This week's sea glass didn't work out too well, so I went with a sea gull instead. Minutes away from sunset, these typically pesky birds began swarming around me. My camera was already in my hands, so I began to shoot what I thought would turn out to look rather Hitchcock-like, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to crop out the haphazard direction of the flight of the flock and just zoom in on the one peaceful-looking sea gull silhouette. What a difference! To top it off, the sun's reflection streaming toward me is evident in this photo, and I just love it!
I'll get back to the glass and rocks next time, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy this sight that we are so often blessed with on the shores of Lake Michigan. If you're in love with the ocean, why not give the unsalted Great Lakes a try sometime?
This Week's Scriptural Encouragement from Deuteronomy 28:2 (NIV)
All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.
With the fan twirling above me, my shoes kicked off my feet, and my hair pulled back from my face, I think I am finally ready to type a new post. Yes, it's been a while since my last entry, and the extreme summer heat is just one of the reasons. I won't go into the others; each of them would only editorialize everything that most people are tired of hearing about. These posts would have nothing to do with blessings from the beach, and they'd be far too lengthy, so let's take a look at today's photo instead. I call it, "Beach History". It's amazing what you can find on the beaches of South Haven! True, most of it came from regions north of us, but isn't it incredible how fossils, millions of years old, ended their journey here at my feet? Huh!
In today's shot, I've scattered the glass and fossilized crinoids throughout, but the rest of the fossils are pretty much around the edges, starting with the Petoskey stones in the upper right corner. Going clockwise, you'll see two honeycomb corals, then a horn coral peeking out of the corner. The longer piece in the lower left corner appears to be one single strand of pipe organ coral (I should have gotten the whole thing in the picture, sorry!). On top is a fossil containing several crinoids, and next to that is the first piece of blue chert that I have ever found! It is microcrystalline quartz, and its blue color tells us it is from the area of Leland, Michigan, over 200 miles away!
Inspiration for Today's World from Proverbs 16:7 (NLT)
When the ways of people please the Lord, he makes even their enemies live at peace with them.
As I headed outside to my usual spot for displaying my weekly collection, I realized how uninspired I had become with the routine. With extra time today, I wanted to do something different, so here it is: glass in glass. My original thought was to fill the container with water and shoot from the outside like I had done in one of my favorite photos called, "Crinoid Under Water", but the sunlight streaming through the window and into the vase caught my eye. It caused this interesting mirror effect, as well as a sense of depth. I hope you enjoy this composition as much as I do. In the left center, there's a wonderful horn coral fossil. Do you see it?
This Week's Inspirational Verse from Philippians 4:19
God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Where to begin, hmmm. As you can see the beach was a lot of fun this week! Let's start with the fossil on the far left; I think it's a cladopora. There are three nice pieces of horn coral above that with a small honeycomb coral to their right. The next three fossils are Petoskey stones followed by a cute little rock with some crinoids in it. Continuing clockwise, are the single crinoids that I've been including in my bracelets lately.
Next, there are two tiny lightning stones, and to the right of them is one of the best chain coral fossils I've ever found!
The white one that's full of crystals looks like a geode. The next four are pudding stones, and I found them all in the same small area of just a few feet.
I'll probably make some necklaces with the next two rocks that have a hole in them already, and the heart-shaped rocks will go in my collection of over a hundred other hearts.
With the center so full of sea glass, it's hard to see all of the beautiful colors, but there is quite a variety, and I'm excited to see what I can do with them!
Today's Inspirational Verse (for restful sleep)
found in Psalm 4:8
I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.
