• Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  silence,  trees

    Glorious Silence

    Morning fog at Arapaho Bend Natural Area

    in the barren cottonwood tree
    dozens of birds, all of them still,
    as if, like me, they are enthralled
    doubtful they could ever improve
    on all this glorious silence

    Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

    The glorious silence from the nights snow filled my bedroom. I could feel the cold as I lay under the covers. After a prayer of thanks I enter into this new day. I dress and make my bed then spend 20 minutes on my meditation cushion. More silence. Journaling. More silence. I make a bowl of cereal with a banana and a chai latte. My day is starting off good. It looks like 3 inches of snow fell during the night and it is 14 degrees. No bicycling or picnic today. Eric and I will talk on the phone rather than get out in this weather. Stay warm and enjoy the silence!

  • fall season,  leaves,  quotes

    Weathering

    When I left the condo this morning it was 36 degrees, clear skies and dry so it was a morning to bicycle to the coffee shop. A bright waning crescent moon hung in the southern darkness. The wind was blowing causing flags on campus to stand erect into the eastern sunrise and also made my bedaling tougher. The lovely Winter was my barista this morning and made me a spicy chai to start my day. A beautiful day is taking shape here in Colorado.

    “This tells me two fundamental truths: one, that in order to evolve and grow, we must be prepared to face the erosive aspects of life. Two, it’s the weathering that creates the finest landscape of our lives, shaping us and defining us over time.”

    Ruth Allen

    There is a knowing within me that I am evolving. The obstacles of life, the weathering, has shaped who I am. And, I would venture to say everything else in the universe. The weathering of my life’s storms is allowing me to experience the inner landscape of my life. Grateful for this time in my life and my inner landscape! Have a wonderful day!!!

  • fall season,  leaves,  quotes

    I Love This World

    A sprinkling of frost

    You must learn one thing.
    The world was made to be free in.
    Give up all the other worlds
    Except the one in which you belong.

    David Whyte

    We have 45° and overcast skies this morning. Now at Mugs. Emily is my barista. An Old Town Mocha is my morning beverage of choice. My ride to coffee was wonderful, except when riding north into the wind. It’s going to be a laid back day and the only one I can live in. I will get together with Duane for brunch later this morning. Then the rest of my day is pretty much free for journaling and reading. May you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!!

  • fall season,  leaves,  quotes

    To Love Another

    “… for one human being to love another… is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation.”

    Rainer Maria Rilke

    May you be filled with gratitude, pie, and love!
    Happy Thanksgiving!!

  • frost,  leaves,  quotes

    The Morning’s Frost

    Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

  • flowers,  quotes

    Present Here and Now

    Snow topped tulips from March 2024

    When we focus our attention on our breath,
    we find out very quickly that we are a living reality,
    present here and now,
    sitting on this beautiful planet Earth.

    Thich Nhat Hanh
  • fall season,  leaves,  quotes

    Tell the Tale

    It feels like we are living in a time of apocalypse,
    an age when everything we take for granted is starting to collapse around us.
    It feels like the end of the world.…
    This situation is nothing new for me as a Native American.
    My ancestors already lived through an apocalypse.…
    Native American culture in North America has been through the collapse of civilization
    and lived to tell the tale.

    Steven Charleston, We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope