Hilltop oak

Oak tree on the hilltop behind the house.

Pretty much all the leaves in our woods are down by now. On the hill behind the house, this lone oak tree is the exception.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I don’t have fame and fortune or any of the other things the world would normally use to measure success. What I do have is the things that matter most, and I have those things in abundance beyond all reason.

I have a beautiful and delightful wife who never ceases to amaze and encourage me with her enthusiasm for life. I have no idea how she does everything she does. Her rare ability to find the good in everyone is only surpassed by her ability to serve others without the need for her own recognition. And Beth’s physical beauty is captivating. In my opinion, she is by far the most beautiful woman in the world. Even after 24 years, I can’t believe I get to be married to her.

Beth and I are blessed with two wonderful kids that make parenting look easy. Hannah has grown into a beautiful, loving, hardworking student who cares deeply about a whole host of social issues. Every since she was old enough to express an opinion, Hannah has been there to speak up for those who are in need or misunderstood and neglected. She is an inspiration to me always to stand for what is right.

Our son, Joshua, has become a principled young man who really does live those 12 points of the Scout Law (trustworthy, loyal, helpful, etc, etc). He is strong and fiercely loyal. If I were trapped in a burning building, Joshua is the guy I’d want coming in after me. It also brings me joy that Joshua fills our house with music. One of my favorite things is to relax in the evening in a house filled with the gentle, beautiful music flowing from his guitar.

To top it all off, our family is blessed to live in a cozy little house in the woods. To be able to walk daily in an old forest soothes my spirit and keeps me well. The chain of events that led to our move here almost two years ago can only be attributed to the hand of a loving God. Rarely a day goes by that I don’t say to myself, “I can’t believe I get to live here.”

So on this special day, I am thankful to be alive and enjoying life with my family. In the only things that really matter, I am blessed beyond measure.

Forest blessing

I am blessed abundantly. I am so thankful that I get to hang out in this forest all the time!

Late autumn afternoon

Late afternoons in the autumn forest are one of my favorite things. There is a place in the back of our hollow right now where the sycamore leaves are so deep and slippery, it's like walking through a 6 inch snow. And the way the evening sun lights up the hilltops is glorious!

Red Oak

Red Oak (Quercus rubra)

In the fence-line in the backyard, there is a juvenile Red Oak coming up. It's in a good place, so I'll leave it where it is. Right now it's only about 8 ft tall, but at maturity (in a couple hundred years), it could well reach over 100 ft into the sky. These are among the last remaining leaves still attached to their tree. They may hang on the tree all winter.

Frosty morning

Beautiful frost this morning

The pure simplicity of walking

Simple and functional shelter

I am very excited about the upcoming backpacking trip to Virgin Falls with my Boy Scout troop this weekend. No backwoods travel captures my imagination like the adventure of backpacking. I guess it reveals me to be a geek, but I love paying attention to all the little details of each item in my kit. I love the freedom that comes with going light in the wild. The pure simplicity of lightweight backpacking speaks to me.

Total weight = 20 lbs.

Our trailhead

Our trailhead is always a good place to start a walk, saunter, or meander

This is the opening to the trailhead in our backyard. The trail is a 0.7 mile loop to the back of hollow. It's not a long trail, but it covers lots of interesting and scenic territory--some of it on very steep hillsides. This trail is always a good place to be.

End of daylight savings time

With barely perceivable motion, the earth continues spinning through its orbit round the sun while people think we're affecting daylight by fiddling with our clocks. Daylight saving time ended last night, so we all set our clocks back one hour. No doubt we'll all hear people complaining that it's getting dark too early, and they wish "they would just leave it alone so we'd have more daylight." The truth is that, in Nashville, today will be about 2 minutes shorter than yesterday.

Long ago we seemed to have forgotten that humans must adapt to the earth, not vice versa.

I often wonder whether we'd be better off if we would adjust our days to the rising and the setting of the sun. What if we didn't artificially prolong our days with electric lights and televisions that keep us up half the night? What if we basically slept or rested quietly all night and then rose with the sun each day? Summer days would naturally be longer, and so would be the times when we'd get more work done. Conversely, winter would be a time for more sleep and rest indoors.

I know this sounds completely impractical, even crazy, in today's modern world. But I would point out that it wasn't so long ago that people lived exactly this way. Our lives were ruled not by the clock, but by the sun and the earth and the weather.