a journey through landscapes real and imagined
I really enjoy my walks through the prairie. I especially enjoy seeing how it has changed since the previous walk. At some point, I’ll post a series of photos showing how it’s changed, but for this post I’ll just show you my favorite things from my past hike! First, here is a little tune that Wren wrote for you!
In my last post you saw the first installment of our weekend adventure! We were determined to see comet Neowise. This comet was discovered in March by scientists using NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Telescope, and is supposed to be visible in Northern latitudes with the naked eye – or at least binoculars. Last summer, Wren and I fell in love with star-watching and I started trying to learn star (night sky) photography. So we headed out again last night with high hopes! When we started driving West, there were quite a few clouds.
Thankfully, the clouds were gone in time for sunset and the comet’s rise. We watched the fireflies while we waited.
Thank goodness we had some technological help! Rick has the Starwalk app, and we were able to get a reasonable idea where to watch!
Finally, it was dark enough and we were able to see this!
It was the most beautiful thing! We are so glad that we were able to see this amazing event! We were out pretty late, so no recording from Wren today (sorry!), but we will have some new installments of the hymns of comfort this week!
We went out to try to see the NEOWISE comet last night. We didn’t see it (yet), but we were treated to an amazing sunset!
Then the fireflies came out!!!
We didn’t get a hymn recorded tonight, but we made this video for our Church’s virtual VBS! It definitely fits the theme of sunsets and fireflies. Thanks again goes to Nonnie for the arrangement and accompaniment!
I’m hoping that we will see the comet some evening soon! Stay Tuned!!!
Tonight I’m posting the second movement of Wren’s Quartet in F. I thought I’d also post a quartet of images from my walk this evening!
Last night we were able to camp on our friends’ farm! It was so amazing to be able to visit with others (at a distance, of course), and for Wren to run around with another child. They roamed in the pastures and the forest, met the sheep and chickens…it was so nice for her to feel that freedom. She said that her “heart was so happy.” That makes my heart very happy! We put our tent out in the pasture where we would have a good view of the fireflies, the fireworks, and the moon (and supposed eclipse).
Rick was very happy that he was allowed to fly his new drone! He got a pretty nice video, and I’ve taken a screen shot to show you this beautiful place!
We set up camp as the sun was setting, and I got my cameras ready for the light show!
The fireworks were an unexpected surprise. When our friends told us that everyone would be shooting them off, we thought they would be the “at home version”…we didn’t realize we were in for this big of a display! The town cancelled the fireworks…so others decided that the show must go on!
The fireflies (lightning bugs) were even more spectacular than the fireworks! I haven’t seen this many in a very long time!
We were expecting a lunar eclipse, and I suppose it happened (at least that’s what google says!), but we didn’t see a change in the moon. It was really pretty, though!
It was a beautiful night! Hopefully we will go back again soon! We didn’t record a hymn last night, but Wren has been recording some more of her compositions. This is the first movement from her Quartet in F for cello!
I look forward to my long rambling walks on the weekends! Today I went out to my favorite spot to see what was happening. There has been a big turnover in blooming plants over the past two weeks! The prairie has shifted from a sea of blue to pink as most of the spiderwort is gone and replaced with phlox. The dragonflies are still really busy, and I added a new species to my list today! The coneflowers were blooming! I love them, and I’m so happy to see them again! The ones in my yard are a little behind what I found on the prairie.
Wren played Just a Closer Walk with Thee for the hymn of comfort tonight. I thought it was appropriate since my walks are good times to pray.
Tonight we decided to go on a sunset walk. We were hoping the Saharan dust plume would make for some beautiful colors. We also were treated to some other surprises.
Just as church ended tonight, we had a huge downpour! It seemed appropriate to go out and run in the evening rain! This was just the thing to cheer up this kid!!!
Wren picked another hymn from my childhood for her hymn of comfort today – God Will Take Care of You. He certainly does!
One of the nice things about staying close to home this year is that I get to chronicle the happenings in my garden! Normally I’d be heading to South Dakota and missing the bloom of my backyard. I’ve been collecting native plants (some seeds provided by biologist friends, some seedlings purchased from the native plant sale). I don’t use chemicals, so I try to choose plants that will outcompete nuisance plants (i.e. weeds). I have a thick patch of Bee Balm (Mondarda) and Joe Pye Weed. I have tons of Phlox and Coneflowers and Cup Plant (looks like a sunflower). This time of year it mostly looks like a cacophony of green, but some things are starting to emerge!
Wren’s hymn of comfort today is Sometimes a Light Surprises. Light definitely results in some beautiful surprises in my garden!
We went to Rock Cut State Park on Sunday to visit with some friends who were camping. We felt a little silly wearing masks, but we wanted to be safe! We knew our friends hadn’t been around others, so we felt pretty safe with them. It was really nice to hike in some mature forest and Rick and Wren even got to spend some time in a kayak!
Wren is back to a hymn for tonight. It is Come, Ye Disconsolate. This seems appropriate because Rick is so good at consoling us when we are down!
Wren has been writing a lot of music lately. She’s inspired by birds, and has a project inspired by them. This is a tune that will ultimately show up in that work. I’ve added photos of birds (and a butterfly) in flight! I can’t wait for you to hear all of the other things that she’s writing, but for now – here is the start of an idea.
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