Playing Above the Rim

Aww…some Monday

Friday night my wife and I went to the local high school basket ball games. I photographed the girls game and we watched the boys game together. High school sports provides a great evening of cheap entertainment. Tickets are only $5 each, but we have free life time senior adult passes that give us access to all home games for every sport to both local high schools. What a deal!!!

Jump ball, let’s get this game started!

First two points of the night.

Getting up close and personal.

Old school.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week is a free choice week at 4M. The past few months I have been spinning a lot of vinyls and rebuilding my record collection from a misspent youth. There were a multitude of great artists in the sixties and seventies. Recent trips to a local vintage record shop and a couple of flea markets have turned up some real gems. Some artists just make great music, even if it never makes the charts.

One of my recent finds was the Santana Abraxas album. One cut on that vinyl was a monster hit and a signature song for one of the greatest guitar players in rock music.

The sixties and seventies produced some of the finest female vocalists to ever grace the stage and most of them went under appreciated. There was Grace Slick, Linda Ronstadt, Rita Coolidge, Carly Simon, Janis Joplin, and this lady.

That’s a wrap for this week. I’ll be back on the hardwoods tomorrow night and Friday night. Don’t be surprised if more high school hoop images appear in this space. Have a blessed week.

Feeder Raider

Aww Mondays

We have had a cold weather spell here in NW Arkansas the past week or so. The high temperatures have been in the 20’s while the lows have been in single digits and a northwest wind has sent the wind chill into sub-zero range. I don’t like single digits and sub-zero.

I set out the bird feeders and proceeded to capture a few images of my feathered friends. One morning I managed to capture this sequence involving a female Cardinal leaving a branch. I converted the images to black & white to help filter our background distractions. Here is the launch sequence.

Ready

Set

GO!!!

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week the theme at 4M is in honor of National Compliment Day. So, we are to offer a nice compliment to your readers or dance partners through song.

May will mark our 48th wedding anniversary. Every year I could sing the chorus of this song to my wife.

However wonderful our marriage is, it is because the one who guides our lives, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Over the years, we have faced multiple trials and difficulties, but whenever we looked for hope in the midst of the storm, “There Was Jesus”.

The greatest blessing in this life has been the person that God placed by my side to share this journey with and both of us would tell you that we are thankful for all that the Lord has done for us. have a blessed week.

Dining in the Snow

Aww Mondays

My post Christmas break is over and I am back on the ‘puter. The next couple of months the focus around town will be high school basketball and since I like photographing high school sports you’re going to get to see a few of the local teams in action. Here is a few images from last week’s boys game. The home team dominated the visitors from start to finish.

Monday’s Music Moves Me

This week the theme at 4M is free choice. Several months before Christmas I assembled a new stereo system from components I found in flea markets and on FaceBook Marketplace. I must say, I am quite proud of myself for putting this system together at bargain basement prices. I have an Onkyo reciever and 6-disc CD player, a nice Victrola turntable, and a great pair of Bose 301series 5 speakers. It is not a high-end audiophile set up, but it certainly meets my needs and fills the home office (spare bedroom) with sound.

Since there has been a resurgence in the popularity of vinyl records, a local store has opened that sells new and vintage vinyls. I am sure that ninety percent of the inventory comes from auctions and estate sales. The prices range from $3.99-$15.99 for the vintage recordings to $24.99-$49.99 for remastered classic albums. So, since this is a free choice week, I’ll share a couple of selections from my recent purchases.

Have a blessed week.

Straight out of the camera.

Final edit.

Today is the day!!! Today we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. Scripture (Acts 4:12) teaches us, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” The Long awaited Messiah has arrived!

May the gift of Christmas that is Christ the Lord live in your heart and may your heart be filled with the blessings of Christmas past and present. Wishing you and yours the merriest Christmas ever and a new year filled with joy and hope.

It’s Christmas Eve. Have you ever wondered just how little note the world took of the birth of the Savior on that night in Bethlehem? When man first stepped on the moon the whole world was watching, yet when God Himself stepped out of heaven and visited this earth, very few people realized what had happened and many who were aware the the fulfillment of prophecy chose to ignore the truth in their midst.

Seven hundred years before His birth, the prophet Isaiah told us how the Savior would enter this world. Isaiah says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah further describes the event like this, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Today, much of the world takes little note of the importance of Christmas. They have the knowledge of the birth of Christ in their heads but they don’t have the Savior living in their hearts. We have to turn head knowledge into trust and faith. We must place our lives in the hands of the only one who can forgive us of sin and make this life something that will glorify His name. God does not promise an easy life, but He promises to be in our lives every minute of every day. I am ever thankful that my life was changed by a baby boy. Merry Christmas to one and all.

I am ever thankful that my life was changed by a baby boy. Have a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year.