• 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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  • gratitude,  landscape,  poems,  poetry,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    accept the gifts offered

    May 23, 2023

    eerie sunrises the past few days as
    we continue to experience the smoke
    from the Canadian forest fires

    weather app said clear skies
    but what that really meant
    was we had no clouds

    from a nearby fence post
    a meadowlark sings benediction
    greeting the dawn of this new day

    from a place of prayer, hope
    and a heart of gratitude
    I accept the gifts offered

    ms

    Happy Birthday Sheree!!!

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  gratitude,  latte art

    Full of Gratitude

    April 12, 2023
    Latte at Harbingers Coffee

    The sun is about to set on this beautiful day. About to call it a day with some reading and journaling but first I’ll share a bit about the day. My day started early with cardiac rehab, then spent an hour at the coffee shop journaling before meeting my friend Duane for a late breakfast and good conversation. This day had an abundance of sun with a few drifting clouds and temperatures in the low 80s. So, this afternoon I got in a walk at Reservoir Ridge Natural Area where silence mixed with a meadowlark’s song brought a smile to my soul. Full of gratitude! Hope you had a good day, also.

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  • Food,  gratitude,  writing/reading

    Grateful for…

    January 9, 2023
    This mornings avocado toast at Mugs

    … the breath of life, family, friends, sobriety, journaling, photography, nature, coffee shops, solitude, quiet, prayer, meditation, books, serenity, courage, an open mind, willingness, avocado toast, chocolate and …

    mws

    I would like to invite all who read this post to add to this short list above those things which you are grateful for. You do not need to add them in the comments necessarily but maybe find a piece of paper and write them down as you go through the day. Sunshine and blue skies here. Happy Monday!

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  • clouds,  gratitude,  lake,  landscape,  reflections,  sunsets,  writing/reading

    Four years ago today

    December 5, 2022
    Sunset over Rigden Reservoir

    … I had my heart surgery, where they replaced my aortic valve. So, I thought I’d share my gratitude list with you today as it follows the theme of my last posting: 

    • Thankful for a healthy heart and it’s as full as it is 
    • Thankful for time with family and friends
    • Thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the things that have become such a gift in my life such as time with nature, photography, blogging, conversations with family and friends
    • Thankful for my prayer and meditation times
    • Thankful for my journals, fountain pens and the words I uncover with them
    • Thankful I can experience and enjoy each new sunrise and sunset
    • Thankful for another day to venture into a coffee shop to visit my favorite baristas
    • Thankful for the chance to read poetry, which I’d never done before
    • Thankful for the chance to try my hand at poetry, haiku
    • Thankful for the chance to create more of my photo books to share my photography and my words
    • Thankful for my home and the remodeling this past year
    • Thankful for blueberries in my Irish Oats 😂
    • Thankful for DQ Blizzards 😂
    • Thankful for my camera upgrade 2 years ago and a lust for the next upgrade 😂
    • Thankful that what I have is enough and in all honesty do not need anything more than what is already in my life
    • Thankful that there are still those who embrace love, compassion, serenity, joy, hope, peace and …. ❤️
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  • Candid Portraits,  coffee life,  coffee shops,  gratitude,  haiku,  Holidays,  People/Portraits,  writing/reading

    Day of Thanksgiving

    November 24, 2022

    with hands of gratitude
    wrapped around coffee cups
    they share morning time together
    a simple conversation
    sometimes without words 
    on this day of thanksgiving

    ms

    Since Mugs at the Oval was closed today I went to Mugs in Old Town. Streets were busy as they were having a foot race called the Turkey Trot. Being a people watcher I noticed a couple sitting across from me with their coffees. I was taken by their hands. So, I asked for and was given permission to take a couple images of their hands. Thank you, Scott and Michelle, and may you two have a wonderful day and life together!

    I have much to be grateful for in my life. I regularly journal a gratitude list and that is what I will do throughout this day. I find it a great habit and can place me in a better mood when I list what I have rather than what I don’t have (or think I need). I put on a crock pot of andouille sausage and vegetable soup that is good for a cold day as today. Have reached out to family and friends through text messaging and calls letting them know I love them and they are on the lists! The sun came out so I got a walk in and burned some calories. No pie for me this year but an apple fritter made it to my plate.

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