• Candid Portraits,  coffee life,  coffee shops,  gratitude,  haiku,  Holidays,  People/Portraits,  writing/reading

    Day of Thanksgiving

    November 24, 2022

    with hands of gratitude
    wrapped around coffee cups
    they share morning time together
    a simple conversation
    sometimes without words 
    on this day of thanksgiving

    ms

    Since Mugs at the Oval was closed today I went to Mugs in Old Town. Streets were busy as they were having a foot race called the Turkey Trot. Being a people watcher I noticed a couple sitting across from me with their coffees. I was taken by their hands. So, I asked for and was given permission to take a couple images of their hands. Thank you, Scott and Michelle, and may you two have a wonderful day and life together!

    I have much to be grateful for in my life. I regularly journal a gratitude list and that is what I will do throughout this day. I find it a great habit and can place me in a better mood when I list what I have rather than what I don’t have (or think I need). I put on a crock pot of andouille sausage and vegetable soup that is good for a cold day as today. Have reached out to family and friends through text messaging and calls letting them know I love them and they are on the lists! The sun came out so I got a walk in and burned some calories. No pie for me this year but an apple fritter made it to my plate.

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  • gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  poems,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  shadows,  sunsets,  trees

    Last Chorus

    June 26, 2022
    Horses graze as the sun sets behind old Cottonwood trees along Overland Trail

    I watch the sun set behind cottonwood trees while
    the blue sky opens to the coming darkness of night.
    The long shadows of the sun stretch over the pasture
    as my feathered friends sing their last chorus of the day.
    I’m filled with gratitude as this day comes to an end
    full of hope for the new day tomorrow.

    ms
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  • gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  poems,  poetic journal,  poetry,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Morning Sanctuaries

    June 21, 2022

    My day begins in the sanctuary of my home.
    with the quiet of prayer and meditation.

    Then I make my way to the sanctuary
    of a local natural area.

    My feathered sisters and brothers greet me as the goldfinches,
    house finches, chickadees, meadowlarks, magpies,
    robins, swallows all sing songs of joy this morning.

    I watch their amazing aerial antics as they snatch insects in midair
    or playfully chase one another from branch to branch.

    My eyes catch that patient fisherman, the Great Blue Heron,
    who silently wades in the shallow waters of Dixon Reservoir.

    A pair of mallards cruise the waters of the reservoir
    sending their delicate wavelets to shore.

    A noisey crow pesters a red-tail hawk, both adrift in the baby blue sky.

    Two bashful cottontails step from their hiding place
    to nibble on blades of grass.

    My soul now filled with nature’s delights
    and the mind cleared of intrusive thoughts,
    I make my way to one of my coffee shop sanctuaries.

    Two young squirrels pause their wrestling
    to keep a watchful eye on me as I enter this sanctuary
    then scamper up a tree.

    Now sitting in a favorite chair enjoying my mocha latte,
    crafted with love by Emma.

    I now put pen to paper in my journal
    taking note of the ordinary gifts
    given in my morning sanctuaries.

    ms
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  • clouds,  gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    Nature’s Invitation

    May 1, 2022

    Waking early I took my camera to Pineridge Natural Area to watch the sun rise. It was cold this morning at 36 degrees. A frigid breeze was enticing the brown grass of the meadow and rabbit brush to joyfully dance together. I was greeted with a meadowlark singing its song of happiness, then joined by a second meadowlark. A couple of robins perched themselves on the fence in front of me and joined in with their glad tidings. I watched a goose smoothly paddle across the reservoir leaving behind its v-shaped wake. A pair of mallards circled above as if not sure where to go. A half dozen white pelicans used their webbed feet to silently float along the north end of the reservoir in search for food. I wonder if that’s where the big fish are?

    I offer thanks as I am never disappointed with the gifts nature gives me at these sacred places and times. I like to call these times gifts but they seem to be more than that. Could it be nature’s invitation to share our presence in all of creation? Maybe these times are the most natural thing we can do with nature. By now my hands were cold and I could picture in my mind wrapping them around a hot mocha latte. It has been a good start to a wonderful Sunday! May you have also have a wonderful Sunday!

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  • clouds,  gratitude,  landscape,  Poudre River,  quotes,  seasons,  winter scenes

    Living This Life

    March 6, 2022

    You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.

    Kahill Gibran

    Many who regularly read my posts are aware of my references to pray and mediation. Both have become integral parts of my life and are how I daily start and end my days.

    But, it hasn’t always been that way. I mainly prayed to the God I was introduced to in my upbringing in times of distress or to ask for my needs and wants to be granted, and many times bargaining. Prayer changed once I let go of that concept of God. I began to read and study about prayer from different faith traditions and authors. I’m still searching for a better grasp of prayer, its purpose and the source of that prayer. I enjoy this search.

    In all honesty, where I’ve grown the most in prayer is by practicing it. Through practice I’ve come to feel that prayer arises from within me rather than something I consciously do or say. It’s very much an internal dialogue. I’ve heard it said prayer is a the longing of the human heart for God, the Divine or whatever name we use. I enter into prayer in many ways. Prayer is spending time in nature, walking along the Poudre River or watching a sunrise. Being grateful at some deep place within me, I find to be prayer. Or the feeling I experience when I take a deep breath and oxygen enters my lungs is prayer. A good conversation with a friend brings a warm feeling and I know there has been some special connection with them, I find to be prayer also. I could go on but….

    I end this by saying I now find prayer to be experiencing joy, gratitude, connection, love, peace, justice and just living this life.

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  gratitude,  journal,  Mary Oliver,  poems,  writing/reading

    Warm Socks

    September 18, 2021

    “Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”

    Mary Oliver

    My car said it was 43 degrees at 5:18 this morning. Hearing reports that the aspens are putting up some very nice colors in the higher elevations. Awoke early and spent an hour at the natural area this morning in almost complete darkness and silence. Brought along a book of poetry to provide some warmth. Yet, I was still chilled by the time I arrived at the coffee shop. As the fall season moves on I will adjust more to the colder mornings and not be near as chilled. However, I was grateful for warm socks and a mocha latte!

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  • grass,  gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  Plants,  sunrises

    No One Got Hurt

    July 8, 2021

    This is today’s sunrise at Pineridge Natural Area. It looks to be a hot day, reaching 100 degrees. Had a couple of hiccups yesterday so sorry if this post sounds a bit whinny. Promise, it won’t take long.

    I dropped off my car at 6:30 to have the oil changed. I then walked to a coffee shop to meet a friend. I was already at the coffee shop, one I seldom patronize, when he called to let me know he was at ER after falling and dislocating his shoulder. He’s going to be okay.

    Since I was already at the coffee shop I ordered an iced chai, falsely believing that would make things better. Well it was probably the worst chai latte I’ve ever had. Dumped it all. I noticed a feeling of frustration within because plans were not going as planned. 😁

    It was now about 11:00 am. I walked back to the repair shop, buying a sandwich from the local Starbucks on the way. It was horrible. What’s wrong with my tastebuds? ☹️

    When I arrived at the repair shop I discovered there was a mixup. When I dropped off the car I placed the keys in the wrong place. They were not able to work on the car until I let them know where the keys were. Thus we were about 4 hours behind my scheduled plans. Then the Uber driver delivering my air filter got lost which delayed things. I did not get my car until 5:00 pm. Partly my error and partly theirs. However, everyone kept their kool. 😳

    Next, I was to meet a friend about 6:45 pm. All went well with that plan. Felt gratitude and we even chuckled about each others day!

    I realized before going to bed that after my morning prayer and meditation time, I did not start my day at one of my natural areas. I made sure to remedy that this morning. 😍 Anyway, all is okay as no one got hurt yesterday. Have a great day!

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  • clouds,  gratitude,  landscape,  sunrises

    A Grateful Heart

    June 27, 2021

    Today is my 71st birthday and this is how I started the day. I awoke early, just before 4:00 am, wide awake. Made a trip to the bathroom which is something we do more often when we reach this age. Got up at 4:01 am, had my quiet time, made a chai latte and headed to Weld County along County Roads 90 and 13.

    The slideshow is a series of images as the morning progressed. You can click on the slideshow for a larger image and manually walk through the images. Nature gave me the most wonderful birthday gift with beautiful clouds, a colorful sunrise and a chorus of meadowlarks. I was surrounded and immersed in creation. Spending time in nature is our real home, as John Muir suggests. I have a full and grateful heart.

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  • gratitude,  landscape,  Mary Oliver,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  poems,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Invitation

    June 10, 2021

    Oh do you have time
    to linger
    for just a little while
    out of your busy

    and very important day
    for the goldfinches
    that have gathered
    in a field of thistles

    for a musical battle,
    to see who can sing
    the highest note,
    or the lowest,

    or the most expressive of mirth,
    or the most tender?
    Their strong, blunt beaks
    drink the air

    as they strive
    melodiously
    not for your sake
    and not for mine

    and not for the sake of winning
    but for sheer delight and gratitude –
    believe us, they say,
    it is a serious thing

    just to be alive
    on this fresh morning
    in the broken world.
    I beg of you,

    do not walk by
    without pausing
    to attend to this
    rather ridiculous performance.

    It could mean something.
    It could mean everything.
    It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
    You must change your life.

    Mary Oliver, “Invitation,”
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