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Jan 3, 2025 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps the singing bird will come.”- Lois LowryA distinct December chill greeted me as the early morning sun climbed over the hills to the east. The ice along the shore of Lake Barkley and the crisp air was a stark reminder that winter had arrived in Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. My heart was ready for a day of adventure spent immersed in the beauty of nature and I was eager to see what singing birds would come.
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Dec 21, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.”- Calvin Coolidge I stared out the window at the dreary, rain-soaked landscape of Kentucky. It was mid-December and Christmas decorations twinkled in the muted light, yet the spirit of the season felt as distant as the sun hidden behind the heavy clouds. Something was missing but I couldn’t put my finger on it. This time of year, the Christmas season, usually fills my heart with joy but that was not my state of mind.
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Dec 13, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.” - John MuirA frigid December wind nipped at my cheeks as I stood at the head of the trail. The icy gale had me rethinking the sanity of my plan to trek through Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area on such a cold morning. I needed an escape from the chaos of the holiday season and the world around me lay in an inviting stillness.
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Nov 23, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” - Harriet Beecher StoweThe image of a tiny finger of land extending out into the water while being surrounded by towering snow-covered mountains flashed through my mind. It was well after midnight in Murray, Kentucky but I listened to a friend tell his harrowing tale. Ryan’s strained voice at the other end of the phone was laden with urgency as he told me about the damage his house in Homer, Alaska had suffered.
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Nov 22, 2024 | 
government-transformation.com | Rob Cross
Typically employed in so-called dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs (the three Ds), our use of robots and machines is most associated with relatively straightforward, process-driven tasks that require limited cognitive ability, and it is only recently that we have seen levels of artificial intelligence (AI) introduced that enable truly complex tasks to be handed off to machines.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Go as far as you can — way out yonder where the crawdads sing.”- Delia OwensThe bluster of November swirled around me as I stood at the edge of the vast reservoir. Wind-whipped waves and the rocky coastline sent my mind racing back to walks along the jagged shore of Lake Michigan but this place was much more familiar. Any visit to Kentucky Lake was like stepping into the embrace of a beloved family member. The crisp air was charged with anticipation and I felt a call to wander the shoreline.
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Nov 8, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” — John MuirThe promise of a crisp November morning unfolded before me when I turned off the hectic highway. Trees from either side came together high above a small road and the fall foliage formed a colorful tunnel. Bright red, orange, and yellow leaves fell onto the grey roadway as I slowly eased my vehicle into the park.
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing…” - Edgar Allan PoeThick grey clouds filled in the Kentucky valley below on a cool morning in late October. I tightened a shoelace with one last pull and breathed in the scent of damp earth, pine trees, and decaying leaves. Before beginning the long journey, I paused to assess the dark and ominous sky above but decided that a little gloomy weather was not going to ruin my day of hiking through the Daniel Boone National Forest.
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Oct 18, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“When I investigate and when I discover that the forces of the heavens and the planets are within ourselves, then truly I seem to be living among the gods.” - Leon Battista AlbertiThe crisp air of a fall night rushed into my lungs as I drew in a deep breath. My gaze was fixed on the night sky while I stood at the edge of an empty cornfield and the vastness of the universe stretched out before me. Hunter’s Supermoon was rising in the east but my focus was on the darkened horizon to the west.
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Oct 6, 2024 | 
murrayledger.com | Rob Cross
“Sometimes when you lose your way in the fog, you end up in a beautiful place! Don’t be afraid of getting lost!”- Mehmet Murat Ildan Dense fog enveloped my home in Murray, Kentucky. Chance, a 14-year-old beagle, was chasing our precocious white Labrador retriever, Denali, around the house. The ruckus rattled my brain as I stared out a window. The world outside was muted, a canvas painted in shades of gray, with only the hint of the familiar shapes barely visible beyond the glass.
