• landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  sunsets

    The Real Questions

    October 29, 2024

    Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits…

    Henri Nouwen

    A few years ago I took up the practice of asking myself such questions. Even stopping during the day to ask them, especially if I was restless or irritable. It’s now become a regular part of my day. It requires me to be honest and thorough in this self-examination and maybe even bounce it off a close friend. It can turn the day around for me and others. I must confess I’m not as diligent with this practice as I would like to be. But, that’s why it’s called practice. It causes me to wonder what our world would look like if more people were to do such an inventory of themselves each day? I’ve come to believe these are the real questions everyone needs to ask.

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  • bicycling,  clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  reflections

    Love and Respect

    October 27, 2024

    How beautiful our mother, the earth
    And how worthy of our love and respect.

    Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel

    I took a pleasant bicycle ride yesterday along Spring Creek Trail and the Poudre Trail. It was 31 degrees when I got up but we reached a lovely 70 degrees by mid-afternoon. Blue skies and a spattering of clouds brought a smile. I was not the only one out riding and walking. Just to my left was a women with a painting easel, sitting on a stool and an umbrella to keep the sun off while painting this very scene at the Cattail Chorus Natural Area. I agree with Charleston’s poem, we do have a beautiful Mother Earth and my prayer is we all learn to love and respect her. ❤️

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  • quotes,  shadows,  sunsets

    The Day’s Starburst

    October 19, 2024

    “What gift might I bring to this day?”

    Brother David Steindl-Rast

    This was taken earlier in the week. It is a very different scene today as we are overcast where gray clouds block the sun and it’s cold. When I left this morning for coffee around 8:45 it was 43 degrees. on my ride home an hour and a half later it had warmed to 46 degrees. The question in this quote would be a good way to start each/any/all day. The gift may be a poem, painting, photograph, giving someone a hug or compliment, just being present and awake, or the gift of who we truly are, not a shadow self or the persona self but the true essence of who we are. It could even be a good question to ask before going to bed. Stay warm and enjoy your weekend!

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  • coffee life,  street photography,  sunrises

    Morning Starburst

    October 14, 2024

    It was 37 degrees when I left the condo this morning. Cold mornings like today make for chilly rides. In spite of the cold I do enjoy the short ride. And, the Earl Gray tea at Mugs hits the spot. This image is taken outside the front door of the coffee shop just after the sun has risen. The older buildings are a part of CSU campus. 

    Morning Starburst

    I’m getting accustomed to using the bicycle as my primary mode of transportation now. I used the bicycle to meet my oldest daughter for lunch today, about a ten mile round trip. Again, I took the bike trail so I’m not dealing with traffic. They have built tunnels under the major north south bound roads so I needed to only cross one busy road, which has a crosswalk light. These trails also keep me connected with nature, where I get to experience the beauty of our fall season.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  musings,  sunrises

    Just a touch of pink…

    October 9, 2024

    I enjoyed my ride this morning to the coffee shop. It was cool and crisp at about 47 degrees but not cold. I find these rides to be invigorating, actually beginning to look forward to them. No traffic to deal with and parking is a breeze. I enjoyed my coffee conversations this morning with Jeff, Curtis, Shawn, Terry and Adrianna, which always seems to make the coffee taste better.

    A touch of pink over CSU campus this morning

    I journaled this morning about how short life is, aware mine gets shorter each day, each breath. I do not know when my heart will beat its last beat, but I am at a place of acceptance when that moment comes. And that acceptance includes finding myself waking each morning with gratitude, looking forward to the possibilities of the day. What photo will be given? Who will I share a conversation with? What lesson(s) can I learn today? What words will I find on the pages of my journal? Will I be present to experience feelings of gratitude, love, fear, serenity, anger, sadness, and other emotions that make me human? These remind me of Mary Oliver’s question asking us how we will live this one wild and precious life given to us? I will not have an answer until I reflect back on my day when I lay my head on my pillow tonight. But, I must say my day has been rich and fulfilling already and it’s not finished.

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  • bicycling,  Cityscapes/Urban,  quotes,  sunrises

    Start of the Day

    October 2, 2024

    Hello, sun in my face.
    Hello you who made the morning
    and spread it over the fields…

    Watch, now, how I start the day
    in happiness, in kindness.

    Mary Oliver

    I would add to her start of the day, a bicycle ride to a favorite coffee shop and an image of the sunrise along the way. Weather app suggests the possibility of 90 degrees today. Toasty!

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