• clouds,  landscape,  musings,  sunrises

    Just a touch of pink…

    October 9, 2024

    I enjoyed my ride this morning to the coffee shop. It was cool and crisp at about 47 degrees but not cold. I find these rides to be invigorating, actually beginning to look forward to them. No traffic to deal with and parking is a breeze. I enjoyed my coffee conversations this morning with Jeff, Curtis, Shawn, Terry and Adrianna, which always seems to make the coffee taste better.

    A touch of pink over CSU campus this morning

    I journaled this morning about how short life is, aware mine gets shorter each day, each breath. I do not know when my heart will beat its last beat, but I am at a place of acceptance when that moment comes. And that acceptance includes finding myself waking each morning with gratitude, looking forward to the possibilities of the day. What photo will be given? Who will I share a conversation with? What lesson(s) can I learn today? What words will I find on the pages of my journal? Will I be present to experience feelings of gratitude, love, fear, serenity, anger, sadness, and other emotions that make me human? These remind me of Mary Oliver’s question asking us how we will live this one wild and precious life given to us? I will not have an answer until I reflect back on my day when I lay my head on my pillow tonight. But, I must say my day has been rich and fulfilling already and it’s not finished.

    Read More
  • coffee life,  gratitude

    Full of Gratitude…

    August 29, 2024

    I had my oral surgery today. I’m happy to say I’ve had almost no pain and eating soft foods has been a breeze. I remember almost none of the procedure. As usual with IV’s it took three stabs to get a vein. Just after that its a blank. When Larry and I got home he said something about them taking me to the car in a wheelchair. I don’t remember that at all! It’s been a long time since I had a blackout from my drinking days. 😂 They also prescribed me 4 small pills for pain called oxycodone to take every 6 hours. I’m following those instructions and will take the last one in the morning then be done with them. Oh, and since I did not have to have the sinus perforation closure done, the cost was about half. From the x rays, it looked like they may have been a sinus perforation to repair but once the tooth was removed all was good. 

    Old Town Mocha latte at Mugs taken a couple weeks ago

    This oral surgery experience is so different from the one I had over thirty years ago. I have to admit that because of that past experience, I experienced a couple days of anxiety. However, when I got up this morning and went through my routines, I had a calm about me. I will be taking antibiotics (Amoxicillin) three times a day for the next ten days. No coffee for a few days but I can still go to my coffee shops. It may be iced tea for a while. I’m full of gratitude this evening! Hope you had a good day!!!!!

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets

    Grateful Living

    August 7, 2024

    “At every moment, life gives you the opportunity to do something with what life gives you, and, therefore, Grateful Living means learning to avail yourself, moment by moment, of that opportunity.”

    Brother David Steindl-Rast

    I got together yesterday with some friends for one of those corn boils which I’d never been to before. They make up this big pot of corn on the cob, sausage, potatoes, and onions. Everyone was supposed to bring a side dish or a dessert. Not sure about you, but I always seem to overeat at shindigs like this. I was so stuffed when I left, I went out by Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to walk around a little bit and enjoy those beautiful clouds. I am so grateful for the friends in my life and for the beauty of nature. I am also grateful for the opportunity to experience both.

    Update: the Alexander Mountain Fire is 83% contained, so our blue sky is back, and air quality will continue to increase.

    Read More
  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    Capacity for Gratitude

    July 15, 2024

    What is the duty of humans? If gifts and responsibilities are one, then asking “What is our responsibility?” is the same as asking “What is our gift?” It is said that only humans have the capacity for gratitude. This is among our gifts.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

    Sometime during the night flashes of lightning and thunder filled my room and raindrops tapped against my window. Not sure I slept very well after that. As I lay there I realized how few sunrises I see this time of the year. Daylight savings now has the sun rising a bit too early for this older body. I was unable to return to the land of dreams and deciding not to fight it, I threw the covers off about 4:03 am and began the day. 

    When I arrived at Pineridge Natural Area it was a warm 68 degrees according to my car’s dashboard. A refreshing and gentle breeze caressed my face as I sat on the bench to journal. A few light clouds hovered just above the eastern horizon offering a mix of pink and silver that eventually gave way to an orange sunrise. Darker clouds rose above the mountains in the west, hinting of possible rain later today. A baby cottontail nibbles on leaves near me and Magpies chatter endlessly. After a while I took the camera for a walk, looking with the child’s eye. Before leaving, I rubbed sagebrush between my fingers, wanting to carry its scent with me into the day. I felt a rush of gratitude flow through me. I then headed for the coffee shop, hoping to share this gratitude with others. It’s been a good but early start to this day. Hope you have a great Monday!

    Read More
  • Avian,  nature,  quotes

    Reservoir of Life

    June 4, 2024

    As long as Earth remains an “it,” a “thing,” rather than a living vibrant reservoir of life, humans will continue to use and abuse her. We need a loving relationship with this generous, vulnerable planet in which we live. Only then will we allow her songs of rich abundance to dance in the rhythms of our lives, only then will we respond with reverent care and live with daily gratitude.

    Joyce Rupp
    Read More
  • clouds,  horizons,  Humor,  landscape

    A Spiritual Experience

    March 26, 2024
    Weld County Road 90

    Billy Collins writes in his poem, Under the Stars, that “pissing is a form of meditation…(it’s) what we were designed to do.” I’m not sure how many people would associate pissing as a form of meditation, but it does does make you think…

    In the summer of 2016, something I was designed to do, and what the British refer to as the waterworks, stopped. After a trip to the ER, a visit to the Urologist who did surgery (bit of plumbing work), the waterworks are working again. I now have a greater appreciation of how wonderfully our bodies are made, plus a lot of gratitude when they function properly and of course plumbers. This past week as I stood on the side of County Road 90 I needed to practice this form of meditation he mentions in the poem. I must confess it felt good to stand there watching those clouds and meditating. And, with a stretch of the imagination you might even say I was having a spiritual experience! 😂

    Read More
  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    No asphalt here…

    March 1, 2024
    Predawn panorama at Pineridge Natural Area

    “The soil under the grass is dreaming of a young forest, and under the pavement the soil is dreaming of grass.”

    Wendell Berry

    I am grateful for the natural areas and the city of Fort Collins for setting aside these areas. They protect nature from those who want to profit from them and destroy the dreams of the soil. Because it was a beautiful day of blue sky and sunshine, I spent some time at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area this afternoon and journaled. I thought about people who know nothing but the asphalt, concrete and noise of big cities. For them to be present to the silence of the sunrise above or to look out over a vast horizon, could be startling if not frightening to them. So, this evening I’m aware of how lucky, blessed, and grateful I am to have these sanctuaries to experience. I will end with words written in my journal today: No asphalt here…

    Read More