Keep Looking

       Keep Looking Up. These three words helped me as I was growing up. They reminded me that I was not alone, there was someone else to help me shoulder my burdens. This knowledge gave my young mind peace and security, if not serenity.
       Today, I focus on the first two words:

Keep Looking

       Since regaining my vision recently, I can't seem to stop marvelling at the beauty that lies outdoors, especially the sky. Courtesy of our own atmosphere (however embattled) we have a pro-offered pallette of peace. Diamond-lit black at midnight, infinite white at high-noon, oranges, yellows, and purples at twilight. And the blues! From slate and cesious, to celeste and hyacinthine, nothing is a better backdrop for what the earth yields then these heavenly colors.





Back From the Blur

Hello Bloggers!

Soooo glad to be back on the computer!

Thanks to my faithful followers for sticking with me!

I have been going through many of my pics from last year

and have deleted many because they were blurry.

(After my fourth eye surgery and with my new "bionic" eyes,

I now can see all of my mistakes! : ( )

Too hot in Illinois to get out and take pics,

but here is one from the

Air Force Memorial in Washington, DC.

It was taken last October by my husband while he was escorting

a WWII veteran on an "Honor Flight."

 Since he rarely uses the camera, I think he did pretty good, don't you?

March Eye Surgeries

I am in-between eye surgeries and will return to this blog when possible.

Currently, typing is next to impossible. Photography IS impossible. But....

Prayer is ALWAYS possible.

My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to to people of Japan.

The Japanese beauty pictured above displayed her glory last spring at the Altamont City Park.

This post is dedicated to the victims, survivors, and family members of the tragedies in Japan.

Light of the Evening: Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln

Our world today needs Abraham Lincoln.
The quotes he left us cannot be shared enough.
Here are a few to remember him on this  anniversary of his birth,

and on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

 See the video reading of Lincoln's farewell address here.

To honor him,

here are some of my favorite quotes

 by Abraham Lincoln:

Character is like a tree

and reputation like a shadow.

The shadow is what we think of it;

the tree is the real thing.

 If we falter and lose our freedoms,

 it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

A house divided against itself cannot stand.


Any people anywhere,

being inclined and having the power,

have the right to rise up,

and shake off the existing government,

and form a new one that suits them better.

 This is a most valuable
- a most sacred right -
a right,

which we hope and believe,
is to liberate the world.

 I am a firm believer in the people.

If given the truth, they can be depended

upon to meet any national crisis.

The great point is to bring them the real facts.


I have always found that mercy bears

 richer fruits than strict justice.

I like to see a man proud

of the place in which he lives.

I like to see a man live so that his place
will be proud of him.


In the end, it's not the years in your life that count.

It's the life in your years.

Most folks are as happy

as they make up their minds to be.

My dream is of a place and a time

where America will once again be seen

as the last best hope of earth.

My greatest concern is to be on God's side,

for God is always right.


The time comes upon every public man

when it is best for him to keep his lips closed.


Whatever you are, be a good one.



With Malice toward none, with charity for all,

with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right,

let us strive on to finish the work we are in,

to bind up the nation's wounds.

 You cannot escape the responsibility

of tomorrow

by evading it today.


With the fearful strain
that is on me night and day,

 if I did not laugh I should die.

Happy Birthday, President Lincoln,

our nation needs your wit and wisdom!

Weekend Reflections

It was a very challenging week...

so my heart was uplifted today as I heard the delightful melodies of the songbirds on my morning walk! Obviously they know that spring is waiting patiently underneath the ice and snow-covered ground here in central Illinois. What a blessing from God these little creatures are,  that the smallest of voices, banded together, can herald in a season of new beginnings!

Ballard Nature Center, children's fishing pond at twilight.

See more reflections at Weekend Reflections, more beautiful sky shots at SkyWatch Friday, and more wonderful shots at Watery Wednesday.

Ice Gallery

The Ballard Nature Center building could easily be at home in Colorado
 as it is pictured here.

 Eight inch icicles hang from this trail sign.

 Squirrels have already harvested the acorn from this falles oak brance.

This glorious sight begins with the tiniest of footprints and leads up to bright blue cloudless sky.

 I look up to the southern sky,

where six more inches of snow are looming in the storm front just moving in.

This old tree could not hold the weight of the ice on its limbs,

and dropped onto the old pavilion at Bliss Park in Effingham, Illinois.

    

The bridge at the Altamont City Park at sunset the day after the ice storm. 

Deciduous trees are dressed in their finest jewels

and glittering icicles dangle from frigid fence boards.

Ice Storm

The storm began Monday afternoon with a cold rain in South Central Illinois. It soon turned to a mixture of sleet and freezing rain by Monday night. Schools were canceled Tuesday morning, even though a lull in the storm brought only cloudy skies. But by noon on Tuesday, it was like "KracaSnoa", with the heavens erupting waves after waves of freezing rain upon us here, and 20 inches of snow with sustained winds of 67 miles per hour on my family members in northern Illinois.

     But......the after-effects of the storm were nothing short of magical. I have enjoyed every one of my many "photo walks" these past few days, but the layers upon layers of clothing needed to stay warm now keep my house in a constant state of disarray!

     Now comes the fun part -working with the images of nature that one only sees once in blue moon!

Pictures of a Winter's Walk

 The trails were covered with six or more inches of snow, but it was so powdery that it took to the air like feathers swirling around my boots with every step I took. Above is the water, flowing for just a few more hours before the deep freeze the midwest will experience tonight.

The birds above were soooo high in the tree, but with a telephoto lens I was able to catch these shots in soft-focus.

I heard the geese flyiing overhead as I snapped this right before my walk ended. The snow was still falling, and it was beginning to get into the lens of my camera. Of course, as soon as I got home, the sun came out, shining bright with all it's glory.

Board to Tears

Sorry- I just couldn't pass up that title. This picture was taken of the boards at the fishing pond dock, The temperature had risen to allow some melting and gave this great face in the snow.. The tear was added just for fun.

Isn't Snow Fun Anymore?

I didn't even want to walk across this bridge and disturb the fluffy snow. It was too pretty. Nothing in the entire park had been disturbedd. In fact, since school was cancelled for the second day, I was sure the local children must be having fun with the snow, but I hadn't seen anyone out. Some industrious teens did stop by my house to see if I wanted any snow shovling done, but I declined. I figured I could use the exercise myself. But seriously, where are the snowmen, the sledders, and the forts --like I built when I was a kid? Something makes me think that computers and video games have taken the fun out of a snowy day. If not that, then what?

To see more great pictures around the world,
visit SkyWatch Friday and That's My World Tuesday!