• quotes

    Stillness and Quiet

    In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen,
    We can hear the whisper of the heart
    giving strength to weakness,
    courage to fear,
    hope to despair.

    Dr. Howard Thurman

    I took this image at noon today at Red Fox Meadows Natural Area which is a 40-acre urban wildlife refuge that is less than half mile from my condo. It also is an important stormwater detention area for the city. It truly is a corridor for wildlife as I have seen fox and deer here on many occasions. There are plenty of hawks feasting on mice that consider this their home. Yet, there are houses and traffic to the north and south of me but with the right composition I can pretty much eliminate any sign of man’s intrusion. I really need to visit more often for its stillness and quiet, for the photography, a place to journal and I can practice my flute there. Have a wonderful Monday!

  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  clouds,  landscape,  quotes

    … once wasn’t enough

    I’ve come to realize the only true walk is the re-walk.
    You cannot know a place without returning.
    And even then, once isn’t enough.

    Craig Mod

    It’s a beautiful morning with blue skies and clouds. I took this at Arapaho Bend Natural Area on my way to meet Eric for coffee and conversation around 8:30 am. The yellows and golds are looking good against the blue sky and water. They’ve predicted the wind to blow and it has already begun so we are being showered with dancing leaves, twirling and swirling for the joy of it. I so enjoyed my time this morning that I needed to stop and take a few more images on the way home. Once wasn’t enough. I hope you enjoy your Saturday!

  • bicycling,  fall season,  leaves

    A Wonderful Fall Day

    A light mist began to fall just after I arrived at the coffee shop. A half hour later the clouds moved east and the sun lit up the blue sky, it’s warmth wrapping me like a blanket. My ride home was mystical as sunlight would break through the trees along Spring Creek Trail. Later I met my friend Duane for an early lunch. I took a second bicycle ride this afternoon over to the farm. Had to fight a good stiff wind. I am now on my porch journaling, reading, and no wind. It has been a wonderful fall day!

    I met with my youngest daughter and my two youngest grandchildren for a dinner last night. It was a time to be together as Madie is moving to England on the 27th and Devin is moving to Seattle on the 23rd. I realized how different our worlds are because their life energy was much higher than the life I live. I felt like I couldn’t keep up.

  • bicycling,  fall season,  landscape,  moon,  reflections,  Spring Creek Trail

    A Beautiful October Day

    Moon reflected in Spring Creek

    It is a beautiful October day here in Colorado. It was a much warmer morning on my bicycle ride to coffee than yesterday. I was grateful to see the waning gibbous moon watching over me on my ride to coffee. When I saw its reflection in Spring Creek on my ride home I had to stop, take some breaths and receive the gift. Yes, it’s a beautiful fall day in Colorado! And, it has been a nice slow day that has included getting my hair cut and then stopping at the Bread Chic bakery on the way home and buying a loaf of their sourdough bread for toast in the mornings. It is still early in the day so I just may get in another bicycle ride before this day ends.

  • bicycling,  campus,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Finding our voice…

    The view on my bicycle ride to the coffee shop

    Life consists in learning to live on one’s own, spontaneous, freewheeling: to do this one must recognize what is one’s own – be familiar and at home with oneself. This means basically learning who one is, and learning what one has to offer to the contemporary world, and then learning how to make that offering valid.

    Thomas Merton, Love and Living

    I had a good night’s sleep but I still did not want to get up. I rode the red steed to Mugs and was wide awake by the time I arrived. Emily was my barista and she fixed me up with an Old Town mocha. The morning was off to a great start. Later I met my daughter and grandson for breakfast at the Silver Grill and of course ate too much. I have been eating out way too much. I notice it in both my pants and my wallet.

    One of the Native American style flute makers almost always has a short video describing each flute. After describing it he usually says, “And, here’s its voice.” Then plays it for 45-60 seconds so you can hear it. Maybe we can say that learning who we are is really finding our voice and offering it to the world. And, at this present time we need a few good, sensible, nurturing voices who live on one’s own. I am not advocating those voices necessarily to be booming on any news media, social media, blog or Youtube but in those places where we spend most of our everyday lives: our homes, our work, the coffee shop, a restaurant, grocery store, etc. And in my mind that begs the question, are we willing to offer our voices? It is a lovely day in Colorado, sunshine and clear blue skies. Have a great day!

  • poems,  writing/reading

    …never the same

    A free afternoon found me
    lying in the grass at the park.
    Above me a canopy of leaves
    offering the gift of cool shade.

    I take deep breaths and stay present
    while leafhoppers jump around me.
    I inhale the scent of freshly cut grass
    and hear the unseen blue jay’s call.

    Clouds drift above me in a sea of blue sky
    as I take in the awe and wonder of nature,
    a sanctuary without walls, doors or windows.
    I close my eyes in reverence, gratitude, prayer

    … and I’m never the same!

    mws
  • leaves,  nature,  Plants,  quotes

    … that catch my eye

    Silence is the indispensable climate for all revelation;
    noise renders it absolutely impossible.

    Anonymous

    As I wandered around the ponds I found these cottonwood leaves just hanging around. I suspect the wind has probably torn them away from their branch and they now hang across the branch of another tree. Such is nature, continuously and silently creating new scenes that catch my eye. I hope you enjoy your Sunday!

  • bicycling,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises

    Love…the energy of world

    The conclusion is always the same:
    love is the most powerful
    and still the most unknown
    energy of the world.

    Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

    It felt more like September 1st than it did August 1st this morning. My weather app said it was 55 degrees with 100% humidity when I left the condo. So my ride to coffee was invigorating. Elisha was my barista and an Old Town mocha was my drink of choice this morning. They just hired two new baristas, so we irregular regulars will be busy training them over the next few weeks. My ride to coffee was via Spring Creek Trail. This was the scene along the creek. You can see the effect of the smoke from the fires in Arizona and southwestern Colorado.

    My blood draw numbers were not what I wanted. Platelets are still low at 57, down 6 counts from May. PSA numbers up to 4.72 from 2.86 in February. I will meet with the hematologist on Monday morning and my PCP later in the month. We’ll see what they say about the numbers. And, I didn’t hydrate myself enough, or my body is tired of having needles pointed in its direction, so it took four stabs to get my blood. Each left a bruise. However, when I had coffee later there were no leaks at any of those stabs sites.

    What gifts we will receive and give today is always a really good question. The answer to that question is more about reflecting back on the day than having some instantaneous answer through a text message, an email or a bolt of lightning. So on that note, may you have a wonderful August 1st!

  • bicycle rides,  coffee life,  grass,  Plants,  trees

    But I’m tempted…

    As I rode through the CSU Oval on Friday there was a young woman walking barefoot on the grass. Almost made me want to stop and take my shoes off. Yet, when I think about all the chemicals they put down on that grass, to keep it green and growing, I keep my shoes on and keep riding. But I’m tempted… If you look closely you will see chalk drawing on the sidewalk. I assume made by the children who have come for a summer camp week and encouraged by student leaders. We had rain during the night so we awoke to overcast skies and cool. I saw where we had from one tenth of an inch to half an inch in Fort Collins. Happy Saturday!

  • natural areas,  nature,  Poudre River,  quotes

    Along the Poudre River

    “It is not the man who has too little that is poor,
    but the one who hankers after more.”

    Lucius Annaeus Seneca

    It is a quiet mid-morning here, although we are expecting rain this afternoon. The wind and trees have been playing a song that soothes my soul and I’m loving it. I had an enjoyable ride to and from coffee this morning. It was rather quiet at the coffee shop so I was able to journal. This image is from a couple days ago when I spent time at Arapaho Bend Natural area walking along the Poudre River.