• leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Cottonwood Leaves

    July 20, 2025

    In this age of compulsive reverence for the written word… people… are missing what is before their eyes… Everywhere, if you keep your mind open, you will find the truth in words not written down. So never let the printed page be your master.

    Doris Lessing

    It is a hot day here and looks to be hot everywhere. I took the long-cut home from coffee this morning via Spring Creek Park on the bicycle and worked up a good sweat. It is already 85 degrees here. I am cooking spaghetti with shrimp and mushroom alfredo for my lunch as a treat today. It sounded good to me. Then I found out it was National Ice Cream Day! Sigh!

    We had some gusty winds a couple days ago so a few branches blew down from the cottonwood trees. I get a bit excited when this happens because I know the coloration of these leaves will turn from green to brown then to gray in just 2-3 days. Seems the details in the leaves pop more or maybe it’s their unspoken words I’m hearing. I thought I’d share it with you. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday and stay cool!!

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  • I am learning...,  musings,  quotes,  rants

    Open our hearts…

    July 19, 2025

    If we learn to open our hearts,
    anyone, including the people who drive us crazy,
    can be our teacher.

    Pema Chodron

    I have come to see that my old thinking served me for a short period of my life. However, there came a time when I needed to unlearn, to let go of old ways of thinking, let go of how I perceived life, and let go of what I was taught, so that I could have a new basis for living. As long as I stay teachable, I will find keys to opening new locks of my heart, soul and thinking. And Pema is right, those who don’t unlearn can be my best teachers.

    I see it’s hot almost everywhere, so stay cool!

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  • grass,  Humor,  Plants,  quotes

    We’ll call it barley…

    July 18, 2025

    It has been a laid back Friday for me. I rode the bicycle to coffee and then relaxed the rest of the day. Relaxing included: lots of reading, writing this short blog post, making tuna salad, took my monthly shower and even put on clean underwear.

    Foxtail barley, Bobtail barley, Squirreltail barley, and Intermediate barley

    Someone who is filled with ideas, concepts, opinions and convictions cannot be a good host. There is no inner space to listen, no openness to discover the gift of the other. It is not difficult to see how those “who know it all” can kill a conversation and prevent an interchange of ideas. The more mature we become the more we will be able to give up our inclination to grasp, catch, and comprehend the fullness of life and the more we will be ready to let life enter into us.

    Henri Nouwen

    I don’t know but there sure seems to be too many “who know it all” or worse yet, who “think they know it all.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more people listened and were open to discover the gift of the other. Then we all could just call this grass barley. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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  • natural areas,  nature,  quotes

    The Great Way

    July 16, 2025
    Soapstone Natural Area – 2020

    The great Way is easy,
    yet people prefer the side paths.
    Be aware when things are out of balance.
    Stay centered within the Tao.

    When rich speculators prosper
    While farmers lose their land;
    when government officials spend money
    on weapons instead of cures;
    when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
    while the poor have nowhere to turn-
    all this is robbery and chaos.

    It is not in keeping with the Tao.

    (Tao Te Ching translation by Stephen Mitchell, 1995; Verse 53)

    It began to mist just as I left the condo this morning. I turned the bicycle around and drove the car to the coffee shop, instead. No need for me to be damp, wet and uncomfortable. I’m glad I did as it’s been misting for the past three hours. A lot of things in our world are out of balance and not our checkbooks. I have come to appreciate how my time in nature, meditation, silence, and solitude help me stay centered and balanced at a deep level within me. The paradox, finding inner balance when the world around us is out of balance. Stay centered!

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  • nature,  Plants,  quotes

    Nothing Exists Alone

    July 15, 2025

    It seems I have seen more mushrooms over the past couple years. Out of curiosity I searched out why. Mushrooms are essentially the fruiting bodies of fungi, and these fungi decompose organic matter in the soil. This organic matter can include things like decaying tree roots, buried wood, thatch (a layer of dead grass), leaves, grass clippings, or even animal waste. The fungi break down these materials, and the mushrooms are the visible sign of their activity. They thrive in damp, humid conditions, prefer shade and low light. They are located in two locations in my front yard that meet these qualifications, offering me some photo opportunities. In this photo are the mushrooms, grass, a cottonwood seed, decaying leaves and below all of that is another world all together. Fascinating, that nothing in nature exists alone. Expecting mid 90s today but rain showers tomorrow.

    In nature nothing exists alone.

    Rachel Carson
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  • Dewdrops,  grass,  Plants,  quotes

    Doing the Work of the World

    July 14, 2025
    Dew covered grass at the meadow’s edge

    Sometimes I wish I could photosynthesize so that just by being, just by shimmering at the meadow’s edge or floating lazily on a pond, I could be doing the work of the world while standing silent in the sun.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

    I’m not sure we can be doing the work of the world unless we know
    we are a part of the world rather than apart from the world.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  National Grasslands,  Pawnee National Grassland,  quotes

    Touched by it!

    July 13, 2025
    Storm clouds at Pawnee Grasslands – July 2012

    Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.

    Hermann Hesse

    It is a quiet Sunday afternoon with clear blue skies and sunshine. We are in the low 90’s. It looks like much of the nation is toasty. I consider myself lucky to have visited many sacred places, had the experience of standing there taking it all in and even bringing home an image I liked. I’m aware some will consider scenes like this as dull, desolate and boring. I, on the other hand, consider it a beautiful, intimate and sacred home to be cherished and respected. I am also interested in the landscapes of beauty within a short distance of home. This scene meets both of those criteria for me. Yes, there is an effort required to visit these sacred places. However, in my experience, when we make the effort it will change us. As I looked back in my archives of this area I began thinking I need to make another hour-long drive out there! This sacred landscape is our home and I want to be touched by it!

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  • bicycle rides,  coffee life,  grass,  Plants,  trees

    But I’m tempted…

    July 12, 2025

    As I rode through the CSU Oval on Friday there was a young woman walking barefoot on the grass. Almost made me want to stop and take my shoes off. Yet, when I think about all the chemicals they put down on that grass, to keep it green and growing, I keep my shoes on and keep riding. But I’m tempted… If you look closely you will see chalk drawing on the sidewalk. I assume made by the children who have come for a summer camp week and encouraged by student leaders. We had rain during the night so we awoke to overcast skies and cool. I saw where we had from one tenth of an inch to half an inch in Fort Collins. Happy Saturday!

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  • natural areas,  nature,  Poudre River,  quotes

    Along the Poudre River

    July 11, 2025

    “It is not the man who has too little that is poor,
    but the one who hankers after more.”

    Lucius Annaeus Seneca

    It is a quiet mid-morning here, although we are expecting rain this afternoon. The wind and trees have been playing a song that soothes my soul and I’m loving it. I had an enjoyable ride to and from coffee this morning. It was rather quiet at the coffee shop so I was able to journal. This image is from a couple days ago when I spent time at Arapaho Bend Natural area walking along the Poudre River.

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