Tuesday, December 04, 2012

What is Advent?

Advent is the first season of the church year, leading up to Christmas; it includes the four preceding Sundays.  It is a time of waiting, of anticipation, and preparation for Christ's coming.
I like the thought that I am preparing my home for a Special Guest.  Jesus is coming.

This video, Advent in 2 Minutes, by Busted Halo explains it well.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Dragonflies and Damselflies

Order "Odonata"
(Adapted from an article I wrote for our lake association newsletter.)

We have a great variety of dragonflies here in northern Minnesota.  Technically we have insects of the order Odonata including both dragonflies and damselflies.  In the accompanying photo are three dragonflies and one damselfly (the damselfly is the blue one) but I'll just be referring to them all as dragonflies.  As you have no doubt observed, adult dragonflies come in various sizes and can be very colorful.  They are found in different shades of blue, green, red or yellow and each one is a wonder to watch as they have the ability to hover or zoom around, both forward and backwards, in pursuit of mosquitoes and other insects that they feed on.  In Minnesota we have around 140 species of dragonflies.

As the seasons changed this year from our very hot, dry summer to cold November-like temperatures in early October, I wondered what became of dragonflies in the winter.  It turns out that they winter very well underwater as larvae and as late season eggs, too, as the eggs simply stop developing until the winter season has passed.  Some larvae are even able to survive a mild freezing in ice.  The adult dragonflies live only 4 to 6 months, but some of them do migrate south.

If you want to learn more about dragonflies, here are a couple of links to get you started:
http://www.mndragonfly.org/index.html
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/uniramia/odonatoida.html

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Psalm 122:6-7

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:  'May those who love you be secure.  May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.'" - NIV

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

5:30AM Sighting

I was awake much too early this morning.  As I contemplated going back to bed (while filling my tea kettle with water and looking out the kitchen window) I woke up fully when I saw a marten!  At first I thought it was a fox because of the big, beautiful bushy tail, but it was moving much too low to the ground in an odd, furtive and slinking way.  It slipped in beneath the lattice work under the neighbor's deck, just as I have seen foxes do in the winter.  A few minutes later I watched it make it's way back up the hill, through my yard to the road where it headed north in it's peculiar, stealthy way.  The squirrel population around my yard seemed to go down drastically this spring and now I think I know why.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Dock is In


Dock In
Originally uploaded by Minnesota Daybreak
The day the dock goes in each spring is always a milestone.  It marks the beginning of another season of activity and beauty.  It's message is, "welcome to the lake".. beckoning us to come down to the water and relax.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

May Each Day of Your Week be a Good Day.

In the middle of the night I woke up with an old song going through my head.  I hadn't heard it in years so it took me quite awhile to think how I knew it and as some of the lyrics formed in my mind the calming words became a prayer in my heart.  I wished that I could look directly in the eyes of each person I would ever meet or interact with and silently carry this thought for them. (i.e. what I was able to remember of it; to find the complete lyrics I had to do an internet search)  The song is a prayer or benediction and I eventually remembered that I had heard it repeatedly on "The Andy Williams Show" when I was growing up.  How different television was back then.  Variety shows were popular and we watched his show regularly.  This was (and perhaps still is) his closing song and these are the lyrics:

"May Each Day"

May each day in the week be a good day
May the Lord always watch over you
And may all of your hopes turn to wishes
And may all of your wishes come true

May each day in the month be a good day
May you make friends with each one you meet
And may all of your daydreams be mem'ries
And may all of your mem'ries be sweet

The weeks turn to months
And the months into years
There'll be sadness and joy
There'll be laughter and tears
But one thing I pray to heaven above
May each of your days be a day full of love

May each day in the year be a good day
May each dawn find you happy and gay
And may all of your days be as lovely
As the one you shared with me today

May each day of your life be a good day
And good night.

This is one of many YouTube videos of Andy Williams singing it: