The Soul's Longing

I read one morning in a Psalm (I can't remember now which one) the phrase 'Deep Calls Unto Deep'. I thought, "That'd be a great name for a book." Then on someone's blog (I can't remember which blog either) I found this poem. It made my breathe catch in my throat. The deepness of it is almost too much for words, but the author of this poem somehow managed.


The Call of Deep Unto Deepby John Wright Follette
Down in the depth of my natureWhere the issues of life are born,From that unknown mystical realm,Surviving through ages of storm,A call is forever rising -But its language I cannot speak.It was born ere I had being,'Tis the call of deep unto deep.Our mother tongue here is awkward,For no words can fully expressThe needs in the depths of nature,In bondage to sin and distress.Our hearts in their depths surely ache;They hunger; they call; and they seek -Then silently wait an answerTo the call of deep unto deep.Down deep in the heart of our God,In mystical regions sublime,In the Godhead's holy councilLong before our world or our time,An answer was fully preparedEvery pain, every ache to meet,In Christ, God's only begotten,Is answer to deep unto deep.The Answer indeed was the Word,The Word when expressed was the Son.Oh language of God how profound!In answer what more could be done?The heart of our God is hungry,His portion, His people to seek."I thirst," was cried by the Answer -'Tis the call of deep unto deep.

Back at School

This week I'm at the John  C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina to take a watercolor class with my good friend Katy.  We only have one more day.  I don't want to return to real life!  I'll write more after I get home about our experience.
This is a photo of the red barn at the school that I took on another trip.  I took a weekend course on Medicinal Herbs.  Great stuff!  
More later!

Belated Gratitude

You might (or not) have been wonderin' where we've been. WE'VE been wonderin' where our Mamma's been. Obviously, not heres. Mom finally HERE: This month has been one of the nutsiest Februaries in recent memory. Besides about twelve birthdays, there have been grandkid holidays (yes... we've been the sitters) and a couple of short trips for us... as in two-day road type vacays. Our son just announced his engagement and impending marriage at the end of April - woo hoo! The fur-girls have gotten a couple of awards that we haven't gotten to, and a VALENTINE gift that we've been unpardonably late in posting and thanking about. So heeeeere's Sammie!It's about time... About a month ago, the pawesome mailman brought us a package that we've been sniffin' at since its arrival! And yes... we've taken a couple of trips that were cool. One was to Eureka, Ca., where we opened this unbelievable pressie!

You can see me investigating this wonderful smelling giftie above. Check out all the decorations on the package. It is from our pals, Augie and Ti, who are non-pareils (isn't that a candy?) at adorning their pressies!

You BET we were fighting over this!
Daddy helped us open part of it, and Avalon immediately stole some of the packaging!
Awwww... isn't that a gorgeous box??? Looks like candies!!!
Uh ohhhhh... Avalon!!! Stop stealing the goodies!!!
Thank Dogness, Dad got the loot away from her! SNooooooooooof!!! Ahhhhhhhhh... smells so yumzers yumzers!!! And look at the card with Augie and Ti signature cards!!! We'll treasure those furever!!!
And for some reason, we are having the worst time embedding youtube vids here, but if you'd like to take a look at how excited we were to jump on these goodies, take a look here first,and then jump to this one to see how much we loved your yummy Valentine's Day heart cookies! Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much, Augie and Ti!

Cal Poly Poppies

Cal Poly Poppies, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The California poppies are in full bloom on top of the Cal Poly "P" ridge. The "P" is a large monument-like letter engraved in the hillside above the Cal Poly campus. The ridge above the "P" is covered in wildflowers right now.

Rewards of the Simple Life

"To find the universal elements enough;
to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be
refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter;
to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated
over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring...
these are some of the rewards
of the simple life."
John Burroughs

Moose Cow and Calf

So I went to check on Loon nest #2 again yesterday, still no babies and I didn't feel like sitting there and watching the nest (which I've already spent more than enough time doing!), so I went up to the Pigeon River to spend some time in my kayak. I spent almost 4 hours on the river, and it ended up being time well spent because part way through that time I ran into this Moose Cow and Calf, which made for a great picture! After making this photo they ran off into the woods, so I continued down the river and about a mile later there they were again! I noticed them earlier the second time, and tried sneaking up on them along the edge of the river. I was upwind, however, and before I could get close enough to get good shots they were gone into the woods. I'm grateful that I was able to get this nice shot of them, though! I love how they are both checking me out with their ears pointed towards me :-)

Evening cloud bank over the Pigeon River
After photographing the Moose Cow and Calf I was treated to an incredible display of clouds over the river. This is what the scene looked like about 45 minutes before sunset. Once the sun started to hit the horizon, these same clouds were lit up with all kinds of amazing colors. Between the Moose and the clouds, it was an unforgettable evening on the river!

Frozen Yoghund and Pupcakes

We've been planning to have my third birthday party for a while at the park this evening, although it's difficult to post in view of all the sadness in DWB land. But ma didn't want to disappoint me, so I want to share some of the preparations. (Even though the vet arbitrarily assigned July 1 as my official barkday, mom can't help me on Wednesday, so we are having it tonight - yay!) I can't wait.This is the doggie pupcake mix, frosting and sprinkles. Mom mixed it up and I helped by licking the bowl.
Mmmm - looks and scents yumzers. (smells sort of like bran muffins.) Next job?
Doggie frozen yoghurt in my fave flavor - peanut butter and banana - deeeeeslish!
We put treat sized portions into plastic "slider" cups and voila - enough for lots of doggies!
Oh pleeeeaase give me a lick Ma!
Okay, pupcakes cooled, so now we can frost them - they look and smell so good - don't know if I can wait til 5!
This is how I helped with the frosting! Mmmmm slurp lick!
Hope all the doggies enjoy sharing pupcake and frozen yoghund with me tonight!

Its Race Time

The mountain bike racing season is under way. Yesterday was the frist race of the season for the Psycowpath Mountain Bike Series. First on the schedule was Jewell Jam time trial.
The time trial was held at Jewell Park ion Bellevue, NE. The 3.5 mile course included some 450 feet of climbing. Temeratures were in the 80s during the race. (That's ride, 80s the end of March!)
Later in the day was the Old Towne Fat Tire Criterium. I had enough for the day standing 2 hours on the hillside at Jewell Park, so did not shoot photos during the crit.
Here's the link to the Time Trial photos.
http://win-photo.photoreflect.com
Swanson River City Shootout cross country race is this afternoon. Watch for posting of the photos.

That Stiff Penknife

Sometimes it is very difficult to open a penknife. The spring may be stiff or you may have broken a thumbnail so that you cannot open it in the ordinary way.





Here is a very simple way out of the difficulty.





Take a strip of fairly stiff paper, fold it across at the middle and slip the fold under the blade of the knife. Then, gripping tightly the two ends of the folded paper, pull them up and the knife-blade will will be lifted sufficiently to grasp it and pull it right up.





Now aren't you pleased you read this little post?





This handy little tip is brought to you courtesy of EVERY BOY'S HOBBY ANNUAL, 1931