Merry Christmas from the Timber Life Family

How wonderful it is to come to another Advent Season! 


To Celebrate what was heralded long ago on the hills surrounding the Little Town of Bethlehem. 



 It is with my simple offering of written word that I join in sharing with the Angel's Herald song to announce the anniversary of the birth of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ,our Lord.

                                                        

                                                           Luke 2:1-20

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Glory in the Highest

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely[d] known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. 

(NKJV)

Corey,Sadie Sioux and I,the Timber Life Family ask God to Bless you and your families today and always...

Have a Great Day! 

Signs Signs Everywhere are Signs

We often find our way around this world by signs...These are some of the signs in Nebraska that made concrete by their words and designs the message they wanted to convey.

There seems to be so many destinations that we haven't had the opportunity to visit yet... Today, is a little wordless,and things aren't necessarily in the order we saw them, but I definitely see a message to start the bucket list once again.  

Have a Great Day!

Nebraska Barns, Windmills and Deer Stands

Today, I've decided to fill with pictures of some vanishing farm history found  along the I-80 corridor through Nebraska.

As you've gathered I was concentrating on a few varied objects while we traveled. I kept a  vigilant eye out for windmills,which seemed to be in operation for grazing animals more than what I've seen around us in our home state, barns or buildings with a country orientation and of course deer stands of many different designs. I'm always imagining what kind of wildlife traffic is available in such a highly trafficked area. It was quite an eye opener in June 2015 when we saw several flocks of turkeys and random sightings of deer along the Nebraska river corridors while en-route to our Colorado destination.

By the end of our total mileage during our September trip this year , I had witnessed the similar architecture of the two red barns with common roof design and painted crisscross patterns, both here in Nebraska and  South Dakota. I've looked back at the Pioneer history to try to unravel which group of European Settlers  that might have added their old world design to the early landscapes and came up with the possibilities of many peoples including German,Swedish,and Norwegian...

I hope you too can enjoy this random sampling of what keeps my mind and eyes on the move to polish my ability to take pictures on the go.

The next post will include attention getting roadside signs.

Thanks again for being apart of our skip across the state of Nebraska...One more post and we'll make it to Colorado. 😀

Have a Great Day!

Nebraska Travels

 Good Day All! Time for me to start filling in more information and pictures to bring us up to speed on our fall trip to celebrate a special occasion for me.

As we traveled between Omaha and Aurora,NE. there were so many things that caught my photographer's eyes. Of course I can't share all of them at once... So, I'll just get going and see what we can get accomplished today.

I caught  a low-flying  airborne object glinting in the sun headed over Eastbound Interstate 80 traffic several times ,east of Aurora. When it became apparent that it was a plane, it began cutting north to make it's circle to drop what we believe was seed in the practice of Aerial Seeding for cover crops.

Taking pictures out the passenger side window I followed him as his path went away and returned at least four times until we caught up to him.

This was the last pass as we drove out of camera range.

 There are eleven westbound Rest Areas scattered along the 455 mile Interstate 80 system through the State.

This particular  Rest Area introduced us to the upcoming Great American Desert , which was located 50 miles to our west.Please click here to find out  facts about the desert.

This Great Platte River Road Archway Monument , an oasis that has been photographed by many a traveler - the challenge will be repeated by many more  as others enjoy their travels through Nebraska .

The day was bright and clear...

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post my photographer's eyes kept scanning the roadway and fields.

Look what we SAW!

Does anyone remember who this famous British cartoon character's name might be?

If I'm not mistaken,given a few years of exposure by our grandchildren and nephews , it would be Thomas the Tank Engine getting a lift to his next destination!

Ending the post on a cheery note! I'll be working on more pictures and thoughts to share.

Glad you are riding along to catch the views. Have a Great Day!

Custer State Park

Welcome to Custer State Park!

What a great way to be greeted by the people of South Dakota...Into a park that holds many kinds of treasures.

This year to celebrate my belated 60th Birthday event - to see the Custer Park Buffalo Roundup... Corey and I headed for "The Hills", as they are lovingly referred to by friends and family. I came to know the Black Hills after the Rapid City flood  of June 9,1972, when I came to a  Church sponsored Work Camp to help clean-up the aftermath.

As we entered the park this lone young bull was rising and stretching after his late afternoon nap. He was certainly an impressive against the backdrop of the  surrounding landscape. The grassland was showing it's well grazed fall length.

Remaining on the move as we passed by other tourists trying to get pictures of this statuesque Buffalo we headed further into the park.

Many years ago on a trip through "The Hills" the Pronghorn antelope were feeding at a location just beside a grated opening into another section of the park. As we passed this same location this year, once again we discovered how unconcerned these animals were at our vehicles presence.

I had quite a few minutes to concentrate on this digital capture before another car came up to replace us without disturbing this single animal.

In our travels along the winding road we came upon an indigenous Merriman's Wild Turkey population.

This particular subspecies Meleagris gallopavo merriami is found throughout  the Rocky Mountains and the neighboring states of Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota as well as much of the high mesa areas of New Mexico.  They live mailnly in ponderosa pine and mountainous regions.

I know you've probably heard about, or seen the Wild Burro population roaming the Custer Park.

We had to laugh! This Burro just kept standing at the window of this SUV even though it didn't appear they were sharing any edible treats as we waited.

Once during the visit the owner of the SUV climbed out from the opposite side to document their gray long-eared guest.

Just a little ways further down the road we were taken aback how brashly this coyote ran out in front of two cars passing in the opposite direction.

Maybe it had heard it was protected within it's territory?

Not an unusual creature being one of three seen in the short-time we drove around and most likely related to the ones that you see crossing the road in your own neighborhoods.

We finally located where we would be coming on Saturday,September 29th, to view the rounding-up of the Buffalo herd.

The fall thinning activity keeps the herd strong by lessening the grazing pressure during what can be very harsh winter conditions...It also helps to bring revenue to maintain the remaining animals by selling breeding stock and adding to the commercial meat supplies. 

Time for us to leave the park for the evening but as we exited, the Pronghorn group which had waited so patiently for our return was still relaxing and chewing away at the grasses.

If you look a little closer, you will see another dominant member of the Black Hills fauna, the Prairie Dog. Those little dogs are fun to watch when they get excited! They run to and fro,popping up and down in their holes when they are being pursued by the wiley coyotes.

Thank you for stopping by to read about another day in our journey. Just a note to let you know that I'm going to mix things up a bit . However, I assure you that there I'm going to be share some-more pictures that could bring a smile to your lips.

Have a great day!