• insects

    Katydid

    I think this is the leaf katydid which is widely distributed in Colorado, found in both eastern and western Colorado and also common in many urban areas. They are related to crickets and grasshoppers. It is one of the most often heard Colorado insects, making clicking calls in trees and shrubs during late summer. They make the noise by rubbing a hind leg on one wing, similar to cícadas, and use it to attract the ladies. I knew they existed as I hear them quite often in the evening but seldom see them. Anyway, this one was on the sidewalk outside my door late Saturday afternoon. And, they were quiet. I almost stepped on it.

  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  storm clouds

    Changes

    “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”

    Lao Tzu

    Friday I turned on the new furnace. It worked nicely and quietly. The leaves are letting go as they embark on their final stage of this season in life. The Canada Geese are back in town. Had to scrape frost off the windshield on Saturday morning. The days are shorter and nights longer. Cold temperatures are replacing the cooler fall temperatures. Snow will arrive shortly.
    Changes.

    I’m finding it more difficult to pull back warm blankets in the morning. It’s a fact I don’t handle the cold as I did in my younger days. I no longer stay up late but go to bed earlier and rise earlier. Conversations with high school classmates now includes medications we’re on. I now keep medication in a weekly pill dispenser. Both granddaughters are now married. Reality.

    Yes, life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. The seasons of life along with the reality of life.

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  quotes

    Latte Art

    …. Art lives in what it awakens in us…

    Jane Hirshfield

    I must say, something awakened in me when my barista, Arianna, handed me this mocha latte. Her latte art is a reflection of the coffee shop experience, the quality of my mocha and that my barista wanted to share it with me. I will return!

  • horizons,  landscape,  Mary Oliver,  mountains,  natural areas,  Plants,  quotes,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    Dazzle

    The multiplicity of forms! The hummingbird, the fox, the raven, the sparrow hawk, the otter, the dragonfly, the water lily! And on and on. It must be a great disappointment to God if we are not dazzled at least ten times a day.

    Mary Oliver

    Nothing dazzles me more than yesterday’s afternoon walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area taking in the golden beauty of rabbitbrush scattered throughout the still green meadow. Today I am driving Peak to Peak Highway with a friend to take in the golden fall colors. We are expecting to be dazzled. Weather forecast is cloudy and cooler, which means we layer. Photos to follow.

  • People/Portraits,  quotes,  Self-portraits

    Today’s Discovery

    “… when we write in a journaling mode we are getting in touch with the many selves inside our self.”

    Naomi Shihab Nye

    I enjoy this process of self-reflection in my life. I’m finding it to be an exciting inward journey and yet outward, vitally connected to all of creation. My journaling and photography are tools I use in that journey. Today’s discovery, I need a haircut. Now for some homemade vegetable soup.

  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  sunsets

    A Touch of Pink

    Waxing Crescent moon and pink clouds at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    It was a cool fall day yesterday. Sunshine, blue skies and scattered clouds in the morning then a few sprinkles later in the day. I did not sleep well on Friday night. Woke up around 12:30 feeling nauseous. The visit to my cardiologist this past Tuesday showed my blood pressure is now in stage 2, so he wants me to go on blood pressure meds. He wants me off the meloxicam because one of its side effects is increased blood pressure. So I stopped one medication and started another. Who knows what that is doing with my system. I took my walk to the east side of Reservoir Ridge Natural Area last night and arrived in time to see some pink in the clouds and waxing crescent moon. Have a great Sunday!

  • quotes

    The Rapture of Being Alive

    Clouds over Fremont Lake

    People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances with our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.

    Joseph Campbell

    Another image of Fremont Lake in Wyoming.