One year ago today, our son Gus experienced a catastrophic cascade of events that blindsided us & led to his death the following day: July 20th. Writing about it is helpful. I plan to start telling our story on Substack, starting with a recap of July 19:.

My wife and I were blessed with the opportunity to travel to some of our nation's most beautiful landscapes last year following the death of our son: hiking, tenting, staring in awe. One of the places we visited: the North Rim. Saddened to hear about the fires there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission;.Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;.Hope soon change to glad fruition,.Faith to sight, and pray'r to praise. (Henry Francis Lyte).

July 20th, this Sunday, marks one year since we lost Gus. I haven't even known how to begin processing that. This year feels like it has gone by faster than any year of my life. Hard moments. Difficult ones. So many thoughts. Chiefly, God has been gracious to us. Ps. 121:1-2.

Caught this view of the moon early Saturday morning. A 'moon fall' (as opposed to sunrise?) with the moon setting behind some towering cumulonimbus clouds.

Bugs, bugs, and more bugs: spotted three different milkweed-associated insects on a walk today. They all exhibit Aposematism, bright coloration to warn predators of the milkweed toxins (cardenolides) they've accumulated from their diet.

A Bobolink (𝘋𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘹 𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘻𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘶𝘴) keeps a watchful eye on me as I trespass through his field at the Eagle Point Wildlife Management Area along the Canadian Border and Lake Memphramagog in Newport, Vermont. Posting from

Two of today's pictures: male and female (or immature) House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus). A common backyard bird for us, but pretty to look at! The coloring can range from yellows and oranges to bright reds, depending entirely on the pigments in their food source. Posting

After Gus passed away last year, I decided to pick up wildlife and nature photography. It's been a refreshing hobby. I've always loved the outdoors. I started an account on Instagram for anyone interested in following along: m.elliott.joubert. Some examples:

"The waking world is judged more real because it can thus contain the dreaming world; the dreaming world is judged less real because it cannot contain the waking one. For the same reason I am certain that in passing from the scientific points of view to the theological, I have

Glad to visit Windsor Christian Fellowship in Windsor, Maine for worship yesterday. The sermon was taken from Hebrews 6: "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul." What a precious hope we have in the person and work of Christ!

RT @jake_stone89: Our pastor preached the call to holiness that exists for every believer and the richness of God's mercy to us in Christ.….

RT @d3bach: “If there be [no virtue among us], we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks—no form of gov’t can render us secure.….

The current debate over selling Federal lands reinforces a personal concern that we need more robust, positive articulations of a conservative view of conservation. It is wrongheaded to conflate conservation and ecological stewardship efforts with Leftism or communism. In the

Missing my buddy today. Thanks for making me a dad, Gus. Happy Father's Day to all the bereaved fathers out there!

RT @tillwehvfaces: J.R.R. Tolkien, a place called heaven