Beautiful Golden Blankets

This past week on my walk, I took this slightly overexposed photo of the neighbor's tree across the street. It was a sunny day and I was loving the brightness. The next day, there was a golden layer beneath the tree that was so thick and soft that it reminded me of a warm blanket. By the time I got home from work, it had been raked up into bags. I "facebooked" my neighbor to say that I was so sad to see the beautiful golden blanket gone and she wrote back to say that even though it was so much work, she couldn't help but stop to see how beautiful they were and how sad that their job was done.

I'm hoping their job isn't quite done if I put this picture on the blog.

First Snow

Each year
Our beautiful changing seasons
Descend
So suddenly
Into winter's death

During the first snow, I always think of my first winters in Michigan. The first, I remember looking out of a hospital room and my mother bought me a blue coat with fake sheep fur insides to wear home. During my next first snow in Michigan, I looked out of a dorm room eating donuts and drinking hot chocolate. At least I always stay warm.

Falling Leaves

TTV, Backyard, November 7, 2008

This past week has been so beautiful - 60's-70's and sunny - that I've been able to do a lot of raking in shorts, thus feeling very much at one with nature. Yesterday, I don't know why, but I felt like Oma Boyer as I gradually talked Maria into bagging 5 leaf bags with me. I think because she thought it was only going to be 2 bags and before you knew it we had done 5. I just kept talking about how we were always going to remember this time together, and it was really fun.

Now, as I write this on Saturday morning, snow is falling. I don't think it will stick though.

Turning

To everything there is a season

And a time for every purpose under heaven

I went walking this afternoon with the intention of capturing some great fall color. In our neighborhood however, there is still a lot of green. It was a cold, drizzly day along with the strange scent of burning leaves in the air. The tree I always enjoy looking at the most has already lost most of its leaves.



Then, to top it all off, I looked down and like an old man, I was wearing tan socks with my walking shoes.

New England Fall

Photo by A. Boyer

Uncle Alan sent me this panorama he did last weekend of their beautiful New Hampshire fall where it looks like the colors are peaking. I think we have a ways to go yet.

As John Calvin said and maybe you've read here before as I am a graduate of his college, "There is not one blade of grass, there is no colour in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice".

a self-portrait saturday

The Blogger, October 2008

Don't worry, this is not going to be a regular feature. Yesterday, I just had a small urge to do this, so I set up the tripod. Do you like how the deck rail in back is in more in focus than me? lol! I've had greater urges to photograph the beautiful fall colors, but haven't gotten out much. Here are just a couple though:

Wild and Perfect for a Moment

Yesterday, I read this poem and thought of how we had to leave town just as our peonies started to bloom, I think they were late this year. So I picked them and brought them to someone.



This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open ---
pools of lace,
white and pink ---
and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities ---
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again ---
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

Mary Oliver

The Day When I Didn't Shower or Brush My Teeth or Wash My Hair

Lake Michigan, Sunday Morning


John walking throught the forest

Saturday, we went on a short camping trip with friends from church and experienced being one with nature for awhile. It was beautiful. I didn't even mind the pit pots this time. Under clear blue skies, we enjoyed music, nature, fellowship - all the good things. John and I even woke up early Sunday morning and saw a bald eagle. As my friend Gracie would say, it was fantastic. Around the campfire, we prayed for Cathy whose back problems were becoming almost unbearable. A recent MRI had revealed a bulging disc.

On the way home Sunday morning, things started to get interesting. Some of us had decided to stop for brunch at the Steak and Egger because the name of it cracked us up. Cathy told us she couldn't drive anymore because her legs were not responding appropriately. I took over her van, and with doctors instructions, drove her straight to the ER in GR which was about 2 hours away. To make a long story short, she was quickly brought in to surgery where they performed a laminectomy. Afterwards, the surgeon told me that he was able to remove what was definitely causing her problems and felt they had done it just in time. Thankfully, now she is on the road to recovery. I saw her up in her room after surgery and we still kept talking about how we were going to wake up from a dream at any minute with the sound of rain on our tents. But today, I can see how God answered that campfire prayer for real.

Big Wonders

This past weekend, we were able to soak in many of the wonders in the northern Michigan gallery of art. I was in awe of the thousands of shades of blue-green that contrasted with the zillions of grains of sand. The cloud formations themselves were a beauty to behold.

Our great Creator also gave us soothing ripples on the lake, a colorful rainbow, and a setting sun to take our breath away. Oma always told me I could "make" such nice pictures and that always made me laugh because it was such a cute way to translate from Dutch. I know that taking pictures isn't so much creating as it is trying to capture and enjoy and share the gift that lies before us.

Mourning Has Broken

Last Sunday at MCC

We are always excited on Sunday morning to go to the warehouse where our church meets. If you look into the pansies to your right as you go up the stairs to the door, you will see this mother bird sitting on her nest. She is not afraid of any of us - she's more concerned about the 2 eggs underneath her. That's one great thing about her. The other is how she reminds us all that God takes care of us even more.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matt. 6:26

Quote for a Graduate

Until you spread your wings, little birdie, you'll have no idea how far you can fly.

A friend of mine who has a cottage up north on the Pere Marquette river sent me this picture of a bald eagle who is building a nest nearby. I needed to blog it of course.

Dogwood

Here in Michigan, we're in that precious window of time when the dogwoods and other flowering trees are in bloom, and tomorrow we will be that last precious window of time when Edward runs the mile in a high school track meet. I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Tulips and Track

This morning, John & I drove up north to see Edward run the mile in 5:03 at an Invitational. We would love to see him break the 5 minute mark by the end of track season next week!

On the way home, we stopped by Calvin College to see the senior engineering design projects. We talked to all the "Edwards" there about their inventions - that was cool.

Calvin, remaining true to its Dutch heritage, also does tulips very well. I quickly took these photos outside of John's office, but wish I could have spent more time at it as the tulips are gone so fast.

Yes!

I was so excited to see these tiny blossoms on the new tiny tree that John just planted in our backyard late last fall. They thought I was overreacting, but do you remember how harsh the winter was people? God is good all the time!

Anyone Want Some Snow?

We've gotten about 91.5 inches of snow so far this winter. I saw somewhere that our average is 73.2 inches per year, so yay, we are ABOVE AVERAGE! Yesterday, I had to give a speaker who spoke at the Institute for Spiritual Care a ride to the airport for his return trip to San Diego. He hadn't seen snow in over 20 years, so he had quite an adventure here. I told him the good thing is, it covers up a lot of ugly this time of year. Or as my friend Gracie so eloquently put it, the snow-filled splendor disguises what otherwise may appear to be deadened, barren moments. That's a good way to say it.

Snowed In

John said yesterday the only educational institution open in the area was Calvin College where he works. And so, the kids were happy to have another day off. It was icy, but I made it to work in the morning quicker than usual because of the lesser traffic. Edward was able to write lines and lines of computer code for who knows what, but I see a book sitting out here on Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes open to the chapter "Thinking Wrong about Infinity" which may have something to do with it. I should add that this is what he does for fun, like on a snow day.



Maria was able to catch up on her rest and her computer relations since her very busy weekend. She has been napping every day after school this week since then.



Bridget, our people person, went to a movie with friends, one of whom had a dad that ventured out by truck to pick everyone up and take them. The other day, I was looking at Bridget and wondering why her hair looked so nice. I discovered that Maria had given her a new haircut since she wasn't totally pleased with the one she had gotten.



The roads weren't too bad in the morning, but later in the day, they became icier. I went to the store and bought this little book for work. You may recall, I work in the mornings at the Family Institute & for a marriage initiative, Healthy Marriages Grand Rapids. In a nutshell, we are all about promoting healthy relationships. Well, I was telling our executive director about this book I saw at the grocery store called, "The Idiot's Guide to Healthy Relationships" and he wanted to see it. I told him I'd pick it up next time I was in the store. So there I was, buying this idiot's guide in the store, and it wouldn't scan! The cashier gave me this knowing glance, stopping just short of yelling over the loudspeaker, "Price check on the Idiot's Guide to Healthy Relationships for the blond woman in the blue coat in aisle 5!" Man, I was glad to get out of there.

Maybe Now You'll Wish You Had Snow, or Trying Really Hard to Find Beauty in the Ugly

Yesterday on my walk, the sun came out for awhile showing off the tread marks on the road. Today the temperatures are above freezing, so we have slush and puddles to see. I'm thinking this is way more fun than being hot somewhere. And staring at blue sky all day long. And smelling flowers and grass. . .

Grass

Photo taken yesterday behind our house

As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. Ps.103:15-18

For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." 1 Peter 1:24-25

Colorful Snow Day

Yesterday, the kids had their long awaited snow day. Bridget looked stunned when she found out at O'dark thirty in the morning. In the afternoon, I went out looking through our still un-plowed neighborhood for color and I found the ever-photogenic berries I photographed last year.

Snow Shot

I could sneak out of the house with no shoes just long enough to take this one.

We finally got some snow over the weekend which is nicer in January than just plain gray and cold. The 15 degree temperature feels almost balmy to me today since it was only about 8 degrees over the weekend.

I've always had a Flickr account to host the pictures for this blog, but over the weekend, I signed up for a Pro account which has been fun. You can click on any of the pictures in this blog and then click on "jewelsofkent" in the right hand column and then you'll be able to see any of the 1,347 pictures I've uploaded. I've put some into sets, but obviously a lot more could be done. CED2008 is a set for a group I've joined to be creative everyday - it's low pressure, so you don't have to post to it everyday. So anyway, feel free to browse!

Grayness with a Little Brown Thrown In

January in Michigan

Sometimes, January and February and March and April, too, can be a bit dreary around here with the lack of blue skies and green growth. Today, it has gotten warm enough for the snow to melt off in a white haze moving up toward the gray skies revealing the brownish dull yellow grass beneath. My eyes are hungry for color.

Suburban Sunrise

Even here on our way to work and school, we have glimpses of unreal beauty.



1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Isaiah 60:1,2

The Sands of Time

A friend of mine took a trip to Israel & Jordan in October for 2 weeks. She asked me to pray for her before she left - 2 weeks is a long time to be so far away from your family - so I did. I was thinking later that I should have asked her to bring me back some dirt or something because that would have been cool to have some actual dirt that might have been around in Bible times, but I didn't think of it at the time. She brought me back something even better - colored sand in a bottle - I don't know how they got it in there like that - from the archaeological site of Petra in Jordan. I put it next to Oma's Bijbel.

42.84 North Latitude

I can't believe the leaves are still changing!

Color Your Monday