October 27, 2014

October 27, 2014

   All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.

   To see the photographs full screen left click on any image.

    Fall has been special this year especially on wet rainy days when the light has been even,  really enhancing the trees and fallen leaves. The oak trees are the last to turn and a few days ago alone in Acadia Park I was moved by the golden glow everywhere on the twenty one mile Park Loop road. Lee and I went there the following day and the sun was shining offering a different but equally special experience. We walked a new part of the Carriage Roads that we had not seen before - from Eagle Lake to Witch Hole - past several lakes and marshes on a most beautiful day. Acadia never ceases to amaze me old walks or new. It's why we moved here and why we will not leave here.

   Here is a song to listen to as the images of Fall are viewed:

    "Returning Home: - click here:

      https://app.box.com/s/e44b032ab4c2ab7f4d03

    Here are a few scenes: (The poetry is mine.)

The doorway to Fall .....

There may be a duck under every fallen leaf -

As the Fall sparrows do, turn over the leaves,

look underneath and be surprised.

How can one say the day is gray, rainy, and dark,

When there is Light everywhere!

Diffused, yes, softened, yes,

Still, very much visible are all of God's Creations.

If every blade of grass were a pen,

And every drop of water ink,

To write the Single Word God spoke when the cosmos was created,

          Putting on paper that sole syllable of Breath's Sound

Would only be the first letter of a Book whose pages

Would reach to the stars of Orion and The Pleiades.

Today, open that Book.

To only open the cover will be enough to fill the heart with Joy

At the sight of the beginning of everything God intended to be,

And completed, in all human hearts, in each living thing.

Be astounded !

The insight to this day, the day God created,

Is to see the day Love offers us to enter into. 

Today, open that Book.

To only open the cover will be enough to fill the heart with Joy

At the sight of everything God intended to be,

And completed, in all human hearts, in each living thing.

The Tree is in everyone.

Seek and it will be found.

"Where ?"

Be silent, it is in your heart.

Listen.

See.

Know What Is,

What has always been.

One tree begins with a seed

That arrived from a Mature Parent;

One seed that found the fertile ground

With which to nourish new beginnings –

Arriving from dormancy, rising to the fullness

Of God's Intention for its time here. 

Soon the last leaf will fall,

Marking Winter's official beginning -

Look for that final end to the Season,

The next stage of life is about to enter.

This is the day the Lord has made,

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

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Some Humor:

    Peace until next post,

                    Bill Lagerstrom

October 10, 2014

October 10, 2014

   All photos are mine unless otherwise noted.

   To see images full screen click on any photo.

    Last weekend we were in NYC to see the new granddaughter who was three weeks old with the capacity to endear our hearts with a love that surprised us both. The last photos on this post are of Madeline and a few of her expressive moods. We are most grateful to Lynn Sherman, Hank Halperin and their remarkable daughter Laura who were most generous in putting us up in their house for our stay. It was a good visit with them and I am most appreciative of their gracious hospitality.

    Lynn and Hank took us to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Park just outside Kennedy Airport where, just in time for sunset, we spent a few hours with an old friend - the Refuge. Lee and I haven't been there for nine years now, the place where we went birding every weekend before we moved here to Maine. 

   Here is a special moment from that all too brief visit.


   

A tree in the refuge after the birds migrated south.

Below:

Catbirds occupying the tree during their Summer residence here 

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      We are all invited to the Dance of Life where we are given the Gift of our child who may not have learned how to move with grace during our growing up. A second chance to find inner freedom of expression. 

   I managed a few hours in the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I revisited a favorite sculpture that always speaks of a freedom to be myself with wonderful clarity. I was not surprised to see most who passed by this delightful expression of life with indifference to its joy. I do not blame them as the Museum is overwhelming with its huge collections of art, sculpture and human history. Visual overload is something I fought for years until I learned to stop only at a few new works for at least some minutes and visit old friends for a bit longer. After two hours I have usually been filled with visual beauty to capacity. 

Here is an article on museum overload from today's N.Y. Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/travel/the-art-of-slowing-down-in-a-museum.html

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   Fall has arrived and once again I caught a little of the Season of that permeates a great deal of life here in this area of Maine. People celebrate the Season putting out pumpkins, dried corn stalks, Fall flowers and much more. It seems driving down the roads that almost every house has some decoration in its yard and by the entrance doors. 

   Most of the following images were taken at a small farm market a few miles from where we live.

These are the actual colors of a maple tree I saw.

No color shift or enhancement was applied.

Perhaps the low afternoon light had something to do with it

Lee has taken up photography. Some of her images are on her Facebook page.

Something of an impression of the Season that I made.

It is a great deal of fun to work on a photo in this way.

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   Okay, its Madeline time. Bridget and Rudy have managed to bring a delight into the world that was missing. Thank you both for your marriage. I am proud  of  the way you are handling life and the Gift God placed in your hands. I have no fears for the three of you for your future. Well done!

    The dog is named Rocky and his job will be to teach Madeline how to box. He loves the new addition in his house and in his way is most protective of his recent charge. Walking on the street if he could not be close to the carriage there was a struggle to close the gap. Lee is holding Madeline and Rudy is petting Rocky.

   Below: Some of the moods of Madeline. Please feel free to add your own captions.

Ah ...   sweet Madeline Medina

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A little Humor:

   

   Peace until next post,

             Bill Lagerstrom

September 22, 2014

September 22, 2014

All images are mine unless otherwise noted.

To see photos full screen click on any image.

   On Saturday we enjoyed a trip to the South arm of Mount Desert Island to a section of Acadia Park called Seawall, which is right up the road from a delightful section known as Wonderland. All of this posts photos were taken at the Seawall grounds.

    The Seasons are changing and Fall is underway in its beginnings which are for me the most delightful time of year - next to Winter, Spring and Summer. I feel most fortunate to live in this part of Maine with the many small wonders that the woods and landscapes offer all year round. There are no grand mountains in this area, just an environment that seems to speak something of the lands inherent wisdom, older and more sure of itself, steady and predictable in its calmness and capacity to offer serenity almost everywhere. 

   Take a listen to this short expression of gratitude for what can be received on any given day in our lives. Last Saturday with everything we encountered, I am grateful for all God gave us to enjoy. For myself it was a day with Lee where we were present to all around us ..... and to each other. I am blessed. 

        Click here:      https://app.box.com/s/a7262dad1064ab730005  
                                
          (I have posted this before and it is always worth another listen.)

                                            -------------------------------------------------

Enter here

All those who enter here leave behind for awhile

all cares and concerns the world demands we hold. 

The day is barely cool, the sun invites with gentle warmth

while revealing the beauty of these woods. 

A day where we and the deer had no fears.

The last wild daisies are leaving their imprint on memory.

The backside of Fall reveals 

not the brilliance we expect of the Season,

but the source of Spring and Summer's nourishment,

and where where next years new leaves will appear.

Nothing dies without providing  nourishment for what is to come, 

the new life that is God's Promise.

This group of flowers is about two by three inches in size.

A strange Fall offering with brown centers.

Just add water and everything grows

On the way to Seawall.

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    Here are two images that perhaps speak of how the beauty of the world outside the usual tensions of our lives are perceived by some who have not yet learned to see the Gifts we are given. The world can appear colorless and our view can be myopic at times, unless we remember .... re-member .... what has already been given and experienced. 

   The first photo is my comment, the second is for your pondering.

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Some seasonal humor:

   Peace,

             Bill Lagerstrom