A Poem for the end of October

Poem: "The Invention of Fractions" by Jessica Goodfellow, from A Pilgrim's Guide to Chaos in the Heartland. © Concrete Wolf Chapbook Series.

The Invention of Fractions
God himself made the whole numbers: everything else
is the work of man.—Leopold Kronnecker
God created the whole numbers:
the first born, the seventh seal,
Ten Commandments etched in stone,
the Twelve Tribes of Israel —
Ten we've already lost —
forty days and forty nights,
Saul's ten thousand and David's ten thousand.
'Be of one heart and one mind' —
the whole numbers, the counting numbers.
It took humankind to need less than this;
to invent fractions, percentages, decimals.
Only humankind could need the concepts
of splintering and dividing,
of things lost or broken,
of settling for the part instead of the whole.
Only humankind could find the whole numbers,
infinite as they are, to be wanting;
though given a limitless supply,
we still had no way
to measure what we keep
in our many-chambered hearts.

Taking Superior Home

Judy loves the rocks on the shore of Lake Superior. She is not the only one as there are books written about the variety of rocks and where to go to find particular ones. This is Paradise Beach, about 50 miles south of the Canadian border, where an abundance of agate can be found. You probably can't tell it but it is pouring rain in this picture and in the center far right there is a young eagle feasting on a fish. Several other eagles were in the nearby trees and occasionally swooped over the tree tops. The wind was blowing strongly from the northeast and the temperature was dropping. But the rock gatherer was undeterred. She picked up enough amazing agate rocks to fill a disposable Subway salad bowl. The variety is stunning. How does such a mixture of stones find its way to this beach? From where along this enormous lake did they originate and how long has it taken to get here, driven by wind and ice and water? But it is not just this one spot where rock gatherers bend at the waist but all around the shoreline are treasures of color and shape and texture, all polished by nature. It is a rock pickers' dream.

World Communion Sunday

We have retreated to Eau Claire for a few days to escape the weather and the abyssmal photo opportunities. The summer has been too dry and the autumn too quick to provide photogenic color. The wind nor the pouring rain provide any assistance in that matter. Cloudy skies are no problem as one can photograph water and detail, but that has not been the case the last few days. We have attended church in Eau Claire and one of the pastors is a good friend of my bishop. The sermon is prophetic, delivered by a pastor from South Africa which gives real meaning to the day. The communion bread is the first bread I have had in more than two weeks due to this new diet and the small cup of juice is the first fruit juice in as long a time. True soul nourishment and connection to fellow Christians when we are far from home. We are not strangers at this table.

The Winds of November Came Early

Gordon Lightfoot sang about the sinking of the Edmund Fizgerald with the words of the opening verse:
"The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early."
Lat night it felt every bit of November as thunder and lightning and strong winds howled outside the motel door. We have retreated to Wisconsin.

Ya Shudda Been Here Last Week

How many times have I heard this? The weather was purrrfect last week! The sunsets were spectacular last week. Conditions were so much better last week.

Duluth Dawn

Judy and I left our hotel room in Superior WI in the predawn darkness to drive to Canal Park in Duluth. We had scouted out the area the afternoon before and knew exactly where to go. The sky was rosy with the promise of dawn. I set up quickly and began to try different compostions and combinations. It was a beautiful sight as the pictures can testify.