• clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  mountains,  quotes

    One Kind Word…

    August 10, 2025

    We cannot control the way people interpret our ideas or thoughts, but we can control the words and tones we choose to convey them. Peace is built on understanding, and wars are built on misunderstandings. Never underestimate the power of a single word, and never recklessly throw around words. One wrong word, or misinterpreted word, can change the meaning of an entire sentence and start a war. And one right word, or one kind word, can grant you the heavens and open doors.

    Suzy Kassem

    Late afternoon scene along Weld County Rd 90.
    I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and you have put out at least one kind word today!

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  • flowers,  insects,  Plants,  poems

    …the world depends on it

    August 8, 2025

    Because

    So I can’t save the world—
    can’t save even myself,
    can’t wrap my arms around
    every frightened child, can’t
    foster peace among nations,
    can’t bring love to all who
    feel unlovable.
    So I practice opening my heart
    right here in this room and being gentle
    with my insufficiency. I practice
    walking down the street heart first.
    And if it is insufficient to share love,
    I will practice loving anyway.
    I want to converse about truth,
    about trust. I want to invite compassion
    into every interaction.
    One willing heart can’t stop a war.
    One willing heart can’t feed all the hungry.
    And sometimes, daunted by a task too big,
    I tell myself what’s the use of trying?
    But today, the invitation is clear:
    to be ridiculously courageous in love.
    To open the heart like a lilac in May,
    knowing freeze is possible
    and opening anyway.
    To take love seriously.
    To give love wildly.
    To race up to the world
    as if I were a puppy,
    adoring and unjaded,
    stumbling on my own exuberance.
    To feel the shock of indifference,
    of anger, of cruelty, of fear,
    and stay open. To love as if it matters,
    as if the world depends on it.

    Because from The Unfolding by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  reflections,  sunrises

    The quiet of early morning…

    August 7, 2025

    the quiet of early morning … the perfect end to the night,

    a splash of pink nestled in the clouds
    along the eastern horizon,

    while the same delicate clouds
    are mirrored in the calm waters,

    mallards feed along the water’s edge
    making their little sounds of joy,

    a great blue heron stands motionless
    eyes fixed below the surface,

    a red tail hawk flies overhead
    with its morning prey locked in talons,

    the quiet of early morning … the perfect start to the day.

    mws

    Our air quality this morning is much better than the past two days. So I made a trip to catch the sunrise, the colors, and the clouds at Pineridge Natural Area. We are expecting it to be in the high 90s today. Have a wonderful Thursday!

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

    Breathe in the smoke

    August 6, 2025

    When we know ourselves to be connected to all others,
    acting compassionately is simply the natural thing to do.

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    Yesterday evening I headed to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to journal, watch the eerie look to the sky, Maybe find a photo and breathe in the smoke. All tasks were accomplished. And the air quality this morning was very poor due to the smoke and fossil fuel pollutants, red zone in fact. Warnings were out for those with breathing issues. The warnings have come down some but still warning us that it is unhealthy for sensitive groups. If my memory serves me, we did not experience this type of air quality when I was younger.

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  • leaves,  nature,  Plants,  quotes

    … that catch my eye

    August 3, 2025

    Silence is the indispensable climate for all revelation;
    noise renders it absolutely impossible.

    Anonymous

    As I wandered around the ponds I found these cottonwood leaves just hanging around. I suspect the wind has probably torn them away from their branch and they now hang across the branch of another tree. Such is nature, continuously and silently creating new scenes that catch my eye. I hope you enjoy your Sunday!

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  • insects,  leaves,  Plants

    Japanese Beetle

    August 2, 2025
    Japanese Beetle feasting on a tree leaf

    I’ve been noticing these bugs a lot this year. They are stunning in color and vibrancy. A Google search tells me this is a Japanese beetle. It is not considered a pest in its native Japan, but in North America and some regions of Europe, it is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants. Some of these plants include roses, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others. The adult beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage, as you can see in this image, as well as, at times, feeding on a plant’s fruit. When I took my camera for a walk this morning I took a few photos of them. Interesting that if you enlarge the photo you can see my reflection in its head.

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  • bicycling,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Love…the energy of world

    August 1, 2025

    The conclusion is always the same:
    love is the most powerful
    and still the most unknown
    energy of the world.

    Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

    It felt more like September 1st than it did August 1st this morning. My weather app said it was 55 degrees with 100% humidity when I left the condo. So my ride to coffee was invigorating. Elisha was my barista and an Old Town mocha was my drink of choice this morning. They just hired two new baristas, so we irregular regulars will be busy training them over the next few weeks. My ride to coffee was via Spring Creek Trail. This was the scene along the creek. You can see the effect of the smoke from the fires in Arizona and southwestern Colorado.

    My blood draw numbers were not what I wanted. Platelets are still low at 57, down 6 counts from May. PSA numbers up to 4.72 from 2.86 in February. I will meet with the hematologist on Monday morning and my PCP later in the month. We’ll see what they say about the numbers. And, I didn’t hydrate myself enough, or my body is tired of having needles pointed in its direction, so it took four stabs to get my blood. Each left a bruise. However, when I had coffee later there were no leaks at any of those stabs sites.

    What gifts we will receive and give today is always a really good question. The answer to that question is more about reflecting back on the day than having some instantaneous answer through a text message, an email or a bolt of lightning. So on that note, may you have a wonderful August 1st!

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