April 19th: Holocaust Remembrance Day

A terrible thing the holocaust, but it should be remembered.
We should honor those who hid Jews in their houses at the risk of all the family members being killed or tortured by the Nazis. They saved the Jews from awful lives in concentration camps and horrible deaths by torture, shooting, gassing, starving, etc.

Oregon Coast

I went to the coast and beheld its beauty. Beautiful, Rugged Oregon Coast! I forgot to bring my Camera to the tide pools, so I can only tell you what I found; Sea Anemones, Barnicles, Molusks, Sculpins, a Starfish, and a small Crab

A Great Quote

"During an early interrogation I had told an officer who was threatening to kill me, 'Sir, let me explain how I see this issue. Your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying.'

'Here is how it works. you know that my sermons on tape have spread all over the country. If you kill me, those sermons will be sprinkled with my blood. Everyone will know I died for my preaching. And everyone who has a tape will pick it up and say, 'I'd better listen again to what this man preached, because he really meant it; he sealed it with hiss life.'

'So, my sermons will speak ten times louder than before.
I will actually rejoice in the supreme victory if you kill me.'

After I said this, the interrogator sent me home.

Another officer who was interrogating a pastor friend of mine told him, 'We know that Mr Tson would love to be a martyr, but we are not that foolish to fulfill his wish.' I stopped to consider the meaning of that statement. I remembered how for many years, I had been afraid of dying. I had kept a low profile. Because I wanted badly to live, I had wasted my life in inactivity. But now that I had placed my life on the altar and decided I was ready to die for the Gospel, they were telling me they would not kill me! I could go wherever I wanted in the country and preach whatever I wanted, knowing I was safe. As long as I tried to save my life, I was losing it. Now that I was willing to lose it, I found it."

~Josef Tson

Resurrection Sunday

I was in the choir this Sunday, and sat through both services.
The Sermon was about the Crown of Thorns put on Jesus' head by the Roman soldiers, and about the Many Crowns that Jesus will be wearing when he comes again. Pastor Hardy's emphasis was, what crown will you put on Jesus: the Crown of Thorns, or Many Crowns of Kingship?

DSA - Creation Encounter - Field Trip into the Columbia Gorge

Death Camas also at Catherine Creek
All parts of the plant are poisonous. It is dangerous for humans as well as livestock, though some poisoned by it have been treated. Alkaloids are responsible for the plants being poisonous and it's said eating rich fish or beef broth, grease, or butter may counteract the poison.

Shooting Stars at Catherine Creek. (The Shooting Star is also known as the inside-out flower)

Barrett's Penstemon growing on Coyote Wall. This plant is only found in the Columbia Gorge, and has a 10 square mile range.

Marks of a tree on basalt. These are not the marks of bark, but the imprints of burnt wood. (When wood is burned, it makes this "Checker Board" pattern.)

A hole in the Wall reveals a "cast" of a tree

Looking up Coyote Wall (Columbian Basalt)

Moss growing below Coyote Wall.

Pungent Desert Parsley. Somekind of fly was on the flower a split second before I took the picture.

Poison Oak just budding at Coyote Wall trail head

On Saterday my father and I joined a field trip, "Central Gorge Day Trip #1". I hope to get involved in DSA/Creation Encounter, and help with the field trips.
http://www.creationencounter.com/tours/
http://www.pdxdsa.org/

King Arthur Flour

My new King Arthur Flour apron.

King Arthur Flour

King Arthur Flour glass mug.

I have a cup an apron and a bag of flour all with my own name on them, and I didn't even have to custom order them!

Catching Dragonflies

Catching dragonflies can be great fun, and is very simple too. There are many different reasons to catch them. Some people do it to take pictures, while others do it to observe the insects’ behavior. There is one important rule, though, that should be followed: be extremely careful not to harm the dragonfly. Remember, God told us to take dominion over His creation, which means we are caretakers, not destroyers.

Several tools are needed for catching dragonflies:

Net (long pole with long net)

Cooler with ice or ice block

Envelope

Rubber boots

The last item is optional, but is quite useful for getting closer to the dragonflies. First things first: to find a spot where they are in abundance. Lakes and ponds on a hot summer day have a lot around, but a marshy area is thickest with them.

Plan your outing on a hot, sunny day. This will yield the best results for finding a good-sized population and variety. Once you arrive, find a spot on the edge of the water (or in it if you have rubber boots) where there is good dragonfly traffic. When situated in your spot, you nay commence swinging your net at passing dragonflies.

This is the most crucial part of the process, so you may need to read this over a couple of times. When you swing the net at a dragon fly, do it very quickly. Dragonflies are like little helicopters with lightning speed and can easily out-maneuver your net if you give them a chance to see it. The very second that the dragonfly enters the net, twist it; by doing this, you prevent the dragonfly from flying right back out of the net. Like I said before, they are as quick as lightning and can fly faster than you can swing your net. This brings us to another detail. Make sure that the net is long enough; if it is too short, when you twist the net it will not trap the dragonfly.

Now once you have caught the dragonfly in your net by the twisting trick, you insert your hand into the net and very carefully grab it by its wings. Be extremely careful! Take it out and put it inside the envelope. Close the envelope, but do not seal it. Set the envelope inside the cooler on the ice. (The dragonfly would probably die if set directly on the ice.) Leave the envelope in the cooler for a minute or so. No more than two minutes. You wouldn’t want to risk killing it. Don’t worry. As long as you don’t leave the dragonfly on too long you won’t hurt it. All that happens is the dragonfly’s blood cools, slowing the flow of the blood. The slowing of the blood causes all its actions to be slowed; the dragonfly then is unable to fly until it warms up.

After the dragonfly has been cooled, you can take it out of the envelope. You must still be careful with it, but it is easier now that the dragonfly cannot fly. If you have an identification guide, you could identify it at this time. (If you don’t, I advise you to get the Stokes Beginners Guide to Dragonflies.)After you have identified your dragonfly you may want to take a few pictures of this beautiful insect. You could set it on a bush or some flowers, and you could get some great photographs that your friends will be amazed at. Finally, after taking pictures, put the dragonfly on a bush in the sun to warm up, not on the ground where it could be stepped on. You could go on to catch more dragonflies, or end your adventure with that one. I’m sure that if you’ll just try this out you won’t regret it. God has given to us His creation to enjoy, and if you take the time to explore it, you’ll enjoy it even more!