• haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  storm clouds,  writing/reading

    Cold North Wind

    December 1, 2020

    wind ruffled feathers
    hawk sits on barren branches
    a cold north wind blows

    ms

    Spent the morning at Pineridge Natural Area this morning. A cold wind blew from the north so I had the area all to myself. Brought coffee and sat in my car listening to the wind whispering all around me and did some journaling. A robin perched on the fence letting me know they were watching but there was no song. The wind was ruffling their feathers. I watched Red-tailed hawk soar in over the reservoir and perch on a barren tree. You can barely notice them. I could see the wind ruffling the feathers of the hawk. The overcast skies and wind made it feel colder than it really was. For me it was a good way to start my day. Stay warm.

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  • haiku,  People/Portraits,  Portraits,  writing/reading

    Red Hair

    November 30, 2020

    red hair with freckles 
    on a dare and not for love
    innocent first kiss

    ms

    One perk of reaching 70 years of age is how many people I have encountered in life. Some I will keep as lifelong friends while some will only be a part of my life for a season or two. But, what I have from each of those encounters are memories and the awareness of how they changed my life in some way. I encountered a lot of people during my seven years working as flight attendant, both crew and passengers. And, I was lucky enough to photograph several of the flight attendants I worked with, both men and women. This young lady is Lori and the image was taken in 2009. Because she is outgoing and comfortable with herself we came away with some very good images. This is one of my favorites.

    Now about the haiku. I wrote the haiku this past week while reflecting on a few experiences of my childhood. I started a project a a couple years ago to write a simple memoir for my grandchildren. One of those experiences needs to be the first kiss. The first kiss I remember was with my red haired neighbor, Carolyn. I’m suspecting I was 8 or 9 and she was 6 or 7. Her brother, one of my classmates, put us up to it with a dare. I’m posting this image of Lori because she has the red hair and the perfect amount of freckles to go along with my haiku and story.

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  • frost,  haiku,  landscape,  leaves,  Plants,  sunrises,  trees,  writing/reading

    A Bit of Frost

    November 25, 2020

    sun rising in east
    a cold blue blanket of frost
    few leaves hanging on

    ms

    Cold morning, 19 degrees at 5:45 am. That’s too cold so I waited until it reached 21 then went outside for this photo of a cottonwood leaf with frost. Not the best but… Anyway, everything is pretty much shut down now in Larimer County as it is one the counties to go into Level Red due to high increase of cases and hospitals almost maxed out. Our two week positivity rate was 12%, so I guess you can say we graduated. Anything over 10% put us into that level. This means restrictions on numbers in businesses, churches, music events, etc. Most coffee shops and restaurants have no more indoor seating unless they go against the mandate. I am concerned about our small business owners and those who work for them.

    Hope you have a safe Thanksgiving Day!

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  • haiku,  landscape,  sunsets,  writing/reading

    Unbroken Silence

    November 23, 2020

    solitary fence posts
    without the meadowlarks song
    unbroken silence

    ms

    Our first forest fire started back in August and every since then I seldom see or hear the meadowlarks singing when visiting the natural areas. I assume they moved farther east onto the plains due to the smoke and ash. And, now that it’s colder we will see less of them. Spent some time journaling about missing their enchanting song this morning.

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  • frost,  haiku,  leaves,  Plants,  writing/reading

    Winter Draws Near

    November 11, 2020

    falls morning stroll
    leaves wearing coat of frost
    winter draws near

    ms

    We are on the second day of a five day cold stretch. Nighttime temperatures are to be around 20 degrees. The bright side is we’re expecting to have mostly sunny days. The last two days I’ve awoken to the beauty of a frost covered world. A reminder that winter is quickly approaching.

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  haiku,  journal,  writing/reading

    Daily Practice

    November 2, 2020
    Starting my day with morning sunlight, a mocha and blank pages

    words from a deep reservoir
    fill pages in a blank journal
    a daily practice

    ms

    I have been making it a practice to open my journal after my prayer and meditation time to write from that deep reservoir. I find my days seem to move along smoother when I practice this prior to reading email or any type of social media. The journaling in this quiet time seems to nurture a rich spirituality, a solid foundation for the day, and set my attitude in a good direction for the day.

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