Christmas at the Robertsons The Great Christmas Light Fight.

Eyes on the Road.

I'm looking back a lot now days. I'm sixty. So there is a good deal of "past" in my life. For me now there is much thought on the subject of "what could have been" what or "what should have been." Don't get me wrong. That's not all I do. There is still a whole lot of "future" for us and we're continually planning for the next adventure and the next trip.

But for you at your age life is all about the future. You're looking forward. For you its what is possible, can be, can do, will do, will see. It's all laid out there for you. It's called the future. It's exciting, bright & possible. The future is the whole world and it belongs to you.
You're standing at a great place now: the end of childhood & the beginning of life. Childhood with all its games & play times is nothing. It's empty. The future is everything. It's real, it's full, it's now.
It's exciting right? But dangerous too! Youthful decisions and mistakes can be disastrous for you. You're vulnerable. Decision making now changes from insignificant and minor; like what's in style, what music to listen to, what phone, to do home work or not, to study for a test or play around. Now the adult decisions are what degree to pursue & what to do with your life.
Look, if you have the freedom to make these life decisions on your own; you have the obligation to make sure they come from a mature and we'll thought out place. Seek counsel from people who have been down the same road and made vastly different decisions. Compare their lives and lifestyles. Please look up and out and above.

What Are The Odds

So a baby is born to deaf parents who do not speak language and he is kept away from any speaking humans. When he is 5 years old age he is allowed to hear a spoken language. Will he understand the words he hears?

How about this.
A child is born to parents whose yearly income is below the poverty level and he is never exposed to to anyone any different. When he is older can he break free & concieve of a better life.

Does poverty conceive poverty?

What type of individual does it take to rise above it?
What's it take?
Intellegence
Vision
Dream
Will
Determination
Patience
A degree
Creativity
Inspiration
Money
Prayer
If all of the above list them in order of importance.

That's Pam and me

Kindness Trumps Violence

Gun violence. Might it not make at least a small difference if each time the president stood before the press he would say something  like this:  "today in our great nation there were more than ten thousand (or 20,000 or even 100,000) acts of kindness shown toward our fellow citizens. Thousands of teachers in our country today placed a hand on a child's shoulder and said to them; you're special, you're important, you can do this. Tens of thousands of volunteers across our land today spent time helping the sick, the homeless, the hurting, the abused. Literally millions of Americans today helped lift their fellowman by simply offering them a smile. This and many other acts of kindness took place today, and will be repeated tomorrow, and every day to come in our great nation. And so my fellow Americans I would like to say thank you. Thank you for being the great Americans, the kind and generous citizens, the loving people that you are. God bless America."
I know that this author certainly doesn't have any easy answers to the problem of gun violence. Or inner city violence or school violence, or domestic violence or any other senseless violence. There are no easy answers. But does it help any to elevate these acts of violence to the level where all the acts of generosity and good will is ignored. Remember the millions of daily good deeds mentioned eariler? To ignore gun violence would be foolish of our president. Equally foolish is to ignore the overwhelmingly kind and gentle and godly nation that we actually are.

Estuary

Estuaries 

the area where the land meets  the sea. Here where the salty waters of the Gulf of Mexico are mingled with the fresh waters of the mighty Suwannee. It's on the edge of the world not too far from the middle of nowhere.

let's explore...

 Constantly changing tides, temperatures and salinity

These estuarine environments south of the Suwannee & including the areas around the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge like many, many other areas are the cradle of the Gulf.

These shallow waters with their mangroves forests & vast acres of smooth cordgrass and black needle rush are home to 95% of Florida's fish, crustaceans and shellfish in their early life.

Plants Living in this salty environment are the Glasswort and saltworts.

Black Mangroves

Here's a Crab like Spiny Orb weaver living in the mangroves.

Mangroves ahead.

These sheltered lagoons and bays are rare and under threat by over development...

Black needle rush & a dead tree that probably died from salt water intrusion.

These estuaries are highly productive. Rivers & streams bring rich nutrients from uplands. Plants use these nutrients, along with the Suns energy, carbon dioxide & water to manufacture food.

West Virginia August 2015

The following photos record my annual trip to West Virginia, my birth place. We visited and re connected with family. Three of our nine g kids went along. Hannah, Levi & Raechel Brinkman.

West Virginia bound.

There's no place like it.

With Uncle Bill & Aunt Glenna

With Cousins Camille & Jarron

Hannah with Cousin Elisa Edwards

With Cousin Elisa

G dad & Brinkmans in the woods.

With Uncle Homer Hunter.

With cousin Olivia at New River Bridge.

Uncle Homer & Greta

Camden Park in Huntington

Back in the time machine.

.

The trip. Gdad, Levi, Hannah & Raechel

Visiting  family who've gone before us.

More visits. Pauleys, McCormicks & Dunlaps graves.

Olivia & Hannah at Olivia's new piano.

Neice Greta at the law office in Charleston.

Hannah at the p-nut shop

West Virginia Capitol Building.

West Virginia Coal Mining.

Morning Coffee in the hills.

Kanawha Saline Presbyterian at Malden. 

Old Sycamore at the church gate.

The New River Gorge Bridge. Wow.

Sweet Joe Pie weeds On the New River.

The Mystery Hole since 1972

On the Coal River in Lincoln county.

More Coal River adventure.

In the Lincoln County hills.

The long abandoned McCormick/Mccallister 

coal mine.

 

Hannah & Great, great grandad Pauleys apple tree.

Waffles @ uncle Bills & Aunt Glennas

More country cooking @ the Chapmans

And more...

Uncle Bills biscuits like Mama made em'

The West Virginia Hills. We will return again.