Monthly Archives: April 2023

Something Green is Peeking Through the Woods

My daughter Mel said she heard a whippoorwill a couple of nights ago.  Seems like it’s a bit early, but we’ve had a pretty warm spring, so maybe they think it’s already summer.  I sure do like to hear those little guys – gotta be one of the most beautiful of all bird songs.  At least I think so, and it just puts you in mind of a nice warm summer night.  I write songs for a hobby and I try to come up with lines about whippoorwills and jasmine.  In fact, I think I already have some of that, probably in more than one song, but in this day and age with all the electronic noise that passes for music, I doubt if a night bird song would interest many of us.  And the poor bird is bad ugly if you ever see one.  It sort of looks like it’s part toad – big gaping mouth. I always wondered how a creature that ugly could make a sound so sweet.  But I suppose that lady whippoorwill to whom he’s singing doesn’t look ugly to him. Oh yeah, and if you hear a whippoorwill during the daytime, it’s not a whippoorwill, it’s a mockingbird. And the mockingbird has the song down – you can’t tell the difference.

The pond frogs are out in force.  That’s another nice relaxing night sound here in the south.  And crickets and cicadas.  It seems like the woodland smells also come alive at night.  Even though it’s technically the south, we’re still too far north to have wild yellow jasmine, and I sore miss having it around because that little frail vine with fragile little yellow trumpet flowers it the sweetest smell you’ll ever enjoy wafting through the silence on a summer evening.  If you are in the deep south and live near the woods, it would be well worth the effort to go out and find one.  They are definitely odiferous – (is that even a word?)!  And try not to feed the ticks while you’re out foraging for jasmine.  Our ticks in the Ozarks are especially voracious and come at you hungry – seriously, they bring a bottle of bar-b-que sauce and wear a bib.  I have a special place in my heart for ticks.  I got one of those tick-borne diseases and it was a miserable two years plus – extreme pain.  Never mind – just wear insect repellent. 

And enjoy the red buds, too.

On some late evenings, we are treated to acappella gigs by coyotes – those little fellows know how to take the stage, too.  I get game cam pictures of coyotes pretty often.  But we can’t boast too much about our coyotes, because from what I see and read about, those little canids make their selves at home just about anywhere, so everybody has probably seen them in the wild – or maybe in the not so wild.  Being a big-time dog lover, I really like coyotes, and wolves too, but wolves are really scarce in this country anymore.  Ranchers didn’t want to compete with them, so they got slaughtered.  I think it’s a shame – it’s one of those things that if it had got a little higher priority, we could have figured out a way to allow them to survive.  I’ve heard them in the woods at night before and their song is beautifully eerie, and when you think about how few of them are left, the song is also kind of sad. Coexistence seems to be such tree-hugger tendency, and I guess I’ve grown in that direction as I’ve aged – no one takes the time anymore to pay attention to the needs of our fellow creatures and we continue to lose them and we’re going to miss them terribly.

Did I just hear a chicken?

It’s a rainy April morning, a little bit cool but not uncomfortably so, and the birds are singing the “Our yard needs to be mowed” song.  The day before yesterday I noticed the first of the bummingbirds scouting around where I normally have their feeders hanging, so I filled them and they are starting to show up in scant numbers, but that will increase soon.  Those little fellows can get vicious too!  Once in a while they slam into each other – on purpose – and you can actually hear the thump.  One or more of them will eat their fill, but not leave.  They light on a nearby wire or branch and watch the feeders and when another bird approaches, the watchman will attack the poor unsuspecting hungry bird. Thump! That’s why I call them assassin birds. Sure, they’re cute and all, but everything’s not always what it seems.

We have a few what we call wet-weather creeks on the farm.  I guess they are called that due to the fact that they never have water in them unless it’s raining.  Some of us like to go rock hunting in them when it dries up.  So, we get to feed ticks and find interesting rocks at the same time.

My old girl Dusty likes to help me and usually tries to get between me and the particular rocks I’m trying to look among.  She’s pretty good at it, too, and if there are any water puddles, she goes swimming and then always gets close enough to me before she shakes the water off to share it with me.  She’s a very thoughtful little old gal. She has a flea and tick collar, and those things work well. I need one for me.

Don’t even ask – no telling what you’re liable to find in these spring woods.

The dogwoods are in bloom right now, and they are spectacularly beautiful!  A couple of years ago we were treated to what I believe was the prettiest dogwood show I’ve ever seen.  This year they are nice, but not as showy as they were then. I think dogwood blooms like that only happen once or twice in a lifetime. What a treat it is to see!

I found an acorn that had a tiny oak tree being born out of it.  I guess it’s the first time I’ve ever seen (or at least paid attention to) one at that stage.

Just think, someday this little guy is going to be a mighty oak tree looking down at us walking in its shade with a spring breeze stirring in its boughs.  The shell it came from is lying there discarded like a pair of boots someone has outgrown.  In case I forgot to mention it, I’m not a photographer so just ignore that shadow in the picture.

There are lots of little wildflowers growing everywhere.  I couldn’t start to name them all, but if my late brother Paul was still around, he’d probably be able to tell me what they are. Before you get all excited, I do recognize the dandelion.

Some of the oak trees start out with colors that almost look like fall when they first start to bud out.

There’s a whole nuther world outside your door. Get out there and see it. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little walk in the woods as much as I have.

The Last War

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How much longer do you think this can continue?  You see the headlines every day, and every day something worse happens than the day before.  Human beings are dying at the hand of other human beings on a scale unheard of, or at least only heard of in wartime.  People are dying in the Ukraine by the tens of thousands every month.  It’s hard to get a read on just how many, but great numbers of people are dying at the hand of other people in Sudan. 

There’s turmoil in the Middle East – Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon have all been burning for some time now.  People are on the streets by the tens of thousands in Israel, France, Germany, and other European countries because they don’t agree with their governments’ untenable positions on many pressing issues.  Terrible earthquakes continue to ravage diverse places in the world, killing tens of thousands. All the while, fingers edge closer to the big red button…

The big cities in the US are not safe, nor have they been for some time, what with all the homeless people trying to survive on the streets, and rampant crime.  We have serious drug problems, and they aren’t going to magically go away – there’s too much money to be made.  People need help and no one is offering it.  Our government itself has been taken over by criminal elements – the very servants of Satan are in control of the US, and to be fair, they’re also in control of most other governments.  Here in the US, we have armed militias waiting in the wings for a spark to ignite a conflagration which would consume the whole country.  The world anxiously watches for this to begin.  Unless we get a different kind of conflagration like a nuclear exchange, rebellion will likely happen.

I write from a mostly uninformed part of the country here in the US, namely in the Missouri Ozarks, but thanks to alternative news sources, we even get word here of all the troubles.  I spend a lot of time outdoors trying to enjoy the beautiful spring unfolding here and praying a lot.  I cannot for the life of me understand how people can ignore the appalling events and go on with their lives expecting things to work themselves out, when it’s pretty obvious that’s not going to happen.

The Bible warns us of these times – they were predicted hundreds, even thousands of years ago and sure enough, they are rapidly coming upon us.  We are also admonished not to fear what is happening.  That’s why I’m writing this post.  We live in a time of unparalleled threats to ourselves and our fellow human beings, and it has to happen for the intended plan to unfold.  To most people, myself included, it doesn’t make sense, but we can only see events from a human perspective.  The correct perspective is one of spiritual discernment.  The naysayers speak of the God-fearing among us as if we are fools, and maybe in a sense we are, but then so was Noah, and look who survived the flood.  It was even more catastrophic than what we’ve seen so far, but things are in process that will make the casualties of Noah’s day seem unremarkable.  And this time, it’s not about physical survival.  The physical world will not survive intact this time.

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Our warnings include the prophecy that an event will occur in which one-third of all humans will be killed.  There are somewhere north of 8 billion people in this world and one third of that number will be a lot of people.  Several scenarios could possibly account for deaths on that scale, but the way it looks, we’re going to suffer a massive nuclear war.  I’ve written stories like this and this about some of the probable savagery of what life might be like for anyone who survives such a cataclysm – to try and get people to turn to God, as He is the only path for survival.  Spiritual survival.  Otherwise known as salvation.  There’s much hope there, for Jesus Christ stands ready to save as many of us as will turn to Him.  He’s the ONLY way out of this mess for us.

If you think about it, say you happen to be at ground zero of a nuclear blast, you’ll feel nothing.  You won’t know it’s coming and it’ll be over for you in a millisecond.  Not even enough time for your brain to register that you’ve been killed.  The people who get eliminated like this will be the fortunate ones, at least as far as this life is concerned.  The ones who do survive, and there probably won’t be many, will be the ones to suffer an existence of horror never before experienced by humanity, and the longer you live, the more suffering you will endure.

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If you do a little research in the scriptures, you’ll find that we’re warned that Satan is rampaging in the world and creating madness and chaos, like a “roaring lion” because he knows his time is short.  Now, for real, how hard is it to see that very thing happening in the world right now?  Leaders of the nations, all in subservience to Satan, are absolutely mad, and are trying their best to spread their madness to the people over whom they have control.  Sadly, through the use of their media which Satan has given them, they are having a great degree of success.  There are precious few who are able to resist believing what the media is telling them.  Alternative places that offer truth are being stamped out, so fewer places are out there for people to find out what’s really going on, but for the vast majority, that’s ok – they don’t want to know the truth – it upsets their world view.  As long as they can get their bread and circus, they won’t seek the truth, which necessarily would require turning to the Almighty for guidance.  I’ve mentioned it elsewhere, but things like the Satanic rituals of the CERN and Gotthard Tunnel opening ceremonies, and the devil-worshipping Brazilian parades are simply open affronts to everything Godly – people and the demons who control them are absolutely daring the Almighty to destroy them.  And He will – you can bet on it.

These people will be the worst affected when it all comes tumbling down – they will not have prepared, physically or spiritually.  It will be a completely unexpected shock to their systems, if they survive.  They won’t be able to turn on CNN, FOX, or MSNBC to get whatever government narrative is being served up – those entities won’t exist anymore.  If they survive the cataclysm, the people who do not fear God of whom I write will be completely lost, sick and starving with no help coming.  The conditions mentioned here are described in biblical prophecy – a time of desperation never before experienced by humankind. However, as long as they are still alive, it won’t be too late to turn to God, but by waiting until such an appalling time to do so, they will have allowed themselves to be overcome by horrific world events to the degree that things will be a lot tougher. 

I’ve brought this subject up and have received comments from those who claim to be unbelievers accusing folks like me of fearmongering.  There are those who seem to take pride in proclaiming their unbelief in our God, they must think they sound brave to their fellow unbelievers.  Imagine those same kinds of people clinging to logs and other flotsam as they watched the ark sailing off into the distance with Noah and his family high and dry inside.  They most likely had been the ones to loudly proclaim their unbelief and mock old Noah as he pleaded with them to turn from their wickedness.  With this in mind, it would behoove everyone to repent of their worldliness and wickedness and seek Jesus now while He can still be found.  For what it’s worth, I implore you to do so – the clouds are gathering and the storm is going to be horrible.

There’s still some good news.  God has people in strategic places in this world even as the threat of annihilation descends upon us.  There are Christian preachers hard at work trying to help save as many people as possible.  But as prophesied, there is a great falling away from the faith going on too.  These are people who didn’t have their hearts in it to serve God.  It’s not that hard to do, but the one thing that threatens people is their dreaded loss of money and status in the world.  When the world comes tumbling down, believe me, money is going to be the last thing on people’s minds.  How many millions of dollars would a starving person be willing to pay for a can of beans? 

This will indeed be our last war. You have to be willing to fight in order to win. Find a preacher or other Christian to help show you the way to the Lord.  Open up your bible. Be willing to repent for your sins and turn your life over to Jesus to lead you to the Life He has promised.  He’s waiting for you, but He isn’t going to wait forever – this thing is in motion, Noah is closing the hatches right now, and before long the rain is about to come down – HARD!  Don’t wait until it’s too late.  

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Silent Anchorage – a Lonely Shipwreck

Forlorn she lies– alone but for bedraggled spirit of helmsman eternally clutching fast to rotting wheel, and ghosts of able-bodied crewmen drifting unseen across ancient deck planks now claimed by urchin and prawn. Upon her bed of ancient sand in silent darkness hence besieged by clutching barnacles and starfish with bonds of rueful memory bears she of daunting breaker, of ravaging gale, yea of merciless night without moon dared she ply an angry ocean darking and fearsome.  Sails became naught but billows of trepidation lashed onto masts of terror broken by courage abandoned in blackness of merciless winds come screaming on a night of terror and loss.  A sorrowful midnight of lightning did shew once a hellscape painted with black mountains of brine sent to rest her here, now rests she. 

No more laden of goods bound for ports afar, nor resourced with wherewithal to challenge that dark foe aweather, nor rests upon her further need.  The darkness and serenity concerns not with cargo for a distant port sought.  Merchants in harbors of yesterday grieved their loss.  Mothers that time ago grieved lost sons, bones forever bound in bucklers and lanyards, no more to carry smiles and embraces proudly down the fresh painted gangplank, alas, no more lamp lit nights spent in breathless stories of adventure in mysterious lands abroad.

Deep is the sand where feathers of rust claim fittings of iron in endless dark, silent the pulleys that once sang comforting melody to captain and crew.  Sea birds no longer watch from rail and crossarm for minnow or scrap of doughcake, nor do soar through unblemished marine sky with endless song of cheerful seabreeze and sunlight, no, forsooth; her fate became to languish henceforth and evermore among melancholy recollections and brooding creatures of profound darkness. Whether the sun smiles upon the world above or a fresh tempest sweeps new breakers across the sea, she no longer gives thought.  Her mission is never to be fulfilled, unless it be that of accompaniment to other hapless vessels laden with lost cargo and unfortunate souls who have in their turn found the briny path to that oblivion where resides a mysterious existence of odd fish and quiet damnation.