 Hannah
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North_Dakota_Wheat
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Jacob
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Tuesday, October 21, 2003
The Symphony of Vapor and Boiling Water
All was a deceiving calm on the boardwalk. The prairie and surrounding fresh growth pine was a brilliant almost lime green. Most of the reconstituted trees were only three to four feet tall, feeding on their cremated fore fathers in this burst of new youth. A number of small openings about the size of an orange were adjacent to the board walk. They began to spurt out a wisp of vapor and sound. Psss, Psss, Psss. The modest prelude would repeat every five minutes or so. Psss, Psss, Psss. John Welch and Elizabeth were eagerly talking to a couple of boys from Israel when the Wa-howl of Jet Geyser joined the chorus. During the next stanza Twig Geyser added its Swoosh, Swoosh to the growing movement of organized sound and smell. Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Swoosh, Swoosh. And so this first movement entranced all of us as we felt the growing expectations of the next act. A very large and deep pool of emerald green and blue lay quiet, disguising its preparations... Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Psss, Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Swoosh, Swoosh. The rhythms of the ground continued. Lo, a ferment of mist began to rise on the mystic pool. Disturbances swirled on its face. Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Swoosh, Swoosh, pause ... pause ... KAWOOM! A stunningly abrupt explosion of a massive column of water startled us even as we waited expectantly. The column rose over forty feet into the sky, falling back under Earth's relentless pull and ejected again and again by Earth's competing hydrothermal forces. A set of standing waves stood to solute the feat and then retreated outward to the edge of the natural kettle. The retreating lines went splashing over the side in waves of water flowing down the embankment toward the boardwalk. KAWOOM, Fountain Geyser continued to cycle up and down, in amazing endurance for the next thirty minutes. During its performance, Morning also joined is a modest rise of a standing three foot pedestal. However, Morning remained suppressed, affected by some unknown source of shyness. In the finally, Twig, Jet, and the small orange sized holes all added their music in complimentary sequence. Then without warning ALL WAS CALM. The prairie waved in the breeze. The rejuvenating forest whispered with the wind. The glory of nature burned with your memory of this orgasms, and the knowing that its next fulfilling would wait until the next day.
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All was a deceiving calm on the boardwalk. The prairie and surrounding fresh growth pine was a brilliant almost lime green. Most of the reconstituted trees were only three to four feet tall, feeding on their cremated fore fathers in this burst of new youth. A number of small openings about the size of an orange were adjacent to the board walk. They began to spurt out a wisp of vapor and sound. Psss, Psss, Psss. The modest prelude would repeat every five minutes or so. Psss, Psss, Psss. John Welch and Elizabeth were eagerly talking to a couple of boys from Israel when the Wa-howl of Jet Geyser joined the chorus. During the next stanza Twig Geyser added its Swoosh, Swoosh to the growing movement of organized sound and smell. Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Swoosh, Swoosh. And so this first movement entranced all of us as we felt the growing expectations of the next act. A very large and deep pool of emerald green and blue lay quiet, disguising its preparations... Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Psss, Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Swoosh, Swoosh. The rhythms of the ground continued. Lo, a ferment of mist began to rise on the mystic pool. Disturbances swirled on its face. Psss, Psss, Psss, Wa-howl, Swoosh, Swoosh, pause ... pause ... KAWOOM! A stunningly abrupt explosion of a massive column of water startled us even as we waited expectantly. The column rose over forty feet into the sky, falling back under Earth's relentless pull and ejected again and again by Earth's competing hydrothermal forces. A set of standing waves stood to solute the feat and then retreated outward to the edge of the natural kettle. The retreating lines went splashing over the side in waves of water flowing down the embankment toward the boardwalk. KAWOOM, Fountain Geyser continued to cycle up and down, in amazing endurance for the next thirty minutes. During its performance, Morning also joined is a modest rise of a standing three foot pedestal. However, Morning remained suppressed, affected by some unknown source of shyness. In the finally, Twig, Jet, and the small orange sized holes all added their music in complimentary sequence. Then without warning ALL WAS CALM. The prairie waved in the breeze. The rejuvenating forest whispered with the wind. The glory of nature burned with your memory of this orgasms, and the knowing that its next fulfilling would wait until the next day.
Monday, October 06, 2003
God's Grace Eternal
For those of us that have stumbled in our walk with Christ, like me, Christ reassures us that our salvation is secure in Christ. I have been experiencing a spiritual drought until my best man challenged me to be committed to a quiet time of reading and prayer. I was lead to John chapters 5 and 6. Wow, what a powerful summary of the Gospel. In John 6:37-40 Jesus declares that:
"ALL that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose NONE of ALL that he has given me but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that EVERYONE who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I WILL raise him up at the last day."
These are great words to encourage those with doubts and worry in the status of their own standing with Christ. The amazing thing about John 5 and 6 is that almost every element of our faith is testified. From all three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to the fulfillment of the old testament. John 5:45-47
"... Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
This is the tip of the ice berg of the radical things that Jesus said in these chapters. He has the audacity to say that God was his father, making himself equal to God (John 5:18) and talk about eating his flesh and blood (John 6:53). This was too much and many that professed to follow him but did not believe left, but for his chosen twelve Simon Peter answers (John 6:68-69):
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God"
Read Jesus's own words in the Gospel of John. He is calling each and every one of us to the Bread of Life.
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For those of us that have stumbled in our walk with Christ, like me, Christ reassures us that our salvation is secure in Christ. I have been experiencing a spiritual drought until my best man challenged me to be committed to a quiet time of reading and prayer. I was lead to John chapters 5 and 6. Wow, what a powerful summary of the Gospel. In John 6:37-40 Jesus declares that:
"ALL that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will NEVER drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose NONE of ALL that he has given me but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that EVERYONE who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I WILL raise him up at the last day."
These are great words to encourage those with doubts and worry in the status of their own standing with Christ. The amazing thing about John 5 and 6 is that almost every element of our faith is testified. From all three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to the fulfillment of the old testament. John 5:45-47
"... Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
This is the tip of the ice berg of the radical things that Jesus said in these chapters. He has the audacity to say that God was his father, making himself equal to God (John 5:18) and talk about eating his flesh and blood (John 6:53). This was too much and many that professed to follow him but did not believe left, but for his chosen twelve Simon Peter answers (John 6:68-69):
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God"
Read Jesus's own words in the Gospel of John. He is calling each and every one of us to the Bread of Life.
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
A National Gem
Yosemite is a national treasure that is very accessible to the general public. As a kid, I mostly remember remote backpacking on the John Muir Trail. Recently, I have been staying in the lodge or tent camping in the valley. It is truly a great experience when you have family that is not into the hard core back country. Yosemite provided a myriad of activities for the kids. One of the favorites is to raft down the Mercer River. I had brought my inflatable raft and the rental place let me use their compressor to fill it up. Whew! that saved a lot of time! Along the way we would stop on a sand bar and swim in the river, sometimes finding logs to float down on the river. Even Hannah got carried away with to much courage. She always wanted to follow John and Elizabeth out into the deep water. Of course it is a requirement to bike the circuit around the valley, and do it at dusk! The bats are so thick that they wisped through Elizabeth's hair. Horse back riding and rock climbing are also hot on the list. Next time I go to Yosemite I need to set aside more time for a training climb. A number of years ago my cousin Sarah and I took a climb course, but I have not kept up with my skills or hand strength.
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Yosemite is a national treasure that is very accessible to the general public. As a kid, I mostly remember remote backpacking on the John Muir Trail. Recently, I have been staying in the lodge or tent camping in the valley. It is truly a great experience when you have family that is not into the hard core back country. Yosemite provided a myriad of activities for the kids. One of the favorites is to raft down the Mercer River. I had brought my inflatable raft and the rental place let me use their compressor to fill it up. Whew! that saved a lot of time! Along the way we would stop on a sand bar and swim in the river, sometimes finding logs to float down on the river. Even Hannah got carried away with to much courage. She always wanted to follow John and Elizabeth out into the deep water. Of course it is a requirement to bike the circuit around the valley, and do it at dusk! The bats are so thick that they wisped through Elizabeth's hair. Horse back riding and rock climbing are also hot on the list. Next time I go to Yosemite I need to set aside more time for a training climb. A number of years ago my cousin Sarah and I took a climb course, but I have not kept up with my skills or hand strength.
Bears Everywhere
This summer we saw the most bear I have ever seen is a short space of time. Eight in all between Sequoia, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. What is amazing is that we saw more bears then foxes. The kids are fascinated by the large animals, seemingly so much like us. Lumbering through the meadows grazing on the berries and plants the bears seem oblivious to our presence. Large over passes have been built in the Canadian Rockies. These "green" over passes provide an unrestricted path for deer, elk, and bear among the many other animal of the mountains. These "green ways" help connect the shrinking ranges of the animals. I believe that the USA should consider a similar ford over the interstate pavement that sections the range land of the Rockies. As beautiful as these parks are, they represent a small fraction of the necessary area required by the herds, packs, and bear habitat. The interconnection help maintain a healthy population by mixing up the genes and diversifying the range. The Sierra Nevada's are lucky that long stretch of the mountains are undivided. Yellowstone, however is more vulnerable to the development frenzy hobby farms and ranches. The park system should not trump the legitimate needs of people wanting to make Montana and Idaho their homes, but it should also invest in buying up corridors between the rugged and remote areas. This requires commitment and capital by the state and national governments. In the end such preservation will ensure that those going to the county to change lifestyles will continued to be enriched by those things that drew them there.
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(0) comments
This summer we saw the most bear I have ever seen is a short space of time. Eight in all between Sequoia, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. What is amazing is that we saw more bears then foxes. The kids are fascinated by the large animals, seemingly so much like us. Lumbering through the meadows grazing on the berries and plants the bears seem oblivious to our presence. Large over passes have been built in the Canadian Rockies. These "green" over passes provide an unrestricted path for deer, elk, and bear among the many other animal of the mountains. These "green ways" help connect the shrinking ranges of the animals. I believe that the USA should consider a similar ford over the interstate pavement that sections the range land of the Rockies. As beautiful as these parks are, they represent a small fraction of the necessary area required by the herds, packs, and bear habitat. The interconnection help maintain a healthy population by mixing up the genes and diversifying the range. The Sierra Nevada's are lucky that long stretch of the mountains are undivided. Yellowstone, however is more vulnerable to the development frenzy hobby farms and ranches. The park system should not trump the legitimate needs of people wanting to make Montana and Idaho their homes, but it should also invest in buying up corridors between the rugged and remote areas. This requires commitment and capital by the state and national governments. In the end such preservation will ensure that those going to the county to change lifestyles will continued to be enriched by those things that drew them there.
