My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
I am heading south to Phoenix for a visit with family and some warmer weather. I’ll spend some time with my sister and brother-in-law and some time with my parents. I was hoping for some nice weather so I could go barefoot and get away from the cold here but they are expecting temperatures on Thanksgiving day to be right around freezing. Be back in two weeks unless the family gets tired of me. 🙂
We had snow yesterday and highs only to the mid 20’s and more of the same today. I’m tired of the cold and snow already. I think a walk on the beach is what I need. Yeah! Sand between my toes and in my shorts. Yeah! Maybe Myrtle Beach, like this guy. Yeah! Enjoying uplifting scenery. Yeah!
On my drive back from Texas I traveled along Highway 287. This is a pretty desolate stretch of road with seemingly endless miles of brown, dry prairie grass brought on by the severe drought. I was struck by the wind turbines against the blue skies and the open land so I had to stop. And, yes the wind was blowing. We are seeing more of these farms along the eastern plains of Colorado. This one is called the Lamar Wind Farm and is the largest in Colorado. It utilizes 108 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines. It resides on an 11,000 acre cattle ranch and only uses 2% of the land. So, each turbine takes up about one cow.  I did not count them but will go with what the website says.
I’ve heard of a prayer that goes something like this, “God give me patience and give it to me now.” Waiting can be difficult for many of us. Several come to mind. Standing in a checkout line. Sitting in doctors office. Waiting on a delayed flight at the airport. Meeting someone who is late for coffee. Waiting for the arrival of a new grandchild. Waiting for our tax return. 🙂 Waiting for a freezer of homemade ice cream to finish. Waiting for the pizza to be delivered. Yet, as I grow older I’ve learned to appreciate waiting. I really do enjoy those times of sitting or kneeling in wet grass waiting for the sun to touch the horizon as it rises or sets. Walking the streets waiting for a photo opportunity to present itself. Waiting silently in prayer or mediation. Waiting is a teacher if we let it. Waiting can be a discipline if we let it. Waiting can have special rewards if we let it. As Elizabeth Taylor says, “It is very strange that the years teach us patience – that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.” Are we learning to wait patiently or wanting it now?
Hotel life as seen with my camera.
“Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.” ― George Carlin
A couple years ago I had a long overnight in Seattle with a fellow flight attendant named Tracey. As it was Memorial Weekend we took the train down to the Stadium to watch about five innings of the Mariners game then headed to Pikes Market. We walked the streets, ate a nice salmon dinner and just enjoyed ourselves. It is overnights like this we consider one of the perks of our work.
These two young men we entertaining to watch. The one was playing drums with the glass bottles and plastic buckets while the other danced up a storm. Even though they were in a major part of town they stayed in their own world of music and on the same page.
Want to pass along this link to a pretty good read on difference between a photographer and an artist by Mike Johnson.
A sudden itch to go camping came upon me on Wednesday afternoon. So, I packed up the car and hit the road. Headed in the general direction of the Poudre Canyon looking for an open campsite in the high country. With the fall colors beginning I thought a Thursday and Friday night venture would not be as crowded. I was right on that but surprised to find very few people up there. With no one up there I pretty much had the pick of my choice. I settled on Sleeping Elephant campsite which has about 15 sites, all of them open. I selected number 12, paid my $13 and setup my tent. The birds and chipmunks were immediately talking about the intruder into their space, Not to be unfriendly I starting up a conversation with them. I told them I came up for some quiet and would do my best not to bother them. Seemed to work. The first image is my campsite and the second is an image of Elephant mountain from which they got the name for the campground.