What once was . . .

I'm sick this morning! Sick over what's happening in the beautiful Gulf of Mexico! No, I'm not going all political on you—I'm just sad. It's one of my favorite places on earth (not that I've explored much of the Earth), and now it's being destroyed. I almost can't watch the footage on TV. I get emotional. My heart breaks to see such beauty taken over by such ugliness. My heart breaks when I hear about all the wildlife that is trying to escape, that can't. My heart breaks when I watch MY beaches defaced. The Florabama coastline is my "other home." My heart is breaking this morning!

I pray and hope that one day, it will all be fresh again—untainted by this man-made disaster. Maybe I have lofty hopes, but I can't help but pray that I'll be able to look at it again one day, and see the landscape that I love . . .

Boardwalk at Big Lagoon State Park

I was recently at the beach . . . recently. But, I'm not right now. Can you tell that I wish I was? *sigh*

Well, we had fun while we were there, at least. And, on our visit, we visited Big Lagoon State Park in the Florida panhandle—right next to Alabama. I'm starting to really enjoy this little state park. I haven't done too much exploring, but they have this really great observation tower. I was standing at the top of it when I took this picture. The sun was setting, and the lighting—well, "c'est magnifique." It was definitely a fun chance for me to play with my D90. If you were to follow that little creek out to the left of the picture, you would be in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a really beautiful spot.

While we were there, we had a close encounter with a Great Blue Heron. I'll be posting pics of that soon.

Roupes Creek

Roupes Creek

Tannehill State Park

McCalla, AL

Bridge over Roupes Creek

Bridge over Roupes Creek
Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
McCalla, AL

Happy 2010! I think it's appropriate to post a picture of a bridge as we cross the bridge into a new year. I hope you find true Peace and Joy this year. May you experience abundant Grace throughout 2010.

I spent most of by growing-up years in Alabama. My family moved from Illinois to Alabama when I was six, and I lived there until I got married. There were many times (throughout those years) that I visited Tannehill State Park. When I recently visited my family for Thanksgiving, we went out to Tannehill for their Tannehill Crafters’ Open House, and it was the first time I had been there in several years. I remembered certain parts of it, but I had not remembered this bridge. I liked it instantly. Like I've said before, I have a thing for bridges.