A Double Blessing

I'm beginning a new life . . . retirement, and accomplishing a dream instilled in my heart for years . . . publishing my book. How did all this happen?

My life was all planned out,or so I thought. I dreaded waiting until 2014 to retire. Then in March of this year I was overwhelmed with the thought, "Why can't I retire now?" It was a force strange to me, overpowering all my well thoughtout plans. I had peace in my heart and told my boss I would retire in March, 2012.

Then in May I read in the current Guideposts magazine that they had partnered with Inspiring Voices to help people publish their story. As soon as I read it I knew" "This is for me." I contracted with them in July and my book is now with the editoral staff.

During this process my heart was in turmoil concerning my retirement date. Now I didn't want to wait until March 2012. "How will I make it until then?" I labored. Finally, last week, I asked God to bring peace to my heart about retiring next March, or make it very clear that I was to retire this year. His answer came quick.

I reviewed what taxes we would owe if I retired in 2012. I discovered our tax burden would be horrendous if I waited. I couldn't do that to Jerry and me. I had my answer.

October 14 I will officially retire and begin a new life. My book will probably be in the production stage at that time. I will enter the new year as a published author.

I will be be focusing on telling the world what an incredible ministry note writing is. I can hardly wait!

Yes, I'm beginning a new life . . . going down a new path. I'm excited to see what God has planned!

A Summer Garden

The other week my friend, Diana, called to say her garden was ready for me to snap. Diana is my "sweet" friend. She's a poetess. I love it when she calls me and reads me a new poem. Quite talented and very inspiring. A few years ago I typed up her poems in book form and presented her with "Diana's Poems." She said she held the book in her hands for a long time.

It just so happens that the next Saturday was overcast -- perfect for flower picture taking! The only problem was Jerry and I were to leave for Mom's at 9:30. So I was out of the house at 6:40, arriving at her home at 7. David yelled "good morning" as he left for work. Another few minutes brought Diana out of the house and into my photo session.

It was a delightful morning. And I was presently surprised when she brought out Pumpkin, newest family member, below. Isn't she cute!


Below are some of the snaps I was rewarded with for my early outing.

Remembered Request

I remember talking with God last year about taking pictures of bucks. I hadn't had the opportunity to take many snaps of bucks and asked Him if He would arrange it that I could.

It wasn't until last week that I remembered this request. The very year He provided six bucks to feed at my back gate for six weeks! Thank you God! In my July 21st post, I spoke of this "Bachellor Party" in my back yard. A friend suggested I call them the "Gentlemen's Club." You might remember the snap below.


The next snap is the last picture of the dominant buck. He was a big guy! Haven't seen the Gentlemen's Club for two weeks now. Only two of the young guys continue to come up.


I've had several opportunities to snap buck on the road. I posted July 29th of a lone buck walking across the field. In my 8 x 10 print this picture looks super!


Below are some of the other snaps I've taken this year.

I found these two bucks on a curve I pass frequently. It's one of those places where I decided a deer should be. So I always look around when I drive around it. This particularly morning I found these two, and a doe not in the picture.


I love the stack of wood between the two trees in the snap below! I had been watching it for a few days and wanted to get a snap. When I saw these two bucks there I did!


And these two younger bucks are part of the Gentlemen's Club. They were helping themselves to a drink from my neighbor's bird bath.



This buck and doe were a disappointed. When I saw them there were 8 in the pack. By the time I turned around and could get a snap off only the buck and doe was left. Oh well, maybe next time.



And one of my very favorite snaps of a few years ago when one of our doe brought her triplets up I was able to get this little one walking over to this buck.


God delights in giving us the desires of our heart. He certainly brought much delight to my heart with all these bucks!

A GaRand Day!

General George Patton said,"The M1 Garand is the finest battle instrument ever devised." I carried one for three yeas when I was in the army; that was some time ago.


I didn't think much more about it until three years ago when I bought my own M1. The picture above is when I received it from the mighty hands of my brother-in-law, David. The picture below, David and I are admiring my M1.


I have hunted all my life, and I love to shoot.

After I had been retired a few years, the opportunity came to work part-time as a Range Officer at the Westminster Shooting Range. I grabbed at it, and this is my 4th year "working" at what I like best!

And that's where my story begins.

My wife's boss is a fine Christian man. I have met him before, but not any of his sons. His oldest, J.T., had an interest in the M1 and wanted to shoot one. His brother, Jake, wanted to shoot too!

Through some conversation, arramgements were made for them to come to my workplace on my day off and shoot the M1! Everyone was excited, even me. You see, Tom, and his sons, J.T. and Jake, had never fired a gun before. July 27th, 2011, was their day.

I gave them some homework to do before they got to the range regarding safety. (If all students paid attention like they did everyone would want to be a teacher!) The picture below shows them loading the clips.


The thrill was about to begin. The person who was shooting wore my ear protectors because they are electronic, and I could talk in a normal voice.

One by one it happened. They all shot the M1 with its loud report and sharp recoil. When the last round was fired of each clip, the "ping" of the clip leaving the receiver--WOW! What a thrill! They fired a piece of history! Below shows each of them firing the M1.



You can't see in the picture below, but they all did very well!


What a joy I had just being with them and enjoying the fellowship of Christian friends. Yes, we are going to do it again as soon as we can.

I'd like to thank Shelly, Tom's wife, for letting the boys come out and play. I had such a good time.

Whenever I shoot for fun (not working), when I'm done I go to a favorite restaurant of Carol's and mine for a fried chicken lunch, so that's what we did. Yum!

Doing things you like to do with Christian friends is a wonderful joy and should be done often. Are you ready to shoot?

I had a pin on button made that says, "My M1 is Garand"--a little play on words there. (The flat copy is below.)I gave each one a button because I had a Garand day. Praise God!

It's Fawn Month!

How I love when July rolls around! It's definitely not the heat that I love. It's the fawns. Thought I'd share some of my joy the last two weeks!


The two snaps above and directly below are two fawns I found on the side of the road. I never saw a doe. They didn't care that I was there, and I got to snap for about 8 minutes before I said, "Well, I've got to move on. Thanks for the joy!"



The snap below I found on the way home. They weren't concerned I was there. It's a peaceful snap.


I found these two fawns close to home on a road I haven't been on for a few months. They were a delight to watch. No doe in sight. Was able to sit there a few minutes and enjoy them.



I found this doe and fawns unexpectedly on a road I take frequently. The doe wasn't happy I was there but let me snap for about 4 minutes.



This buck was taking a leisurely stroll across the field on Pefferkorn Road. There are usually a number of cars behind me but this morning no one was there. I sat for 2minutes and took his picture.


This doe and fawns were on a secluded country road.


This is one of our bucks with a younger buck at our back gate.



These are just some of the snaps I really liked. They look nicer on paper. This morning I took some more snaps of two does and three fawn. I'm anxious to see how they turned out!

I Love my Darkroom

My very own little darkroom. How amazing! It's almost like magic . . .

Last week I found a doe and her twins and took some snaps. It was an extremely bright morning and all the snaps were really a blowout. After I played around on Photoshop, I sent one over to my sister-in-law to see if she could improve it. She sent it back and couldn't help it much either.

Below is the before picture.



Saturday morning I gave it another try. And in my playing, out popped a doe laying down in the black area! That always makes me smile. It also happened the time I walked into the woods and took some snaps of a fawn. It wasn't until I lightened the snap that the doe popped out.

The picture still isnt' great, but it's good enough for me to put a mat around it and put it on the wall to enjoy. What do you think? The doe is to the left of the fawn. I copied and paste green limbs all around the doe, but couldn't get her to come out any nicer. From black to dull for her. But she's there! :)

Oxygen for the Soul

"The anticipation of heaven has often been described as the oxygen of the human soul."

I found this quote in the book "Amazing Grace" which I've spoken of before. It was part of the study for the hymn "When We All Get to Heaven" by Eliza Hewitt, 1851-1920.

The prospect of heaven truly keeps us breathing on this journey called life, knowing one day we'll be there. There is an unending paradise as was the Garden of Eden before the fall of mankind--the grandeur of nature--where the throne of God and of the Lamb will be. (Revelation 22:1-3)

The scripture the editors associated with the above quote is 1 John 3:3, "Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure." The anticipation of heaven? What thought does it bring to your mind? As I stated in my post of March 11th, heaven certainly is a better place than earth. Do you agree?

I can sing with enthusiasm this verse from "When We All Get to Heaven"

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.

I'm breathing in deep!


The last day of March I found this newborn driving in to work. It's the closest I've ever gotten to one, and the best snaps I've gotten of a newborn. It had two wire rails in the picture, but with the help of Photoshop I was able to remove them and have a nice picture!

A few days later, I found these two black lambs at a mini farm near where I live. I've photographed them before, but don't have much luck with black animals. This, too, was the closest I've been able to get to the lambs, and I'm pleased with this snap. I can actually see the eyes, although it's not as evident on this screen.