My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
snowstorm has passed
mws
now clear skies and sunshine
bench in cold shadows
Slept in late so I got out late. Headed to Rolland Moore Park for a few winter images. I’m always a sucker for solitary benches and found one. Roads are icy this morning. So, I drive according to what I consider safe (slower than others). I am aware I can irritate some drivers who think I drive like an old man. But, that’s okay because I am! 😁
What’s broken can be mended.
What hurts can be healed.
And no matter how dark it gets,
The sun is going to rise again.
Well, back to another sunrise. Took this image yesterday but this one is a bit different. I arrived at predawn when the sky was pink and took a few images of those colors. It was 18 degrees and a slight breeze from the northwest. What is different about this image is the young lady located in the lower left corner of the image. She is sitting on a small bench at the trailhead, wrapped in a blanket and sipping on a thermos of hot coffee or maybe tea. I was there about 45 minutes and she was there when I arrived, sitting on that bench the whole time. We watched this lovely sunrise as well as seeing a couple coyotes walk across the frozen reservoir in search of food. We did not talk. Not sure the reason she needed to be there but for me nature is a place to go when I need to find healing, answers, peace, serenity, silence, a boost, even a good cry and most often the need to slow down the chatter of my thinking. It had warmed up to 19 degrees by the time she left. I departed soon after. We’re expecting light snow today so right now it is overcast and windy. Happy Friday!!
Cold morning, 9 degrees at 7:00 am. Clear blue skies, sunshine and long shadows. Happy Sunday!
A cold morning. We received about one inch of snow from this storm. This was outside my condo this morning. They say it is to be mostly sunny today. Patches of blue sky and sunshine are now appearing.
My daughter woke last Monday morning not feeling well. Her employer told her to make an appointment for a COVID-19 test and stay home and not to return until she had test results. She works for Home Depot and is face-to-face with the public since this whole thing began. She was not able to get an appointment until Friday afternoon then had to wait in line for two hours. She received test results yesterday and tested positive. She is now in quarantine for two more weeks and gratefully will be paid for a full three weeks. She did not feel good for the first three days but felt much better last night. She has slept a lot and any sort of exertion causes her to be winded (stairs). She made me smile last night when talking to her on the phone because she is planning to make Christmas cards this year with all the free time. 😍 Good spirits!
In Praise of the Earth
Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth,
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color.When the ages of ice came
And sealed the Earth inside
An endless coma of cold,
The heart of the Earth held hope,
Storing fragments of memory,
Ready for the return of the sun.Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.Let us salute the silence
And certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness,
Their dream-filled hearts.The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed’s self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.The humility of the Earth
That transfigures all
That has fallen
Of outlived growth.The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive
Our worn forms
Into the final stillness.Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind,
The fluency of water,
The warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun
And shadowed sureness of the moon.That we may awaken,
from To Bless the Space Between Us
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.
by John O’Donohue
grateful for the gifts
mws
rising from within the soul
unspoken words
Reflecting this morning on the gift of words that appear on pages when I journal. This led me to reflect on the words I read from the blogs I follow, the words that rise within you. When you share what you’re feeling, your experiences, what you see, and the joys and struggles of your daily lives, I see them as a gift of unspoken words now heard. So, thank you!
morning walk on campus
mws
shadows cast across the snow
blue wintery day
A much needed snowfall began falling last night and has fallen all day. Along with the snow comes the cold. We’re at about 12 degrees now and will be in single digits tonight. I say much needed snow because it will help in quelling some of the fire activity from spreading. It will not however put out the fires. Forest fires will smolder under snow then blow up again after the melt. I do find it interesting to hear people being excited about the snow because of the fires. Normally people are put off with the first major snowfall as it means the coming of winter and cold. What I hear today is, “Bring it on!”
Blue skies and sunshine bring their warmth this morning.
I see tree branches bending over under the snow’s burden
I watch as the sun’s warmth weaken the snow’s grip,
causing small glistening snowstorms to flutter downward.I check on the nesting geese, standing on my toes to look in
They stretch their necks to check on my presence. All’s well.
Looking up, the sky seems bluer, no contrails, less pollution.
I listen to the quiet, the music that soothes this soul.I’m filled with gratitude for this wonderful world
and the gift of being present, a part of all this beauty.Yesterday’s storm has passed
mws
First they said 3-8 inches of snow, then they said 2-6 inches and then they said 8-12 inches. When I looked out the window this morning I could see that we have at least 6 inches and it’s still snowing. It’s not too cold which is a good thing for me. I ventured out and got a couple of images to share the beauty of the Colorado spring.
I’m looking down on the pond from the midway point of the stairs leading to the condos above me. Along this edge of the pond are large rocks where the Canada Geese and Mallards like to nest.They have been bickering for the past three weeks over nesting sites. Now they’re all hunkered down on the nests, keeping the eggs or young ones warm. But more importantly they are quiet.
It is a wet snow so there will be plenty of moisture from this storm. I have not looked at other areas of Colorado. I did read that the brunt of the storm would be farther north in Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and even Michigan. Sharing some with you, Mark.
In my last post I talked about wanting spring to enjoy the rains, thunderstorms, flowers, weeds and sunny walks. This is not what I was talking about.