fall upon logs

Six trees of Suwannee

by john clare

i know it is but a cliche
but i think that i shall never see
a poem as lovely as the
Six trees upon the Suwannee
now decked in green
it tis the reason
for the season
i mean
it is but a tired cliche
so i had to get away
and spend some sane time
next to the lovely six
trees upon the Suwannee.

Six Trees of Suwannee

Both taken with D5000 at 43mm. f4@100, handheld. Auto WB on the B@W, Manual WB on the color. Both Matrix metering. ISO 360 on the B@W, 450ISO on the color. White balance set at cloudy on both.
I find the black and white the more appealing of the two, though the green matt perhaps distracts from the color. Lesson to learn in addition is the use of the tripod. A shutter speed under the speed of 125 I consider the minimum speed for blur. Had I a 72mm graduated filter for the 18-200 lens, I would have used it to darken the sky further.
What are your thoughts?

from oval frames

from Oval frames

by john clare

out of her lovely oval frame
to me the studious girl came.
from in the parlor where she read
from far in the night upon her bed
coal fields covered in the purest snow
melting away into the blackest flow.
from this jungle of incessant rumble,
over the studious girl I forever stumble.
in the leaves blown down from the hills,
in springs freeing the snowy chills,
even in my children's children she shall always be,
the studious girl reading quietly.

From Weald to Adytum

from weald to adytum

by john clare

In the sacred adytum the dancers swirled
upon the inner sanctums of gilded floors,
lithe bodies of purist purity revealing little
nymphs bounding from the wooded weald.
In heavenly clerestories angelic hosts beheld as
to little Wonderful the dancers rose and fell,
stirring the golden dust upon all in a spell!
Mystery of the highest order given
to those enabled to see.
Or was it...
In stain glass sanctuaries where once
the Saint's prayed
the dancing girls swirled as the choir
dangerously swayed?
They said it was a moving rendition
(of what some were not certain)
Others thought they saw ole Miss Gulch
flitting among the swirling,
Broom in tow busting the living dust,
spreading it everywhere,
exclaiming, Be gone you swirling girls!
This is a place of prayer!
And so we marvel at this mystery,
Gold and dust flying side by side,
Half blinding, half barely able to see,
Most living, most long ago settled.
Or was it...
In the mystery that descended in the
golden cup,
The arousal of movement stirring a
long slumbering spirit,
choking upon chalices of rust and
moldy sacramental wafers unfit
for the gathering of angels
lifting the Munchkins heavy heads,
stuffing some with mouthfuls of
golden dust.
Or was it...
Others saying it tasted as
manna on shewbread?
Mystery among us!

Weald. wooded or uncultivated country.
Adytum. (in an ancient temple) a sacred interior shrine accessible only to the priests. not to be entered.
Clerestory. an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the roof lines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows.

Best foot forward

This is a fine example of the final scene not at all as you first saw the scene. When I first approached the dock at Alligator Lake, I saw this egret and got the camera out and ready. Getting closer, with eye to viewfinder, I composed this one frame before the egret flew away.
The tiny screen did not reveal the missing foot. That was only discovered when going through the downloaded photographs on the computer. This has happened before. Once, there was a deer seen hiding in the underbrush, not noticed at the time of exposure.
These are the happy discoveries that keep photography interesting. It often is not the best of composed, the most thought out frames that get the attention, are the keepers. Often, the rejected frame becomes the framed frame. And so it is with us.

Christ's Fellowship

Tis with an apostrophe between the sweet and bitter that yesterday, mark it, December 11th nearer to the 11 o'clock hour, due to the scattered finding the way, that the first meeting of the Christ's Church, with the apostrophe, met in the double garage of Russell and Christina's home off County Line Road.
Shall I tell of the order and the way? Russell stood to the front and gave introductory comments, then we had corporate prayer, that is, we opened it for any who wanted to pray, to pray. After that, we read from Psalm 133-135 from the ESV. It was about that time Nathaniel was not content in his little yellow seat and began voicing that discontent loudly. Melanie took him to a blanket by the roll up doors and orderly quietness was somewhat restored.
It was then we took an offering in the nice pine needle offering baskets by Ben Taylor and Cody Hamilton serving as ushers.
Following, we had prayer again and Russell expounded from Acts 2:42-47. The four points covered were: Apostles doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers.
Following the sermon we closed in prayer and adjourned to the kitchen for a fellowship meal. Following that, some stayed in the house and talked while others gathered in the garage to sing. This flowed for the best part of the day into the evening. It was a good time spent meeting one another needs, with time to linger and not hurry apart to our isolation's.
We determined one had a need for new brakes so today several of the men are working on that need. Thus, the fellowship, the doing of good continues.
The women shall meet this Wednesday for fellowship, the men next Wednesday.

New Beginnings

Mizpah for December 11th from the old 1882 devotional by the author Charles Cullis reads thus:
MY presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. Exodus 33:14

"Christ, my Master, goes about doing good, and if you would walk with Him, you must go about upon the same mission." Spurgeon.

Tomorrow, a gathering of believers, most from Grace Church, will meet at the home of the former Pastor of Grace Church, Russell and Christina Taylor. Russell is forming a new fellowship called Christ's Church. We will meet out of his carport beginning at 10:30, followed by fellowship meal and then activities for the youth.

We at Christ Church and Grace Church are a scattered body, some electing to remain at Grace under the leadership of Elders Gary Byerly and Brandon Elixson, others going with Russell, who was to remain through January, but elected to resign last Sunday morning. The frustration with this entire ordeal is not in the body of believers, who harbor no ill will toward one another, but
a few Elders in training and their differences with Pastor Russell.

In the above photograph, Pastor Taylor and his family are pictured with my family, and our missionary family to the Wano people in Papua,New Guinea, Mark and Libby Wild and their four sons.

I trust that whatever comes of this current scattering, that we shall continue to provide support for the good that the Wild's are doing in translating the Bible to the Wano people and that the believers in the now two bodies will likewise continue, as Christ, to go about doing good to one another, in our speech toward one another, in our love for one another, in our prayer's for reconciliation for one another.

To Ivy Palaces

Another series of photographs taken from the front yard toward sundown. In the daily flow observing exotic and wonderful locations, I can only dream and go to the front yard. The challenge for me is to create just as compelling a photograph, with a wow factor that the exotic location exudes.
In order to accomplish this, greater discipline needs to be employed in the ordinary. For instance, is the S95 point and shoot camera the best choice for the purpose? And if so, would a tripod make for a sharper image? And is it sharpness you are after? Perhaps the Nikon D5000 with the ability to adjust the depth of field would be the camera of choice. I could have made the pine tree in the background as sharp as the ivy in the foreground.
But is that the most compelling way to capture this image? As is, the scene, with the limited depth of focus, draws your eye first to the ivy and then beyond and out to the white road. Would an image in the background in shadow or limited focus been affective?
The color? What of black and white? Of limited saturation? Lately, I have been enthused with the use of super saturation on the S95. Too much can become gaudy and distracting.
The image effectiveness even comes down to the mat surrounding the photo. I toyed with many combinations, and settled for a neutral green. Perhaps a simple white or cream would have been more affective.
There are endless possibilities to what seems just a simple snap shot in the yard.
The goal like I said is to not settle for the easy way, but delve deeper and deeper into the found at hand objects and elevate them to the level of, "Where was this taken? I want to go there!" To the ivy palaces!

No Footnotes Below

No Footnotes Below
by john clare

When the Word we hold has no footnotes below
When Scofield, Thompson, Dakes and McArthur are absent
In the rare air of the Spirit the pages blow
As I step onto the thin script of no comment.

'Tis a painless fall when balancing on the words of men
So accustomed to using the net of their words
If I do not like the verse, why it's not for my dispensation
It's either future, past or I have already been raptured.

It seems such a long span with just a single cable to cross upon
Take the safe and short way of man I am urged
You are much too dim and weak to comprehend alone
You will at be dashed to your demise off that stark word.

So be it I said for where has Scofield and Thompson led?
What do I meditate upon after a verse is read?
Their word to see if it lines with what I think was said!
And not lingering longer,comparing scripture and by
the spirit being led.

Take me Oh Great Jehovah and purify the man in me
Who tight ropes with footnotes safely below me
From the clutches of others interpretations free
To walk across to the high places holding onto only Thee!

Luther Ray's Gate

by john clare

Yesterday we came upon the back gate to a now gone Homewood
where, at the end of Dogwood and Ochlockonee it has long stood,
chained and lichen stained yet holding the remnants of memories good.
As we peered beyond the weathered boards I'm certain we heard
the ringing of the dinner bell loud calling us to return from hunting
grey squirrels we missed, barking and fussing over our heads.
You could still barely discern the trail where father and son once stood,
the boy helping hang the handmade gate at the back of old Homewood.
We know all too sadly we can never return to what has past,
The old gate bars us and holds us to this present side passing fast,
But to some the keeper of gates has entrusted his keys and
allows but for a moment, to stand upon the other side and rest
against the gate on the warm side down memory.