My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
rising early I journey to this sacred place
mws
where darkness and silence will soon depart
and night surrenders to the light of day
gray clouds have settled atop the foothills
a holy mist anoints me as I watch in awe
the unique waves moving from shore to shore
I’m not into the 4th of July celebrations as in the past.They have lost their allure for me. However, that is not true for me with twilight hours and clouds. Our weather forecast calls for possible thunderstorms later today which will put a damper on some peoples plans. Since we were expecting overcast skies I drove east to find the open vistas and take in the beauty of the early morning clouds, their patterns, and their colors. A touch of pink was offered for a short period of time so I stopped the car and accepted the above image.
Driving home a few minutes later, 11 minutes to be precise, I noticed these clouds in the west and again stopped the car to accept the image. I have been invited to my youngest granddaughters for a BBQ later this afternoon. Hope you enjoy your holiday and be safe!!!
I’ll end with a prayer that we become known as a nation of peace rather than as a destructive military power (repeatedly proving that peace has never come through violence), consumerism, greed, wealth, corruption, racism, and inflated pride.
“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they’re absolutely free. Don’t miss so many of them.”
Jo Walton
I took an enjoyable walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area this morning. The clouds were drifting along with the wind, always changing, seemingly asking which shape appealed to me the most. A couple of red-tailed hawks effortlessly soared on the invisible wind currents above me. I found myself surrounded by a half dozen meadowlarks sitting atop fence posts or rabbit-brush as if calling for my attention. A noisy magpie seemed to want my attention, also. I felt important. So, I gave them each my attention and began a conversation with them. It caused me to remember the older man who walked the city streets talking to himself when I was younger. I thought he was crazy. Now, I walk nature trails while having conversations with nature and I’m not concerned with what people may think. And, I know longer consider the old man to be crazy. 🤪 In this image you can see the meadow beginning to green up, as are the two pastures on either side of me.
“Everything is a gift. The degree to which we are awake to this truth is a measure of our gratefullness, and gratefullness is a measure of our aliveness.”
Brother David Steindl-Rast
It is cold this morning, requiring me to scrape frost off the windshield. But blue skies and sunshine. Enjoy the gift of this wonderful day!
We have all heard the forlorn refrain “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!” This phrase has come to stand for the rueful reflection of an idiot, a sign of stupidity, but in fact we should appreciate it as a pillar of wisdom. Any being, any agent, who can truly say, “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!” is standing on the threshold of brilliance.
Daniel Dennett
The skies have been filled with clouds most of the day, beautiful colors, shapes, shades, patterns and textures. With all that beauty I made the decision to chase clouds this afternoon and evening. Some clouds had rain within them while those over the mountains had some snow in them. The forecast is to see snow develop in the mountains and along the Front Range about midnight and continue until early morning. It’s a pattern we could see the next couple of days.
Not sure about you but early in my youth I found myself saying, “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!” Maturity and the awareness to pause before making decisions, taking more thoughtful actions than reactions, has reduced the times I needed to say that. Please notice I said reduced! So, if we go with Dennetts quote then he’s suggesting I’m on the threshold of brilliance, even today. Hoping you have a wonderful weekend!
Overcast skies dominate and it’s windy, definitely a bad hair day. Want to update my status after surgery. The TAVR procedure went well. They were done in just over an hour. Surgery started at 7:00 am and I was home about 5:00 pm. They fractured the original valve that was installed back in 2018 and inserted a new valve inside of that one. All done through the arteries. Amazing! My body seems to know nothing about a new aortic valve being installed. However, my groins are well aware of the three catheters invasive entry into my body, one in my wrist and one in each groin. I walk with pain, bent over like an old man, slow and deliberate, one foot in front of the other. Getting up and down from a chair is a slow process also. All tests done so far show the valve working perfectly and the gradient numbers of 40 we saw before surgery are now below 20. That tells us the heart is not working as hard pre surgery. I cannot say enough for the care I received from the medical staff and all the support and outreach from family and friends. Now comes the slow recovery process but this is nothing like I had with my open heart surgery four years ago. More to follow. Hope you are having a wonderful day!