• landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  poems,  poetic journal,  writing/reading

    It’s Mysterious

    Taken on my walk around Dixon Reservoir this evening

    forest fires destroy
    leaving a path of darkness
    yet new life will dawn

    it’s mysterious
    the laws of nature baffle
    senseless to logic

    ms

    The Lewstone fire is at 100% containment. People returned home yesterday. The Cameron Peak fire is over 21,000 acres and 0% containment. But yesterday evening they had a few showers which helped them. Today the skies are much clearer. We can see the mountains again.

    This afternoon I took the 1.8 mile walk around Dixon Reservoir. Eerily quiet for the first half hour I was there. I was able to finish John O’Donohue’s book today, Walking in Wonder. Plan on starting a Mary Oliver book of poems next. Hope you have a great evening and wonderful day tomorrow.

  • horizons,  landscape,  poetic journal,  writing/reading

    Tooting My Horn

    I mentioned a while back that I was working on a project. Well over a year and a half ago I began creating a Blurb book within Lightroom. My focus was on horizons because I have come to see the attraction and draw they have with me. My initial intent was to make a book for my children with a select few of my images and with my own words. After almost a year of labor and feeling like I was done, I read what I’d written and heard a familiar voice inside telling it was sh*t and I was a fool for trying such a project. So I set it aside and stopped working on it. Do you ever hear that voice and listen to the lie?

    When the pandemic hit and lockdown arrived I found myself looking at what I’d written and my perspective was in a very different place. After three months I began to rewrite and my writing began to transform into what I’ve come to know as a poetic journal style of writing. A new energy began and words I’d not written before appeared. I made several revisions, deleted some writings and images while adding new writings and images. My wonderful neighbor, Kristin who teaches creative writing and poetry at CSU, did three proofreadings for me. 

    I am not promoting this for you to buy because print on demand is expensive. I’m doing it to toot my horn. This is something I’d never imagined I would or could do and an uncomfortable risk. Please click on the image for a preview of the book, for free. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

    I mentioned a while back that I was working on a project. Well over a year and a half ago I began creating a Blurb book within Lightroom. My focus was on horizons because I have come to see the attraction and draw they have with me. My initial intent was to make a book for my children with a select few of my images and with my own words. After almost a year of labor and feeling like I was done, I read what I’d written and heard a familiar voice inside telling it was sh*t and I was a fool for trying such a project. So I set it aside and stopped working on it. Do you ever hear that voice and listen to the lie?

    When the pandemic hit and lockdown arrived I found myself looking at what I’d written and my perspective was in a very different place. After three months I began to rewrite and my writing began to transform into what I’ve come to know as a poetic journal style of writing. A new energy began and words I’d not written before appeared. I made several revisions, deleted some writings and images while adding new writings and images. My wonderful neighbor, Kristin who teaches creative writing and poetry at CSU, did three proofreadings for me. 

    I am not promoting this for you to buy because print on demand is expensive. I’m doing it to toot my horn. This is something I’d never imagined I would or could do and an uncomfortable risk. Please click on the image for a preview of the book, for free. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

  • clouds,  Humor,  landscape,  natural areas,  Plants,  poems,  poetic journal,  poetry,  sunrises,  trees,  writing/reading

    Couldn’t Sleep

    Predawn clouds with the morning sun.

    Awoke way too early then struggled to get back to sleep, seem to have more of those nights over the past few years.

    So, I crawled out of bed at 4:00 am, had my quiet time, made a french press then headed to the Arapaho Bend Natural Area; may need a nap later.

    At 5:45 am most people are still wrapped in blankets so it was quiet except for the birds, they always rise early; always in a seemingly good mood.

    The weather people predicted a cloudy day, then rain later, so I took the chance for a sprinkling of clouds in the east; I was awake anyway.

    I like the solitude of my life, living alone, plenty of quiet, yearning to live near a natural area, always one of my daydreams; it could come true.

    Then I’d rise early each morning to greet the sunrise while listening to the free concert and tire you with too many sunrise images; See!

    ms
    Sunrise at Arapaho Bend Natural Area
  • clouds,  horizons,  landscape,  poems,  poetic journal,  writing/reading

    This Gift of Wonder

    Storm clouds on the canvas

    Fascinating, clouds on the horizon
    causing me to stop, to feel them deeply
    within, yet so far in the distance.

    Such power visible on the canvas sky
    hail, rain, thunder, lightning
    forever playing with color and form.

    With awe, I watch the creator create
    while I, a child caught in enchantment 
    accepting this gift of wonder.

    ms

    Happy Birthday, Sheree. You are such a gift of wonder! I love you! ❤️ 

  • landscape,  poetic journal,  snow,  trees,  winter scenes,  writing/reading

    Yesterday’s storm has passed

    Snow clinging to branches

    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

  • fall season,  fog,  frost,  journal,  landscape,  poetic journal,  prairie,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Graitude

    Cold, foggy, and frosty October morning sunrise from 2012

    After quiet time, prayer and meditation,
    I made a french press of coffee, Heaven’s Blend
    by name, then moved outside to sit in the sun.
    In the warmth I read from Rilke’s Book of Hours,
    and journaled thoughts. I focused on listening to
    the sounds of nature, birds, wind, as their words
    seem to soothe, heal and nurture me with a balm
    rather than the pain brought on by the world’s news.
    I think Gratitude is the word for this day.

  • leaves,  natural areas,  poetic journal,  writing/reading

    Notes from this mornings walk…

    Cottonwood leaf from this morning’s walk

    Walked the dirt path at the Fisher Nature Area this morning
    I wanted to have my feet touch Mother Earth, not concrete.

    Heard Blue Jays chasing one another with their raucous calls,
    unintelligible gibberish, sounds angry. We don’t need that.

    And, the chickadees with their simple “fee-bee” calls,
    one heard over here, then one over there, social distancing?

    A woodpecker drumming on some distant tree
    They pause, listening for insects, then drum on.

    Can’t miss the two joggers in their bright colored running gear,
    then meet half dozen dogs walking their humans, on a leash.

    With overcast skies, patches of blue and diffused light, and one
    cottonwood leaf still holding on, made for a great start my day.