My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
The smoke from the forest fires are now wind driven over the mountains and away from us, giving us a much needed reprieve this morning. We now have three fires burning: Cameron Peak Fire, Mullen Fire and Middle Fork Fire. The Mullen Fire has now moved into Colorado from Wyoming as it is a very aggressive fire. On a lighter note I enjoyed my morning mocha and clear skies.
this day’s starburst
ms
promise of a brighter day
my morning ritual
orange veiled moon
ms
above eastern horizon
forest fire ablaze
Yes, I know the title does not match the image but it’s my blog.
While on a walk yesterday evening I notice the eerie color of the moon and the above haiku popped into my mind. Wrote it down as soon as I got back and then tried to take a photo of the moon. I was not happy with how the images turned out so all you get is the haiku and a milkweed image. 😊 The smoke does act as a decent filter to alter the color of the moon but I was not able to satisfactorily capture that.
This morning the smell of smoke was the first thing I noticed as I stepped out the door. You could look down the street or across the pond and see the smoke from the Cameron Peak Fire as it casts its haze everywhere. The fire is now over 125,000 acres but has tapered down some due to a good freeze last night. Their update this morning is positive news. We see and smell it constantly, a reminder the fire is still ablaze.
end of september
ms
first frost on the windshield
wearing warmer socks
It was 36 degrees this morning at 6:15 am. I consider that cold, so I layered my clothing. I wore some nice warm socks with my sandals. Wind blew hard early today, allowing us to enjoy our Colorado blue skies. This afternoon the winds died down and the smoke moved back in, no more blue skies. This is not the new normal!!
crisp early mornings
ms
brush strokes of fall colors
eye candy for all
sun sets in the west
starburst on the horizon
sacred finalems
It is that time of the year when the air quickly cools down as soon as the sun drops below the horizon. My body noticed the temperature drop so shortly after I took this image I headed back to the car. I now walk one of the natural areas almost every day. I drive to a couple and within walking distance to two near my home. When I drive to Pineridge and Reservoir Ridge I find more quiet from the city noise. So, I prefer to go there. Reservoir Ridge is probably my favorite natural area right now. It has been closed for three days due to muddy trails from the snow we had earlier in the week.
You can still see smoke in the sky from the Cameron Peak fire and the fires from the west coast. The Cameron Peak fire is not out but smoldering under several inches of snow. I can smell the smoke this morning. This mornings update says, “With warm temperatures, low humidity and a sunny day the snow continued to melt rapidly, and the fire activity became more noticeable.” The snow has definitely helped in quieting the fire for the last few days but the danger is not over. Thankfully, we are in a much better situation than the west coast.
The cool morning and overcast skies convinced me to have my latte at the Bean Cycle and sit upstairs where there are fewer customers. Seems everyone else thought the same thing as it quickly got crowded. Anyway, I enjoyed my mocha while I could. Here is an attempt at a haiku.
green willow branches
robed in winters white vestment
now genuflectsms
forest fires destroy
leaving a path of darkness
yet new life will dawnit’s mysterious
the laws of nature baffle
senseless to logicms
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.