Towards the Sun - a lesson from nature.

Sunflowers are amazing; we all love the large yellow flowerheads and the fact that they can grow so tall with little or no help from the gardener.  The most wonderful thing about them is their ability to track the Sun.  At night, the flowers move either not at all or randomly about, but with sunrise they immediately (in plant terms) turn to face the east and then follow the Sun throughout the day until it finally sets in the west.  They call this Heliotropism (thanks to Wikipedia for that one) and this reminds me of a great truth...

The Lord Jesus said:

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

(John 8:12)

Like the Sunflower, we were made to follow the light.  The Sunflower follows the Sun, we follow The Son, the Light of the World.  

And another verse, this time from Ephesians 5:8

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."

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Photo notes:  I'm fairly sure that I couldn't have taken this picture with my digital camera (a Nikon D70s); the sun would have been overexposed to the point that the whole right hand side of the picture would have been white, with no clear definition in it at all.  I could have then exposed for the sun, but that would have meant that the left hand side of the picture would have been very dull.  If I had a graduated neutral density filter I could have used it but I don't have one :-(  However, a great advantage of slide film is increased dynamic range (you can get more detail in the highlights and in the shadows than you can with all but the most expensive digital cameras).  Of course you get great colour and a three dimensional look too, and you also get the joy of not knowing what your pictures will look like until that little box arrives in the post and you hold up those small plastic slides to the light...

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Anonymous 

The snail he lives in his hard round house,

In the orchard, under the tree:

Says he, "I have but a single room;

But it's large enough for me."

Faded Glory

I suppose we don't need any reminder that Summer has now reluctantly begun to make way for Autumn.  All around, the leaves are beginning to change colour, many flowers parade their final encore and the sounds are those of finality (for this year at least); the swan song is in the air.

I came across this butterfly whilst recovering a rugby ball from a flower bed.  Like the autumn leaves, its wings are fading; once glorious colours are now only shades of brown.  Yet it is still beautiful.

Having helped with a couple of funerals recently, the words of the old funeral service (which is seldom used now) came to mind:

Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live ... He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.  

A little bleak perhaps, but a stark reminder of not only the fragility of life but its transience also.  Not only we but all of Creation are in an inevitable Autumn, waiting patiently for that eternal Spring to come...

Early-purple Orchid

It's amazing what you can find when you're not looking for anything!  My better half came across this tiny little flower whilst she was cutting the grass (the blades of grass around the flower give a sense of the small scale).  We think that it is the beginnings of an Early-purple Orchid, but are not entirely sure, maybe some of you green-fingered readers will be able to help us out here?  I know some people like to treat their lawns with all sorts of chemicals so that they can enjoy a velvety grass-only lawn with not a weed or any moss in sight - I'll gladly put up with a few dandelions here and there if it means we can get to see such lovely flowers as this:

Lord, just as a flower can radiate its precious beauty

and cast its fragrance everywhere.

So I ask you to cast the sweet fragrance of your presence over me. 

Surround me with your love.

Fill me with your healing balm.

Enfold me with your peace.

Comfort me with your presence.

May your fragrance linger in the stillness of my soul.

May your healing love renew my very being.

(From Fr. James McSweeny: A Year in Reflection)

The Moon & Venus

Nikon D70s, f4.2, 1/5 sec, ISO 200, 85mm

When I consider your heavens, 

the work of your fingers, 

the moon and the stars, 

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him, 

the son of man that you care for him?

(Psalm 8:3-4)

This was the view from the Rectory garden just after ten o'clock last night.  Too large to be a star, my best guess is that it's Venus (see here).

Photo notes (If you're interested in the technical aspect of the picture):  I set my camera on a tripod, placed on firm ground and put a timer delay so that there would be no vibration for the long exposure necessary.  To my surprise I noticed however that even though there was no wind and I didn't touch the camera during the exposure the picture is still slightly blurred.  The only conclusion I can come to is that the slap of the viewfinder mirror caused it.  Unfortunately my camera does not have mirror lock-up, which would have prevented this.  Next time however I will take a much longer exposure and hold the lens cap over the lens for the first second so that the initial vibration is not recorded on the final picture.

Garden Colour Part Two

See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labour or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.  

(Matthew 6:28b, 29)

Well Spring has sprung a bit more since last time.  If ever you are thinking about a film for showing off colour (whether it be in your garden, landscapes or even for portraits) may I humbly recommend Fuji's Reala 100.  Seeing as only strange people like me use film these days I got twenty rolls of this film off eBay for £20!  All these pictures were taken with a Nikon F100 and 28-105 AF-D lens.  

Garden Colour

Primula

Nikon D70s, f4.5, 1/30 sec, ISO 220, 127mm equivalent

Crocuses

Nikon D70s, f4.5, 1/60 sec, ISO 200, 127mm equivalent

Camellia

Nikon D70s, f8, 1/250 sec, ISO 200, 112mm equivalent

It's wonderful to have a stroll around the garden and see everything coming to life, especially after such a long, cold winter.  There are of course the great parallels with Easter - New Life, New Beginnings etc.  It is as if the whole of Creation points us towards God:

Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.  (Romans 1:20 The Message)

St. Augustine said:

Ask the earth and the sea, the plains and the mountains, the sky and the clouds, the stars and the sun, the fish and animals, and all of them will say, "We are beautiful because God made us." This beauty is their testimony to God.

In the bleak midwinter

In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood
Hard as iron,
Water like a stone:
Snow had fallen,
Snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

Our God,
Heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and Earth
Shall flee away
When he comes to reign:
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The lord God almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only
In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part;
Yet
What I can I give him,
Give my heart.

Christina Rossetti (1830-93)

A stroll around the garden

Camera: Olympus OM-1, Lens: G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Film: Fujifilm Reala 100

Camera: Olympus OM-1, Lens: G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Film: Fujifilm Reala 100

Camera: Olympus OM-1, Lens: G.Zuiko 50mm f1.4, Film: Fujifilm Reala 100

Green Finch

Nikon D70s, f5.6, 1/320 sec, ISO 800, 450mm equivalent

Saw this little fella on the bird table yesterday evening. Much as I like the myriad of Crows and Magpies that usually inhabit our garden, it’s nice to occasionally see something different. In my ignorance I whispered across the kitchen to my wife “look there’s a lovely green bird on the bird table”, to which she replied “oh yes, it’s a Green Finch”. And what a beautiful bird it is too (although it's looking a little cross at being disturbed by the man wielding a camera from the other side of the window)!

I am reminded of these words of the Lord Jesus:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
(Matthew 6:25-27)

Quick, hurry, the sun has come out (for half an hour).

Panasonic LX1, f4, 1/250 sec, -0.33 EV, ISO 80, 34 mm equivalent (click to enlarge)

Panasonic LX1, f4, 1/160 sec, -0.33 EV, ISO 80, 28mm equivalent (click to enlarge)

Great to see the garden coming to life yesterday with a brief bit of sunshine. My Welsh blood reminded me that it was St. David's day and it was difficult not to burst into a rendition of "Land of my Fathers" in the back garden - but if I had it would have sent the neighbours scurrying indoors for cover and caused all the birds to fly away - so I managed to refrain... :-)

Camellia

Panasonic LX1, 1/100 sec, f3.6. ISO 80, 34mm equivalent (Click to enlarge)

I’m not a great gardener, I’m one for sitting in the sunshine on the lawn rather than getting excited about bedding plants or shrubbery, but I do especially love watching and waiting for the spring. For me there is something special about seeing the snowdrops and the crocuses emerge, then the daffodils bursting forth with vivid life and colour. For most of my life I was blissfully unaware of this seasonal glory, failing to see or appreciate the beauty that was all around me. Thankfully though I have a patient and (I’m ashamed to admit it) long-suffering wife who has slowly but surely turned this gardening Philistine into someone who can see and appreciated God’s hand at work, not only in the starry night sky and in mountainous vistas, but in every small corner of the world too – including our very ordinary back garden…