• quotes,  shadows

    Makes me smile…

    October 17, 2025

    The sun shines not on us, but in us.
    The rivers flow not past but through us.
    Nature was made not just for us,
    but for itself and its own happiness,
    and is the very smile of the Divine.

    John Muir

    It was a rather cool morning at 38 degrees which made my bicycle ride invigorating. But that also makes my Old Town mocha taste that much better. Emily was my barista and did a wonderful job. I’m now sitting at my desk watching a beautiful fall day unfold. We have a blue sky while the sun spreads its light and warmth in my condo. Its rays of light extend across my desk, wall and floor. With that invitation I press the shutter button. Later I will enjoy a bowl of chili soup then meet a friend this afternoon for a walk and talk. I choose to believe, as Muir does, that the Divine does smile in and through us. What a gift it is to smile and share it! I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

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  • quotes,  shadows

    Creative Work

    July 6, 2025

    It’s not a question of whether we credit our best work to either luck or skill but whether we’re open to taking advantage of it being both luck and skill. Creative work is a dance between you and the circumstances in which you do your work.

    David duChemin

    I had just stepped outside the front door to ride for coffee when I saw these shadows. Luckily I had my camera with me and the circumstances were there. I hope you have a good Sunday!

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  • quotes,  shadows

    … when we glimpse it

    March 3, 2025

    Our religious experience begins and ends with the heart. It begins with the insight that our heart is restless. A world of things can never fully satisfy its restless quest. Only that nothing beyond all things that we call meaning gives us rest when we glimpse it. The quest of the human heart for meaning is the heartbeat of every religion.

    Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer

    When I returned from my bicycle ride to coffee this morning I caught a glimpse of the sunlight coming through my bedroom window. I knew it as a voice telling me there was a photo being offered. Did I want it? Just a glimpse is all it takes for us to see something that’s small and irrelevant at times and now has something simple to offer. I wanted it! Some would call it a spiritual experience. After looking at the quilt I rememberd it was a handmade quilt given to me by my friend, Judith, who died of cancer 17 years ago. Maybe she was behind that voice.

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  • poems,  shadows,  winter scenes

    How Well We Love

    February 9, 2025

    When all is said and done,
    The only true measure of our lives
    Is how well we loved.
    How well we gave love, received love, shared love,
    Protected love, created love.

    Nothing else will matter when our turn comes
    To make the final journey—
    Only the love we were will linger.
    Only love will still speak our name
    In the hearts of those we embraced.

    We were made to love, you and I,
    Made so by the author of love
    Made in the image of love to be the love we are.

    Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel

    We had a light dusting of silent snowfall during the night. However, along with the snow comes the cold temperatures, 23 degrees. I made my way to the coffee shop for an Old Town Mocha made by Winter. It was rather quiet in there this morning. People must have slept in. I drove around the CSU Oval on the way home and snapped this photo for the blog. Hope you have a wonderful Superbowl Sunday.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  quotes,  shadows,  silence,  winter scenes

    Winter’s Shadows

    January 19, 2025
    Winter’s shadows and fresh snow

    This is a time (winter) when action becomes non-action, sound becomes silence. We see the essence in things, within ourself and within the world. It can be a time when we consider what is essential in our own life, and what needs to fall away, or we left behind. The ability to let go is a wisdom that belongs to Winter.

    Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

    It was a frigid morning here in Colorado. My weather app said -7 degrees at 4:26 am. We received 3-4 inches of snow the past 24 hours and may get another inch later this evening. I took this image at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area about 9:45 am when we had warmed up to 2 degrees and the sun popped out. This arctic blast is a reminder that we are in the midst of winter and its gifts of silence, non-action, and repose. Winter is time for nature to slow down and rest before the onrush of rebirth and new birth of spring. And, how relevant that is in our lives, society and the world. Stay warm wherever you are!!

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  • coffee life,  quotes,  shadows

    Our Character As a People

    November 19, 2024

    I leave at O’dark-thirty tomorrow morning (4:05 am shuttle pickup) to spend a few days in Phoenix with my 95 year old dad and my sister and brother-in-law. We will celebrate Thanksgiving a week early and I will probably overeat. I’m not expecting to post anything until I get back on Sunday. We have had blue skies with scattered clouds but it’s been a cold, blustery day, which makes for a good day to stay inside and pack for the trip.

    I love the shadows

    What the government will or will not do is finally beside the point. If people do not have the government they want, then they will have a government that they must either change or endure. Finally, all the issues that I have discussed here are neither political nor economic, but moral and spiritual. What is at issue is our character as a people.

    Wendell Berry, The Hidden Wound

    The above quote is near the end of Wendell Berry’s book, called The Hidden Wound. Even though the book was written in 1989 this quote seems to aptly apply to our situation today. I’m not a believer in looking to a government, a new legislation, or some leader to make our social, political or economic situations better, although they can help. For several years our real issues in our society, its government, and I will include the world, are really moral and spiritual. He’s right: What is at issue is our character as a people. What is sad to me is that people do not want, or even know how, to look internally at their character. Or, worse yet, many have no idea what character means. It’s much easier to point a finger elsewhere. Anyway, I will be off line for a few days.

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  • animals,  bicycling,  quotes,  shadows,  wildlife

    Happy Friday

    November 15, 2024

    “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
    “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

    The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

    A brisk 31 degrees this morning in Colorado. I met Jeff for coffee and conversation. When I got home I found out I had an issue with my website. After a chat session with Bluehost all seems to be working again. I find myself feeling overwhelmed with technology even after years working in engineering. I know some of that is immediate panic and a voice that says “I’m screwed now.” I don’t consider myself a techy person but prefer sharing stories of our lives with a friend, reading a book, journaling or enjoying the few moments with this nice buck I saw on my bicycle ride this morning. Each of those is about what I am doing with the time that has been given me while living in these times. Happy Friday!!

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