Happy New Year, 2012

From one of the most magical places I know,
May God richly bless you and your family this year!
Thank you for a great year at the Shadow of the Cross!


(And, no, I'm not really at the Magic Kingdom - I wish I was there - still home being sick with this awful cold.
I pulled this picture out from earlier in the year.)

Never Forget 9/11

Ten years ago today, these United States of America came under attack.

Thousands were killed. Senselessly. Violently. Lives were changed forever.

Homes and families were changed forever.

Our safety, our security, became challenged. We came together as a country, like never before.

Stronger. Sterner. Bolder. Empowered.

God became real to many who had never really seeked His face before.

God became tangible, and we became stronger.


Ten years. Looking forward. Today we look back and remember.

Never forget.

(I took this photo today, September 11, 2011, at Hope Baptist Church, in Theressa, Florida.)

400th Post - A Random Kind of Day

Kali is in Tennessee and Mark is in Georgia. I was a bit bored this morning, so I decided to ride into Gainesville to pick up some medicine. As I pulled up to the stop sign and out onto the highway, this beautiful deer loped across the street right in front of me.(She has a mouth full of leaves.)

I started to leave the house without my camera this morning. Then I decided to go back inside to get it. I never know what I'm going to see and wish - too late - that I had my camera.

I didn't really expect her to hang around, but I pulled off the side of the road anyway and turned on my hazard lights. Right on the beginning of a curve in the road - probably not the best place to stop. I reached into the back seat and brought my camera up front. I kept expecting the deer to run off, but she didn't. I got my camera out, powered down the front window and started shooting from the driver's seat. In the second shot above - she heard my camera and looked straight at me.

I clicked off about 12 shots and she was patient to pose and wait for me.

Then she took one last bite of leaves and ambled back across the highway and into the woods. I packed my camera back up and drove on down the highway.

When I drove into the next little town, I heard a train's whistle and the crossing arms went down right in front of me.

I didn't react fast enough or else I would have gotten a shot of the engine.

But I think these turned out pretty nice!

My dad collected Lionel train cars. He had some pretty elaborate tabletops set up with tracks and mountains, cities, rivers, and people, and of course with trains. He would have loved these photos. I wasn't really into photography when Dad was alive, but he would have loved how my lazy morning turned into some pretty awesome photos opps.

My 200th Posting!

I can hardly believe this is my 200th post here at The Shadow of the Cross. I remember sitting here at the computer thinking over names for my blog and thinking about the direction I wanted to take with it. That has changed some since the beginning but there was never any doubt as to the name once I thought of this particular one.

My first post was on May 30, 2008, and it consisted of this simple quote by E. S. Bouton:

True wisdom lies in gathering the precious

things out of each day as it goes by.

The following day, June 1st, 2008, I posted my first photo. It was one of my daughter taken at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky. Here it is again in case you missed it.

I have 23 people who regularly follow my blog and we have come to a total of 8,138 hits by people in 49 different countries.

So, onto my 200th post! Recently I was traveling into the city and saw all these beautiful wildflowers growing in the median. Each spring and summer these flowers bloom, and each spring and summer there seem to be more and more of them blanketing and beautifying this highway. The difference being this year I had my camera in the car :O). I pulled into the median, got out, and started snapping shots as cars whizzed past me at 65-70 miles an hour. Whoa! Here are the best shots I got. If you click them to full screen you will get a better look.

I like the fact that there are several types and colors growing all together. Did you know that this highway wildflower program started in Florida in 1998? The Department of Transportation realized they could save money by cutting mowing costs and they could also stabilize the soil by planting wildflowers in the medians of our public highways. This is something Lady Bird Johnson had started in her home state. Horticulturists at the University of Florida knew that native Floridian wildflowers would be the only ones that would withstand the heat. They did some initial studies and determined that flowers dug up and transported from natural-living locations would thrive and live better than store purchased seed. And so began the highway wildflower program.

Did you know that it is illegal to dig up these flowers and remove them? I'd really love for my yard to look like this (so would my husband), but we have been unable to get the store purchased seed variety to grow at all. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to go out with a shovel and a bucket and transfer some of these to my front yard. However, I don't think DOT or FHP would be amused.

I hoped you have enjoyed my 200th post. I can't believe how fast the year is going by. I have learned a lot about photography, not nearly as much as I'd like to, though. I am looking at new cameras. I think I am ready for the next step. Thank you for being so faithful and dedicated to The Shadow of the Cross. Thank you for your comments and encouragements. Thank you for your prayers for our family over the past couple weeks as we have now experienced three deaths in our family in as many weeks. God bless and please continue to visit. I love seeing you here.