• bicycling,  quotes

    Still processing!

    I took this image on my ride through the CSU Oval for coffee this morning. I have noticed this scene before but this is the first time I stopped to accept the photo. I did enjoy the BBQ yesterday, ate too much, loved time with family and so very grateful for my grandson-in-law’s safe return from his deployment in the Middle East.


    Find contentment within.
    Be aware of how you affect your surroundings.
    Allow freedom to flourish around you.
    Do not impose or dominate.

    This is what it means to be sustainable.

    Tao Te Ching

    I am processing my feelings about this country’s actions taken yesterday. Finding many unanswerable questions running through my mind. How much escalation of hatred have we against Americans? How many more casualties of war have we just brought on? Anyway, there seems to be an extreme attachment to power, control, hatred, and inflated egos. We have proven for centuries that violence against someone (a country or nation) will not cause them to succumb to our will but only harden hearts. I’ve said enough. Still processing and thanks for listening to my ramblings! It has been another hot day here.

  • coffee life,  my mornings

    All that I don’t have…

    Sun bursting through the trees outside of Mugs coffee

    There is a lot of truth to the saying,
    “I am thankful for all that I have,
    and for all that I don’t have.”

    When I honestly think about this I can make a list just as long of what I am grateful I don’t have as what I do have. Detachment decreases our needs because the less we have the easier it is to appreciate what we do have. Something for me to ponder and journal about. I hope you have a wonderful Friday and upcoming weekend.

  • landscape,  quotes,  silence,  sunrises

    Meeting the Sunrise

    One of the things that makes you feel good is to get out into nature—go walking, go hiking, go swimming in the ocean, or wherever you live, in a river or a lake, experience the beauty of America, experience how America is such a sacred place. Everywhere you go in this land, our people have been there and they have said, “This place is sacred.”

    Ohiyesa (Charles A. Eastman)
  • bicycling,  quotes

    Thanks

    Whoever invented the bicycle deserves the thanks of humanity.

    Lord Charles Beresford

    It was 23 degrees when I rode my bicycle to the coffee shop. I missed the past two mornings because it was below 20 degrees, windy, and humid. I’m not tough enough to go any colder. This image was taken from a foot bridge on the Mason Trail over Spring Creek. As I’ve mentioned before I am able to stop almost anywhere along the trails for photo opportunities, which I can’t do in my car. I also am closer to nature scenes on the bicycle trails.

    In reference to the quote I am at a place in life where I have much more appreciation for whoever invented the bicycle. There are several claims on the invention but the first verifiable claim for a practically used bicycle belongs to German Barón Karl von Drais Sauerbronn1, a civil servant to the Grand Duke of Baden in Germany. Drais invented his Laufmaschine (German for “running machine”) in 1817, that was called Draisine (English) or draisienne (French) by the press. Karl von Drais patented this design in 1818, which was the first commercially successful two-wheeled, steerable, human-propelled machine, commonly called a velocipede, and nicknamed hobby-horse or dandy horse. I wonder what he would think of the e-bike and our bicycle trails. Anyway, I offer thanks to whoever!

  • bicycling,  coffee life,  landscape,  sunrises

    Damn, it was good!

    Sunrise at the CSU Oval with a dirty lens

    I received an interesting email this past week from attorneys in California “demanding” me to remove images from my website because I was infringing on copyrighted images belonging to their company. They had a link to a file listing the images but the link was incomplete. I did some research on the attorneys and discovered they deal with estate and trust litigation. I was sure it was a scam of some sort because as far as I know I have no images on this blog that are not mine. I was concerned that I may have posted a quote or poem that someone was wanting me to take down, which I would do, so I called them. I found out they were aware someone was using their company name and that I could ignore the email. So confusing that people can think of doing something like that, then acting on it and never see the results. Anyway…

    The other morning at Mugs I discovered one chocolate eclair sitting in their pastry case. I was flabbergasted because they normally do carry them except in the downtown store. I knew immediately some poor unsuspecting customer, maybe even a friend, was going to see that eclair and be tempted buy it. So, I quickly made the sacrifice and bought it, thinking only of them of course. Damn, it was good!

  • quotes,  shadows,  sunsets

    The Day’s Starburst

    “What gift might I bring to this day?”

    Brother David Steindl-Rast

    This was taken earlier in the week. It is a very different scene today as we are overcast where gray clouds block the sun and it’s cold. When I left this morning for coffee around 8:45 it was 43 degrees. on my ride home an hour and a half later it had warmed to 46 degrees. The question in this quote would be a good way to start each/any/all day. The gift may be a poem, painting, photograph, giving someone a hug or compliment, just being present and awake, or the gift of who we truly are, not a shadow self or the persona self but the true essence of who we are. It could even be a good question to ask before going to bed. Stay warm and enjoy your weekend!

  • coffee life,  street photography,  sunrises

    Morning Starburst

    It was 37 degrees when I left the condo this morning. Cold mornings like today make for chilly rides. In spite of the cold I do enjoy the short ride. And, the Earl Gray tea at Mugs hits the spot. This image is taken outside the front door of the coffee shop just after the sun has risen. The older buildings are a part of CSU campus. 

    Morning Starburst

    I’m getting accustomed to using the bicycle as my primary mode of transportation now. I used the bicycle to meet my oldest daughter for lunch today, about a ten mile round trip. Again, I took the bike trail so I’m not dealing with traffic. They have built tunnels under the major north south bound roads so I needed to only cross one busy road, which has a crosswalk light. These trails also keep me connected with nature, where I get to experience the beauty of our fall season.

  • Plants,  quotes,  trees

    Stillness and Quiet

    Time and again, we miss out on the great treasures in our lives because we are so restless. In our minds we are always elsewhere. We are seldom in a place where we stand and in the time that is now.

    John O’Donohue

    We can discover in the latter years of our life that moments of stillness and quiet can be great friends. If we embrace these friends we can experience less restlessness and spend less time caught up in our heads, a sometimes formidable neighborhood. The less time in our heads the less likely we are to miss out on some part of the journey through life. When I can stand in the now, I can receive the great treasure of a starburst.