BEAUTY AT HOME AND AWAY

I guess the title should be reversed,since I am starting with the 'away' beauty,but that didn't sound right to me. Be warned that this post contains more than my usual five pictures.

I wanted to share a few more pictures form my Minnesota trip.I did find some spectacular beauty.

These trees were at a rest stop that we had stopped at. I thought they were gorgeous in the blue sky.

Detroit Lake had some beauty as well. I had imagined a calm body of water and beautiful reflections along the shore.Well,that was not the case,but I persisted in finding beauty none the less.

Some flowers and grasses along the shore aided me in finding that beauty.

One more look at the lake,through the grasses.You can see there is still some color on the far shore,but it was quite windy so no calm water or reflections this time.

These colourful trees were on a parking lot of a hotel.Guess I was getting desperate to find color and beauty,but I liked how they looked.

All vacations must come to an end,but not the beauty. This is an early morning sunrise,taken with my phone before I got the bus ready to roll for the day.

One more sunrise,phone shot.Here you can see part of another bus.I was just in awe of the beauty of that morning.

Meanwhile,while back on my yard the Geraniums are still blooming.This picture was taken on October 10,and as I am writing this,October 30,they still look just as beautiful.

The Amur Maples on my yard were very pretty,but by now have lost most of their leaves.

This last picture speaks to me at a different level. Yes,I like the color,but what I really see is that even though the leaves may be a little tattered they still have beauty. This reminds me that even when I feel a little 'tattered',I can still show the beauty of the Lord to those around me. I still have value,even though I am not perfect. And,by the way, so do you.You and I are precious in God's sight.

USA and CANADA

I found material for a blog post recently.Something I had never thought of before.

First let me say that I am so thankful to share a border with the USA.There is no other country in the world that I would rather have as a neighbour.

I live about 15 miles from the US border now and grew up living even closer than that.

According to the internet this border is the longest international border in the world,spanning 5,525 miles.

Now here is the interesting part,to cross into the other country we need to have a passport and follow all the rules laid out by each country's government.I have no problem with that.I do however also know that getting from one country to the other would be very easy for someone who wanted to bypass the law.I am not trying to give ideas to anyone,but just stating facts.

 Driving along,recently,southwest of where I live,I came upon several posts like this.I knew all along that they were there,but had never really thought too much about this.

You can see that on the side I was,it says Canada.The opposite side would say United States of America.This post and the others I saw,are standing on the border.

Here is a broader view of the area. Again you can see that I am a law abiding citizen and am staying on the Canadian side,but the field you see is US soil.

I now turned my camera west along,what is the border between two countries.The road you see is in Canada,but just across the ditch is the USA. It is  great to see that two countries trust each other so completely.Once again,let me say that I would not know of another country in the world that I would want to share a border with and definitely not an open one like this.

I love my friends in the US and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't matter which country you or I live in,it only matters that we are able to get along peaceably.

The above scenes look very drab,but that is because it is the fall of the year and even the grass has lost its color.

I have two more pictures to share,neither of which has anything to do with borders or countries.

This is the Thanksgiving display at my church. Someone went to a lot of work to make the church foyer look lovely and inviting.

Of course beauty abounds wherever we look. In fall the trees are clothed in the most gorgeous golden robes.Add some sunshine and the scene is breathtaking.

 Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.

I have met so many friends in Blogland and to each of you I say thank-you for being my friend.

More Minnesota Beauty

On October 3 and 4 I was in the Brainerd,Minnesota area. After a great concert on the 3rd,with Legacy Five,the next day my friend and I spent some time enjoying the scenery in the area.

We really had no idea where to look so we just drove around to see what we could find.I liked this path/road into the woods.It would have been interesting to see where this lead to,but I think it was likely private property.

Where I live,in Manitoba,we have lots of Oak trees,but their leaves turn brown,or sometimes yellow,but here in Minnesota the Oak leaves turned this rich shade of red.

I saw this scene in time to stop along a busy highway and get a picture. The reds in the foliage really caught my attention,because in my area I don't see that as often.

We pulled into a rest stop area and of course I had to make sure to capture the beauty of the trees.

We had  a lot of clouds most of the day,but at this point the clouds had parted and I was able to capture this gorgeous tree against the blue sky.

I like looking up,but I try to take note of what is on the ground as well. No,I did not arrange these leaves into this colourful collection.This is exactly as I saw them,when I looked down.

I my have shared this quote before,but it bears repeating.

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.

Fall in Manitoba

I am feeling a little lost today. My iMac needed to be worked on so I do not have convenient access to all my photos.I guess I could take the time to get them on my laptop,but don't feel like going through that bother.

Anyway,just so you don't forget about me,here are a few iPhone shots taken recently.

This is taken at the place where I keep my bus overnight.The early morning sun lit up this tall tree,all dressed in yellow.

The poplar leaves all seemed to gather along the fence which encloses the bus compound.They made a beautiful carpet and sounded so good as I walked along.

The Mountain Ash on my yard is spectacular this year.The color is so rich.

Here is a close-up of one of the leaves.Isn't that a pretty color?

Nestled among the leaves are a few clusters of berries which the Robins seem to have missed.

Today,value the beauty of the changing season.

I would add to this,give thanks to the Creator of all the natural beauty we have around us.

Minnesota Bound

On Friday,October 3,a friend and co-worker,Gwen and I took the afternoon off from bus driving and headed to Brainerd,MN.It was a nice and sunny start to the day,but it seemed that once we had crossed the border into the US that all changed.

This is what we met up with. Snow flurries.Yes,I did say snow.It was not cold enough to stay on the ground but it sure gave some interesting photos.

Here you can actually see the snowflakes.We certainly did not expect this,but that did not deter us from going on towards our destination.

Sometime during the day the clouds parted for a while,but that was short lived.We had a cold drizzle most of the day.

Of course we did not set out on a sight seeing trip alone,we had another reason to be there.

Yes,the next day we did look around and I tried to get some scenic pictures.Those will come in another post.

We had tickets to see these guys at the Tornstrum Auditorium in Brainerd,MN.

Legacy Five came close enough that we decided to go see them.It was only a 5 ½ hour drive and well worth the effort.

They don't usually use a book to sing from,but in this one song they do.It happens to be a favourite of mine,called, 'It's a Grand and Glorious Feeling'.

Pictured L-R Trey Ivey(pianist),Gus Gaches,Scott Fowler,Scott Howard,Matt Fouch

I got the above shot from my seat in the front row,but I wanted to get closer,so I got up and walked to the edge of the stage and look what happened.

They stopped singing in mid-song and gave me this pose. Made my day,I must admit.

The concert was amazing.We came away with our hearts filled with blessings and joy.

Here are the words to this song:

CHORUS: It's a grand and a glorious feeling just to be a child of God.

How His love comes over me stealing making my pathway brighter as I plod.

Everyday I'll tell the old story of His love

I'll ever sing what a grand and glorious feeling just to be walking with my

King.

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I am so glad I heard my Saviour gently pleading

Now I'm an heir and child of God I truly know

All the way home His precious hand is daily leading

It's a grand and a glorious feeling as I go.

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Jesus is mine and to His hand I'm every clinging,

I am so glad I plunged beneath the crimson flow;

As I press on the homeward way my soul is singing

It's a grand and a glorious feeling as I go.

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Happy am I along the way to life eternal,

Jesus has saved and washed my soul as white as snow;

Some of these days I'll reach my wondrous home supernal.

It's a grand and a glorious feeling as I go.

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The author of this Christian hymn was Albert E. Brumley in 1942.

This hymn was copyrighted in 1942 to the Stamps-Baxter Music

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This weekend is the Canadian Thanksgiving. I have so many things to be thankful for.

I want to share a few of them.

First and foremost I am thankful for a Saviour who loves me and cares for me.Second would be the freedom to worship freely,as we please.I am also thankful for the Bible which is my daily guidebook.

My family ranks right up there in things ,or people to be thankful for. I have a small family. Steve is my only child and his daughter,Kai,is my only grandchild. I love both of them more than I can ever put into words.I am thankful that they live only a few blocks from my house,and not only are we family,but we are also good friends. 

Those that know me,know that I love Southern Gospel music.I am so thankful that there are writers who write these powerful lyrics. I am also thankful for men like these guys of Legacy Five whom God has blessed with great voices,which they are using to praise Him. There are also many other groups who also sing for God's glory.

I am thankful to be living in an area where we have the changing of seasons,with all the beautiful colour.I enjoy each season,although,I must admit that summer,with its heat is my least favourite.

I cannot do a post on thankfulness,without mentioning birds. I enjoy watching the birds.I am thankful for the variety I get to see each year and that I am able to capture pictures of most of them.

I am also thankful for sunrises and sunsets.Each one is different,yet there is always beauty to be seen.

I must add that I am thankful that God has given me eyesight to see these beauties and also the ability to appreciate the things I see.

I cannot forget my many friends.I am so thankful for each one,whether they are the ones I get to have a cup of coffee with or those who I only know through the Blog or Facebook.Each one is a treasure to me.

It may or may not be Thanksgiving Day for you,but I challenge each one to stop and count your blessings. We are rich indeed.

A DRIVE THROUGH RURAL MANITOBA

Recently,while sitting on the deck and enjoying a warm day,this Robin wanted to have his picture taken. He posed so perfectly.

I love driving around the countryside,with no destination but to find beauty wherever I go.Such was the day when I stopped at a small park and climbed the look-out tower. The tower is not very tall,but since it is situated on a hill,one can look far into the surrounding area.

A little further down the road,this horse caught my attention. He was standing in a patch of perfect sunlight and waiting for someone to take a picture of him.

It was early fall and the leaves were just beginning to show some color.I love that patchwork look on the hillside.

I hope you enjoyed this short ride through part of my world. I enjoyed your company and hope we can do it again real soon.

I must now go drive that school bus and then spend the day at an Inservice.

 May you find beauty wherever you go today.

Sunset at the Lake

Less words are sometimes better.

As you enjoy these sunset images,think on this:

When we cease to wonder,we cease to worship.

The God who created the universe,is the God you can know.

Thoughts to Encourage

For this post I have a set of random images,combined with quotes I found in a perpetual calendar,called The Beauty of Friendship.

Your only treasures are those which you carry in your heart.

This plant sprouted in one of my flower pots.I think it came from some of the bird feed.

Kindness opens in each heart a little heaven.

The moments of happiness that we enjoy take us by surprise.

It is not that we seize them but that they seize us.

God's heart is the most sensitive and tender of all.

No act goes unnoticed,no matter how insignificant or small.

Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about?

It just makes me feel glad to be alive - it's such an interesting world.

It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything.

Life is like an exciting book,

and every year,perhaps even,every day starts a new chapter.

Early Fall

It is October.Seems like we just started September and now that month is history.I must be getting old(er),because I don't recall time flying by so quickly some years back.

Oh well,be that as it may,each day is another day to look for beauty in unexpected places.

The following pictures are from about mid-Speptember,showing early signs of fall.

This picture is taken at a corner I like to go to ,while waiting for the sunset.The view is always pretty,with the rolling hills.

While I was busy getting the previous picture,a friend who I was with pointed out this cobweb in the corner of some intersecting posts. The setting sun behind it turned it into a piece of artwork.

 It was the time of full moon,so a few moon shots were in order,even before it was dark outside.

I liked the look of the curved swaths of grain and the gentle moon in the sky.

At the place where the first two pictures were taken,stands a flag pole,proudly flying our Canadian Maple Leaf.Oh Canada,we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada,we stand on guard for thee.