Tooley Pond Road

I love the Midwest!  People are generally straightforward, honest, and hardworking.  I love the change in seasons (praise the Lord for both a/c and heat!).  I do miss the ocean, however.  I grew up in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey just a few miles from the Atlantic.  I haven't been there since I was about 15.  I lived in Norfolk, Virginia for a year when Fernando and I were first married, so I saw the ocean a time or two.  But it has now been 22 years since I've physically been standing at the edge of the Atlantic.  I'll go back pretty soon, I hope.

One thing I don't get much of in the Prairie State is waterfalls.  So our family determined to take the opportunity to search a few out in the Adirondacks.

Tooley Pond Road is about an hour from Lake Bonaparte, just west of Cranberry Lake.  Once we figured out that the trailhead to each waterfall was clearly marked, we took off through the forests in search of some roaring water.

The first waterfalls--Rainbow Falls--were the prettiest to photograph.

A quick snapshot.

With tripod set up and smallest aperture possible.

Same set-up a little farther downriver.  I like this photo best.

OK, a shot from Danny that proves I hiked over rocks in a skirt.  :)

I'm showing you the next photo because it is funny.

It may not look funny.  Several of my "family photos" were taken with the help of a plug-in remote, a ten-second timer, and a 17-year-old who can clamber over boulders and make it back into his spot just in time.  However, when the sun is shining in your eyes, everyone is counting down, Fernando asks, "Is it ready?" and Thomas sneezes moments before the shutter clicks, it is funny.  I don't think I'll choose this one for our Christmas photo.

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

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Storm on the Horizon

Though I rarely listen to contemporary Christian music, a verse from the lyrics to this old Imperials song came to mind as I was editing my sunset photos:

There's a storm on the horizon, oh, let the wind blow.

There is thunder in the heavens, oh, let the wind blow.

Let the rain fall down from the sky above,

Let the tempest roar 'til it's had enough,

I'm trusting in the Lord of love, let the wind blow.

Though this was the beginning of Ellie's sensor problems, her photos still reflect the power of this storm that edged our evening.

And even though the storm passed, it left incredible beauty in its wake.

So it is with the storms that touch my life.  I might see only struggle and frustration, but God is weaving a beautiful tapestry of my life.

In this you greatly rejoice,

even though now for a little while, if necessary,

you have been distressed by various trials,

so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable,

even though tested by fire,

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor

at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

and though you have not seen Him, you love Him,

and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him,

you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:6-9 nasb

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

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Frisbee + Water = Fun

There's something about a Frisbee.

When a Frisbee appears, I whip out my Ellie and start shooting.  There's something about action that compels me to capture that perfect moment, just as fingers touch the edge of that disk.

I can take endless photos of whatever sport I happen to be watching in order to snatch that one perfect shot.

How much more detail I can capture when that disk is flying above the water!

But the best Frisbee photo (so far) in my collection was not taken by me!!  Danny has that honor, and I post his picture here because I love it.  (That's my dad in the lower corner, looking on.)

I will continue to doggedly pursue perfection.  ;)

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

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You Wove Me

For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother's womb.

I will give thanks to You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 139:13-14

NASB

I see the detail in this damselfly, and I am astounded that the Lord took even more time and care to fashion me.

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

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Metamorphosis

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature;

the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

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Tucker: The Dog Days of Summer

Yep, summer is for the dogs.  Well, no, not really, but the days from July 3 through August 11 are considered to be the dog days of summer.  Really, it's just a celestial thing.

I don't think dogs really enjoy summer.  They pant and lie around looking miserable on those scorching so-called dog days.  It takes something special to perk up their ears and put them in motion.  Like a Jet Ski.

Tucker is my cousins' dog.  He's still pretty much a puppy, which means he's normally pretty playful.  But this particular afternoon was hot.  However, Terri decided to take the Jet Ski for a spin.  And Tucker knew what was coming.

He waited, not patiently, while Terri made sure everything was running smoothly.  Then she cruised in to the bay, and Tucker jumped on.

After the ride, Tucker seemed to be in a better mood.  Of course, it helped that Danny spent some time giving him a good petting.

Ahh, a dog's life.  But only sometimes.  :)

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

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Dead or Alive?

Still waiting for the return of my camera...

I love old downtown areas, with their old buildings and architecture.  Small-town downtown areas are the best.  Just a block or two, but people gather there on a Friday night, and everyone knows everyone.  Carthage, New York, is just such a town, about 4-5,000 residents, and a small downtown which, over its 210-year existence, has experienced a number of major fires.  But the old downtown lives on, with its beautiful buildings and open park areas.

downtown Carthage, New York

On the 30-minute drive to the farmer's market in Carthage, my mom and I passed a new sign, "Black Creek Cemetery."  We commented on it each time we drove past.  One day, after eating at Stefano's Pizzeria (under the green awnings in the above photo), the six of us, plus Dad and Mom, decided to turn in and see what was hiding behind the trees along Route 3.  Two ruts were all that marked the way, but a turnoff appeared not even 50 feet beyond the road.

Someone had dedicated this quiet place to the American military of long ago.  A number of headstones were still lying where they had fallen, but the little cemetery in the clearing was freshly mowed and well tended to.

We meandered through, reading--or trying to read--inscriptions dating back to the early 1800s.  Inscriptions on two headstones struck me--those of a 19-year-old daughter, and her sister of five.  To endure the loss of not one, but two children, in two different stages of life...

We didn't read any flowery words of praise; most stones contained simply dates and names, and wife of ___.  There is something sobering about an old cemetery, knowing I am walking among those who have died.  But some of these who have died have gone on to glory--those whose lives were His, whose names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

I'm so very thankful that death isn't something to fear.  My name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  I am His.  I am sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable,

and this mortal will have put on immortality,

then will come about the saying that is written,

"Death is swallowed up in victory."

1 Corinthians 15:54 NASB

And so I trod carefully through the graveyard, with the humble knowledge that in the end, death will not have victory over me.

"O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?"

1 Corinthians 15:55 NASB

Living life.
Capturing life.

Christine

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