Wow ... it was five and now it is six!  I thought to quickly check in on a couple of blogs which I read and read an interesting comment and I thought ... what kind of person made that connection ... curiosity encouraged me to make a jump and on the other end, I fell in to a photo blog of shots from Alaska.  Wow.  I made myself look at the time when I was really just wanting to go google earth in search of more info on a runway.  It looked either too wide or too short or possibly both ... and ... well to fly there is primarily why I want to spend time in Alaska.  I secretly wonder if I won't think I have arrived home.  Husband says one winter in would probably remind me that I am a beach girl ... idk ... the area around Anchorage looks like it might be one of the last "stations" before heaven.  Well ... suddenly I have a handful (that's five) blogs that I especially like for very different reason ... .  Oh!  Excellent!  Just became aware that it is raining here ... bedroom window now open.

So ... this morning, on the way to the coffee machine, I was thinking about a ginormous oak tree which I took several pictures of on Sunday.  L, taking a side road, showed us a little early subdivision of mansions built by executives at a now long defunct mill.  I was impressed by the trees ... and the street lights. C took a picture of one of the homes for her oldest brother ... they were on the phone with him when we stopped for me to get out and really see the trees.  I think it's nice that my husband will stop and wait patiently while I take pictures.

Picture of one of the homes ... taken for One so he could be there with us ... pretty fancy.

A really big tree ... probably a 30' drip line at very least.  While approaching the tree I thought there is no way I will be able to capture the majesty of this ... it is a tower ... at the base six men could stand shoulder to shoulder  and we would still see trunk on either side ... my camera can not convey perspective, there was nothing near by to scale the size of this tree ... and that's what I was thinking about this morning as I walked through the house ... I knew I was walking through poisonous ivy on the way to the base of this tree.  I hoped my camera would be able to capture a reminder of the awe inspired here ... this morning I can feel the tingle which will be a full blown rash by this time tomorrow ... I wish the picture were better, but I'd do it all over again for even this little reminder.

I am thinking about perspective, as in how one may train their way of seeing things.  I am very tempted to look at the way things appear to be ... the entire planet seems to be in a real crap basket ... Preacher did a sermon on "Biblical Pattern of Leadership" and I immediately noticed that neither of the likely candidates for Leadership of my country qualify for consideration, much less occupancy.  I'm running out of time for note making ... better get to what I told myself I would do early this morning ... sermon notes.  First this though ... 

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." 
-Eric Hoffer

~found earlier this morning on the Alaskan Photoblog accompanying a photo of a branch of green hosting a string of crystal water droplets ... tiny blessings.

The exercise of 1000 Gifts ... back a year ago when I decided to note my way towards a perspective of gratitude ... I didn't realize that an attitude of thankfulness would be like that tree.  Yeah ... it's like that tree.  The root system collects "stuff" ... I can't see any of that going on, but I know it's there.  The leaves collect "stuff" ... I can see the leaves and the elements, but I can't see the any of the process, only the results ... a few of which are a very vibrant plant life providing support for all kinds of wild life and protection for these delicate little delights ... the truck branches out in all directions as it reaches for the light ... no telling how long it's been growing there, or what might happen around it in coming years.

The runway I was looking at this morning ... I know runways ... unmarked runways especially, can fool the under informed eye ... weather around runways can significantly impact perspectives.  We "land" on notions the same way.

 

I think I better come back later to note my sermon notes ... they would be lost in the hodgepodge of these musings!