Posts By: Ken Rummer

Sightings

mullein Hopeful Yellow Flowers Meeting Mullein by Ken Rummer Velvet leaves shaped like elf ears mount up to a thick spike on which small yellow flowers bloom. I take a picture with my phone. It’s a new plant to me, and growing right beside the trail.  Later, I notice others like it on the bank behind… Read more »

Sightings

words on wings   Words on Wings Tracks In Mud by Ken Rummer Scrabble tiles and a stuffed bird. The museum plaque identifies the artist as Phil Parker. I’m looking at an assemblage of objects presented in a shadowbox, and yes, that is a bird in there, and Scrabble letters. The wooden tiles stand at attention on two… Read more »

Sightings

Sunshine and holy sparkles Sunshine and holy sparkles Seeing with the help of partly cloudy by Ken Rummer Pools of light dapple the landscape, and the shaded places, dark by contrast, add drama to the view. I’m looking out at the ordinary magnificence of a partly cloudy day. Sunbeam and cloud shadow slow dance across the scene, turning a… Read more »

Sightings

  Splashdown at graveside A cautionary tale by Ken Rummer It had been a particularly wet spring, and clouds again threatened rain as we arrived at the cemetery. An arched-top tent marked the gravesite, just down the hill.  I took my position at the back of the hearse. The pallbearers assembled and, after a few… Read more »

Sightings

  Seeing Jesus at the dentist A memory for Good Friday by Ken Rummer   When I was still in elementary school, I had my first experience with fillings. It did not go well. The dentist gave me a shot to put my tooth to sleep. He said it would feel like a pinch but… Read more »

Sightings

The Missing Candle A Wedding Story by Ken Rummer   My vote for most dangerous part of a wedding? The unity candle.  A wick that refused to catch fire comes to mind. And I can still see the outdoor candle, just lit, that promptly succumbed to a mischievous breeze. In another wedding, two half-candles, individually… Read more »

Sightings

Walking the pictures A home gallery tour by Ken Rummer “Sweet Georgia Brown.” That was the tune I hummed as I carried my crib-aged children around the house in the middle of the night.   It would be a night when we had tried diaper and milk and pacifier and rocking chair, and still there… Read more »

Sightings

Red-tailed hawk A close encounter     by Ken Rummer                       A large flapping draws my attention through the window. A red-tailed hawk has just touched down on the cedar railing of the deck and is now scanning the yard and the trail beyond. Brown… Read more »

Sightings

Light A tour detour by Ken Rummer “What do you want to see while you’re in Geneva?” The host of our Swiss tour for clergy and laity was wondering. I hesitated. After all, my top choice wasn’t one of the usual Reformation tour highlights. “I’d like to see the New Testament manuscripts.” I had read… Read more »

Sightings

What Do I Know Of Joy Four Reflections by Ken Rummer   What do I know of joy? I know the feeling of walking out of the doctor’s office, fearing the worst but finding out it’s not that but something much less scary, something treatable, not life-threatening, and the doctor says, “Go. Live.” and the… Read more »