spring – Page 8 – Skelton Sketches

When the Sun Shines…

Posted on February 8, 2013April 28, 2017 by lindaskelton

One somber day this week I went out just for the quiet stroll of it—not looking for exercise—but just to stretch my legs and chew on memory verses…”You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Hmm…dying on the outside, but very much alive within…

Kinda like a day mid-winter when the cheeriest sights are sad little ponies in raincoats.

…and the brightest things around are the roadside grasses, long dead, but still stalwart and bright…

But when the sun shines, as it did today, I remember what SKY BLUE is!

And even a common laurel hedge glows chartreuse!

Donkeys will always find something to be glum about I suppose…

I know. I can be a bit of an Eeyore myself, but not today! It’s just too wonderful to see the sun so unexpectedly ( :

Speaking of unexpected, what’s this! A mini magenta ‘poof’ out the end of an otherwise humdrum bud…

Delightful the unexpected things one sees, when the sun shines…

–LS

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Mt.5:16

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Is.60:1

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Oh, and having mentioned donkeys, can I make an addendum?! Recently I received this G.K. Chesterton poem from a friend, written from a donkey’s point of view… As only G.K. could say it:

The Donkey

BY G. K. CHESTERTON

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

Borrowed Beauty

Posted on January 31, 2013April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

While I wait for the snowdrops to push their way up and bring their beauty to my world,

I’m enjoying nature as seen through an artist’s eyes, one of my very favorites…

Something in nature inspires creativity, so I had to sit down with my own quail egg and try my hand at recreating one…

Now that was fun!

And there are more in the fridge where that one came from, thanks to my desert-loving daughter with her own little apartment-dwelling covey of quail…

Always a sunny-side up to be had, even on a rainy day!

–LS

Quintessence of spring…

Posted on June 14, 2012 by lindaskelton

There’s little quite as relaxing as a catnap in spring sunshine in the middle of nowhere–trees towering overhead, a lone raven calling—

–unless it’s a tandem ride around “Loon Lake” with my favorite Captain…

We’ve got a blight of ‘capatillars’ this spring, so I guess it’s inevitable that there would be moths… Tiny lavender beauties flitted amongst the pebbles at the shoreline. But when they folded their wings they were pure camouflage.

One irresistibly sunny Sunday afternoon the draw overcame the fear of meeting a bear and I ventured down the increasingly overgrown paths across the highway to the bluffs above the ocean—singing, whistling and clapping rocks together all the while mind you. I just had to get to ‘the bench’ again on the rose strewn bluffs above the sparkling sea.

Thimbleberries bloomed profusely along the way…

But the essence of spring must be breathed in—the wild roses blooming in wild abandon on bluffs and roadsides. I wish I could attach the scent to share with you.

And not a bear (the other indicator of spring’s arrival) showed his face!

–LS

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…II Cor.2:15