The Mayor and the storm

“There is peace even in the storm”
Vincent van Gogh

(the Mayor knows no fear at the park / Julie Cook / 2021)

The Mayor has stayed on for a few days following the Sheriff’s big birthday
celebration…so a trip to the park was in order.

Sadly, the weather has taken a turn for the nasty worst…
thunderstorms, flash floods and tornado warnings have been on tap for most of today.
and I fear much the same remains in the forecast for tomorrow as well.

Time to get creative with a three year old who is stuck inside during
bad weather!

Meanwhile, our back yard is now a raging river…
time to batten down the hatches!!

(back yard stormy weather / Julie Cook / 2021)

(back yard stormy weather / Julie Cook / 2021)

(the flood waters wash away the pine straw / Julie Cook / 2021)

Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the Lord your God goes with you;
he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

My entire problem…Looney Tunes

“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid
are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”
Bertrand Russell

I think I’m just about to reach my breaking point.

And yet I think I’ve figured out the root of my troubles…Bugs Bunny.

Yep…
Bugs Bunny—the beloved leader of the Looney Tune bunch–the joy of my childhood.

When you go after Buggs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Roadrunner, Porky pig, Daffy Duck, Speedy Gonzalez,
Peepy le Pew…well, in the immortal words of Yosemite Sam, them are fighting words!!!

Throw-in Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, Chef Boyardee, Martha White, Mrs. Butterworth and whoever
else the rabid left have now deemed out of step with our
Orwellian world, then, well, I’m ready to hang a sign on the house that I’ve gone fishing..

Fishing for hope…

https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/17/6-more-reasons-to-cancel-looney-tunes-besides-elmer-fudds-gun/

https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/16/black-lives-matter-activist-your-kelloggs-box-is-racist/

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/with-aunt-jemima-and-uncle-ben-poised-to-disappear-from-american-kitchens-a-look-back-at-their-racist-origins-2020-06-17

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them,
for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

God does not take a vacation

“Stacking stones claims ordinary moments of life for God and invites those who pass by to
notice the holy ground on which they already stand.”
Jayne Hugo Davis

(a gull sits by a cairn or prayer stone stack found on the shore of Mackinac Island in
Lake Huron, Michigan / Julie Cook / 2017)

During these precious weeks of Summer…
as you make plans to scatter either here, there and yon…

Or if you’re merely daydreaming of doing such….

If you’re eagerly anticipating escaping your hectic pace and grind of an
often monotonous and even overwhelming life…

Simply longing to seek cooler climates, grander vistas, idyllic sandy shores…

Remember one thing as you eagerly unplug, unwind, let go and forget all the
burdens you wish to leave behind…

God never takes a vacation.

He’s always there…wherever you may roam….
always near…
and always reminding you that you’re still His number one priority….

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them:
for it is the Lord your God who goes with you;
he will not fail you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

Changing in the constant state of flux

To improve is to change;
to be perfect is to change often.
Winston Churchill

When we are no longer able to change a situation–
we are challenged to change ourselves.
Viktor E. Frankl

“So do flux and reflux–the rhythm of change–
alternate and persist in everything under the sky.”
Thomas Hardy

(chrysalis for a tiger swallowtail butterfly / Julie Cook / 2016)

The parsley is almost all gone…
Decimated nearly overnight by the ravenous feeding frenzy
of the caterpillars.

I wondered about 22 caterpillars and where they might all go
once they finished gorging themselves…

and so now I see…

All rather amazing really.

See how it’s tied itself to the stem…
All wrapped up nice and neat…
and ready for a quick change sort of performance…

Butterflies, caterpillars, cocoons, or rather chrysalis, are perhaps the most
magically odd developments to transpire within the world of living creatures…

Yet this cycle of change is in a state of constant flux.

A butterfly spends it’s very short life feeding…
A caterpillar spends it’s very short life feeding…
A chrysalis spends it’s very short life in a constant state of change…
albeit it hidden from observation.

We don’t know exactly what or how things go on in that sack of theirs…
all we know is that a long worm-like thing goes in…
and then a brightly colored, light and fragile winged thing comes out…

Something so tiny, so minuscule, so fragile so odd and even oh so mysterious
can give me such great comfort and even needed solace…

That no matter the change that comes about in my life, in all our lives…
for we are ourselves also in a constant state of flux…
that in this most tiny creature and it’s miraculous cycles
lies the full mystery and depth of
a loving Father,
an Omnipotent Creator
and an overwhelming God…

that despite all that changes in my life…
for good and for bad
He is the One true Constant that I can hold onto with all great certainty…

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 3:16

A storm is gathering…

You start out giving your hat, then you give your coat,
then your shirt,
then your skin and finally…
your soul.
Charles de Gaulle

(the gathering storm on a southern summer’s night / Julie Cook / 2015)

Our prayers, once again, are offered up to our ally and friend…to the nation of France.
To the French people, especially the citizens of Nice, we offer our hearts in solidarity.

It is apparent that there is a war raging.
A war that is being waged and carried out by a hostile and ever morphing Islamic state.
A war that is apparently one-sided.

For you see, the Western World has yet to acknowledge it is being attacked, relentlessly.

Once upon a time…

In a different time and place…
there was a lone voice…
A lone voice that was relentless in sounding an alarm to the gathering storm clouds.

Yet no one wanted to listen.
No one wanted to hear the hard truth being offered by this lone voice…
And so the voice was ignored.

By the time the storm had come, raged and then passed…
Well over 60 million people had lost their lives.

It appears that today, we continue not to listen.

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them,
for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.
He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

Never abandoned

“Blessed are the forgetful,
for they get the better even of their blunders.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

If Christ Jesus dwells in a man as his friend and noble leader,
that man can endure all things,
for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us.
He is a true friend.
Saint Teresa of Avila

(emerging daffodils/ Julie Cook / 2016)

Just when the old, grey, cold blanket of winter had grown too stifling and heavy…
Just when you thought all joy and enthusiasm had fled…
Just as everyone and everything has moved against you…
Just as you fall, fearing that you’re down for the final count…

God sends a little reminder that He’s still very much present…as in He will never allow you to fall nor will He ever leave you alone nor abandon you for any reason…

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6

****the emerging bulbs planted back early Fall and very quickly forgotten…until now…

My spirit is spent within me

When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain.
William Shakespeare

( detail discarded tulip petal / Julie Cook / 2015)

I am a petal cast aside
tired and spent
My spirit rides low. . .
Gone is the supple newness and vibrant color
Life giving juices having long since dried
Wilted
Faded
Discarded

Until You reach for me
Gently
Tenderly
Softly
You lift me up
Picking me up from out of myself

A single tear trails down my face
Sorrow wells within my heart
Yet when you touch my cheek
Gently wiping away the tear
I know I am not forgotten. . .

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6