Deserted Forever!

This was a "gray" day. The kind encountered when the first light of dawn grows no brighter as the hours pass. The sun finally peeked through the overcast just as it was setting, but that was not nearly enough brightness for my eyes. I tried one of the spots that I've been going to write about for a long time. Even the brilliance of the cameras flash barely cut through the goom of this long-deserted workshop.
Completion of winter preparations nears completion here at our home. Workbenches once clean as a "whistle" are now heaped with bits and pieces accumulated from the many tasks I've been accomplishing. Everything has to be cleared away before the final piece of work, vehicle prep for the long winter that comes. The pictures were taken in a forgotten workshop miles from our home. Tools still lay on the bench, amidst blown leaves and debris that has to encompass a minimum of fifty years of disuse. I was particularly fascinated by the array of bits and pieces still hung on nails above what was once a busy place. The person who worked here was a proud, orderly, and talented man. The variety of parts indicate that his expertise extended to mechanical stuff large and small. Even the wrenches are hung neatly beneath the bench, still in order the way I must assume they were the last time the space was in use. Roof caved in, doors falling off, and very little glass left in the windows due to the press of surrounding brush and trees, it could be called a "spooky" place by some. For me this is another of the mysteries which encourage exploration and speculation! I love the wheel hanging from the ceiling. That's an old one! Some childs vehicular conveyance or perhaps a carriage for the baby, a cast off that harkens back to pages in America's history long closed. I suppose if I walked out the door right now and nobody ever cleaned up the space in my cave it might look a lot like this in fifty years. Hammer handles would rot and their heads would rust, and the dust would deepen obscuring the scars left on the surface of the bench by tasks long ago completed. There was an entire rack of bits standing rusted in their holder. The type which went with what they referred to as a "brace & bit" affair for drilling wood. The block holding the bits was handmade, and each one was in order, except for one which was still in the tool set aside on the bench from the final project. I can never bring myself to move the articles around from where I find them, it feels as though that would somehow break the spell of the last presence to occupy the space. There was no wind to speak of this morning so the quiet within the confines of the old shop was overpowering in contrast to the music I have blaring from the speakers on the Ultra Classic while riding. Thinking back on the moment, I remember now that when I started up to leave I turned the music off, it seemed somehow inappropriate for the time just spent. I find myself, even now, praying for the person who last used that bench. Life was good for him, and he took pride in the many things he did. I've got to clean up my workspace before leaving for the week long journey that lies ahead. Just in case I don't make it back I don't want someone snapping pictures of the things I left undone. What we have is a limited number of years in which to get everything done that God would have us do. How we use those years is going to say much about who, how, and what we stood for. Even if we have never met a person we can tell by the things they have left behind much about them. So it is with my Savior. He has ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father, God, and has left behind His Holy Spirit to reveal to us the things that are truly important in life. More than likely none of us will make the journey to the next life with everything nealtly cleaned up in this one. The guy who left behind this workspace had every intention of coming back to do more. So it is with our Savior. He is coming back to do even more! We've got some time, maybe we'll be a little closer to "finished" with our stuff than we are today, but more importantly is keeping the order and making certain we have all the necessary tools for our job. When all of the windows are broken and the world has reclaimed our space, it will be good to return and see clearly how well we ran the race. God bless, Preacher.

Considering Turkeys

I'm going to try these pictures from a different direction and see if they come through a little later. Sometimes the server can be slow. The photos of the turkeys were shot above Jericho camp last August in Sturgis, SD. Now here is the interesting things I've learned about turkeys(I lived about half a mile from a turkey farm when I was growing up). They are not very smart! They are not stupid either, they are simply turkeys and when encountered in their different habitats they react differently. When they are on the farm I could walk up to the fenced in enclosure and talk to them. They get curious and very soon they will all flock up to the fence to see what is going on. It's really quite amusing. One of my friends pointed out this week during a turkey discussion(we shoot them out here on the Great American Desert), that when in captivity they will all bend their necks and heads to watch an airplane go over, thus presenting the watcher with a view of hundreds of turkeys turning their heads sideways to look with one eye. I don't think they can use both eyes simultaneously to observe the same objects. In the wild they are quite impossible to approach. That's what makes hunting them so much fun, you don't actually "hunt," you find a spot and wait. Now a few months ago a gentleman from Minnesota brought out a family of turkeys to a 25 acre spread owned by mutual friends and turned them loose. They had been raised in captivity so they knew nothing about just being free to roam. Most often the little ones accompanied their mother everywhere she went and it was fun to watch them troop around the grounds. That is, until they began to diminish in number, one by one, until they were all gone. You see, without any practical skills for living in the wild they knew nothing of the danger present in the form of fox. This has been a landmark year for fox out here. Early mornings you can ride out about fifteen miles from the house and watch them playing in the sunshine on the fields that have been cleared by harvest machines. So it is with people, not the playing in the fields(although we do some of that as well)but the distinct difference between being raised in the "wild" and growing up in the more remote corners of our nation.
We're not turkeys, although that term has been used for a number of years to refer to folks in a derogatory manner. We do, though, bear some striking similarities that are very "turkey" like. Something is happening and we all gather to watch. We're fine in our own "backyard" but find it difficult to adapt to new surroundings. Raised in the city(the wild)we're much more difficult to approach. This is where I pick up the faith perspective for those who are just curious enough to see where this is leading. God created all of us in God's image. Therefore, the only thing that truly separates us is the conditions of our upbringing based on the variables found in our environment. If it is a "christian" environment of faith and a belief system founded on the principals set forth in God's Word, we can truly find others in whom we can place our trust. Mutually shared faith is the basis upon which we can live in peace and, presumably, safety based on our ability to take care of one another. Sounds like a model for living, doesn't it? It is! Thousands of years in the preparation, even more in the planning stages, and available for us today at no cost whatsoever! God's plan is perfect, and one that if followed leads not only to a good life, but to an eternal one as well! You don't need to take my word for it. Look around you and see for yourself the goodness that seems to fill the lives of some. You might even want to check where they are on Sunday mornings. God calls each of us to a life that is good, not all respond to that call. I pray you are listening for that call right now. I also pray that if you have already responded this helps to confirm your belief that you are on the right path. In Christ's Love, Preacher.

Turkey Business!

I think I've now worked out all the "turkey stuff" that was going on in my 'puter. I'm going to have dinner now. Tonight I'm dining on roast pheasant, I've had enough turkey for one day. God bless, Preacher.

Micro Turkey

 
This is my own way of having a little fun. I'm sure the computer has no clue who is supposed to do what other than when I am putting things in. What I don't understand is how when I do a "Firefox" update, complete the download, and restart, according to the directions, that Internet Explorer suddenly becomes my default browser. Could it be there is a turkey in the woods and he's just hiding out until we aren't watching to come out? 

So, if anyone can tell me why Internet Explorer keeps attempting to be my browser when I've told it no, please inform me. It is a little frustrating, I've done everything short of just uninstalling the thing. What turkeys! 

Here's One of Thos Pictures

 
 

Blogoshpere

We have received so many gifts that it hardly seems fair to criticize the gifts that others have gotten through their hard work and skillful application of talents. I'm going to anyway! After all, that's only fair when you consider that this is what they are doing to others.....
The new issue of "Forbes" magazine has a front page that says, "ATTACK OF THE BLOGS." The cover blurps include, "They Destroy Brands And Wreck Lives" and my favorite, "Is There Any Way To Fight Back?" I got my issue yesterday in the mail(out here on the Great American Desert it takes just a little longer to get to us-overnight from here to anywhere further away than a state that touches our borders is two to three days). Intrigued by the fuss and realizing that I had been a victim of a portion of it, I went out across the web and did some research. The article was right on. I'm not certain of how they arrived at the figure '100,000' new blogs each day(like somebody is actually counting-America would run out of 'puters rather quickly I would think). Statistics can be used to prove almost anything if one manipulates the numbers and base long enough. Microsoft watching over the shoulder of its 2,000 blogging employees did not surprise me. Even the fact that they were pressured during one of the "gay rights" bill presentations in Washington State into making a 180 and going from anti to pro in a matter of two weeks should put us in mind of how powerful the blog can be. During that same period of nationwide activity I received a substantial portion of E-mails regarding statements of a purely personal nature out here. Silly me, I was very new to most of this(using a 'puter now for a little over a year)and stuck my address out on the blog. Thank God it was the alternate and not my home address thing! Here I've gone running far afield and lost sight of the rabbit I was chasing though. I actually enjoy blogging and I enjoy other folks blogs. The thought of using them to intentionally cause someone grief has never entered my mind until the article in Forbes. That's where I was with the gifts thing. If someone has great abilities why not use them for something good instead of banging a corporate head into submission. Sure, there are businesses that are not good, but one rarely hears anyone bashing them, instead they go after someone such as the Halperin people who really did not mean anyone any harm, only good! Maybe it rubs raw the feelings of some when success seems to be coming to a particular few. Now we have the allusion to this being some sort of modern "CRUSADE," a call to arms to take someone down. I think it very wise for each of us to check out our facts before we jump into the act of fanning flames that are burning anyone! Think of it like this: We all have gifts that we can use for accomplishing positive things. We all have needs. We all have a right to the freedom in America to do pretty much as we'd like apart from breaking the law, of course. But, do we have the right to do wrong just because we can? It's a moral dilemma and in a world where less and less weight is placed on moral values we have to wonder, "In whose best interest are some of these things being done?" It certainly isn't for me, I like to think that I can make my own decisions and choices. Just a little something to think about the next time you run across one of those negative things out here. My mother always said, "If you can't say something good about somebody it is best not to say anything." She didn't put it exactly like that, but you get the idea. God bless, Preacher.