My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
This is the last leg of my bicycle ride to one of my favorite coffee shops. And for many of us at the end of this path awaits one of our baristas, always greeting us with a smile, a drink of our choice, and one or two of the irregular/regulars to commiserate with. And it almost never fails that we find one of the squirrels-of-the-oval, at almost every other tree, encouraging us along on this last leg of the mornings journey. And Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers!!!
I took the bus to Lory Student Center this afternoon for some writing and quiet. These chairs and tables line a wall near the bookstore and a bagel shop. I do not know if I have ever seen them empty. I hope you had a good day!
“A person who discreetly farts in an elevator is not a divine being, and a man needs to know this.”
Robert Bly
Solitude is important to man…
Margaret E. Mulac
It is his refuge when the very foundation of his life are being shaken by disastrous events.
I stopped and took this image of the predawn colors over the Lory Student Center on campus this past week on my ride to the coffee shop. Posting this late and hoping everyone has a wonderful weekend!
The cloud is free only to go with the wind.
Wendell Berry
The rain is free only in falling.
Here is this morning’s predawn sky over campus on my bicycle ride to Mugs. Emily was my barista and an Old Town mocha was my drink of choice this morning. We had some dramatic winds along the Colorado Front Range and into Wyoming on Thursday. They closed I-25 and US 287 north from Fort Collins to Cheyenne and Laramie for the better part of the day. There were wind gusts recorded over 80 mph. So there has been some major wind damage. The campus had some big old pine trees toppled. They released students early on Thursday due to the winds and it was the last day of class before spring break. What was interesting to me about this wind was having it blow for almost 12 hours nonstop. As my friend, Joan, described it, it was “unsettling.” They are predicting more high winds again today and into tomorrow. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable weekend!
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”
Jimi Hendrix
Rather than ride the bicycle ride this morning to Mugs, I decided to take the bus to campus. I stopped at Sweet Sensations coffee shop and got a mocha then spent time in the Paul and Elsie Legacy Lounge by the fireplace to journal in the quiet. I usually have the area to myself until about 8:15 am before the groggy students begin to stumble in. It had been a while since I was in the lounge area and I was pleased to see they had changed all the furniture. We had a warm sunny day and may see rain Thursday night into Friday. Time to push the publish button and read for a while. I hope you had a good day!
Hope begins in the dark,
Anne Lamott
the stubborn hope that if you just show up
and try to do the right thing,
the dawn will come.
Jeff and I switched things up and met for coffee at the Lory Student Center this morning. The 30 degrees made it a cool ride for both of us but the sunrise colors were stunning. I shot this image by resting my camera on my bicycle seat and holding it as still as I could in the cold. It was shot at ISO 3200 and .4 sec exposure at f8.0. I used Lightroom’s Denoise to clean it up and think it did a fair enough job. Happy Halloween! And, I’ve decided to wear the same costume today that I wore yesterday.
The poet Mary Oliver suggests in one of her poems (A Lesson From James Wright) that when you sit very quietly in some lovely wild place and listen to silence, that is a poem. I really like that idea. So carrying that further and thinking of our life as a poem, a prayer, a blessing for ourselves and others, maybe adds some aromatic fragrance to who we are and can touch another life. For me this includes creatives such as poets, artists, mystics, photographers, authors, family, friends and others who have done that in my life. I like that idea, also.
I took this image at the CSU Oval on my ride home this morning. In these later years of my life I am seeing and experiencing this beautiful world in a new way. Something inside me does not want to miss the chance of being a part of it, whether that is being an observer, a poem, a prayer, a blessing, a better loving human, or a silly photographer on a bicycle who stops for photos at the oddest times and makes people stop and look.
We are having wonderful fall weather here in Colorado. However, next week we will see colder weather. Late yesterday morning I stood on my porch enjoying a glazed donut and glass of milk, soaking up the sun’s warming rays and watching the constant falling of leaves, twisting and spinning on their short journey. It’s a mesmerizing experience to be aware of my breath while being a witness to nature changing, creating. I felt filled with gratitude. And this morning is just as lovely of a fall morning. As soon as I stepped out the door into the darkness I was met with a captivating quiet and stillness. I then accepted the gift of the sunrise colors over the CSU campus as I rode to Mugs for a wonderful Old Town mocha made by my barista Ethan, then conversation and laughter with Jeff.
On the way home I rode through the CSU Oval listening to the sound of my tires rolling through the fallen leaves. Again, I felt filled with gratitude. Yet, I am aware that not all of the world has this state of silence, peace, and serenity. Nor are are all my days this way. Chaos, death, fear and suffering fills their days instead. My heart cries for them and I grapple with my feelings of helplessness. So even though I do not understand prayer or the prayer as I was taught in my youth, I do as Joyce Wilson-Sanford says, “I pray anyway.” Somehow, someway the prayer is given. May you enjoy this Sunday!
“The word blessing evokes a sense of warmth and protection; it suggests that no life is alone or unreachable. Each life is clothed in raiment of spirit that secretly links it to everything else.”
John O’Donohue
Since this is a scene on my bicycle ride to coffee you will probably see a few more images of it.