Thomas Trock

Mountain Cathedrals: The Outdoors From a Different Perspective

Autumn

Fall Colors V

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! – Psalm 150:1-6 In my little corner of the world, we are once again entering into one of my most favorite seasons of …

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Fall Colors IV

Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And …

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Salmon Spawning V

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! Psalm 150:6 NKJV Well, it’s that time of year once again, and I can’t seem to help taking some pictures of these remarkable fish (and a remarkable dog this time too). It is sometimes difficult to get a perspective on just how shallow the water can be where these kokanee salmon spawn. To get to this particular place, we had to wade across a fairly large stretch of river. Actually, I waded whilst Cosmos opted to swim most of the way. Since this area gets little human disturbance because …

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Salmon Spawning IV

Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Psalm 40:5 Photographing fish has been a challenge – especially when I’m trying to take the picture with one hand whilst attempting to get them into position with the other. In the past I’ve taken some photos of a school of these salmon as they are swimming over their spawning beds in the shallows of the river. This year I …

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Fall Colors III

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:7 My vocabulary is a bit more limited than usual these days. Most every time I go around a corner, the word “WOW” just seems to spring forth without even thinking. I’d mentioned in an earlier post that the various colors in the leaves are actually present all summer. I didn’t see them because they were hidden by the green chlorophyll in the leaf. For a more detailed ­– but short …

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Salmon Spawning III and Fall Colors

Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Psalm 111:2 NIV Leaves aren’t the only thing changing colors this time of year around my home. It’s time for the annual salmon spawning to take place in the nearby rivers. I know I’ve written about these remarkable fish before, but each year they just invigorate me to appreciate where I live, and marvel once again at the amazing Creator who fashioned all this life around us. As I’ve noted earlier, in the summer these fish are a bright silvery color with a tint …

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Salmon Spawning II

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NIV) When I lived on the equator in Africa, seasonal variations were relatively minor. We did experience changes during the rainy and dry seasons, as well as the fluctuations they brought to both the plants and animals. These seasons are necessary for the planting, growing, and harvest for those who depend on the land to bring forth food to survive. I hope wherever you …

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Autumn in the Mountains – Fall Colors II

Daniel answered and said: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. Daniel 2:20-22 Cool weather and shorter day-length are once again having an effect on the mountains where I love to live. As I took this picture, sounds of the stream sliding over dark rocks filled …

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Fall Colors I

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3 While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 Seeing color is an interesting concept. There is an entire science dedicated to studying color; how it is perceived by the human eye, where it originates in an object, the …

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The Recyclers

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 Many of the rivers not too far from my home are a bit low in nutrients relative to other places in the mountains. The granite rocks which surround these streams don’t provide a lot of essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, or magnesium. The result is that the lower level of the food chain, i.e. the small plants and insects, which feed on the plants, aren’t quite …

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Salmon Spawning

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to …

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