• bicycle rides,  bicycling,  campus,  Transportation

    How about a coke?

    I have not posted anything for three days. So, I will post this image of the Coca-Cola truck parked just outside of Morgan Library on Colorado State University campus. I actually see this truck quite often which tells you they sell a lot of coke there. I honestly do not remember the last time I had a coke. Just not my thing. We are enjoying some Indian Summer weather. Mornings are in the high 30’s and low 40’s then reaching mid 70’s by afternoon.

    The update on my car is not good news. The engine needs replacing and will cost far more than the vehicle is worth. So, at the moment I am without a car and I’m okay with that. She lasted me 15 years. It’s a strange and new situation for me to be without a car. I’ve not been without a car for the past 60 years. And, that may even be true for you. I have over the past few years wondered if I could manage without a car. A couple of reasons for that is the amount of traffic on the roads, crazy drivers, bigger vehicles, pollution and the cost of driving. It would require a major shift in my thinking and lifestyle. I have kept track of all my car expenses since January 2021. It costs me $309 a month to have that car. That includes insurance, gasoline, and maintenance ( tires, oil changes, brakes and repairs). I have averaged only 10,000 miles a year since I’ve owned it. Looks like I will get to find out what life is like without a car. Buying a new car is not something I want. However, I have tossed around the leasing idea. It would fit my budget and at my age makes sense to me. So, I will get to see what it’s like to live in this culture without a car. I have my bicycle, a good bus system, I still am able to walk and the money I will save on gas and insurance will buy a few Uber rides. I honestly really don’t drive that much. In fact I have only put 4,800 miles on the car since February. I will keep you informed. I hope you have had a wonderful weekend!

  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area

    Showing off the clouds

    I had my first Mohs surgery today to remove one of two spots because of basal cell carcinoma. I will have the second one done next week. It was a pretty simple procedure. They needed to take a second tissue sample to get it and about three hours of surgery time. I now have 10 stitches just below my left ear. I am a bit sore around the incision due to the trauma.

    As I mentioned earlier my car is also sick and is in the hospital for surgery. I am having a couple of oil leaks taken care of which requires them to pull the engine. I’ve been without a car for a couple of weeks now. On Monday I picked up a loaner car because I had something to do on Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday morning I drove their loaner car to the coffee shop before going to my luncheon in Loveland. When I went to leave I had a parking ticket. I did not know what violation I had committed until I got home and read over the ticket. Turns out the dealer plates were expired. I then drove to the dealership where Conner embarrassingly took the ticket, said he would take care of the ticket and got the license plates current. I’m good to go.

    It has been raining for the past three days. About mid morning the clouds finally broke and the sun and wind came out. I made a quick run to Pineridge Natural Area for the above photo of the clouds this afternoon. I am now in for the night. I have some catching up on your posts to do.

  • landscape,  mountains,  People/Portraits,  quotes,  sunrises

    Imperfections

    I watched her enjoying the morning sunrise with a cup of coffee or tea

    I need to live for acceptance and joy in the unique, worthy, lovable, beautiful, sacred, being that I am and to tolerate the same thing in others…I’m learning to love my imperfections; in the end, they make me who I am, in all my flawed glory.

    Richard Wagamese, Embers
  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  clouds,  landscape

    Simple Clouds

    This is along Spring Creek Trail taken on my ride this morning. Just behind these trees is a 8 story Hilton Hotel as well as scattered student housing for Colorado State University and a few residential homes. This part of the bicycle path is in an open area which I hope they keep that way. You can also see some of the colors changing, otherwise we are still green. This scene caught my interest because of the simple cloud against that blue sky and the trees. May you have a wonderful weekend!

  • flowers,  insects,  Plants,  Uncategorized

    A Pair of Busy Bees

    As Thoreau so well knew, and so painstakingly tried to show us, what a man most needs is not a knowledge of how to get more, but a knowledge of the most he can do without, and of how to get along without it.

    Wendell Berry

    I am learning that and how to simplify! I just don’t need all the stuff I have.

  • nature,  Plants,  trees

    I’m home

    A grove of aspen trees at the Drala Mountain Center

    I got home at 2pm yesterday from the Mary Oliver retreat. It was a beautiful place to be this time of the year. The participants were beautiful people too. The quiet was just what I needed. The poetry was just what I needed. The food was just what I needed. It was all just what I needed. Even the good samaritan. I say that because my car broke down on my way up there about 7-9 miles from Drala Mountain Center. Some good Samaritan picked up Susan and I and took us to the center. On Saturday morning, I called and had a tow truck tow it into Dellenbach Subaru in Fort Collins. They will look at it today or tomorrow. It did not deter from the retreat. So my only transportation for the next few days is my red steed. Heck, maybe I’ll live the rest of my life without a car!

  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    It’s the clouds

    Predawn light at Pineridge Natural Area this morning

    The truest statement in the world is “you never know.” There is always something to evoke wonder, to wonder about, because this world, this life, this universe, this reality is far more than just the sum of its parts. Even the slightest detail contains much more. The overwhelming awe and wonder we feel teaches us more than we can ever glean or come to know of things. In the presence of that wonder, the head has no answers and the heart has no questions.

    Richard Wagamese
  • clouds,  lake,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    Unplugging

    Love for the earth and love for you are having such long conversations in my heart.

    Mary Oliver, Thirst
    Sunset over Hiawatha Lake in the Red Feather Lakes

    I am going to be away this weekend from Friday thru Sunday at the Drala Mountain Center for a retreat entitled Mary Oliver’s Poetry: A Doorway to Connection with Nature and the Divine. My friend Greg is putting on the retreat so I decided to go. I will not have cellular and I am not taking my laptop. I’m stepping through the doorway and unplugging for the weekend.