning the plant can cause the eyes to weep.

Isa 52:10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Isa 52:11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.

Isa 52:12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.

Yet, in all bad things of God's creation, there is some good to be found. If we are in Christ Jesus, we should look for the good. The wildlife like to eat the berries in the winter.

Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

The Indians, made use of the climbing vines to make baskets. They used it to treat wounds and warts. They even made tea from it.

Prov 12:27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.

2 Pet 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

2 Pet 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

2 Pet 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

2 Pet 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Pet 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2 Pet 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

A tree branch fell broke off and made this dragon carrying a club. Do not let the old dragon bring fear into your heart. There will be bad times, which we try to avoid and many blessings. We should not let the old dragon put fear into our daily living. Submit all to Christ and live in victory.

Phil 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Phil 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Phil 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

1 Cor 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Blazing and Blazes - September 8, 2007

One of the last flowers of the season is the spectacular Blazing Star. It grows out of the rocky ground and out of poor soil.

Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Several of these bushes were opened in the morning before sunrise, but that's when we see the stars, before sunrise?

Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Mark 16:6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

I was startled to see the sun a bright red color as it came up through the trees across the river. There was smoke in the air from distant forest fires.

Mat 16:1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.

Mat 16:2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?Mat 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

The sun turned the river to gold and even though the color was from forest blazes, it made a beautiful morning of Blazing Stars and a Red sun from the blazing fires.

James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

James 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Time To Awaken - September 5, 2007

Do I have to wake up? Such a nice morning, a cool breeze and I know it is going to be hot today.

1 Ki 19:5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

1 Ki 19:6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.1 Ki 19:7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.

1 Ki 19:8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

Better stretch a leg and see what is going on.

Luke 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
Luke 7:23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me



Ahhh, that feels good; wings as an angel?

Exo 25:20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
Exo 25:21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.




A little preening, for I am fair. It seems like I am the minority duck among the wild Mallards.

Song 6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.
Song 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
Song 6:3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.



Forget it, I'm going back to sleep.

Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.