• landscape,  natural areas,  poetry,  writing/reading

    Afternoon Walk

    Unwanted smoke cloaks the distant trees
    somewhere beyond is the unseeable horizon

    I walk around the pond listening
    longing for the birds song of hope

    I need the embrace of the natural world
    accepting the healing touch it offers

    It’s in the absence of the spoken word
    that I hear the quiet whisper from within

    With slow deliberate deep breaths I
    take an afternoon walk at the ponds

    ms
  • haiku,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises,  writing/reading

    Meadow of Gold

    cloudless horizon 
    chorus of song birds rising
    in meadow of gold 

    ms

    Sadly this image shows the smoky haze sitting along the Colorado Front Range from all the fires burning in the southwest. The haze hovers just above the horizon combined with a mix of emission pollution. There are currently, 47 large fires that have burned 519,761 acres across the country, per the National Interagency Fire Center website. The haze gives everything a golden glow to it. Today is expected to be in the 90’s. Be safe, stay cool!

  • landscape,  sunrises

    Morning Haze

    Sunrise at Colorado State University
    Sunrise at Colorado State University

    We have felt the impact from the forest fires over the past couple of weeks. At the present time we have 11 active forest fires in Colorado, 3 in Utah, 9 in Arizona, 15 in California, 33 in Idaho and Montana, and others burning in Oregon and Washington. So, the smoke has been ever present making our sky hazy and sunrises and sunsets take on a different and eerie look and feel. We are unable to see our beautiful mountains. Sunday was a windy day with gusts up to 30 mph but by Monday morning the haze was back. It is sad because of the destruction to our landscape and peoples homes and unfortunately some lost lives.