• Badlands National Park,  landscape,  quotes

    Landscape of Timelessness

    Badlands National Park – 2004

    For us, there is not just this world,
    there’s also a layering of others.
    Time is not divided by minutes and hours,
    and everything has presence and meaning
    within this landscape of timelessness.

    Joy Harjo

    One of the gifts I’ve found from visiting National Parks is the mystery of the time it has taken nature to develop the landscapes we photographers enjoy photographing. I also have always come back changed in some way with the silence and learning to be present with nature. She has much to share with us! And look at those layers of time she is showing. I hope everyone is staying warm, safe and dry!!

  • journal,  quotes

    Writing is a voyage…

    Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.

    Christina Baldwin

    Like most of the nation it is cold here. It was 1 degree at about 5:43 am this morning. It was too cold for me to get out and meet Eric for coffee so we chatted over the phone. I was curled up in my chair and wrapped in a blanket. But we have had blue skies and sunshine all day. It has been a good day to journal. I hope you are safe and warm!

  • coffee life,  latte art

    Winter is back…

    And I am talking about Winter, one of our baristas at Mugs on Laurel. She has been gone for three months to England through an exchange program at Colorado State University. This is the first Old Town mocha she made for me since her return. She still makes a good Old Town mocha and her latte art is pretty dang good too. Welcome back Winter!

  • clouds,  landscape,  quotes,  sunsets,  trees,  winter scenes

    Silhouettes

    We have had clear skies most of the day with sunshine but on the cold side. Sure looks like most of the nation is on the cold side and it’s going to get worse in many places. Single digits for lows at night calls for two blankets. My day has been quiet. I was able to drive my car for the first time in three weeks so I went to the coffee shop then the grocery store. All went well and nobody got hurt. Actually it was a good experience to see what life would be like if I did not have a car, which I’ve wondered about. I am still being cautious in what I do and discovered today that I may have overdone the walking as I am a bit sore. This sunset image of two hawks silhouetted in the trees was taken in December of 2020 along Weld County Road 15, one of my favorite locations for sunsets. The image is simple, nothing fancy, but the location is a place of quiet and solitude. And, I believe Mr. James is spot on. Stay warm!!!!

    If you can change your mind, you can change your life.

    William James
  • lake,  landscape,  sunrises

    Being in love…

    Predawn colors at Hebgen Lake on a road trip in August 2022

    “The most important aspect of love is not in giving or the receiving: it’s in the being. When I need love from others, or need to give love to others, I’m caught in an unstable situation. Being in love, rather than giving or taking love, is the only thing that provides stability. Being in love means seeing the Beloved all around me.”

    Ram Dass
  • Plants,  quotes,  trees

    Branches

    The chaos of branches in one of the trees outside of Mugs on Laurel

    We need silences to be free from the words that come between us and reality. We need silence to still our chattering minds and focus on the new creation to which we are constantly giving birth. There is a music to silence and a dance within stillness which is lacking in our lives and communities.

    Toni Bender

    We had a dusting of snow overnight then blue skies and sunshine the rest of the day. I would say we had nearly an inch but most is gone by now. It is still cold but our Colorado sunshine will quickly melt snow. Stay warm and dry and hope you had a good Monday!

  • blogging,  coffee life,  health

    Morning Coffee

    My friend Jeff came by and picked me up for coffee at Mugs this morning, which became two hours of good conversation. He is moving to senior low-cost housing in Windsor and needed to talk about it. It’s something both of us have talked about for over a year. So this morning we talked about facing the reality that many of us do qualify for senior housing and for low-cost housing. Yet, our minds do not always follow our age. I qualify for both. In fact, I have my name on the waiting list for 2 of those facilities.

    I was trying to figure out what to say in a blog post for this evening because it’s been a couple days and I don’t want my millions of readers worrying. I also have comments I’d like to respond to. As far as my health I am still not driving and I’m not lifting over ten pounds. I will see the surgeon this coming Friday and hopefully have the staples removed and be given the okay to to drive again. I am still taking it cautiously when I move, making sure I take care of my incision. Thanks to all of you who checked on me. It means a lot. They say we could see snow overnight here and I see some of you have already had snow or rain today. I hope you had a good weekend and stay dry and warm!

  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  landscape,  quotes,  sunrises,  winter scenes

    Our work…

    “Our work, rather, is to help reawaken the sense of the sacred that is already deep in the human soul,
    our primordial relationship with nature, our ancient mother love of the earth.
    We can be part of its rising again.”

    John Philip Newell

    My recovery is moving along, slowly but surely. I am sleeping in later but I am sleeping restless. They have me sleeping with an oxygen concentrator at night which could be the culprit. I also do take naps throughout the day but I will rest when my body lets me know. I am going to venture out to the coffee shop in the morning. Since I can’t drive yet Jeff will pick me up and we will make a frontal attack on Mugs on Laurel. We are not giving them any warnings, either. We have had intermittent clouds and sunshine today and reached 60 degrees. The sun has set and I am enjoying an Earl Gray Tea. I hope you had a good day!

  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  quotes,  sunrises

    …while it is here

    “Nature reminds us to be present with the moment,
    to pause and take it all in while it is here.”

    Mary Kennedy

    This is a quote from a message my friend Mary sent this morning, wonderfully expressing what she experienced as she stayed present to the sunrise today. I think she did a wonderful job expressing it and for sure it works for her and me! We all need to pause and take it all in while it is here. I slept late and have been every since I returned home from the hospital so I missed the sunrise. But here is one from October of 2022.