• clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  poems,  poetry,  Reservoir Ridge Natural Area,  writing/reading

    the many gifts of nature…

    October 2, 2021

    sitting on a bench at the natural area
    I look out across the open meadow

    a light wind blows from the south
    softly whispering through golden grass

    taking simple breaths I remain present
    far from those places thoughts beckon

    a blue jay chatters from a pine branch
    joined by a chorus of barking prairie dogs

    I’m listening…

    but all goes silent with my unexpected sneeze
    an engulfing quiet settles upon the meadow

    silence is broken with a chickadees two-note song
    inviting the prairie dogs and blue jays back

    a squawking magpie joins in and so the
    concert continues much to my pleasure

    within this simple experience I am
    offered one of the many gifts of nature

    I’m listening…

    ms
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  • coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  lifestyles,  writing/reading

    A Favorite Spot

    March 10, 2017

    A Favorite Spot
    A Favorite Spot

    This is an image of one of my favorite spots at Morgan Library to write. I usually arrive at the library around 7:20 then grab a mocha latte at the small coffee shop. For exercise I then walk up stairs to the third floor and over to the east wing.  So somewhere around 7:40 I’m sitting at one of the four tables outside the conference rooms.

    I have with me my journal, two fountain pens (Lamy Logo in Pearl), my Kindle Paperwhite, maybe a book, my camera and an extra lens. It’s quiet. I love the light. It’s a favorite spot.

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  • coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  lifestyles,  writing/reading

    A New Fountain Pen

    July 20, 2016

    The New Fountain Pen
    The New Fountain Pen

    My new fountain pen is a white Pilot Prera with a medium nib and filled with Diamine Ochre ink. The ink is a nice milk chocolate color and I think works will with my cream colored pages in my Moleskin journal. Not that there are any special words in this pen but the desire to write more is there. Oh, and included in this image is a favorite of mine, a mocha latte, which matches the ink also.

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  • lifestyles

    Letters

    May 30, 2016

    Letters
    Letters

    I have hand written, in cursive, a few letters over the past couple of months. As I wrote, I had memories of days as a youth reading letters from grandmothers. They were so enjoyable to read, filled with simple news and lots of misspelled words. I could hold them, reread them again and again.

    Wives, mothers and lovers depended on letters to keep connected to those serving during wartime, making sure anyone on foreign soil knew they were loved. Some still have those cherished letters.

    There’s a common belief that peace is the absence of struggle. But peace demands its own sacrifices. Are we who work for it willing to engage with as much fervor as those who fight wars do?

    Anyway, this Memorial day I have reflected on the importance of those letters, those who served and those who kept in touch.

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  • Black and White,  journal,  musings,  writing/reading

    Another Journal

    November 3, 2014
    Another Journal

    Started another journal on October 5th. This is my 22nd book since my first journal entry back on October 7, 1990. The first entry consisted of five sentences at a time of struggle. There was a lot going on inside mading it difficult to express myself in any coherent way.  I wrote about a struggling marriage, family issues, job changes, entering into another unnecessary war and the downward spiral of our society. That was 24 years ago. The marriage ended 9 months later. There are still family issues, I’m now retired, we’re still senselessly killing and our society still has a broken thinker.

    I’ve noticed my writing style has changed. I’m not writing to necessarily find answers but to pursue other questions. My journals are a mix of diaries, writings to a Higher Power (God) and co-authored with him. My audience is for family and friends as well as myself. The journals have been therapy for me. Some things I write and then read back over can enlighten me to a deeper knowledge of myself and allow for an acceptance of the world around me. I find it brings clarity, focus, slows down my troubled thinker and helps organize it. It has become an important part of my life. Now, if I could put words in some sort of coherency instead of feeling like I’m babbling.

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  • coffee shops,  writing/reading

    A Coffee House

    May 30, 2014
    Morning Journal Time
    Morning Journal Time

    I do not have a specific time of the day I journal. I can be motivated to pick up my pen and journal when the mood strikes or I need to clear my head. Like my camera it is always with me. That could be the reason I post a few images of my journal and pen. 🙂 In Old Town there are nine small mom and pop coffee houses that I wander into. There is a difference in how each coffee shop makes their lattes so through experimentation I learn when to order a mocha, an Americano or chai latte. There is also a difference in the ambiance in each of them. The feel of each coffee house is based on the decor, the baristas and as well the customers. I may have to write a review on each of them as a short project. That also gives me justification for spending my money at these places.

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