Rambling Like a Rabbit Chasing five Blades of Grass in the Wind

Posted byGary FultzPosted inadventure, Adventure story, animals in winter, cold, Dangerous snow conditions, dreamer, expectations, Fear, Fishing, Gary Fultz Blog, goals, gone fishing, Humor, intentional, Nature, perspective, purpose in life, quality of life, snow conditions, story teller, victorious livingTags:, , , , , , , ,

David of Davids Daily Dose used my other lake sundogs picture today (All Haiku, click here) My favorite I think.

I have been surprised to see that my photos posted on Unsplash for free download have hit 2.4 million views and 13,000 downloads. Most pleasing is when I see pictures put to good use. I have watched David from Davids Daily Dose grow so much with his haiku’s posted every Sunday. He will often use one of my photos and make a great Haiku. I just take the picture and he does all the hard work in that collaboration. You must browse a bunch of them starting with todays (All Haiku click here) David may someday have a coffee table book with my pictures… that would be fun.

Good stuff David

This morning I was found smirking at my siblings messaging one another on their schedules. I have 6 siblings. None take the time to argue genetics or learned behavior. Fiercely independent carve your own path don’t fence me in types, yet all very unique and very talented. In the next little while most will have traveled hundreds or thousands of miles and back. The main reason is because our kids live so far away. There is nothing like getting served your own pudding. Many of you know what I mean.

I was outdone this week in the risk taking category. I went out on the lake to check the thickness of the lake with my ice chisel to see if the ice was safe. It wasn’t (does that even make any sense? My wife didn’t think so either). 5 inches of ice and two of those inches were snow-ice considered very weak. Three inches were clear ice, considered very strong. Ice can and does vary in thickness from one area to another so I considered it not safe to venture out very far. As I was leaving, a medium size car drove across the lake and put up a fish house. If you were wondering where all the guardian angels have gone, wonder no more. I need to get to know that guy, I think he could trace his ancestry back to the apostle Peter.

Poor cell phone picture of car and fish house on the run. I was busy getting out of earshot in case they fell through.

Words for writers are like putty. Readers get the whole lump in a few words from some writers and other keyboardist stretch the putty all over the place to include as many words as possible. I think a whole book (a good one) could be written on the last two words of David’s Haiku linked above. Two words. Amazing.

What brought this post was a picture I took this morning on my cell phone of my wife bringing in our flag for the winter. I like the picture a lot. I love her a lot. The flag is it’s own story. The Christmas trees cut from below power lines are another. The bird feeder quite another. The shop in the background where I still hear dad’s voice while I look for a tool not found yet could be a book of funny stories or serious. For those who might be wondering, Yes, it’s cold outside. The wind chill is way below zero (f). Even Buddy the dog wants to get in the house.

What’s missing in the picture is the wheelchair ramp for our daughter. We are caregivers. Our choice. She has God, and us. Most of winter will be too cold for her to venture out. We will be here for Christmas watching the rabbit who lives under the deck. I will be out fishing safely as long as I stay in the car tracks on the lake. I hope to write more next year.

I am making Fishing sticks for catching and pulling northern pike through the ice for grand kids. I have caught hundreds of pike this way.

What I really mean is, I hope to write less and say more this next year. Now that I got the rabbit out of my system I will post some normal blogs. Ha! meanwhile please check out my “God’s ways are different” posts if you have never visited there. Have a great December. Are you ready for Christmas? Really Ready?

Gary

Published by Gary Fultz

Outdoors Man, Hunter, Fisherman, Guide, Writer / Author, Photographer, Public Speaker, Musician, Song Writer, Story Teller, Follower Of Jesus. Love God and family and total strangers

96 thoughts on “Rambling Like a Rabbit Chasing five Blades of Grass in the Wind”

    1. I am Ok with my choice Suzette. I don’t think I called the guy in the car brave though. Unsplash is surprising me I must admit. I have posted a little over 100 pictures just to see if they were useable to others.. Sharing is ok with me at this point.

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    1. Thanks Mike. My world is a bit cold right now. The good news is the lake is getting safer to walk on by the hour. Driving on? No. I am a calculated risk taker. That’s closer to spinning a roulette wheel.

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  3. Thank you for the major shout out, Gary. Last time you linked to my micro poetry site, my stats went off the charts! I enjoy our collaboration. However, for me, a good haiku often starts with a great photo–like the ones you regularly take. I’m honored to be a part of such creative efforts. Yes, a coffee table book, with haikus for each season (based on your photos) is an idea in the making. Frankly, I need more micro poems, but with excellent nature shots to work from, I’m well on my way.

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    1. I am just honored you can work off pictures I have taken. The pictures are the fun part for me. My high school counselor told me I fit the profile of either a photographer or horticulture. From that he advised me to become a farmer. I am ending up where I should have started??

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      1. Debbie, thank you. It’s so fun when people hear what I said invisibly. I think the Lord did and does a lot of that all around us. have a great Christmas already prepared for us.

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    1. Reading Gary’s posts are always both entertaining and informative, plus he works in important life lessons and scriptural thoughts. It’s taken me 45 minutes before just to come up with 17 good syllables from one of his wonderful photos. The two I published today came together fairly quickly. The last line is often the hardest.

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      1. I’m still new to the blogging world, but have thoroughly enjoyed his posts too, for exactly the reasons you stated. As to it taking so long to come up with the right words, that speaks to the intentionality you put into it. Love that!

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  5. Favorite bit: “my wife bringing in our flag for the winter. I like the picture a lot. I love her a lot.”
    In the depths of bitter cold, this post is very cozy.
    Good share with the haiku. Thanks.

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  8. Whatever you choose to share always seems like a treat, Gary.
    I spent the weekend baby sitting the grand kids with my wife. I learned a lot. For example, the best way to defeat the guards at the “baby jail”, where dolly is incarcerated, is to pinch all of their fingers in the door. Never too old to learn new tricks, I suppose.

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  9. You continue to bless me with your pictures and writings Gary, and am glad David and others are ‘Paying them Forward’ to bless and encourage others
    Merry Christmas to you and yours brother!

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    2. Wow, Jo. for a moment I felt a bit jealous on the temperature but the moment left right away. There is something almost beyond peace in a snow laden woods where any sound is soaked up by the zillion snowflakes and any light bounces rom flake to flake even by moon light it can be bright.

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    1. Thanks so much Cindy. I was just showing my wife one of your pictures the other day while exclaiming “I can’t figure out how she got that shot so crisp on the fly”

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  12. Whoa! Way too cold for me anymore Gary. I have heard 2 inches of clear ice is safe for walking, but not so much for a car. I am glad you made is safely back inside. I’ll be keeping my ice fishing confined to the frozen foods section at Walmart!

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    1. Oh Pete, fresh fish out of nice cold water is in another food group category. I still fish on the ice carefully. When I was young I found myself on 4″ in a very small and light car. That scared me as the ice bows down into the lake and I found myself driving uphill. My brother and I also put a pickup through the ice on a river driving where we shouldn’t. I still dream about the water coming in around the doors and water splashing on the windshield….I don’t recommend some of the experiences I have had. Being safe is a good thing even though there is no such thing as “safe ice” as flaws happen all the time.

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  13. Of peace…Gary, I enjoyed your rabbit ramblings and everything I learned! A love of family (prayers never cease for all of you), our God, and nature! I giggled several times~descriptions of your siblings and pudding, admired the pike-catching sticks, your flag-carrying wife, and the view of the risk-taking. I do believe many things can be “said” in few words, but I enjoy words, no matter how deep or wide, by those that I greatly respect! You being one! I’m now following David’s Dose! I’m so proud of your Unsplash success. Beautiful captures, such as yours, can be story starters or just beautiful partners to our places and posts in life! May God continue to warm you and your precious family during your cold winter days! God bless you, Gary!

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    1. So glad you enjoyed Karla. I know so many people get prompts from something visual. I sometimes see a picture and a blog idea comes to mind. Me being me, I do not write much because I’m busy fishing, cutting firewood, working on the cabin, helping care for our daughter (a lot) or reading other peoples blogs. I know you are taking and appreciating life one day at a time. All three of us here have you in our prayers.

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      1. Please tell your wife and daughter thank you, all 3 of you, for the prayers and thoughts. I appreciate them so very much. My parents have raised my 27 year old niece with C.P. and other challenges. I’ve had a hard time with guilt on having this cancer and not helping them. As families we do what we must for one another and I’m blessed for that. I know you feel that way too! You’re busy and blessed. Please take care! 🙏🏻

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    2. I will Karla. Our world gets smaller and smaller to fit our daughters needs. We keep finding ways to expand as we ask for wisdom for the journey ahead. It is good to be held in God’s hand and camp out by the nail marks in the middle.

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  15. Gary, your story gave me a lot to metabolize. It’s overflowing with great Garyisms 🙂 —wit and wisdom. I can’t wait to have that book on our coffee table! I guess I fall in that “pudding” category…from both generations…the perspective of my parents and my son. So that explains a lot! I most appreciate the challenge to continue to find the right words, and the right amount of words. Of course this post was written after one of my longest posts ever (and that was after a whole lot of editing and cutting.) You know I love to see the world through Haiku so thank you for sharing David’s site. I agree with you. His 17 words capture such a depth of meaning and expression—his poem creates a beautiful duet with your photo. So, more than a comment, this is a big thank you for keeping this ol’ dancer on her toes. Here’s to a good marriage between words and photos in 2023!
    Deb.

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    1. You are so encouraging Deb. Thank you!
      I do sometimes feel like I stumbled onto the writing and photography stage and did something right without ‘being in the know” like a character in a Peter Sellers movie (being there..pink panther). but then, that’s life’s stage for most of us in various areas. “I Wonder as I Wander” That song title is something I relate to. Thankfully I have a lot of wander space in my life. By the way, your writing takes a back seat to none. You are one of the bloggers who has stretched my thinking and writing. thankyou.

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      1. Oh Gary, your encouragement comes at the right time. Will I ever quit doubting that God might have called me (me?!) to write? Like I said in my last story, we need each other. Being There! Peter Sellars! It’s been a while. Thanks for that too. It is now on our “to watch” list! 😃

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    1. Thank you Wayne. I would sure like that if the occasion ever could happen. It’s been almost 3 years since I moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota. It was often 20 degrees warmer there when the cold snaps hit. We do have a lot in common.

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  17. That’s quite an honor on unsplash!! Seeing your amazing photography skills on the blog, I’m not surprised!!
    Try to keep warm if that’s possible, I know the outdoors calls to you often though!! 😂🥶
    On another note, my momma still “cares” after my 32 year old brother. I know the ins and outs of the caregiver life very well. Not an easy path but knowing and trusting God along the way makes it possible.

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    1. Thanks Alicia for the vote of confidence. I have a long ways to go in photography. Some is limited by lens and other equipment but most by my inexperience and knowledge.
      I do have warm clothes, mitts and footwear. very warm if needed. Thankfully the outdoors is just outside the house. On a busy day 10 cars go by our drive unless the fish are really biting in the lake by us, then up to 20 cars. I can walk straight into deep woods and get lost on a cloudy day with no compass. There is little to no cell reception so I stay within walkie-talkie range in case our daughter needs two adults for some things. Yes, Trusting the Lord is the key to so many physical and emotional aspects of being a caregiver.

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      1. I’m considering upgrading my canon, 10 years old now and the pictures are coming out grainy…although it could be operator error for my negligence as I haven’t photographed as much as I used to!!
        think your neck of the woods sounds absolutely wonderful!!
        And great dedication to your daughter, beautiful love.

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    2. Before you go trading in your camera, check the internal settings for size of photo. I had somehow set my camera on the lowest size once (which is good for emails and texts) and that’s quite a grainy size in comparison. I gave my 7 mega pixel camera to my son (as my upgrade is a T3i 18mp) but it can still take pictures good enough to post on websites that sell photos. I have (3)16x 24 canvas prints made of loons on my wall where the black flies buzzing the loons head are very visible and clear. Also clean the mirror and get rid of any dust on lens.
      I sure like upgrades if I can afford them though.

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    1. Thank you Steve. I am always intrigued by the threads and stories woven behind the scenes into what we take for granted or only see the veneer in passing. To communicate that or just turn heads toward what we see has to be a gift from God as so many things in life are bigger than us.

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    2. Well Jim, God has a lot of history turning the tables on human motives. Nebuchadnezzar comes to mind…Jonah. If I saw someone who looked like they had been in a fish for three days and live, I’d repent too! Fish acids are brutal.

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  22. You are still in my prayers. Caregivers need a lot of those. And I guess I am among the wordy people that you wrote about. My teachers tried to get me into “terse verse” but it never took. Have a blessed month, and I’ll be interested in your posts next year.

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    1. Thanks Mark. Yes, caregivers do need a lot of prayer. They need a lot of wisdom on the fly often. I was just showing our daughter all the birthday wishes sent from my 6 siblings this morning. she is still thankful even though in pain this morning. God has blesse her with supportive family and extended family.
      I am “wordy” as well. I suspect we can both use very few words to convey a lot with very few words on occasion. We tend to be “stage setters” for the real delivery, and we like our stage set in detail.

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    1. I would be honored to just send you one if that ever happens Wayne, When I think of just quitting on the posting front, I don’t because of friends, like you, I have never met but would sure like to, given half a chance.

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    1. Oh, I’ll be out there soon. There’s a pickup with a big ice castle out there now on 7″ of ice. It’s probably safe to walk out pulling my sled with a little light pop-up and heater. later I’ll take the ATV out when I think it’s actually safe for that.

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  25. Gary, I love the picture of your wife and Buddy. Can’t tell if he’s doing a “I’m happy to be outside” dance or “it’s time to go in” dance” or the “catch me if you can” dance for your predatory owl knowing your wife is armed with a flag pole to protect him. This piece sets the stage for some good posts in the New Year. May you continue to savor the Advent season.

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    1. Too funny…Thanks Beth. What actually happened is Buddy hates cold feet and only wants one foot touching the cold snow or deck at any time. The snow was cold enough to squeak loudly underfoot, which Buddy hates as well. A second before Buddy had biffed the stairs (stairs reach out and trip Buddy) and was jumping up and going to head for the door to get in. Wind chill was -30 earlier in the morning but was moderating (that means most people would freeze to death, just a little slower)

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    1. Merry Christmas to you too Nancy. No worries on the ice, I have big spikes in my pocket. If I fall in I can get out. My wife put them there as well as a ziplock for the cell phone.
      There is actually (as of today), a 10,000 lb truck on the ice with a huge fish house (sleeps 6) in the middle of the lake on about 7″ of ice. How does the human race survive?

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  27. I am not surprised at the success of your pictures. They are amazing!!!! How awesome that others get to enjoy the fruits of your talent by incorporating them into their own writing. I pray you and yours have a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

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    1. Thanks Stephanie. You have a great Christmas as well. It seems that no matter how hard or great life can be at any given moment, The one Truth of Christ coming to make everything right between us and God, will ultimately be the one thing we can take with us into eternity. living our lives in the foundation of that truth alone each day can make our lives abundant here as we walk with our savior. Now if I can only find my really good gloves to take my camera for a walk outside (I think one of my grandkids is enjoying them). Sigh…we live here for now don’t we.

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  29. By the time I finish reading your post and all the great comments my eyes are too tired to leave a comment. So, I wrote this one with my eyes shut. But know that I like all your posts, Gary. I just don’t seem to catch them all. Probably a glitch in my thingamajig.

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    1. I understand GW. I have had to sign up for your blog 3 times over the last couple years. You have such great depth. I have not figured out how to write a blog better than the comments. All these really talented people love to sit around the blog campfire I have built, chit chat and share great things they could be posting on their threads. If you ever see the whole thing is too long…just read the comments. They are great LOL, (but I get to have pictures).

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    1. Some seem to be more ready with gifts and others more ready to celebrate the reason for Christmas, as we celebrate Christ’s birth a little more intense than the rest of the year being thankful God did that.

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