• Canada Goose,  gratitude,  Humor,  winter scenes

    Sleeping-in

    January 15, 2024

    At 6:37 am my weather app said it was 0°, wind was out of the north at 11 mph, humidity was at 83%, wind chill at −17° and light snow was falling. Later at 7:13 am I was enjoying a mocha latte at Mugs and had to snicker at the insane individuals who would be out in this weather, unless they were my barista or the city snowplow driver. Told my baristas, Emma and Jess, that I needed to have a conversation with McCabe and Marlie (the owners) about paying them double-time for working on days like this. They thought it was a great idea! When I got home I noticed the geese were sleeping in late so I quietly took three images. They looked so comfortable I didn’t want to wake them. Now at my computer, slippers on, furnace running, sipping on a hot chai tea and have a grateful heart! ❤️ Going to be a day for reading and writing. Looks like most of the country is cold today so stay warm!!!

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  spirituality,  sunrises

    The Language of Nature

    November 23, 2023

    We need to move: from a spirituality of alienation from the natural world to a spirituality of intimacy with the natural world, from a spirituality of the divine as revealed in words to a spirituality of the divine as revealed in the visible world about us.

    Thomas Berry

    I awoke early and made the short trip to Pineridge Natural Area for the predawn colors. We’re expecting snow later today, as much as 4-10 inches by Saturday morning, so I was expecting to see some red sky. I was not disappointed. Almost no wind. Silence, which is such an integral part of the language of nature.

    Later, when I got to the coffee shop I felt a bit of regret as I may not have stayed as long as I could have. Seems my focus had moved on to enjoying a mocha rather than staying present and accepting all the gifts nature was wanting to share with me. Maybe I was intuitively aware of my spirit of alienation from the natural world over the past few days due of traveling. Maybe the divine in nature was asking me not to leave just yet. As I write this post I’m aware of my gratitude for the natural world that we are a part of, that is available to me, my ability to spend time within it and the amount of time I do spend in it. 

    I’ll end this post with a prayer on this Thanksgiving Day: I am thankful for family, friends, and those who are both. I pray for the healing of this wounded world and that we embrace the divinity of this natural world we share. Hoping you enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  sunsets

    Feeling Gratitude

    November 10, 2023
    Sunset at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

    After watching this evening’s sunset I realized how much I have to be grateful for in my life. I’m even grateful I can say that as often as I do. Even though I am not wealthy, I have enough to live comfortably. Even though I am aging and have a couple of health issues we are addressing, I have a healthy lifestyle. I have amazing and growing relationships with family and friends and those who are both. I have a spiritual life that I embrace and nurture. I have a coffee life that has become part of my family. I have these beautiful Colorado sunsets and sunrises that touch some deep place within me. I am grateful for gloves. I am grateful for all who read this post. Gratitude fills me this evening. Going to share this evening’s sunset with you and hope you have a wonderful weekend! A second post today.

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  • Mary Oliver,  poems,  poetry

    Love as never before…

    August 7, 2023
    Yesterday’s mornings predawn colors over Dixon Reservoir

    Be still, my soul, and steadfast.
    Earth and heaven both are still watching
    though time is draining from the clock
    and your walk, that was confident and quick,
    has become slow.

    So, be slow if you must, but let
    the heart still play its true part.
    Love still as once you loved, deeply
    and without patience. Let God and the world
    know you are grateful.
    That the gift has been given.

    May Oliver, The Gift

    I’m beginning to accept aging as more of a constant companion than someone to avoid. Nor do I live in a fantasy that it will go away. Aging now walks with me every day and walk at that slower pace. Some days I feel the grief of losing that walk that was confident and quick in my life, as Mary says in her poem. Yet, in this season of my life I am grateful for the gift of the life which has been given. What a gift it is to slow down, be present to life, fully experience and enjoy it. So my simple prayer this morning is that I may love as never before. The world needs more love! Why not let a spark begin with me.

    I began a crock pot of 15 bean soup this morning. Well there are more than 15 beans in it, which will be ready about 1:00 pm if you wanna come over. May you have a wonderful day, filled with a heart of gratitude!

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  • clouds,  haiku,  horizons,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  poems,  poetry,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    the twilight hours

    July 7, 2023

    a predawn pink sky
    silence just before sunrise
    these twilight hours

    mws

    My morning began with quiet time of prayer and meditation followed by a drive to Pineridge Natural Area. I enjoy being a part of these divine hours. Seeing the predawn pink colors along the eastern horizon brought on a smile and a bit of giddiness. And, the coolness of the light breeze was invigorating to all my physical senses. Meadowlarks and Robins contributed their morning song enhancing the moment and this sacred place. I found myself smiling again. Taking a deep breath I felt within the gratitude to be alive and the experience of these twilight hours. Hope you had a good Friday!

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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  Avian,  Canada Goose,  gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  sunrises

    Such a Beautiful World

    May 28, 2023

    I enjoyed a quiet predawn at Arapaho Bend Natural Area this morning. I was the only one there other than the geese, some Great Blue Herons along the far shore and a couple of pelicans. None of us was very talkative.

    We had more rain and thunderstorms yesterday, in fact the weather was severe on the eastern plains. However the weather brought winds helping to clear out the smoke and haze. Quite the contrast this morning. Nature seemed to take a deep breath, relax and gives us the gifts of a clear predawn sky, a sunrise and the promise of a new day.

    After spending time in these sanctuaries I feel the inadequacy of offering any words expressing the feelings I experience, yet I try. If there is one word to express my feelings it’s gratitude. Pretty simple. Such a beautiful world we live in when we take the time to experience it. Now going to meet a friend for a late lunch. Have a great day!!

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  • gratitude,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    One of my favorite…

    May 26, 2023

    Sitting on this rock, watching the sunrise with awe and wonder. The grass around me is wet from the mornings dew and also from the rain we had yesterday. The temperature is perfect. There is almost no wind. I take sips of my chai latte, listening to a meadowlark perched atop the fence singing its morning praise. The sun rises behind the clouds, offering hints of pink and letting me know the new day is here. I’m grateful for this moment, this place, this experience, this life, all the green that surrounds me, the clouds, the new day, even the cold hard rock I’m sitting on. This is one of my favorite times of the day… one of my favorite places…

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