Hymn for Modern Christians, and a Poem

Modern Christendom seems to have run aground, like a beached whale, completely out of its element. Faith has turned to blind belief in conspiracies. But this is nothing new. Ancient Christians distinguished themselves as some of the most hostile, intolerant people in history. So here is a hymn that tries to span the ages. If you don’t like the words, focus on the music. If you hate the music, focus on the lyrics. If you don’t like both, well, hell, I’ve missed again.

Theme 150: Hymn

And here’s a poem that I dug up from an old notebook with poetry drafts from 1977-81. Mostly junk, but this one hit me.

Hiking the Rippled Niabrara Sandstones

Hiking the extensive trail system that connects Red Rocks Park with Section 16, west of Colorado Springs, one encounters an impressive array of ripple-marked sandstones, a beach back in the Mesozoic, now dipping at almost 90°. The so-called “White Acres Trail” should have been named “Ripple Mark Trail.” The steep east-facing slope of the hogback seems to be Niabrara sandstone, but is backed on the west by Dakota SS, both of which form hogbacks. But how about these classic ripple marks?

New Moths for 2020

Like everything else in 2020, mothing wasn’t great for me in the Pikes Peak Region. I wasn’t able to distinguish additional species from the few moth photos posted to Arthropods Colorado and Wyoming, and I’m sure I missed some. But on a single trip up Bear Creek in early August I discovered two species of moths new to my database. The first (above) is probably Hellinsia homodactylus, a Pterophorid, and the second (below) is Glyphipteryx montisella, a Gelechiid, nectaring with a few tiny flower beetles.