Mississippi River levee in Louisiana

With all the trees and hills in Vicksburg, it is hard to get a good sunrise picture. That's why the Mississippi River levee in Louisiana south of I-20 is such a special place to me. The borrow pits along the levee are such great photographic sites. I like to go early, at least 30 minutes before sunrise, because the Lord always puts on such a show when he makes the sun start the day. The colors change so quickly that many times I can only stand there and try to breathe in the beauty as fast as I can. These photos were taken in late December on two separate occasions. The top photo is of one of the borrow pits. The middle photo shows a borrow pit in the front and the Mississippi River in the back. It is taken from the point where the levee is closest to the river. The heron was photographed in one of the borrow pits as I was leaving the levee.

I would be remiss if I did not tell you why I like to take so many sunrises. Usually I tell people that I just can't sleep late any longer. The real reason, however, is that viewing a sunrise brings me closer to God than anything else I can imagine. It's hard to describe the feeling I get being still and watching the sun's brightness build and build and build below the horizon until it seems like it can get no brighter. Then in an instant it bursts over the horizon, spilling golden rays everywhere. 

Is your heart burdened? Do you no longer feel close to God? Give me a call. We'll go watch a sunrise. And you will realize that everything is going to be OK — for the God of all Creation has a show ready to present to you each morning to let you know that He is in control. It's exhilarating!

Beaver Sculptures

This past weekend I rambled around Claiborne County and ventured to one of the neatest places in this area — the lake at the Port of Port Gibson. This lake has provided some of the best and funnest photos I've ever shot, from dragon flies to alligators to thousands of white lotus plants. The water in the lake was the highest I had ever seen it. The heron in the top picture was there to greet me. When I was leaving the lake, however, was the fun part. I passed by a bayou on my left and nearly every tree in the bayou looked like it had a white stripe at the base of it. I drove about 50 yards past it before I had my "wait a minute" moment. I backed up and walked down to the bayou and saw that nearly every tree at its base had been stripped of bark by beavers. Only one tree in the scores I saw gnawed on had been felled. A few had had serious attempts on felling them, but most had just been savored for the one layer of bark. I never could find the lodge these fellows called home, but it was something I had never seen in that quantity before. I'm glad I had my snake boots on because I never would have ventured down to the bayou without them on.