• haiku,  Plants,  writing/reading

    Still Ablaze

    September 29, 2020
    Milkweed seeds ready to be released into the wind from 4 days ago

    orange veiled moon
    above eastern horizon 
    forest fire ablaze

    mws

    Yes, I know the title does not match the image but it’s my blog.

    While on a walk yesterday evening I notice the eerie color of the moon and the above haiku popped into my mind. Wrote it down as soon as I got back and then tried to take a photo of the moon. I was not happy with how the images turned out so all you get is the haiku and a milkweed image. 😊 The smoke does act as a decent filter to alter the color of the moon but I was not able to satisfactorily capture that.

    This morning the smell of smoke was the first thing I noticed as I stepped out the door. You could look down the street or across the pond and see the smoke from the Cameron Peak Fire as it casts its haze everywhere. The fire is now over 125,000 acres but has tapered down some due to a good freeze last night. Their update this morning is positive news. We see and smell it constantly, a reminder the fire is still ablaze.

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  • haiku,  Humor,  lifestyles,  writing/reading

    Warm Socks

    September 28, 2020
    Upside down penguins

    end of september
    first frost on the windshield 
    wearing warmer socks

    mws

    It was 36 degrees this morning at 6:15 am. I consider that cold, so I layered my clothing. I wore some nice warm socks with my sandals. Wind blew hard early today, allowing us to enjoy our Colorado blue skies. This afternoon the winds died down and the smoke moved back in, no more blue skies. This is not the new normal!!

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  quotes

    Meditation

    September 27, 2020
    Reading up on haiku at the coffee shop

    “Meditation is offering our genuine presence to our selves in every moment.”

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Had a nice quiet time this morning. It was windy and overcast when I left the condo this morning. Wind was blowing leaves across the grass and street, making them dance. It has that feel of fall. An hour later, the sun was bursting through casting rays of light across golden leaves. Quite beautiful! Could see some light rain about mid-day. The high for the day is expected to be 56 degrees. Yes, a fall day.

    We have another forest fire burning north of us in Wyoming called the Mullen Fire. It’s burning aggressively, starting 10 days ago, and has now burned up to 68,000 acres and no containment. The smoke from that fire plus the Cameron Peak fire made it difficult to see at any distance yesterday evening, made everything smell like a camp fire and ash and soot descended on almost everything. Several years ago my parents built a nice cabin in Mountain Home, Wyoming. This is near the Mullen fire and the area is now in a mandatory evacuation. It would hurt to see the cabin destroyed even though they sold a few years ago.

    The Cameron Peak fire is now the third largest forest fire in Colorado’s history. Not the record we want to boast about. Wind gusts of 50mph have caused it to increase, now at 124,000 acres. The fire has burned east past the Shambhala Center, a Buddhist retreat center but crews were able to protect the temple at Shambhala. The three communities of Red Feather Lakes, Glacier View and Crystal Lakes are still under mandatory evacuations.

    I need to catch up on reading and commenting on my blog feeder, so that is my intention today. I will also practice a bit of haiku and continue to read. And, I will for sure enjoy more meditation.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises

    Friday Morning

    September 25, 2020
    Sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area
    Sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area

    I had a couple days this past week where I awoke about 4:00 am and never really got much sleep after that. This was taken three days ago. I finally got up at 5:00, had my quiet meditation then headed to Pineridge Natural Area to watch the sun come up at 6:00 am. This image does not do justice to the color of the sun as it was vibrant orange with the mix of clouds and smoke. Need to learn more about how to post process this type of image. Anyway, hope everyone has a great weekend.

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  • clouds,  horizons,  Humor,  landscape,  quotes,  rants,  sunsets,  writing/reading

    More…

    September 23, 2020
    The hidden sun

    “Simplicity is always the secret, to a profound truth, to doing things, to writing, to painting.
    Life is profound in its simplicity.”

    Charles Bukowski

    Over the past 15 years I have have in some ways simplified my life. I do not have as much material things and still in the process of getting rid of more. What I believe Bukowski is referring to is the way we live our lives rather than letting go of our possessions. For me the older I get the more I live a simple life. Just slowing down is simplifying. I’ve heard people say less is better but when I meditate on that I’m not sure that’s the case. For me the secret to a simple life is reading more, journaling more, walking more and slower, more solitude and silence, sitting before more sunsets, more moments of listening to the wind whisper through the leaves and more Doves chocolates. 😊 

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  • Candid Portraits,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  People/Portraits,  photographers

    Visitors

    September 22, 2020
    Tom and Kathy Dills with breakfast smiles at the Chicken Coop
    Kathy checking out the uncomfortable rock

    No landscape images this morning. Instead I’m going to post a couple of images of Tom and Kathy Dills from the short visit we had.  Pretty impressive smiles from both of them considering the road miles they have put in. Driving from North Carolina to the northwest coast and back is not the same as a jaunt to the grocery store. And, include a pandemic and the fact most of the west coast seems to be on fire and you can understand the task they took on. This was yesterday morning at the newly opened Chicken Coop, a American Mexican restaurant nearby.

    They arrived Sunday afternoon. After connecting up we drove to the Pineridge Natural Area and then to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area where we took a short walk to the rock. This is a location I enjoy because of the quiet and solitude I can experience. At the present time it’s not as quiet because they’re using the open field south of the natural area as a staging area for the helicopters battling the Cameron Peak fire. Kathy tried sitting on the uncomfortable rock and agreed it’s purpose is not long term sitting. They left yesterday morning and expect to arrive in Charlotte on Thursday. It was a short visit but hopefully there will be more opportunities.

     

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  • Fujifilm X-T3,  Fujifilm XF35mm f2.0,  Plants

    Sunday Morning

    September 20, 2020
    Mushrooms are alive and well

    Happy Sunday morning to you. Will have a busy day starting with laundry, lunch with my friend Dan and then meet up with Tom and Kathy Dills. Could be one of those days I eat too much. No hot dates scheduled, yet. 😊 

    Very pleased to see a lot of blue sky this morning. The Cameron Peak fire is still burning but winds are sending the smoke north of us. Yesterday, a storm system brought gusty wind conditions from 15-30 mph which promoted fire activity. Today, firefighters will add depth and expand fire lines around the 237 mile perimeter. Windy conditions and possible thunderstorms today will serve as a test of existing firelines. That’s from the Inciweb report this morning.

    Found these mushrooms outside Mugs at the Oval this morning. Knelt down for a couple shots, then felt my age as I stood back up. I sure ain’t as limber as I was last week. But, I’m confident there are enough young college kids around who would help an old man up. 

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  • clouds,  Fujifilm X-T3,  Fujifilm XF16-80mm f4.0,  landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  Plants,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  sunsets,  trees

    …have a good night.

    September 17, 2020
    Helicopter landing, done for the day
    Sunset at Reservoir Ridge during Cameron Peak Fire

    They are using the open field north of the CSU Research Center as a helicopter staging area, which is next to the Reservoir Ridge Natural Area. The above image was taken last night as one of the helicopters was ending their day. I think there were six or seven helicopters on the ground, fuel trucks and mechanics waiting for them. As you can see the smoke sits atop of us, no blue sky. Very little wind. Even after receiving 14 inches of snow the fire smolders. As the fuel drys the fire burns a bit more each day and is unfortunately making its way towards Red Feathers Lake and Crystal Lakes where there are several homes and cabins. They are unincorporated communities and census-designated places and of course a post office. They have been under a voluntary evacuation for a couple weeks now. The smoke is visible this morning and makes the throat tender.

    I had my first encounter with a rattlesnake at the nature area between taking these two images. It was nice having several people warn me about the snake and where it was located. Once I approached the snake it made sure to shake it’s rattlers and let me know it’s physical distancing boundaries. I admit it was difficult to see it but easy to hear it. It was coiled about six inches off the trail and ready to strike if anyone dared to cross it’s boundaries. I wasn’t in a daring mood so I respected those boundaries. I even began a dialogue with it hoping to help it relax a bit, it seemed rather tense. Told it I was only passing by and to have a good night.

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  • grass,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  prairie

    Being Alone

    September 16, 2020
    Beard-grass at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    “Our language has wisely sensed these two sides of man’s being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.”

    Paul Tillich

    The wind, warm days, and low humidity is stirring the embers of the fire. We can see, smell and feel in our throats the smoke from the Cameron Peak fire. The good news the crews have been able to make headway to prevent the fire from growing even bigger. Could see more moisture in 2-3 days. I took this a couple days ago when we had less smoke. I found this very uncomfortable rock to sit on and watch out over the meadow. This is the view. 

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