• flutes,  fountain pens,  journal,  quotes

    Practice

    This is a Jon Norris flute in the key of G# made from Ambrosia Maple. I love the wood grain in it.

    Practice is an important word in my life, but that was not always the case when I was younger. I didn’t want to mess with almost anything that would require practice. Guitar lessons and math homework quickly come to mind. However, over time my view of practice has changed and I find it a necessary and important way of living life. I practice a way of life that includes periods of silence, solitude and time in nature. My practice also includes photography, journaling, being present to life rather than living in my head, learning to listen and yes, it includes learning patience. And recently it has included learning to play the Native American Flute.

    We had thunder during the night and received a small amount of rain during the night. A drizzle hung around until 9 am then intermittent blue skies and clouds with more rain possible later this evening. I hope you enjoyed your day and enjoy your evening!

    “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice reduces the imperfection.”

    Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity
  • flowers,  Plants

    Moment of “Wow”

    I had this moment of “Wow” on my way home from the coffee shop this morning. There is a section along Spring Creek Trail where several of these blanket-flowers (asters) are gathered alongside the trail. I decided today was the day to stop. I knelt on one knee and worked on a composition I liked. It is moments like that I realize I am learning that I am a mystic when I am kneeling before a blanket-flower, or any creation of nature, with my camera in hand, checking my composition and histogram and then realize I am holding my breath. It’s at that point I pause, take a deep breath and say a simple prayer of “Wow.” Isn’t that what a mystics does?

  • landscape,  poems,  river,  Yellowstone National Park

    A Simple Prayer

    I would love to live
    Like a river flows,
    Carried by the surprise
    Of its own unfolding.

    John O’Donohue

    This is a sunrise image taken on the Madison River from a road trip in August of 2022. It was my last day of the trip and I was heading home when I saw this scene. I had to stop. It really didn’t matter if I took a photo or not I just needed to experience the moment. This part of the river is calm while both up river and down river there are rapids and surprises. As a metaphor of life there are days when the flow of life is as calm as this river while there are times when it ain’t and we face surprises. I’m learning to be a part of its unfolding. So, this poem is my prayer for today!

  • fountain pens,  journal,  quotes,  shadows,  writing/reading

    Wisdom and Love

    We are here to grow in wisdom and to learn to love better.

    Rachel Naomi Remen

    It was 11 degrees this morning so no sunrise photo although there was a lovely pink sunrise in the eastern sky. I enjoyed my mocha and conversation with Jeff and John this morning at Mugs. Alissia was our barista. Not a bad way to start a cold Sunday morning. I would like to say and live Remen’s quote as a prayer throughout this day for the world. And a keyword in her quote that stands out for me is “we.” Seems we need a good dose of wisdom, love, and prayer right now. I hope you have a good Sunday. Stay warm and dry for those of you on the eastern coast.

  • Candid Portraits

    A Productive Day

    This is a candid photo of a member of my flight crew taken along the banks of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge in 2008.

    I have had a productive day. It started with my prayer and meditation time then a trip to Mugs for coffee and conversation. It included getting my taxes done and sent in. Federal taxes have already been accepted, but I haven’t heard back from the state yet. I took some used and new camping gear that I will not use anymore to a used outdoor shop in town called Gearage. The money they would normally give me will go to a charity of their choice. I also made a phone call that I was dreading because many of my experiences with phone systems seldom allow me to talk to a real person. But this time I stayed with it. I had to hold for several minutes but a helpful woman had things solved in a matter of a couple minutes. I also went through a pile of papers that needed to be filed or thrown away, which took much more time than anticipated. Yes, I’m known as a Procrastinator with a capital “P” unless I’m heading out for a coffee or ice cream. And now I’m letting you know I had a good day by posting this blog and photo. I hope you have had a good and productive day.

  • Family,  flowers,  gratitude,  love

    Thank you!

    Flowers from Christine and Cody on my dad’s casket

    I dropped off both Monica and Sheree and was home by 8 pm last night. It was a good trip with lots of car time that offer good conversation time. We left early Tuesday morning and had a wonderful family gathering on Tuesday evening with lots of sharing of memories with cousins. We had dad’s Celebration of Life on Wednesday morning at the gravesite where we had warm sunshine, more sharing and our shared tears mixed with laughter. I would like to thank everyone for all your thoughts and prayers you may have offered up for my family.

  • bicycling,  campus,  fall season,  sunrises

    makes them stop and look…

    CSU Oval

    The poet Mary Oliver suggests in one of her poems (A Lesson From James Wright) that when you sit very quietly in some lovely wild place and listen to silence, that is a poem. I really like that idea. So carrying that further and thinking of our life as a poem, a prayer, a blessing for ourselves and others, maybe adds some aromatic fragrance to who we are and can touch another life. For me this includes creatives such as poets, artists, mystics, photographers, authors, family, friends and others who have done that in my life. I like that idea, also.

    I took this image at the CSU Oval on my ride home this morning. In these later years of my life I am seeing and experiencing this beautiful world in a new way. Something inside me does not want to miss the chance of being a part of it, whether that is being an observer, a poem, a prayer, a blessing, a better loving human, or a silly photographer on a bicycle who stops for photos at the oddest times and makes people stop and look.

  • bicycle rides,  bicycling,  campus,  clouds,  fall season,  gratitude,  leaves,  sunrises

    Filled with gratitude…

    We are having wonderful fall weather here in Colorado. However, next week we will see colder weather. Late yesterday morning I stood on my porch enjoying a glazed donut and glass of milk, soaking up the sun’s warming rays and watching the constant falling of leaves, twisting and spinning on their short journey. It’s a mesmerizing experience to be aware of my breath while being a witness to nature changing, creating. I felt filled with gratitude. And this morning is just as lovely of a fall morning. As soon as I stepped out the door into the darkness I was met with a captivating quiet and stillness. I then accepted the gift of the sunrise colors over the CSU campus as I rode to Mugs for a wonderful Old Town mocha made by my barista Ethan, then conversation and laughter with Jeff.

    On the way home I rode through the CSU Oval listening to the sound of my tires rolling through the fallen leaves. Again, I felt filled with gratitude. Yet, I am aware that not all of the world has this state of silence, peace, and serenity. Nor are are all my days this way. Chaos, death, fear and suffering fills their days instead. My heart cries for them and I grapple with my feelings of helplessness. So even though I do not understand prayer or the prayer as I was taught in my youth, I do as Joyce Wilson-Sanford says, “I pray anyway.” Somehow, someway the prayer is given. May you enjoy this Sunday!