What Lion’s mane can shake the earth or fill the air with an enormity of fear?
Whose roar ricochet past barren plain and circles slowly back to all the earth?
When is man just a man while beast or brawn buries burdened paws in dirt?
Where is the One, King of Kings, who rules and He is Maker of both man and beast?
He sits upon His white throne and feeds the mighty lion and the humble lamb!
You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.”
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;
“The fog hugged the earth as morning vapor intensified the salty air. Jemi breathed in the scent. She could not move as she took in the moment”
Jemi’s Noble Quest
In the first chapter of “ Jemi’s Noble Quest”, her adventurous spirit is revealed in activities of her daily life.
She looked across The Great Sea searching the horizon for Leviathan, a monstrous beast with terrible teeth, scales tightly sealed, sparks of fire shooting forth from his mouth and neck of immense strength.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Description from the Bible is clear on this creature. It was very much like what we know as a dragon. However, it’s habitat was the sea.
The powerful hips of Behemoth and his bulky tail, like a vast cedar, brought mystery to her somewhat dull life in Dor. These creatures were seldom talked about in her little fishing village; for the people had forgotten the legends of these immense creatures.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Some believe Behemoth was a type of elephant and ours believe it was a hippopotamus. More than likely, it was a beast like none we’ve ever known.
“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?” Job 41:1
Echoing past each drop upon my rusty, tin roof the scent of spring rain;
quiet honey bee, no longer hears the sound buried in the dirt;
as wild roses bloom their fragile petals fall; on the soggy earth.
P. Wolf, poet & authorof Jemi’s Noble Quest; available on Amazon
Last year, 40% of honey–bee colonies in the US died.
Bee hives cannot sustain themselves without worker bees and would eventually die. This combination of events resulting in the loss of a bee colony has been called Colony Collapse Disorder.
EPA.gov
Scientists point to several causes behind the problem, including global warming, habitat loss, parasites and a class of bee–killing insecticides known as neonicotinoids (or neonics)
Environmental.org
WorkerBees: these are all female and their roles are to forage for food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build and protect the hive, clean and circulate air by beating their wings. Workers are the only bees most people ever see flying around outside the hive.
and above towering pine’s see glimpse of grey tail feather; a sudden movement, swoops, opens wings, dives for dinner.
Finally, the seasonal muskrat beckons his kettled home; among the broken reeds rooted deep in folds of time.
P. Wolf, poet & author of “Jemi’s Noble Quest” available on Amazon
Kettle Moraine is a large moraine in the state of Wisconsin, United States. It stretches from Walworth County in the south to Kewaunee County in the north
Wikipedia of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Kettle Moraine
Kettles are depressions left behind after partially-buried ice blocks melt. Many are filled with water, and are then called “kettle lakes”. … Kettle lake basins were formed as the glaciers receded. While this was happening, a block of ice broke off the glacier, and just sat there.
Michigan State University
Looking Down into a Kettle
A moraine is material left behind by a moving glacier. This material is usually soil and rock.
Images of Life in Dor from the book Jemi’s Noble Quest
Finally, the last meal of the day would be served. Fathers and sons all over the village would make plans for the next day. They would check fishing tools, mend nets and talk of the largest catch of the day. Here is where Jemi felt sadness for her father because he had no sons to help with the labor or to talk with him regarding men’s affairs.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Houses in Dor during this time we’re very much like the diagram above. Extra living space was available on the flat roof. The family had no animals, since Jemi’s father was a fisherman.
Once everyone was at the table, Jemi’s father gave the blessing for the food. “ God of our Father Abraham and Job, we ask Your blessings upon this meal. We ask for strength for another day and wisdom for the next.”
Jemi’s Noble Quest
The table in this photo is not what I envisioned as I wrote Jemi’s Noble Quest. It would have been high enough for a wooden chair and benches to fit under it. It was the conversation place where decisions were made. More importantly, where things of God we’re taught. The simplicity of the room does capture the time period of Dor during the Intertestamental Period. This was when God was silent to His people. It is often referred to as, “the four hundred silent years”.
The wind caught her crimson shawl dropping it to the dusty ground while water sprinkled from the jar she carried atop her head.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
Jemi’s shawl was made of the finest wool unlike the fiber above. It was hand dyed by her deceased mother whose artistic ability was well known on the streets of Dor.
Jemi walked toward the outdoor oven and placed the saucer of dough next to an earthen oven which sat low to the ground.
Jemi’s Noble Quest
I know some grumble and complaint about cooking today. I can’t imagine what it was like to cook during this time period. Life was simple, so I assume meals were simple too.
This was just a small glimpse in Jemi’s world. Each weekendI hope to share more of Jemi’s quest through photos similar to the book, Jemi’s Noble Quest, available on Amazon. Thanks for stopping in…
Hoot, hoot, hooot, whooo; I woke up to an owl’s song the air speckled with frost tall, majestic trees laced in dollops of weary wintry weather.
Hoot, hoot, hooot, whooo; I, still dazed from heavy sleep, woven in layers of colorful quilts wondering, willfully curious as a cat of the song’s lyrical message.
Hoot, hoot, hooot, whooo; I had longed for a glimpse, of it’s shadow and woven wings; but silhouette trees can not speak, as the owl’s song took flight away.
Hoot, hoot, hoo, hoo, hoo; I hear only faint song in frosty air, bear branches blush from slice of dawn’s light casting intricate shadows; a lullaby for bundled eggs they caress.
P. L. Wolf; Poet & Author of Jemi’s Noble Quest
“Owls live in a variety of habitats, including coniferous forests, mountains, deserts, and plains. The snowy owl lives in the cold tundra of the north. Owls nest in a variety of ways. Several species, such as great gray and great horned owls, live in old hawk or squirrel nests.”
Audubon International
Owls often roost in dense evergreens during daytime
“What does it mean when you hear an owlhoot? Hoots are used to communicate and can convey several different messages. Owls primarily hoot to claim their territory and fend off any would-be intruders (1). Hoots can also be used to signal the presence of a predator.”
World bird.org
Great Horned Owl is the first yearly nesting in Wisconsin, with a breeding season, late January and February
“Once the Great Horned Owls have laid their one to five eggs, both males and females will incubate them for up to five weeks. As chicks hatch and develop, adults may continue to provide care and protection into July!”
“But no matter how low the mercury dips, or how deep the snow cover, you’ll find winter birds of Wisconsin going about their business. Small flocks of black-capped chickadees search for food, foraging for seed and suet. They often join nuthatches, cardinals, downy woodpeckers, and others at backyard feeders.”
birdwatchersdigest.com
“Wisconsin average snowfall ranges from about 40 inches in the south to as much as 160 inches along the shores of Lake Superior. On average, about 35 to 40 winterweather events hit Wisconsin each winter.”
“The tanka is a thirty-one-syllable poem, traditionally written in a single unbroken line. A form of waka, Japanese song or verse, tanka translates as “short song,” and is better known in its five-line, 5/7/5/7/7 syllable count form.”
Poets.org
“Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year. If you’re like most people with SAD, your symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, SAD causes depression in the spring or early summer.”
Mayo Clinic
“A quick look at the medical literature reveals that it is still unclear what causes SAD, but most experts believe it might be caused by a drop in serotonin, a brain chemical affecting mood. Reduced sun exposure can cause a drop in serotonin that might trigger depression. The change in seasons can also disrupt the balance of the natural hormone, melatonin, which hormone plays a role in sleep patterns and mood.”
Pharmacy Times
SAD = Smile And Dance
I first encountered SAD four decades ago. The first twenty years I changed light bulbs and dealt with the condition. As time has passed, there has become more of an awareness of the “lack of sun” syndrome. Along with the awareness, there are countless ways to handle the challenge.
I would assume it can be different for everyone, the effects of SAD or how to handle the situation.
About a decade ago, I started spending more time outside during our limited winter, sunny days in Wisconsin. Next, I added supplements to my diet to help increase a balance in hormones. I also purchased a dry sauna. This added light therapy and warmth. Like 130 degrees of heat on subzero days. All of this has been helpful.
Is SAD real? It’s as real as PMS, which in my early years I was told was none existent, and now it has been accepted. What else can one do in dealing with SAD? Smile and dance (SAD) knowing spring will come again!
“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S name is to be praised.”
I am the grey wolf, who hunts and still is hunted, hear my lonely howl!
I often think of the behavior of animals in the wild and what a gift they are to us. I know their instinct is for survival. Therefore their behavior can appear aggressive. In ways they react the same way we do. When hungry they eat. When their young are threatened they protect. When tired they find shelter to sleep. As for their emotions, we can only project our understanding of the great beasts created in our care.
A lone wolf howls to attract the attention of his pack, while communal howls may send territorial messages from one pack to another. Some howls are confrontational. Much like barking domestic dogs, wolves may simply begin howling because a nearby wolf has already begun.
National Geographic
“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know; That the hand of the Lord has done this, In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? Job 12:7-10
The wolf is built for travel. Its long legs, large feet, and deep but narrow chest suit it well for life on the move. Keen senses, large canine teeth, powerful jaws, and the ability to pursue prey at 60 km (37 miles) per hour equip the wolf well for a predatory way of life
