Veteran’s Day 2024 – Made Special by Special People!

Hope all of my fellow veterans had an enjoyable and special Veteran’s Day!

We live in south Mississippi and attend a wonderful country church just north of Laurel and west of the small town of Stringer.

The school there – Stringer Attendance Center (grades K – 12) annually has a special program for veterans on Veteran’s Day. Several of the young people from our church attend there, and one member is a teacher. Each year, they graciously invite me to attend the program.

This year’s was the 25th time the school has conducted this program.
It is always very nice and touching, and is preceded or followed by a meal for the veteran and his spouse.

The sidewalk leading to the gym is always lined by flag-waving young students, typically from grades K-2. They greet us with thanks, hand shakes, and sometimes hugs! 🙂

One of those greeting me was Kindergartner Tucker Townsend, a little buddy of mine from our church.

As always, excellent participation by students in the program.

The second grade class did a great job of singing”Thankful for the USA”.
We are thankful for you!!

The kenote speaker this year was Air Force Master Sergeant (Retired) Deborah Pinkham.

School Principal Tony Keys is a veteran of the US Navy Submarine Service.

In the corner near the stage was a display of thank you cards written and signed by students.

Here’s an example of one of the cards:

“Thank you for keeping our country safe, and thank you for loving us all”
Thank you M’Kynleigh, very nice!

There were some nice gifts left on the each vetean’s seat.
One was a bookmark which had a hand-written message on the back.

“We appreciate you for your sacrifices, and serving our country. Love, Zaleah”
Thank you for such a nice message Zaleah!

Another gift was a special Veteran’s Day Card.
It had a message on the inside, and picture on the back.

“Thank you for your service! Love, Braxton 2nd Grade”
Thank you for this nice card Braxton!

That’s a nice drawing Braxton – thank you!

It was another wonderful experience at Stringer School on Veteran’s Day.
It’s obvious each time, how much work and thought has gone into the program.
The participation of, and wonderful messages from the students makes it even more touching and special.
Much thanks to my fellow submarine veteran and school principal Tony Keys, the entire staff at the school, and all the students, for making this Veteran’s Day such a wonderful and touching experience. I and my fellow veterans salute you!

God Bless!!

Fall Colors and Activities – 2024

Hi. Hope you all are having a blessed day in the Lord.

I always enjoy the Fall season with its beautiful scenery and cooler weather.
Lately, we’ve had highs in the low 80s, with lows at night in the 40s and 50s.
The lower temperatures make for a much more comfortable weather for my morning walks, but do require a slight change in “walking wardrobe”.

My Fall Thoughts
Most of you know I love (and feel called) to walk outside in the mountains and forests of the Lord’s beautiful Creation.
Doing so after a hot summer makes it even more enjoyable.

Here are some of my “Fall Traditions”.
– Charlie Brown:
When I was a teen, I loved watching the 1966 classic “It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”. In those days, it was only on television (CBS).
In the 90s, they put it out on VHS tape and I bought it (bundled with the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Christmas shows).
Sometime later, it came out in a DVD format and I bought that (I still have both the VHS tapes and DVD discs).
When my boys were home, and later grandkids were near by, we’d get together and watch it each October.
Later, I took it to some of the homes of church families to watch.
Now, no one is close by, so I occasionally watch it myself.

– Vermont Life Magazine, Autumn Issues
Background – I discovered this magazine in the Fall, 1974 after a long weekend of sightseeing and hiking in Vermont. My subscription ran from the late-70s until the end of 2001.
I kept the Fall issues due to the interesting articles and wonderful pictures.
I have around a dozen of the original magazines I received as a part of my annual subscription. Some were lost over the years.
The magazine has been out of print for some years. But, fortunately, a college copied all of the issues and put them on their web site for viewing and downloading. So, I was able to find and download the electonic/pdf versions of those that were lost, as well as years where I did not have a subscription.
Each year in late-September, I start reading the issues (only the articles I like) each night before bed time.

– Open Windows
When the temperatures drop to the low 60s and lower, I open the windows to get the feel of the Fall weather.

My Fall Pictures
I’ve been blessed to see and photograph many fall colors scenes over the years during my hikes in the Creation.
Here’s a movie I recently published showing peak Fall colors in the Viriginia Highlands area, located in southwest Virginia on the Appalachian Trail (AT).
It’s my favorite part of the trail.
Walking in Creation – Mt. Rogers High Country – Fall 2008

If you’d like to see more Fall scenes on the trail in other locations, here’s a movie I made showing Fall Colors on the AT:
Walking in Creation: Appalachian Trail Fall Colors

Vermont Life Magazine – Autumn 1974
Here are some pictures from my first Fall edition, Autumn 1974. It remains one of my favorites.

An idyllic village scene on the front cover of this edition.
Note the church building and red school house with the 70s-era autos parked nearby.

Each Fall issue had a section which mainly displayed pictures of the season.
It typically had little verbage, to emphasize the beauty of the scenery.

A view along a country lane, past farms towards Vermont’s highest peak – Mt. Mansfield (4.395 ft.)

A sugar maple ablaze with its yellow leaves.
Looks like wood piles for use in cooking maple syrup.

A nice combination of colors and reflections on the stream flowing under a small iron bridge

This was a part of an article on the days between the last leaf falling and the onset of the winter season.
I’ve always liked this picture due to its helping the reader get a sense of the change in weather.

On the back cover of this edition, another visual example of Fall’s ending…

I’ll attempt to publish a “Fall Article” a few more times during the season.

Glory be to God for the beauty of His Creation – in ALL seasons!

God Bless!!!

A Walk in the Country – Saturday, 09-07-2024

Hi! Hope this finds you and your family doing well, and enjoying the peaceful and comforting Grace of our Lord.

On Saturday, 09-07-2024, I walked on the horse trail that parallels the Longleaf Trace rail-to-trail. The Longleaf Trace bike/walking path (10 ft wide, asphalt paved) runs 44 miles from the Hattiesburg Gateway to the north end at Prentiss, Mississippi.
I’ve created three videos about the Trace on my YouTube channel. This is discussed in the previous article on this site.

The southern end of the horse trail is at a camp area located just north of the beaver pond. It runs 24 miles northwest, paralleling the paved bike/walking trail to its northern end at a camp area in Carson.

I drove to a parking area called Lott Circle, and hiked the horse trail 4.5 miles north, then returned on the same route, back to the car.
Lott Circle is located on the Trace 6.8 miles north from Sumrall, or 7.3 miles south from Bassfield.

Here’s a map showing the location of Lott Circle and the approximate area in which I hiked:

The small, green dotted line is the horse trail.. The solid green line is the biking/walking paved trail.

Here are some pictures taken while walking this section of the trail.
The scenery was very nice.

The partly-cloudy skies enhanced the views of the surrounding farm/pasture land.

Typical view of the horse trail. Someone(s) used a tractor with bushhog to keep it clear.
I was very impressed with the condition of the trail.

A few remaining summer flowers blooming along the trail.

I passed by a very nicely-maintained and scenic farm with green pastures and plenty of water.

Another perspective from further down the trail.

A final look back. The cattle are the black dots in the lower-middle area.
What a nice place!

Encountered another large farm which had this crop planted throughout.
Not sure what it was, suspect soybeans (?).

On another large farm, came across this old/dying tree standing guard over the pasture and pond.

And finally, this group of “locals” followed me for a ways as I passed by their farm.
Guess they were expecting some sort of handout. All I had to offer was some remaining trail mix.

It was a blessing to do this first hike since last Spring, and encounter such nice scenery.
Praise God!

Jeremiah 27:5
I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.

I am thankful it seemed meet unto the Lord to allow me to see this view into His Creation.

God Bless!!

December Skies and Black Creek Trail Views

Hi. Hope you were blessed in the recent Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
For Christmas, we went to an annual family Christmas night gathering.
For New Year’s Eve/Day, we drove to Birmingham, AL after church and lunch on Sunday, to be with our son Greg and his family. Returned home New Year’s afternoon.
Thankful to be with everyone during the holidays.

December Skies
On the night of Tuesday, 12-26-2023, we saw what is typically called a “Moon Halo”.
Apparently, it is caused the refraction (phenomena) of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere (definition from the internet).
Below, you will see two “views”:
– Taken with the phone camera in the normal “photo” mode
– Taken with the phone camera in the “Night Sight” mode
(Note: I was using my Google Pixel 4a phone camera)

Taken in the Camera’s “night sight” mode.
With this, one can see some stars (small white dots)

On the night of Wednesday, 12-27-2023, there was a beautiful sunset in the southwestern skies.
These were taken from the back patio.

Praise God for the beauty of His “First Heaven” (sky)!

Views from the Black Creek Hiking Trail
This trail is located in the DeSoto National Forest, DeSoto Ranger District (located between Hattiesburg and Gulfport).
It is 41 miles long and basically parallels the Black Creek River as it travels south.
I am currently working with the Forest Service as a volunteer to partially clear and re-mark the trail in both directions.

The pictures below show some scenes from a section of the trail I was working on in December, 2023.

The tree in the middle has a trail marker (white plastic diamond).
Also note the fall colors still out this late in the year, not unusual in a forest this close to the Gulf of Mexico.

More fall colors, the river is just to the left of this scene.

In the middle of this scene, a tree with a trail marker, and a short footbridge to its left.

A view of the river as it heads south.
This is the only National Wild and Scenic River in Mississippi, and is popular for boating “float” trips.
There are several put in points (“Landings”) on this portion of the river.

A nice look north on the river.
This was my lunch spot that day!

To learn more about the Black Creek river, go to this site, then open the “Water Activities” section at the bottom.
Black Creek National Wild and Scenic River

Praise God for the beauty of His wonderful Creation!
Hoping the Lord richly blesses you and your family in 2024.

God Bless!

2023 Christmas Decorations

Hi.
I enjoy a few Christmas traditions which include:
– Watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
– Putting up some decorations
This article is about our outside and some inside decorations.

Outside:
We normally keep it simple:
– A candle in each of the 4 front-facing windows
– Changing the front-facing flood lights to red for the season
– A floodlight facing the front doors

When driving into our cul de sac, you can definitely see our house! 🙂

A close up of the front porch and doors.

Inside:
One tradition I always enjoy is setting up the “Christmas Village”.

The red light at the bottom-left is a diffuser which puts out different light colors (and one that goes through each color)

I typically have the “business/school/library” section in the middle, and the residential part at either end (or sometimes at separate ends as I did this year).

Christmas Village – Left Side
From L-R:
Residential House: I love the “victorian” look with the 3 levels (the other house is similar).
There are some kids out front making a snow man.

Bakery: Through the window, one can see people buying bread. On the right side of the building, a man is bringing out long loaves of bread.

Christmas Village – Right Side
From L-R:
Library: Through the window, one can see a librarian reading to some children.
Out front, there are 3 people caroling.

School House: Though the window, one can see a teacher teaching a child math on a chalk board.
In front, two children are sledding.

Residential House: There’s someone standing on the right side of the balcony. To the right, children are making a snow man.

In the foreground, Santa is talking to two children.

I have some trees which I spread around in front of the buildings.
Often, I put two or more out front in the middle to act as a “village park”.

Outside of the Village
There are three other figures I put out, but in a different location (due to those being in a larger scale than the ones in the village):
– Covered bridge
– Horse-drawn cart for carrying Christmas Trees
– Trees being loaded into the cart

The bridge is nicely decorated, with a nice message on its side.

Hoping you have a wonderful holiday season!

Praying we will DAILY remember the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of our precious Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ!

God Bless!!

November Skies and Thanksgiving Fishermen

Hi. Hope you were blessed with an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.

Below are recent scenes from November skies, and some enthusiastic fishing by two of our visiting grandchildren.

November Skies
Always enjoy seeing the different scenes from the Lord’s beautiful Creation.
Here, a few interesting cloud formations from November, 2023 skies.

11-06-2023 Sunset:

11-25-2023 Sunrise:

Note the airplane conrail
We could still see he airplane to the north (left) of this scene

Here, the new contrail crossed an older one

Our oldest son and his wife, and their three youngest children came on the day after Thanksgiving (11-25-2023) to spend two days with us. We enjoyed a blessed visit with them.

The oldest of the three, Jake, is an avid fisherman.
The lake behind our house is normally a good place to fish for bass.
In spite of the cold snap after Thanksgiving making it a bit more challenging, he caught 3 in the 1.5 days with us.

One of the three he landed.
All were returned to the lake.

Just before being released back into the water

His youngest sister Sarah got into the fishing act that morning

A good time was had by all (except the fish)!

Thankful for the beauty of the First Heaven in the Lord’s Creation.
Also thankful for all of our precious children and grandchildren.

God Bless!

Fall Colors – 2023 (Part 6)

Hi. Hope you all are having a blessed day in the Lord.
Our weather started out on Sunday in the low-80’s.
Looks like some rain and a big change, possibly on Friday with highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s/40s.
We still need a lot of rain, praying for such…

As in past Fall articles, the series on “Fall Colors” will include:
– Fall foliage pictures I’ve taken
– Articles from the Vermont Life magazine issues

If you’d like to see my comments on Fall in general, go to Part 1 of this series and scroll to the section entitled: My Fall Thoughts

My Fall Pictures
Here are some more of my favorite Fall Foliage pictures, mostly taken during the 22+ years we lived in north Georgia (Cumming) where I was not too far from the Appalachian mountains.

Appalachian Trail (AT) Virginia (2007)

Mt. Rogers National Recreation area, southwest Virginia (2008)

Vermont Life Magazine – Fall Issues
Here are some pictures from 1985:

The next two are from an article called “Autumn Mists”

Here are some pictures from 1986:

The next two pictures are from an article about some students and teachers from a nearby military school, re-creating a similar march from long ago…

The next four are from an article called “Autumn, the Sweet Tug of Necessity”:

And finally, from an article about poet Robert Frost – with his famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”:

Glory be to God for the beauty of His Creation – in ALL seasons!

God Bless!!!

Fall Colors – 2023 (Part 5)

Hi. Hope you all are having a blessed day in the Lord.
Our weather started out on Sunday in the mid-80’s.
But, this morning (10-30-2023), the cold front started coming through, and we’ll likely have a frost or two later in the week, when the lows get into the low 30s.
We need rain, praying for such…
How’s your weather been?

As in past Fall articles, the series on “Fall Colors” will include:
– Fall foliage pictures I’ve taken
– Articles from the Vermont Life magazine issues

If you’d like to see my comments on Fall in general, go to Part 1 of this series and scroll to the section entitled: My Fall Thoughts

My Fall Pictures
Here are some more of my favorite Fall Foliage pictures, mostly taken during the 22+ years we lived in north Georgia (Cumming) where I was not too far from the Appalachian mountains.

Appalachian Trail (AT) Virginia (2007)

Mt. Rogers National Recreation area, southwest Virginia (2008)

A beautiful view of Virginia’s two highest peaks.
L-R: Whitetop Mountain (5,520 ft.), Mt. Rogers (5,729 ft.)

Vermont Life Magazine – Fall Issues
Here are some pictures from 1983:

A boy named Aaron with his Dad and dog, trying to find the top of a mountain…

These are from an article about “The First Branch of the White River”:

Those houses seem might close to a river!

From an article called “All Aboard the Foliage Train”:

The following three are from an article “A Different Perspective”:

The remaining pictures from the 1983 edition are from an article “Autumnal Reflections”:

Pictures from 1984:

The lead picture from an article about a fisherman’s last outing of the Fall.

The following are from an article called “Light in Autumn”:

These three pictures are from an article called “Wilderness”:

My kind of Fall scene – walking in the Creation!

These folks owned a mountain-top campground called “Thistle Hill”

Glory be to God for the beauty of His Creation – in ALL seasons!

God Bless!!!

Fall Colors – 2023 (Part 4)

Hi. Hope you all are having a blessed day in the Lord.
Our weather has warmed up a bit this week, getting into the mid-80s.
But, nights are more seasonal, around 60 each night. Next week looks like a return to normal Fall temperatures.
We need rain, praying for such…
How’s your weather been?

As in past Fall articles, the series on “Fall Colors” will include:
– Fall foliage pictures I’ve taken
– Articles from the Vermont Life magazine issues

If you’d like to see my comments on Fall in general, go to Part 1 of this series and scroll to the section entitled: My Fall Thoughts

My Fall Pictures
Here are some more of my favorite Fall Foliage pictures, mostly taken during the 22+ years we lived in north Georgia (Cumming) where I was not too far from the Appalachian mountains.

Appalachian Trail (AT) Virginia (2007)

I love the beauty and peace of the Lord’s wonderful Creation!

Bartram Trail in western North Carolina (2016)

Looking north from the top of Cheoah Bald (5,062) towards the Great Smokey Mountains National Park

Mt. Rogers National Recreation area, southwest Virginia (2008)

In the distance, the mountain seen is Whitetop Mountain (5,520 ft.), second-highest in Virginia.

Virginia’s highest point, Mt. Rogers (5,729 ft.) is in the distance

Vermont Life Magazine – Fall Issues
Here are some pictures from 1981:

A bike ride would be nice under these conditions…

The following are from an article called “Autumn Homecoming”:

Bottom picture from above – how’s that for some raking!?

I believe the mountain in the background is Vermont’s highest – Mt. Mansfield (4,393 ft.).
Looks like winter has already arrived there

Pictures from 1982:

The following are from an article called “Autumn Experience”:

What a blessing it would be to walk throughsuch beauty!

I always enjoyed re-reading this edition, both for its beautiful pictures, and the list of “favorites” in Vermont.
Below is the list and pictures of a few listed:

Here again, is Mt. Mansfield. Fall starts and end early on top!

This one reminds me of taking our sons and grandchildren out trick or treating!
Of course, Poppa (me) had to do an occasional spot check on the candy to make sure it was ok… 🙂

And, another from that pumpkin patch.
Starting in 1982, I used the painted pumpkin below as a model to paint our pumpkin each Halloween! Did that for probably 20 years or so…

The following 3 pictures are from an article called “Silver in the Hills”.
What it looks like after all the leaves have fallen, but before the first snow.

Back Page a view of Rutland (as mentioned above, a favorite place to observe Halloween)

Glory be to God for the beauty of His Creation – in ALL seasons!

God Bless!!!

Fall Colors – 2023 (Part 3)

Hi. Hope you all are having a blessed day in the Lord.
Thankful we received some rain last week, a day-long soaking.
It didn’t help our lake much (it’s down lower than I’ve seen it in the 2.5 years we’ve been here), but very thankful the Lord provided.
The temperatures are definitely Fall-like, and hopeful no more hot weather.
How’s your weather been?

As in past Fall articles, the series on “Fall Colors” will include:
– Fall foliage pictures I’ve taken
– Articles from the Vermont Life magazine issues

If you’d like to see my comments on Fall in general, go to Part 1 of this series and scroll to the section entitled: My Fall Thoughts

My Fall Pictures
Here are some more of my favorite Fall Foliage pictures, mostly taken during the 22+ years we lived in north Georgia (Cumming) where I was not too far from the Appalachian mountains.

Appalachian Trail (AT) Virginia (2007)

A “red carpet” reception on this part of the trail!

Probably my favorite Fall picture on the AT
Glory to God in His Creation!

Bartram Trail in western North Carolina (2016)

From the top of Cheoah Bald (5,062) looking to the south

Mt. Rogers National Recreation area, southwest Virginia (2008)

In the distance, the mountain on the left is Whitetop Mountain (5,520 ft.), second-highest in Virginia.
The mountain on the far right is Mt. Rogers (5,729 ft.), highest in Virginia.

Two of the three rocky “peaks” of Wilburn Ridge

Vermont Life Magazine – Fall Issues
Here are some pictures from 1979:

Front Page – Getting firewood ready for the cold to come!

This one shows the blue Fall sky, with whisps of clouds dancing in the sky

Typical morning mist contasts the vibrant colors, as the farmer gets his “moo cows” across the country road

A nice collection representing various parts of Fall

I believe, the longest covered bridge I’ve seen

A classic Fall scene – just right for a calendar!

Pictures from 1980:

Front Cover – Checking the mail on a cool morning

Here’s an article about “Autumn’s Warmth”.
Even though it can warm up a bit during the day, the nighttime temperatures definitely remind the residents something cold is coming…