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

    Routines and Habits

    January 13, 2023

    I have not had much energy or motivation the past 3 weeks. The infection, anemia and the weak heart have slowed me down. I feel like I need to move more even though I may not feel like it nor have the energy. Laying around is not good for my physical and emotional well-being. I ate a small late lunch of Mugs Classic Mac and Cheese yesterday afternoon then drove to Reservoir Ridge Natural Area to watch the sun set. Most of the natural areas are closed due to wet and muddy conditions. I chose this location because there are good opportunities just outside the gate. I’m feeling the need to get back into routines and habits that nurture me and which I feel help in my healing. Not only that but these moments with nature always provide and remind me of the awe and wonder of this world. Creation at work every moment of the day. Happy Friday the 13th!

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  • Dewdrops,  gratitude,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Dewdrop Ornaments

    January 11, 2023

    “A mystic is anyone who has a gnawing suspicion that the apparent discord, brokenness, contradiction, and discontinuities that assault us every day might conceal a hidden unity.”

    Krista Tippett

    A light drizzle began falling this morning then changed to a wet snow. It stopped at about noon. It has been overcast and gray all day. I can easily see why people can feel down or depressed on days like this. I have felt its effect. I also feel a bit down as I have a friend who is in ICU from a heart attack and another one who has gone into hospice. It has been a struggle to accept where I’m at now in life and the weather and news have not helped.

    Yet, I watch as this precious moisture creates “dewdrop ornaments” that glisten and sparkle with the wind on the juniper outside my bedroom window. Nature is always offering us something to enjoy and so simple. I smile and am grateful.

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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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  • John O'Donohue,  landscape,  Plants,  quotes,  seasons,  sunrises,  trees,  winter scenes

    It is within…

    January 7, 2023

    The ancient rhythms of the earth have insinuated themselves into the rhythms of the human heart. The earth is not outside us; it is within: the clay from where the tree of the body grows.

    John O’Donohue

    Sorry for another quote by John O’Donohue but he is one of my favorites. Yesterday was a fairly good day for me, I rested well and the energy carried through the day. We have been in a cold spell the past few days. We received about 1-2 inches of snow a week ago and it still is on the ground. Overcast skies and the cold temperatures have kept the Colorado sun from melting the snow and warming us up. However the weather app says we can see sunshine this afternoon. Anyway, here is an image from a cold December sunrise in 2011. Have a great weekend!!!

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

    Everything is a gift

    December 4, 2022

    Living in a consumer society, as a consumer, means I am bombarded daily with the idea I do not have enough. And, that’s simply not true! The Rule of St. Benedict counsels contentment, that what we have is enough. But, along with being content is the idea of gratitude. I have the practice within my journals of writing a gratitude list on a regular basis. Along with that practice I also include a simple pray of thanks throughout my day as I look for the gifts offered. When I look back over those lists I see less and less material goods and more of the intangible things in life and includes so many of the simple things. So this morning I was grateful for time at Pineridge Natural Area and this predawn scene. It was a good start to this day and reminds me that everything is a gift! Sorry it’s a bit blurry but I shot it handheld at 1/20 sec in the wind and at 20 degrees. Grateful for my old gloves! Happy Sunday!

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  • leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  shadows,  snow

    Creativity

    November 22, 2022

    True creativity does not need an excuse. It is its own motivation. It is spontaneous. It need not win public recognition, and its aim is not success.

    Brother Paul Quenon

    Sorry for posting another leaf image and quote. 😂 It has been another beautiful day in Colorado. It was 52 degrees when I took my camera on a walk this afternoon. Nature knows how to be creative when we look and see.

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  • fall season,  leaves,  Plants,  quotes,  seasons

    Beautiful Nature

    November 17, 2022
    Maple leaves from 2006

    “Nature is beautiful because it looks like Art; and Art can only be called beautiful if we are conscious of it as Art while yet it looks like Nature.”

    Immanuel Kant

    It was 23 degrees this morning at 7:02 am as I left the condo. Snow then began falling around 8:00 am. Intermittently big flakes then soft delicate snowflakes. I sat in my bedroom looking out the bay window as the artist created. It is lovely to my soul. It is also bringing much needed moisture to our thirsty soil. I checked the temperature about 2:16 pm and it said we’re still at 23 degrees but feels like 17 degrees. I’ll agree and it will only get colder! It’s expected to snow all night. I know the image does not depict the weather here but it is beautiful art made by nature. And, this is a second post about the beauty of nature.

    I finished a couple of blurb books that I’ve been working on for awhile. I ordered one each for a look-see copy today. Nothing fancy but small 7×7 size and on subjects I like, Twilight and Journaling. They are for me and will go on my bookshelf.

    I tested negative this morning for covid as I was exposed again this past Sunday. 👍

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