• leaves,  Plants,  poetry,  writing/reading

    Entice the eyes…

    January 18, 2023

    again amazed at nature’s flair
    as she creates her shared gifts
    the earth becomes her canvas while
    spreading a tapestry of leaves
    that entice the eyes of the heart

    mws

    A major winter storm is impacting our area. Snow began falling yesterday evening. Looks like we have 3-4 inches this morning and it’s expected to continue snowing throughout the day. Seems the worst of the snow will be farther east. I have an appointment for a CT scan this afternoon and hope the roads are in good condition by then. I took this image a couple days ago outside my condo. I was drawn by the color and pattern. Right now I’m watching it snow from the chair in my bedroom’s bay window. May you have a super Awesome day!

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  • landscape,  Plants,  quotes,  seasons,  snow,  trees,  winter scenes,  writing/reading

    Learning to Be a Listener

    December 15, 2021
    A gentle snow storm at Arapaho Bend Natural Area in 2014

    Generous listening is powered by curiosity, a virtue we can invite and nurture in ourselves to render it instinctive. It involves a kind of vulnerability – a willingness to be surprised, to let go of assumptions and take in ambiguity. The listener wants to understand the humanity behind the words of the other, and patiently summons one’s own best self and one’s own best words and questions.

    Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

    Over the years I’ve discovered how poorly I listen. Some of the discovery is from encountering people who are poor listeners, enabling me to see the reflection of myself in them. Becoming a better listener allows me to be the student rather than thinking I need to mansplain it. I agree with Krista that listening is a virtue we can invite and nurture and overtime becomes instinctual. It seems to me listening is the very foundation to any healthy relationship with another human and all of creation. With that in mind, my curiosity begs to ask the question, what do we learn when listening to the silence of a winter snowfall?

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

    New Journal Today

    March 17, 2021

    Thirty degrees and overcast skies. They finally cleaned the parking lot yesterday, so I found my car. One of the hazards of having a white car in Colorado. Wanted to catch the bus but the city plows covered the sidewalk making it almost impossible to reach the bus stop. Opted instead to drive to the Bean Cycle.

    I was taken back by how much tree damage this storm brought on. The tree trimmers are going to be busy over the next couple weeks. There are piles of snow everywhere, tree branches scattered everywhere. Front End loaders and dump trucks are busy hauling it somewhere. I had the coffee shop pretty much to myself. So, it was a mocha latte, some easy listening jazz and journaling time for myself. Started a new journal today. ❤️Got a haircut on the way home so I’m looking dapper again. 😁

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  • haiku,  landscape,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes,  writing/reading

    Late Winter Snow

    March 14, 2021

    silent seamstress
    creates blanket of white
    late winter snow

    ms

    I laid in bed after waking just to listen to the silence. Then had the silence broken by the sound a cracking tree branch. Found two small branches laying in my yard after getting out of bed. We have at least 12 inches of snow and expecting 6-8 more inches through the day. Major highways have been closed since last night. The heavy wet snow plus the wind has done some tree damage over the city. Some parts of Fort Collins have lost power. I am fine, so far, and I was able to make a 2 egg scramble and my chai latte.

    Today is Pi Day which celebrates the mathematical constant π (3.14). So, to celebrate be sure and eat one of your favorite pies. I chose peach! 😁

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  • Cityscapes/Urban,  lifestyles,  snow

    Snowing again…. wait it’s stopped

    February 24, 2020

    Early morning snowfall on the way to coffee

    Strange weather we have in Colorado. I took the bus this morning to meet a friend for coffee at 7:20 am. I could watch the snow moving in from the west. It began snowing by the time I stepped on the bus. This image was taken at 7:40 am as I’m heading into the coffee shop. By 11:00 am it was blue skies, sunshine and almost no sign of snow on the ground. And, wind gusts up to 30 mph. Hang on to your hat.

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  • Avian

    Leaving today

    November 27, 2019
    Red Cardinal

    I was 1 degree at 6:15 this morning. By my standards, that’s called cold. This snowstorm was all that they predicted and some and some and some more. Reports say we had 15 inches in 15 hours. I cleaned off at least 12 inches of heavy wet snow from my car, which means we have received some wonderful moisture out of this. On my walk to the coffee shop this morning the snowdrifts along the campus parking lots looked like mountains. Enough about the snow.

    My sister and I were scheduled to fly to Phoenix yesterday morning but due to the incoming storm they canceled our flight and we were able to reschedule for today at 5:00 pm. That will get us there in time to keep my brother-in-law from eating all the lemon meringue pie. 🙂 But, my weather app warned of flash flooding for the Phoenix area and are predicting rain over the next few days with cold temperatures for them, and that depends on your definition of cold. I will take the rain and the time with my family over the cold and snow here.

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