Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category

Racism… or more broadly, Separatism!

Tuesday, June 30th, 2015

Racism… or more broadly, Separatism!

Racism, what is it? Bottom line, preferring one race over another.

Separatism, what is it? Preferring one group over another. This includes racism.

At the heart it is preferring one person or group over others.

This in itself is not wrong. Yet it is used to separate the world along racial lines: black, white, yellow. Separatism also includes divisions based on: gender, religion, sexual orientation, economic class, political affiliations, philosophies and the list can go on to what kind of toothpaste you use. Alright, that does seem to be stretching the point yet it exists somewhere. The largest groups are: race, religion and politics. It is more powerful when two or three of these combine.

I believe that the Bible is the word of God. It includes our early history. That history reveals that mankind didn’t want to separate at all. They wanted to be one people. They wanted to build. They wanted to reach for the stars. They wanted to become… gods, masters of their own fate and captains of their own souls. Sound familiar? Invictus by William Earnest Henley. Sounds wonderful right? Yet this is not what God wanted. He came down to the earth and created different languages and speech. The different groups could no longer understand each other, they separated and left to populate the planet as God wanted.

It was not the natural state of man to separate. They wanted to be one. Yet to accomplish God’s plan and purpose they needed to spread abroad. And it happened. We know as bible believers that “ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” That is the natural state of man. It is the result of the fall. Because of this man took what God had done and began to create barriers. Understand, there is nothing wrong with separation. It is what we do with it that counts. Everyone is free to do what they will, but we know that everyone will have to give an account of what the individual has done when that person appears before God.

How did it begin? Perhaps after coming out of the garden, Adam and Eve had children. Were males and females held in different regard? How about religion, perhaps the different sacrifices by Cain and Able? Did the occurrence at Babel start divisions based on race, religious thought, slave and free, etc. The darkness of man’s heart really knows no bounds. Just look to the ovens at Auschwitz, Hitler’s final solution, or Communism’s own death camps.

What am I trying to say? Separatism, including racism, is in itself not evil. But what man does with and within those separations can be evil. In fact, it is the natural inclination of man’s heart to treat others who are different than themselves with different degrees of actions. It can go as far as the cruelest bond’s of slavery (including male and female sex slaves) to crucifixions on a cross to starvation of a race of people.

All of these things are still being done somewhere in this intolerant world. And it is in the heart of every living man and woman on the planet. Oh, but we are enlightened people. We are one. We tolerate everyone and everything, except those who are intolerant in our own opinion. I have heard it said that blacks are not racists. Yet they have racism in their own hearts. They can’t help themselves. If we could all recognize this fact, then we can begin to stop ourselves from acting out in negative ways. All of us must do this. In good times this can be easily done. In hard times it is easier said than done. With the help of God’s Spirit we can become a more spiritual man than a carnal man. At times it may seem to disappear altogether. Yet don’t be fooled. As long as you have flesh and bone the seed is there only waiting to spring to life. Understand that and you can begin to make a real difference in your life and in the lives of others. Keep yourself smug and secure within your own self-justified group and the evil we hate will spring up and trap us, over and over again.

In my mind I try to resist the flesh, while in my spirit I know…

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Volcano in Borneo?

Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

So a new island comes up near Japan thanks to an underwater volcanic eruption. There has also been some activity in Indonesia. Last night I was lying in bed and I set my mind to straying for knowledge, the type that comes from God’s Holy Spirit. I got a sense of impending cataclysm and a low resolution picture (they are always low resolution) of a massive eruption to take place on the island of Borneo, an island of Indonesia. So I prayed that it would not happen. If it did happen there wouldn’t be a great loss of life. I have no idea if a cataclysm will take place. I just know that I needed to pray. If nothing happens either my prayer had effect or my thoughts on my pillow were the result of something I ate before bed. Either way, not to pray would be foolish.

Why pay any attention to it at all? I remember the last time I had a picture of a great disaster. An undersea earthquake off of Malaysia/Indonesia. A tidal wave that swamped the Indian Ocean. I did not pray because I thought it was a bit too foolish to do so. Less than a week later there was an earthquake and a tidal wave did kill a hundred thousand around the Indian Ocean coastline.

These pictures are rare. Most times I never know if anything happens at all. Most times I don’t pray. Yet once in awhile the picture unfolds just as I have seen it. So I pray and hope that nothing happens.

I pray Lord Father that there will be no incident and that no one is hurt. In Jesus’ holy name. Do I get an amen out there?

Climate Change?

Sunday, November 17th, 2013

Climate Change?

Left wing media are biassed when covering the subject of climate change. I was watching Reliable Sources this morning on CNN and the misdirecting talk was evident once again. The left love to portray the right as people who cannot process scientific evidence. That the right are always sticking to their ideological prejudices. They keep saying that the right denies the truth that climate change is real. It is at this point most people would think that the right would rather believe a lie than accept the truth… and that truth that they slip in is that climate change is “driven” by man made carbon-dioxide emissions.

For the record… The right do believe in climate change. There always was and will always be changes to the climate. These changes have been brought about by natural means and by natural disasters. From the changing of landmasses to an asteroid strike, great shifts in climate have occurred in the past. At this present time the trend appears to be on a warming trend yet over the past 15 years the temperatures world wide have been relatively stable. And this snapshot of time is too short in geological terms to predict if there really is a warming trend that will continue on its current projection over the next 100 years.

I do believe that there has been a short term (50 year) increase in the planets temperature. It is self evident that the polar caps are melting faster and are not re-freezing to the previous year’s extent. And yes, glaciers high in the high mountains and low lying areas near the poles are disappearing. These effects are seen by everyone who watches the news feeds or those TV specials about nature. There really is general agreement that these things are occurring.

What then is the problem?

The problem arises from the left-wing statement that these changes are being driven by the increase of CO2 emissions from man made sources. Our cars, coal plants and a host of other human activities increase the CO2 levels and that these levels “drive” climate change by raising world wide temperatures of the air, sea and land. I must say this, I am not a climate scientist. Then again most of the scientists who are polled about what they think is the cause for climate change are not scientists in that field. Just because you are a scientist in one field does not mean that you are qualified to judge what is happening in a different line of scientific enquiry. Yet we are led to believe that those with some university education are the only ones who are qualified(?) to render an opinion… Hogwash! And that they all agree… more Hog in the Wash.

I will say that the activities of mankind are the main reason for the increase in CO2 in our environment. We are taking the planets stored hydrocarbon energy sources and processing them and using those sources in our cars, homes and industries. Yes, this increases the CO2 in our atmosphere. The oceans of the world absorb most of this CO2. What remains in the atmosphere is not enough to “drive” climate change. What about the oceans? CO2 is responsible for a slight increase in ocean temperatures but CO2 is not “driving” that ocean climate change either.

Now I am talking about the fallacy of climate change being driven by the increase use of hydrocarbons stored as gas, coal or oil in the planets crust. It does have an environmental impact, but that impact is a lot less than the so-called environmentalists would have you believe.

What is driving climate change?

The sun, in part, has warmed the atmosphere and the oceans. Not so much in the past 10-15 years because the sun’s seasonal cycle is more or less in its “winter” stage. The sun will of course become more active and then the temperature will once again begin to climb. What are the long term cycles of the sun no one knows. This may be a bigger driver of climate change than CO2 emissions from hydrocarbons.

The denuding of the forest cover is another factor in the increase of environmental CO2. This is actually done in two stages. The ground cover is destroyed releasing CO2 into our environment and then, because of the lack of greenery, less environmental CO2 is absorbed by plant life. This also contributes to global warming.

Destruction of the ozone layer. That was a man made disaster and has nothing to do with CO2, from hydrocarbon sources, in the environment. So we outlawed CFC’s and hopefully the upper atmosphere can begin to increase the right kind of chemicals to reflect UV rays back out into space. Ozone Layer? Over the poles? All that energy, once was reflected out into space now strikes the polar ice caps. They are also striking those disappearing glaciers in the northern and southern reaches. Even the glaciers in the mountains are being affected by this increase in heat energy. And again, this has nothing to do with CO2 emissions from hydrocarbons.

How about the raping and polluting of the worlds oceans? The small course changes of the earth in its orbit? The destruction of other types of plants and animals on this planet? Other things??? And worse… the shear increase of humans on the planet and what it takes to feed them, house them and move them.

Summing up?

There are natural events that are increasing temperature changes in our environment. There are also human activities that are responsible for temperature changes in our environment. All these factors working together will increase the likelihood that our environment will get warmer. The question that needs to be asked is, “what can be done in all these areas to mitigate global warming?”

Spending billions, if not trillions, trying to limit CO2 emissions from hydrocarbon use is a fools errand. All the pomp and pageantry of groups and governments dancing to the lie that man-made CO2 is the main culprit will ruin the lives of millions, affect negatively on the life of billions, and in the end be far too little too late.

A little bird in the flue, flew!

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Yesterday I was sitting in my chair, relaxing, doing nothing and feeling good about it. Then the furnace clicks on and there is a bit of a racket coming from the direction of the china cabinet. It sounded a lot like the mad fluttering of a bird in distress. “Couldn’t be,” I thought to myself. We had a new flue put in and birds shouldn’t be able to fall into the chimney and get stuck behind the wall… where the china cabinet sits. Only in winter does this happen. Sitting up on the chimney, getting warm and then passing out because of the CO2 fumes. Then clunk and later… the mad fluttering.

In the past I had to move the cabinet from the wall, a big heavy thing, across a thick carpet. Then pull the baseboard out. Then place a box in front of the hole we had there for the bird to escape. Eventually the bird would make its way into the box. Cover the top with another piece of cardboard and set the bird free outside. Then put everything back into place.

We had a new furnace put in and supposedly a new flue that should have prevented any bird from falling in. Somehow this bird made its way inside. With my bad back I couldn’t move the cabinet like I use to… but we put in hardwood flooring and now the cabinet slides easy. We also made the hole behind the baseboard a little larger at the time.

What to do this time? Leave the bird there to die a slow death? No way! So I got up, went to the cabinet, moved it (and it was easier to do), pull the baseboard off (not that easy) and went and opened the back door so the bird could make its timely escape. I watched as a beak appeared in the opening. Then the bird stuck out its head. It watched and listened for any sign of danger. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement on the couch in the next room. My cat was sitting up, ears forward, listening to that strange sound in the living room. Cat? Cat!

I picked up the furry feline (is she getting fatter) and put her in the entrance hallway. She had the look in her eyes that said, “what are you trying to hide from me.” Just before she leaped back in I closed the door and heard her head bump lightly against the door. I looked over to the hole in the wall and said, “the coast is clear now.” After a brief pause the bird made its re-appearance. With a jump and a flutter it went into the air and made a bee-line for the back door. Out she went.

I went to the back door and there was the bird, sitting on the fence, peering at me with one eye and I can’t really tell, but it seemed to have a relieved look on its face. Then I said, “There, there, little bird, you’re out and safe. Please go tell your buddies about the adventure you just had. Warn them of the danger. Oh, and have a good day.” Just then the bird gave a little bob of its head. I said “you’re welcome.” And off it flew. Did I see a smile on its face? Hard to tell with birds. So I closed the door and went and let the cat back into the room. She did not look too pleased that I denied her the pleasure of the hunt. Then again, that’s life.

Space travel goes Green

Thursday, October 28th, 2010
Tree cut to show an image of a rocket ship

The Royal Botanical Gardens goes green with their new Space Shuttle.

This shot was taken today at the RBG Arboretum in Hamilton Ontario. I did not read the plaque on the other side… I went with what it first appeared to me to be. In the last few years they have allowed artists to come in and “create” works of art with the materials on hand.

Foray into the Wild

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Gee, I got the car today. Time to swap those winter tires. It went pretty quick. Time on my hands? Hmmm… maybe a bit of a drive?

That is how I got to Gage park yesterday afternoon. Now I can’t walk very far. OK, I’ll simply walk out 75 yards and back 75 yards. See and handle a few trees. Take in the scene and smell whatever nature was offering. Not much wildlife though. One bird sitting in a juniper tree. One squirrel by a fence line. Another running across my path.

There was a trick I could do with my tongue and teeth. If I suck air through my teeth it causes a strange high pitched sound. Sometimes I fancy it sounds a bit like the sound of a squirrel calling to another. So I gave it a try, one long sound followed by four short ones. It doesn’t always work… it usually gets a squirrel to stop, look around and run away. And lo! The squirrel stopped running across my path and sat there 30 feet away. I called again and the squirrel approached a little closer. This was working much better than usual.

I kept making the sounds and the squirrel came as close as six feet from me. It sat there on its haunches, little hands curled on its chest, probably wondering what an awfully big squirrel I was. Of course if there was anyone around me they would have thought I was squirrely as well. Perhaps it was the peanut butter breathe that drew the furry critter closer.

I was so intent on this creature I failed to notice… other squirrels heard the sounds I was making. I looked around and I was surrounded by squirrels. Over a dozen were within twelve feet of me. I made the sounds again and others came running down trees, from under bushes and farther away. I stood with all these little beasties around me. I enjoyed their company. Yet I couldn’t stand there much longer. I slowly began my short journey into the park. They began to disperse and disappear from view.

I finished my journey of 75 yards out and 75 yards back. The company of squirrels made this short time a special moment. And that concludes my “Foray into the Wild.”

Out for a drive…

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Linda and I were out for a drive the previous night. Around the bay counter clock wise. As we were proceeding to drive down Dundas (St? Rd?) by Dundurn Park I saw something peculiar happen to my windshield. The light was low and I could see these vertical bars moving through the glass. Funny, I never saw that before. After a minute of trying to figure it out what I was seeing I mentioned it to Linda. Oh, see was seeing the very same thing. Then at the same time we both knew the real answer to what we were seeing.

BUGS!

You know how some bugs love to hover over and around certain trees. I have seen them in my backyard often enough. Mostly harmless. So seeing bugs flying above the trees near sunset… nothing new. What was new were how many there were. They looked more like columns of smoke. Millions of the little critters above the tress and joining up between the trees. A shifting veil of life. Quite impressive as Linda and I rolled up the windows so we wouldn’t be eating the low flying ones.

I guess the city’s new “environmentally friendly” program when it comes to pesticides is really working. Where we had a few bugs before you can now make friends with uncountable hordes of these delightful pests. And even better… it is still early in the season. I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

Fly! Fly! Fly away home!

The Calendar Says Spring

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Yep, I’ve read the posts on other sites. They have been saying that spring is here for the past month. Everyone seems to have their own sign of spring. My “time piece” to measure the seasons sits in the back sun-room. It is a strange lily we put back there three years ago. The first spring was announced by one flower. The second by two flowers. The third spring, yup, by three flowers. If this keeps up by the next century there should be ninety-three flowers. I can hardly wait.

Coyote Alert

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

You may have read the story about a coyote being seen at the beaches in Hamilton. Last night I went for a drive around the bay. My usual route was taken, going clock-wise. After I crossed the lift bridge I aimed my car to take the the side access that leads to Beach Blvd. Just before my turn, in the shadows, I saw something moving across the street. As I began to turn I saw that Wile E Coyote walking 25 feet from me. It was an excellent animal. Not the first I have seen but the first in Hamilton. Spying that particular animal made the drive worthwhile. Now if I can only spot the Roadrunner. One minute… I have seen a roadrunner in Hamilton. Must have been 30 years ago. Back then it wasn’t just a bird but a muscle car. Yeah, but I would still like to see the bird.

Winter Lily

Monday, March 17th, 2008

Winter Lily

Easter is just around the corner. A lily we have in the back sunroom has decided to give us a show. It hasn’t bloomed once since we got it a couple of years ago. In the midst of the snow storms it started to put forth its flowers for the first time. Perhaps this is to symbolize a new beginning this Easter holiday. When we not only celebrate the resurrection of our Lord but the resurrection of purpose, dreams and a new life.

If we would only die to self we would live for and in Jesus.