A Walk in the Woods after a Fresh Snow

There is a deep sense of untainted wilderness
                                                    when walking in the woods after a fresh snow.
Barren boughs stretch to the heavens,
                                         which answers with an affable yet penetrating breeze.

Limbs oppressed by mounting snow burden 

                        evergreens to gracefully bow.

The snow drifts are like a Winter amphitheater for the distant chatter of birds Autumn

                                                  has left behind.

 

Hedge branches pervade a pristine 

                                                trail, 

outstretched as if to greet me.

A secluded hollow summons my 
soul to rest within her soft, 
                              snowy embrace.

A resting pause, a calm invitation, a moment’s portion 

                                                              is my only payment –

for I must endure through this snow-banked trail 

                                               to gently touch its supernal end.

Where the eastward breeze shall lose her bite, 

                                              snow surrenders into tiny droplets.

Then Winter's ethereal beauty shades Spring no longer, 

                                                        hope will birth Dawn eternal.

Henry County Harvest Showcase

The Henry County Harvest Showcase is a free annual event at the Henry County Fairgrounds near New Castle. The Showcase is a celebration of local meat, produce, craft, and culture. This year, Patrick Henry Hughes played the music under the tent that many gathered to enjoy local eats.

There is a petting zoo featuring chickens, cows, llamas, and even alpacas! This is a great event for families. There are booths for local artisans and farmers to display and sell products. This is a grand opportunity to buy local.

My boys love the display to milk cows. Water shoots from the utter into a pale. The petting zoo area presents much information about local livestock farming, including an opportunity to buy some animals and start your own!

Antique tractors are also on display. The owners are gracious and allow children to pretend to drive. The tractor owners have a lot of knowledge of the history of machinery in agriculture.

There is a nice play area for children to ride peddle tractors and play in a corn box (sand box filled with corn). There are volunteers that face paint and give out candy to children to sugar them up with energy to walk the fairgrounds.

Playing in corn is apparently as much fun as playing in a sandbox. The volunteers provide toy tractors, construction equipment, as well as the classic shovel and pale.

Lastly, there is a large tent regarding politics and local groups such as charities, law enforcement, and conservation efforts. This is a good opportunity to get involved in local efforts and learn about local politics. It is not at all like fancy farm; the politicians put on their most polished face for this event.

Bring your family to the Henry County Harvest Showcase near New Castle, Kentucky, at the Henry County Fairgrounds. I highly recommend it!

Kentucky Fudge Company

In the midst of charming downtown Harrodsburg, Kentucky, the Kentucky Fudge Company resides in an old drug store. Simply walking in breathes the sentimental air of a bygone era when drug stores were also soda fountains. The delightful atmosphere is complete with detailed ceilings, antique toys and signs, and antique pharmaceutical cabinets original to the building.



The menu is filled with comfort food: deli and hot sandwiches, soups, and an assortment of coffees. The Fudge Company, also offers ice cream and, of course, fudge made in house. I enjoyed a hot tuna melt sandwich with tomato bisque. The sandwich tasted fresh and the bread toasted to perfection. The bisque was a creamy and most pleasing side to the sandwich, complementing a satisfying meal.

The great attraction to this place is the delectating atmosphere. The Fudge Company is housed in the old Smith and Dedman Drug Store, which was established around the time of the Civil War. The cabinetry still has the original handles labeling various herbs and drugs. The furniture still boasts a cherry finish. The tables are fashionably arranged suitable for conversation and meeting new people.

Next door is another seating area complete with a piano. This end of the Fudge Company is a cozy spot for coffee shop style live music; yet, the air is not an overwhelming bravado, but tastefully performed in such a way as one might either enjoy the music or continue in conversation.

The prices are compatible to any locally owned deli or ice cream shop. The cost to feed my hungry family of four was in the mid-$20's. I had to pay a little extra for an irresistible chunk of fudge! The servers are warm and supplement the enjoyable atmosphere with an openness but not "in your face."

The Kentucky Fudge Company is a great destination. If you are a traveler in central Kentucky or on the upcoming 127 Yard Sale, you simply must treat yourself to the Kentucky Fudge Company.

Creation Museum

During our family stay-cation, we visited the Creation Museum located near Petersburg, Kentucky. Much like any museum, the Creation Museum is founded upon a particular philosophical presupposition in which all scientific knowledge is interpreted through. Unlike other museums, however, the Creation Museum is founded upon the Holy Bible to interpret scientific knowledge. Considering that the biblical view of reality is subject to much scoffing and it is in vogue to mock scriptural interpretation of creation, much of the museum is dedicated to apologetics. When visiting the museum, be prepared to read; furthermore, be prepared to move slowly enough to read everything and give the biblical worldview a fair shake.
The museum offers a lot of models to present a visual display of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The exhibit hall offers some artifacts with many displays presenting the biblical worldview of natural and human history.




The museum displays Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Adam naming the diverse animal population in the garden, and even includes a large tree of life. The displays have written accounts and visuals regarding the fall of man. There is a portion of the museum that displays humanity's rejection of God's Word and consequences of sin with videos creatively placed as house windows peering into personal lives of people.

The section on covering is well done. Adam and his family cultivated with difficulties and covered the shame of their nakedness and the guilt of sin with animal sacrifice.










Recent history is also presented to reveal a philosophical divide of interpretation of scientific knowledge. Of course, the Reformation and Martin Luther's display tells of a time when the Word of God was suppressed under the higher authority of the elites in the Roman Catholic Church. Luther stood firm on the authority and reliability of the Bible.
The Scopes Trial was also on display with a short video to supplement the display. This is a pivotal moment in the history of creationism and I prefer a little bit more in this particular display.

At the entrance to the museum, a full skeleton of the mastodon is on display with models of other dinosaurs, presenting a theory that humans and dinosaurs resided on earth at the same time. There is also a nice aquarium with fish and turtles on display with human and dinosaur models that move.

The museum has lecture halls that have various speakers of different areas of expertise to come and speak as well as various workshops with hands-on learning. Also, if you pay a little extra, you may also view a show in the Stargazer's Planetarium. I highly recommend the Planetarium, as the show not only interprets astronomy through the biblical record, but also reveals the awesome might of Creator God.

A display I recommend going slowly through is the portion on the flood. Contrary to what many Americans view in the account of Noah's Ark as being about naming animals and the colors of the rainbow, the flood was God's judgment on wicked humanity and grace in His sovereign election of the sinful family of Noah to be rescued through the great flood. The videos and reading as well as various models speaking need to be considered when interpreting historical science.

Of course, an introductory display regarding revelation is necessary to offer the biblical account of history. I recommend that Christians and non-Christians alike take the time to go through this walk through history according the the biblical worldview. If you claim to be one of an "open mind," then such a survey and careful consideration of the view presented in the museum would be a useful journey. If you are a believer, your faith will be strengthened by the evidence to the biblical worldview.

In good humor, the people of the museum use the command to not touch the displays exclamatively with a polite adverbial request.

Also, there is a petting zoo and plant display outside the museum, which is free of charge. Children will love feeding and toughing llamas, goats, chickens, and a zorse (a zebra-horse hybrid).


The zorse or zebroid is more than a display of a mixed animal "because we can." The zorse is an animal mentioned in Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, which may also strengthen the case for creationism considering various animals in the same type may cross-breed a new subspecies.


The most lovely treasure at the Creation Museum is that the Word of God is written all over the place. The gospel is center stage to the entire event of creation and providence, which every molecule of this vast universe is held in the sovereign rule of Creator God. The beauty of God's creation on display throughout the museum is just that, a display of God's beauty. It is my hope that the museum continues to improve its artifacts and expand the exhibits. With that said, the museum is a must destination for all interested in the biblical view of natural and human history.