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Wonder

A sense of wonder. Being wonder-full is wonderful. A few days ago, I was walking home and I became aware of a busy-ness in my peripheral vision. Stopping to look, I noticed a house with a bird feeder on its porch. It was busy, and the main birds were goldfinches, along with some house finches. […]

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Old observances

This is a big weekend for spring holiday observances. The big 3 monotheistic religions have something going on, in order of chronological appearance: Passover, Easter and Ramadan. I grew up nominally Christian, following that calendar of celebrations. However, it was more about being helpful and of service to those in needs as opposed to following […]

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Magpies, meadowlarks, Mergansers and More

Its M day in the Blogging from A to Z April challenge. Halfway through the month and the alphabet. My theme this year is split between two; this is the first month of my retirement and it is the fourth month of recovery from the Marshall Fire in my area. Today’s post covers both themes. […]

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F is for Fun

I thought about using Fire for my F word today, as it, along with retirement, is this months blogging theme. Instead, I’m choosing Fun. In the aftermath of the Marshall Fire, and following many years of working, first as a family physician, then as a therapist specializing in trauma, both fascinating and intense occupations, I’m […]

D is for Ducks

Ducks? OK, Steph, you said the themes for this month are retirement and fires. How do ducks fit in? Well, mid-morning yesterday, BA and I were taking a walk. Down to the tiny “fishing” pond in an open space area half a mile from the house. And sure enough, there were ducks and geese down […]

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Burned

Well, yesterday was “B” day in the blogging from A to Z challenge. I’m writing a bit erratically, enjoying my new found retirement and giving myself permission to be less reliable than usual. Today, I’m writing about burned. Particularly, the Marshall Fire, which roared through my area just over 3 months ago, on December 30, […]

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Good Morning

I awoke to interesting things this morning. Six inches of snow, and a temperature of 10 F, that’s -12C. Happy April 20. While colder than normal, snow is not uncommon around here in April, or even May. And then, I checked my email. This morning’s Ragtag Daily Prompt is Encephalopathy. Yikes. I do know the […]

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Mallards

One of the things I love the most about where I live is easy access to open space. There’s a bike/walking path behind my house. I can go out the back gate and be on my way. Turning left, I’m heading east. One path will eventually lead downtown and to my office, another, with a […]

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Knowledge

Things are seldom what they seem, skim milk masquerades as cream (from HMS Pinafore, by Gilbert and Sullivan). Another way of putting it is that one doesn’t always know what they think they do. Or, as been so well demonstrated during the pandemic, knowledge needs updating. Learning, I believe it is called. A very small […]

Flowers

In the A to Z April writing challenge, today’s letter is F. F is for Flowers. As the rhyme goes, April showers bring May flowers. True enough, and here in Colorado, the showers may be either rain or snow. We had a little bit of rain yesterday, and the forecast suggests we may get snow […]

Hot, Smoke and Snow, pt 2–Troublesome Times

About 6 weeks ago, I wrote about the Cameron Peak fire and the effects of its smoke and ash many miles away, where I live. Since then, there have been some changes. That fire has continued burning and is now the largest wildfire in Colorado’s history, at 206,977 acres this morning (see the InciWeb site […]

Hot, Smoke and Snow

Okay, so we all (or at least the vast majority of us) recognize that 2020 is an unusual year. Around here (Colorado) its been extra strange weather wise. Back in May, we had a record cold snap that took out a lot of fruit crops. Frost and freezes in May are not unusual, but getting […]

Superior, Part 2. Marquette

Hello again from the North country, or as is often said around here, the U P (Upper Peninsula, or yooper) We are in Marquette, Michigan, staying at the town Tourist Park (aka campground). Its a pretty nice place, with water and forest, and very close to the town and Northern Michigan University. We arrived yesterday […]

Comeback Story

Predator eats arm Then a new part develops Regeneration! It amazes me how starfish and other “lower” animals are able to regenerate body parts. What fabulous resilience! For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Regenerate.

Breathtaking

Today’s RDP is Breathtaking. This is the view from one of the hikes I took this past weekend. It was my first overnight camp in my van, and as a shakedown cruise, it went pretty well. I figured out what worked as anticipated and what could use improvement. And of course, there are always new […]

Spring Snow

The weather folks were right this time, and yesterday’s rain turned to snow overnight. We got about 4 inches. The roads are mostly clear, as the retained heat melts the snow on contact. It’s a different story for the plants. Leafed out trees bow low, and I’m sure there will be some broken limbs from […]

Blustery

Today’s prompt is Blustery, and it is. Thirty five degrees F (2C), spitting a mix of rain and snow with some wind. Not unheard of for this time of year, and on the cold side. And yet, the plants keep blooming. These columbine in our garden are particularly beautiful this year. Perhaps that is one […]

Arboretum Benches

I had something else in mind for today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Bench, and then life, with its attendant adjustments of time and commitments intervened. Instead, I’ll give you the photos I took yesterday while walking through the small arboretum near my home. A fine variety of benches, for resting, art, eating, visiting or simply […]

Morning Birds

Meadowlark phoebe Redwing red breast hawk duck goose Morning song delights. It’s been a very busy stretch recently, and I have made a lot of compromises between desires and commitments. I have worked hard to get at least a bit of exercise each days. These early spring mornings, it’s a delight to be out […]

nesting

Early spring morning Tiny island tiny pond Nesting pair prepares. Very busy birds in this patch of open space this morning. As I first ran by, these ducks were hunkered down. When I stopped to take their photo, they arose and soon were swimming. I didn’t see a nest, but I suspect it’s nearby. For […]

Cruel?

In The Wasteland, T.S. Eliot famously stated that April is the cruelest month. That is of course, a matter of opinion and experience. Concerning the weather, it seems true this week. Monday was pleasant and Tuesday was pushing towards hot, with a high above 80. The kids were out in shorts and sandals, it was […]

BOMB CYCLONE

A month ago, I hadn’t heard this term. When I first heard it, I thought “over dramatizing again”. Now we’ve had two in the past month. A bomb cyclone is a weather phenomenon, defined by a very rapid drop it atmospheric pressure; falling more than 24 millibars in less than 24 hours. Warm and cold […]

Good Morning

A beautiful sunrise today. Its relatively mild and is predicted to be sunny and pleasant. What I’ve heard called the “warm before the storm”. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold and snowy. so I’ll take advantage of the nice weather and ride my bike to yogalates and work this morning. I’ve been busy recently, developing […]

Let the Sun Shine

I am sad that this song from the musical Hair, fifty years old, feels more pertinent today than ever. I object to current use of violence, lies, disrespect and manipulation in the service of greed and power. Open your hearts to the people, planet, the universe. Release the fear, remember the beauty. From the same musical, […]

What’s a Week?

When I chose Week as today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt, it was because of my surprise that it was Thursday again (that’s usually when I set up the prompt for Friday). Hadn’t I just done that? A week goes by so quickly. As I was pondering the concept of a week, seven days, I was imagining […]

Autumn Blizzard

Snowstorm then hard freeze A leaf blizzard to follow Crunchy drifts abound. For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Blizzard After last weekend’s snowstorm, it has once again warmed up. I scuffed through a lot of fallen leaves on my run this morning, and was greeted by these views at the lake just after sunrise.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Cycles, rings, spirals. All patterns of movement, recurring events or themes. Yesterday was the end of the growing season here. It was a beautiful autumn day, with a clear blue sky, and a high temp of around 70F (21C). The weather was predicted to change overnight, with several inches of snow, and today the high […]

Color

Today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt is Color. I love the colors of the natural world; plants, rocks, clouds, water. Autumn is often spectacular with changing leaves. Owing to our long hot dry summer, followed by a rapid cooling, our colors have been somewhat muted, and many trees are rapidly going brown and then dropping their […]

Crepuscule

Crepuscule. Great word, meaning twilight. And as another blogger K. Ottaway noted, its easily mixed up with other words, if your mind is wired like mine. Like corpuscle if you’re medically/scientifically inclined. Crepuscular rays, light spread out from low horizon and clouds. Somehow, my mind likes to take crepuscular rays, turn them into crepuscular clouds […]

Spiral

Universal form DNA and galaxies Spirals everywhere. For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Spiral All images from Pixabay. Thank you.