We Went Driving

October 30, 2020February 13, 2022 ~ Beth ~ 2 Comments

Up the rugged Superior shore,

To where two countries meet;

Through the golden Sawtooth hills,

With the waves at their feet.

Along the pebbled, craggy edge,

Where restless waters stretch,

All the way to meet the dawn,

At a line so faintly etched.

Through the forest silent,

To where the roaring water falls,

Beneath the gentle mountain peaks,

Where the soaring eagle calls.

Spires of pine were pointing up,

While fluttering leaves fell down,

To grace the humble forest floor,

In a multi-colored gown.

A journey up the North Shore in October is about as lovely an autumn experience as it gets—and if you can get fresh coffee and cardamom rolls to eat while you drive, even better.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul…who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1,5)

Fall Color Tour 2017

October 25, 2017October 25, 2017 ~ Beth ~ 3 Comments

Since the leaves are mostly fallen now, I sat down the other day and sorted through all the autumn pictures I’d taken this year. As I did so, I found it interesting to note the varied locations they were photographed in. One was from our backyard, another across the front yard. Some were along familiar trails, others along never-before-hiked trails. Several were taken deep in the heart of the Chippewa National Forest.

And then there was that random one taken from the patio of city bistro, along a busy street with multi-storied buildings looming around. The sheer eccentricity of its location endears it to me in a way the others don’t, a hidden jewel found in a most unlikely location.

That’s kind of how it is with the Psalms.

Just as I generally expect to experience the most stunning autumn color in places like a national forest where trees abound, I naturally turn to the book in the Bible by that title if I’m looking for the most beautiful psalms of praise and comfort. That makes so much sense, I sometimes forget that there are hidden psalm-like jewels to be found in the other 65 books of the Bible.

But there are, and this week I stumbled upon just such a one, incidentally quite fitting to accompany a post highlighting the changing seasons. May it turn you heart in gratefulness to the One who orders the changing seasons, just as it did mine!“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might…
He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings…He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding…
He reveals deep and hidden things, he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him…
To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise…
…for you have given me wisdom and might.” And now here’s a little challenge for you, just for fun. Can you guess 1) in what book of the Bible this passage is found (no peeking or Googling, now!), and 2) which photo was the one taken in the city? I’ll send a free signed 5×7 print of one of my photos to anyone who provides both correct answers!

Rowan Tree

September 14, 2017September 14, 2017 ~ Beth ~ 2 Comments

Orange has been one of my favorite colors for a long time. It’s an accent color used quite sparingly in nature, though—and that’s why I was so pleased to find a rowan tree growing in our own backyard. It’s lacy pinnate fronds are ever graceful and attractive in their own right, but the fruit clumps that ripen to a vibrant orange in late summer are certainly my favorite feature.

The first year we lived here, I thought I was being clever, and tucked bunches of them into a fall wreath I had made of dried flowers and grasses for some instant, non-artificial pops of color. It really did look lovely on our front door! By the next day, however, the berries were completely gone and my wreath was in shambles.

Lesson learned: never hang bird food on your front door unless that’s what it’s intended for. Now I just leave them on the tree and sit back and watch the clumps of orange berries disappear into the bellies of happy little birds fueling up for their upcoming journey south.

That’s what they were created for, after all.

“Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.” (Genesis 1:29-30)