Naturally Beautiful

Over the past few weeks my attention has been drawn to the beauty that is around me. Too often I keep myself inside and miss the miracles of this Earth that I can see if I take the time to look. Even in the gloomy days, when rain and fog swirl hiding the sun. As I drove through the mists, I saw a winter bared tree wrapped in the soft veil of fog. Its silhouette was blurred as it darkly stood against a silver misted cloak. Nothing else was visible in the gray cotton haze but this silent sentinel.

Today as I returned from a luncheon with fellow classmates, I decided to stop to photograph a gnarled tree that I’d often seen before. In the past I’d been in too much of a hurry refusing to pause long enough to capture its twisted beauty. The bet tree stood apart from the other taller much straighter trees that formed a backdrop for its dramatic shape. I did on occasion stop to photograph a blue heron as it searches the shallow water of the nearby lake.

I’ve been able on a regular basis to witness some truly amazing sunrises to the east from my front porch and brilliant sunsets to the west. These intricate patterns of the sun and clouds in abstract design fill the canvass of the sky. Bob Ross with his talented paintings of wet-on-wet technique could never fully capture the exquisite details that routinely appear before my eyes. His renditions of nature were merely pale reproductions, a simple snapshot of nature’s beauty; while I am blessed to be able to view an ever-changing panorama each morning and evening.

At night the stars and moon in all of its phases fill the inky velvet sky. Sometimes the light of the moon is so bright I can almost read a book, then at other times I have to fumble to find the keyhole to open my front door. The planets share a steady glow while the stars continue their sparkling journey.

Is it any wonder that mankind studies the stars. Men in the past imagined their stars were alive with familiar shapes: Cancer the Crab, Orion the Hunter, or Leo the Lion. Men recorded the stars’ march through the heavens. It embarrasses me to know that our ancestors knew more about the workings of God’s Creation than I do. Many of our forefathers knew several languages and today too many of us can barely understand or speak American English properly.