• Candid Portraits,  coffee shops,  lifestyles,  People/Portraits,  snow,  winter scenes

    I was glad to see them…

    March 20, 2020
    This mornings baristas and their smiles – Sure makes the day brighter

    I took the bus to campus so I could sit near the gas fireplace in the Legacy Lounge and use their internet. At the bottom of the stairs is a small coffee shop that lickily is still open. I had to laugh at myself and share with them how my mind was wondering if they would be open when I came around the corner. Their business is slow so they they seemed glad to see me. But not as I glad as I was to see them. 

    Doesn’t look like the First Day of Spring

    This was at the bus stop this morning. Sure doesn’t look like spring. Everything is so quiet. The Lory Student Center has been so quiet the past three days I’ve come here. There is no piped music and no students. Not sure how long I will be able to come here as things progress with more reported cases, restrictions and fear.

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  • Candid Portraits,  lifestyles,  People/Portraits

    It’s different now…

    March 18, 2020
    A young lady lost in thought

    With all this free time  at home I’ve been reflecting on memories of my youth, those years from five into my mid-teens. Life seemed simple back then. As a family we always ate our evening meal at home and always together. That was because we did not have much money and second there were not that many restaurants available. It’s different now.

    Television was still in its’ younger days. Channels shutdown by midnight with the black test screen. Many of us still had black and white televisions with rabbit ears and at most, 3-5 channels. The evening news would come on at 5:00 for about an hour while a second at 10:00 pm. There was no 24/7 news from multiple sources with differing viewpoints. It’s different now.

    We had one phone for the entire family to use and it hung on the wall. It was a party line so we needed to pickup the phone and make sure no one was using it before dialing. It had a rotary dial. It’s different now.

    Thanks for listening. 

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  sunsets

    Its a strange time

    March 17, 2020
    Beams of sunlight over the Colorado Front Range

    It’s Tuesday, close to noon. Awoke to overcast skies and a light mist. The weather along with the worldwide changes going on added a gloomy feel to the day. After quiet time I headed to Cups coffee to use the internet and enjoy a mocha but that didn’t happen. They fall under the statewide ban on the closing of restaurants and bars that went into affect yesterday. Because they are being impacted financially with our situation I bought a mocha and headed home. I will read a new book I received yesterday, journal a little, have more prayer and mediation time, listen to the silence and write this post. It’s a strange time.

    The world looks strange to me this morning, almost unrecognizable and it is. However, I’m aware there is something different within me. I am seeing and feeling the world differently. I have been a solitary individual for many years now, choosing to spend a lot of time alone. However, knowing I can’t just go to a coffee shop and sit to read/journal/converse with the baristas, friends and a stranger is now not my choice. My feathers are ruffled. I don’t always deal well with the unexpected bump in the road or a pothole that wasn’t there yesterday. Daily changes in life require acceptance of the present moment and a shift in thinking and living. My task in life is to let go of what I think I think I need life to look like and live more solidly in the present moment. It’s a strange time.

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  • Avian,  quotes

    Loving all creatures…

    March 15, 2020
    Female Cardinal

    “…the first intention of Nature is the preservation of the universe” and that all beings are striving for that goal.  Indeed, “God loves all creatures equally and fills them with his being.  And we should lovingly meet all creatures in the same way.” Meister Eckhart

    Stepped out of my condo this morning into a very silent world. There is no wind, no sound of cars. The world seems to have quarantined itself. I hear a chickadee singing to me their happy and short song. I did not need to leave the city to experience the quiet. Eerie feeling inside of me. So many people in fear and so many are indifferent. Stopped at the grocery store yesterday afternoon and so many items gone from the shelves. I noticed a newly opend restaurant serving breakfast this morning that no cars in its parking lot. Churches, schools, sporting events have closed. Amazing how such a small creature can affect the world so quickly. Shows how little power and how insignificant we humans really have. Sharing a few of my feelings and thoughts this morning. Stay safe.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  trees

    Away from the clatter…

    March 13, 2020

    Clouds, one of natures brushes it uses to create beautiful art.

    “There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring, or the rustle of an insect’s wings. But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter only seems to insult the ears.” Chief Seattle

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  prairie,  sunsets

    What I was given…

    March 11, 2020

    Late afternoon shadows across the Colorado Front Range

    Seems, I have been getting out of town with my camera and tripod more often. That’s a good thing for my mental health and not because of any virus. We had plenty of clouds to attract my intention so I headed east then north and west making a nice loop. As I left town my first thought was this is a waste of time and fuel but that other voice inside suggested I continue and see what we could find. After an hour out of town and closer to nature I could see the possibility of long shadows and sunlight because of these clouds. I knew that if I drove west towards the mountains the long shadows would predominate. And, this is the image what I was given.

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