Small town

There's a cool story about Labor Day and my home town on my April 5 blog post here:
http://firstlightofdawn.blogspot.com/2008/04/labor-day-2006-sitting-on-enclosed-back.html

This year is the 100th Anniversary of New London's Labor Day festival so it promises to be a blow-out with extra special fireworks at the end. I'll post something about that some time next week.

I was surprised to find a wikidpedia entry about New London and here is an excerpt:
The village was founded by settlers from Connecticut (and to a lesser extent other parts of the Northeast) along with neighboring communities in the Firelands in the early nineteenth century. The village's New England heritage is most evident in its architecture, the names of local families, and the presence of a village green (a common characteristic of many cities and towns in Northern Ohio).

I was talking with a couple last week at church who are scouting for a small town to retire to, and out of the snow belt. I told them a bit about my growing up years and how this little town still provides a very different and welcome reprieve to the life in the city.

Photography in the rain

I've been getting to the Botanical Gardens once every two weeks on Wednesday evenings (the only night of the week they're open) for the last several weeks. With thoughts of cold weather around the corner, I'm savoring the opportunity to be there as much as possible in the growing season. It also has been interesting to see how much changes there in just two weeks.

I thought about not going this week since it was raining, but decided that wasn't enough to keep me away. Besides that, every Wednesday evening they have a cooking demonstration and this week the menu was risotto --quite tasty.

Then it turned into an experiment to see what beauty could be captured in the midst of rain. As it turned out the light had a wonderful soft quality and the rain made the colors more vivid, and brought sparkling contrast to leaves and petals.

The first two are from the collection of water lillies in the terrace pool. These were all taken this past Wednesday, August 27th.



















This final photo was taken in the Costa Rica glass house, which thankfully will be green and full of life all winter.

Botanical therapy

Every time I visit the Botanical Gardens I come away feeling rejuvenated in mind, body and spirit. It's more than just the magnificent beauty which fills the senses on every turn. It is also in being immersed by all that is living, growing, thriving.

On a recent visit while walking through the wooded area I stopped to observe 3 butterflies that seemed to be in a dance with one another. And then almost magically each one landed on me. They flit away and then came back repeatedly. Eventually two of them seemed to be satisfied just to sit on my shoulder for several minutes. One remained on my shoulder as I left the wooded area, passed through the Japanese Garden and up the stairs into the Restorative Garden. I flagged down a staff person and pointed out to her my traveling companion. She said she thought it was a Question Mark butterfly. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1100. I then took another path back into a wooded area and shortly thereafter found it missing.

At about 7 I was walking around the terrace thinking about heading for home when I happened upon a group of people waiting for a tour of the gardens led by the resident horticulturist. So I joined in and was delighted to hear about the gardens from the perspective of one who plants, cultivates and tends this lush collection of plant life.

Pressing on

If you watched the culmination of the Women’s Marathon yesterday in Beijing, then you were eye-witness to the power of those moments when the runners entered the stadium to the roar of a crowd numbering 77,000.

A similar scene is described by the writer of the book of Hebrews in chapter 12. The “crowd of witnesses” in verse one refers back to the men and women described in the previous chapter, all those who persevered in faith despite great challenges and difficulties.

Hebrews 12: 1-2 NLT: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2012;&version=51;

In those times of difficulty or challenge in this walk of faith, if we listen closely we’ll hear that crowd of witnesses cheering us on. And up ahead we see the supreme example of endurance, the One who endured the shame and agony of the cross, “because of the joy awaiting him.” And what is that joy? As hard as it can be to believe it at times, it is we, the redeemed.

…this one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3: 13-14 NLT

Unquenchable flame

Ever since the spectacular lighting of the Olympic flame in Beijing last week I’ve been thinking about a flame that’s been burning brightly since the first century AD, when Jesus issued what has become to be known as the Great Commission.

“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit….” Matthew 28: 18-19 NLT.

Through the centuries governments and extremists have attempted in vain to quench that flame through persecution and killing of those who carry the flame in their hearts.

Probably most have heard by now that the Chinese government persecutes, imprisons and martyrs those who are considered guilty of participating in the illegal Christian activities. President Bush said in an interview in Beijing last week that he had urged China’s President Hu Jintao to expand religious freedoms.

The persecution in China has not stifled the movement but instead has fanned the flames to burn more brightly. Christians in China are reported to represent the largest evangelical movement in the world at 60 million people.

Voice of the Martyrs ( http://www.persecution.com/ ) tells the story of a group of young orphans huddled in an unheated apartment on a cold Christmas eve reading their Bibles. Under pressure from the Chinese police the landlord forced them out of the apartment on to the street, claiming their orphanage and activities were illegal.

The show of such strong force against a hapless group of children only seems to underscore the fear that the authorities have for the unquenchable flame.

8-8-08

As its plain to see I haven’t been blogging as much lately, but it is certainly not due to a lack of ideas. In fact, the ideas are piling up in a folder on my desktop.

I guess summer brings about more reasons to be out and about. Besides that I’ve been getting in more exercise time, usually outdoors. I’m also in the “hoeing out” mode as it pertains to the collection of stuff in my office area. Last weekend I spent a few hours purging some files and have more of that to do this weekend.

Last weekend I watched an old BBC video of the 3rd book in the Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and then got inspired to re-read the book which I’m about half way through. I have a couple other books I’m working on at the same time and switch from one to another depending on my mood and the hour.

Wednesday night this week I attended a social event at the zoo for the Association of Fundraising Professionals. About fifty of us gathered on the deck overlooking the waterfowl pond and had in our view a flock of flamingos on the opposite shore. We sat around tables chomping on hors d’oeuvres*, comparing notes on a variety of fundraising topics.

At one point while conversing with colleagues from Case Western Reserve University, the Red Cross and the Geauga Park District, one of the zoo staff came up to introduce us to a barred owl which was tethered to her hand. I got a close-up view of the edge of her wings which are designed in such a way as to permit her to fly very quietly so as to sneak up on prey. We learned that she consumes varmints in their entirety, but the bones and such get matted up into little pellets in her gut, which exits by way of her mouth (not sure about correct anatomical terms).

Every Thursday night for the past several weeks we’ve had a special summertime Bible study on ethics in the Old Testament, taught by Jim Fenske who has the subject down pat since he also teaches it at Lutheran West High School. He makes it quite interesting and brings it to life with current day ethical issues.

In my entry on March 30 I quoted Buechner’s admonition to take note of the ordinary events of our days, so that’s what I’ve done here on this 8th day of the 8th month of 2008, the year of our Lord.

*I had to look up the spelling on that one. Technically it’s French for appetizer, but they were filling enough to not need dinner later.

Summer blooms

Here's what is blooming at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens as of this past week.