Close-Up #6 Friday 8 September 2017   Labor Day marks seasonal rituals at Gerald and Mary Miller’s cottage on Oliver Lake. It’s the weekend the pier gets taken in, the fridge gets cleaned out, the AC turned off, and summer memories stored.

It’s a day for extended family to gather, grill and chaw. What a pleasant spell it is. It was good to be part of those activities for part of the weekend.

So, come along on a photo journey to the cottage in LaGrange County and also a visit to Ox Bow Park in Elkhart County.

Pictures from Oliver Lake

Pictures from Ox Bow Park

Welcome temperatures, signs of the changing seasons, and preparations for a cross-country meet greeted us at Ox Bow on Tuesday. We’ve missed seeing more than a few butterflies so far this year, even in the wildflower rich reaches of Ox Bow.

A new menagerie comes to Ox Bow Park Fairy Garden

September blooms at home

Hurricanes

Hurricane Irma left hurricane and weather scientists speechless, I read at Newsweek online. Winds of 185 mph over the Atlantic outstripped recorded history. I’ve experienced 70-110 mph winds off the Atlantic in Cornwall UK, but of fairly brief duration and little damage.

For a comparison with wind force tracking of long ago, check out the Beaufort scale (after Sir Francis Beaufort, 1774-1857). Many countries abandoned the scale in the 20th century and now use metric system based units. Beaufort’s scale used numbers from 0-12, with the top speed hurricane register, #12, ranging from 73-136 mph.

There’s so much to say and so much not to say about these recent storms. I think about and pray for the victims, the first responders, local and national emergency teams, and those who will get involved in clean-up and rebuilding once the storms have passed and attention has shifted elsewhere.

I like what Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker had to say on storms past and present(“The message in the storm,” Elkhart Truth, 7 September). She compares Katrina (12 years ago when close to 2,000 lives were lost)  to Harvey, the 1,000-year-storm that hit Houston and other parts of Texas and Louisiana. Rather than let the 1,000-year-storm become a 100-year-storm, Parker concludes, “The least we can do is exercise our free will–and our reasoning powers–to mitigate the effects of human activities on global warming to the extent possible.

“If we don’t, Mr. President, we’re gong to need a bigger ark.”

Irma catches our attention at the moment. I pray we not lose heart, vision or mind in how to respond to all the needs and opportunities around us locally, nationally and globally. God sees and cares about all people and peoples everywhere. Good news indeed.

Tread softly.

-John