A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Woman
photo by the artist's father

Same guy, from the other side.
photo by A. Graf

This juvenile sharp shinned hawk is now a frequent visitor to our small, urban yard. He snacks on small birds that gather in the arborvitae behind him.
photo by A. Graf

They still smell wonderful . . .
photo by A. Graf

On a Gooder Note

We heard a man speak today at church about his recent visit to India. He has travelled a bit and is always impressed by how many foreigners are willing and able to speak English and, conversely, how few of us Americans speak any foreign languages.

"Most Americans only speak English, and we don't even do that very good."

Well, I believe he's right.

Tales of Damage in the Name of Christ

There are attacks on Christ and his church reported daily, hourly, in newspapers around the globe - from super left-wing radical this and thats, Muslim extremists, liberal atheists and just plain outright haters - but some of the worst damage seems to emanate directly from those who claim to love and follow our Lord himself. Anyone who claims to be a Christian can, and frankly often does, wittingly or unwittingly, fall into this category, but the sins committed in the name of Jesus carry the extra special ability to distort and maim not only fellow humans, but the very vessel through which we hope to use to reach them, namely the church body itself.
My love for Jesus is often visibly muted in an effort to dissociate from the common representation of his church. Of course, I am no better than the lowliest of the low, this very acknowledgement requisite to membership in the family of Christ, but I am also keenly aware of the embarrassments of my extended family. I cringe at the gullibility of Christians on the radio to buy into all sorts of health scams and money-making schemes, the environmentally irresponsible and ignorant attitudes of those specifically entrusted with caring for God's marvelous creation, the judgmental posturing, homogeneous expectations and the ethno- and geo-centric narrowmindedness of the American Christian Church in general.
Christ has been lost in the shuffle, pushed aside for the latest program or protest. Love has been limited to proper social circles, sexual orientations or political beliefs. Even Christian worship has become prescribed, mass produced and dull.
I am certainly not beyond reproach and know that I am simply ranting. My own heart needs as much forgiveness as those whose generalities I rail against. I in no way believe that we can just choose whatever is comfortable for us in the Bible and live by those things and reject the dictates of our Lord that make us uncomfortable. That would be equally ignorant. Yet other than God's truths made known through nature and science all around us, we, as God's creatures, are the best advertisement he's got for the love the Christ - and we can so easily paint a very frightening, unappealing and even evil looking picture!
Where is the love of Christ? Where are the repentant hearts and minds bent on reconciliation and peace? When our Lord returns, what will he find in us, in those who claim to love and obey him?

Oh, deer . . .

After school on Friday we all piled into the van and headed up the coast to Grandma's house in Door County. My husband chose the lakeshore route and drove until Two Rivers, where I took over. Coming up the hill out of Kewaunee, the speed limit sign told me I could push the resume button on the cruise control to get back up to 55 miles per hour. About five seconds later, still gaining speed, two large deer stepped out of the darkness onto the road directly in front of the van. I slammed on the brakes and then WHAM! - we broadsided the second deer. Dean had fallen asleep in the passenger seat, but he awoke as soon as I hit the brakes, just in time to glimpse a large brown eye in front of his face. No one inside the van was hurt.
Laura says she saw the deer fly up in the air and land in the field to our right. I managed to stop about 20 feet after impact and pulled off the road to have a look at the damages. Thankfully there were no other vehicles around. The front end was smashed up pretty nicely and the hood was pushed into a little tent shape. The passenger side headlamp housing was shattered, but the light was still working. No sign of the deer, except for it's fur sticking all over the front of the van. I got back in and we drove the rest of the way to Grandma's house without further incident, though I annoyed more than one driver by going only 40-50 miles per hour at best.
These latest photos were all taken on Saturday during this trip. We didn't find out until about 10 minutes into our 3.5 hour return drive that the radiator had been damaged and we were without heat. It was a very, very cold ride home. We fought over who would get to hold the dog for heat. I won.

Pebbles and pinecone in snow near Cana Island, Baileys Harbor, WI.
photo by A. Graf

Scrubby birch along the shore of Cana Island, Baileys Harbor, WI.
photo by A. Graf

Spent leaf, denying its deciduosity.
photo by A. Graf

Close up of filligreed ice over rock, Moonlight Bay, Baileys Harbor, WI.
photo by A. Graf

Boat Bottom Detail #1
photo by A. Graf

Boat Bottom Detail #5
photo by A. Graf

Chickenwire on green post, Maxwelton Braes golf course, Baileys Harbor, WI.
photo by A. Graf

Ice along the shore of Moonlight Bay, Baileys Harbor, WI.
photo by A. Graf

Bag of apples on my kitchen table.
photo by A. Graf

I have always liked what my forgotten coffee with creamer looks like hours later, with a vein-like latticework on the surface, so I finally took a picture of it. Reminds me of a retina.
photo by A. Graf