Changes

Those who have meandered here before will see changes.....brought forth from a sleep less night's energy focused to..explore..experiment..learn. Hope you like the new look.....and thanks for visiting........

Autumn's Sky

The autumn which came slowly into the green
has exploded into yellow and orange bursts..
like fire on the mountain.....
It is a time when the Colorado sky has been
particularly magnificent..
with sun sets of the breath taking sort......
Tonight's offering streaked rarely seen
hot pink hues tinted with hints
of flowing purple glow
backdropping the darkening foothills.....
These past weeks..three times..
double rainbows have arched their colours
tall and wide side by side
in full arcs stretching
to touch each beginning to chosen ground....
It is true what is said about chasing a rainbow..
how one can never be caught..
its ever elusiveness perhaps wherein lies
the mystery and the hope which the sight
of one..or two..always elicits........
And these doubles..shining the luck
found at the end of the rainbow
on some blessed few..
make me wonder if those in the places I see
bathed and spotlighted by that brilliant light
know that they are indeed within the rainbow.....
It suddenly springs to mind that
one person has a vantage point
while another has a view
and each of us is shown
what we are each meant to see......
As autumn has proceeded to fall
my thoughts have been tuning
to the nip in the air..
that twinge of cool interspered between
the lingering of the warm..
for clues to what other wonders
the approaching winter sky is preparing
to grace us with..here..
in this fortunate land
named for the redness of its earth..
and..surely..for the setting sun of its autumn..............

Wind

Air gathers
concentrates its chi
and breathes it out as wind...
wind of time...
wind of change...
wind of life...
Like a butterfly
I will travel the calmness
within the wind
and let the frenzy swirl around me...
Like a tree
I will lean and shift
to absorb and diffuse wind's passing
yet will firmly hold my ground...
Like an eagle
I will glide on the blowing wind
and not beat my wings to fight it...
Like a fire
I will let wind shape and nourish me
and make the most from what it gives me...
Like a seed
I will flow with the wind
journey to ever-changing territory
and learn to grow strong in new earth..............

Coyotes Come Calling

Coyotes come calling some times...
their cries circumference my home
in melancholy only they can send forth...
It sounds like many have gathered
but I know only one or two
have journeyed for the ceremony...
ventriloquists throwing their voices...
to add dramatic effect to the mysteriousness...
of being awakened mid night by song...
reverberations long and slow...
howlings high and low
lulling visions of long ago..........

Escape Into the Night

Cat Ninja's out the door and disappears into the distant dark deftly avoiding my not-quite-quick-enough grasp. It is his first night time escapade and no way is he coming back...yet. As I look out through the glass for him a large shadow flashes left to right across my vision...'What kind of a..." I stop in my audible thought... realizing... Ninja has jumped from the porch...maybe eight feet across...to that tree...and is hanging... suspended...way off the ground...claws of his paws deep in the brown of the bark. Looking around he bounds down to continue his explorations of the unknown...so much territory...for a feline to get to know...so much hunting to do...out there...
Hours later...he's still gone and I'm beginning to worry about the other creatures patrolling the dark...looking for a meal of meat...but I try to trust that he will survive his initiation into the wild life of the untamed night. When dreams call to me...I peek out for the last time before sucumbing to their beckoning...and see Ninja sitting on the railing...waiting like a partied out delinquent to see if he'll be let in. As he struts inside stepping with spring...gentle Guts gets going from the rocker and ambles over to sniff out the scoop from the scents of brother's greatest adventure...so far.......

Spider's Teaching

Mother spider...on my shower wall...
has spent...weeks...teaching her baby
how to spin a web...
I have watched the tiny one grow bigger
move quicker
spin faster
cover more territory
as he practices the life skills
passed down generation by generation
to him...
The relations of spider and spideling...
the persistence of the mother
rewarded by the learning of the child...
tweaks my thoughts to reveal
the circular bond from parent to child...
caring transcending classification
of two or many legged...winged or gilled...
a nurturing crisscrossing the species...
and in it...the teaching...once more...
that we are but intertwining circles
passing our...short...time on
one earth...for all.............

Distractions

In the time it took to reach for paper and pen
the fleeting thoughts were...gone...
displaced by the distraction................

Ebony Night

The night is shrouded in darkness
and moon is a ghost at most...
wisps of mist meander slowly around me
still my pony pushes pavement homebound...
To the west restless lighting stomp dances
to the pound of its thundering lances...
so I roll round a corner which s's
then sail straight to the bridge that passes...
where a rambling railroad gives a hoot
and continues to clickity clang on the route...
its perceived punctual passing proving
a remarkable marker of the hour...
In the last leg left to lunge
rain's splitter splatter comes to divulge
that the ride up the dirt road will be rugged
and the walk down the dark drive drenching...
it's an ebony night in the mountains
and home in my sight will be
oh so sweet home tonight......

Feline Companions

(Written a few days ago.....)

I sit in my rocking chair...morning coffee before me...ready to reflect on the day ahead...activities needing...or wanting...to be done...but it looks as if my pondering will have to wait...for...my housemates have decided that it’s time to share a bit of love. Ninja jumps on me first...feline companion named for his colours...and his manner. Guts...second companion...spies us settling in and...not wanting to miss this magical moment...bounces from his window perch to join us. Once fellow captives...they waited...cells side by side...at a Boulder pet shop...to be “adopted” by a kind hearted soul...or one looking for mousers...which in their case...happened to be me.
As I run my hand through Gut’s incredibly soft fur I think back to the Guts of a year ago...just a kitten then...when he first came to this new home. For about the first three months he hid...behind a living room cabinet...next to the warmth of a heater. He would come out only to eat drink or...use the facilities... If I happened to surprise him while he was away from his safe place...he would bolt back to seclusion before I had a chance to even think about reaching out for him. So...my daughter and I named him for the “guts” we knew he had in there... somewhere... and which also happened to be the name of our favourite character in the 'Berserk' anime series. After a few months...guess he figured he could maybe finally trust again and began to spend more time in the open...at least when those he was totally familiar with were around. Even now though...a year later...any loud noise or visitor sends him racing back to his hideout till the perceived threat is gone. It is only in the last few weeks that he has actually ventured to come to me for a stroke or two...so today...it was nice to see how comfortable he has become living here...with me...and his wild “brother” Ninja...who himself never had any adjustment problems at all...
These are the second pair of felines who have lived here over the years. Guts and Ninja’s predecessors...Tai and Ino...were of a different breed...blood brothers who were two of the largest...gentlest...and most beautiful cats I’ve ever seen. Their irreplaceable memories still tug at my heart...and I miss them dearly....especially since...being outdoors cats...in these mountains...I’m not really sure what happened to them...but prefer to think that they simply...found a new home...or have reverted to lifestyles more befitting cats of nature...
I like these creatures because they are so intelligent...self assured...and independent... yet know how to give...and receive...companionship and affection... without being over bearing... and...they keep the house free of the prolific field mice...who inevitably venture inside...and stay...if nothing is there to deter them. The few who do wander in now are left as...indistinguishable... gifts...that I think...were once...mice. I keep two cats so they have each other to interact with...if they so desire...during the long days and nights that I sometimes have to leave them.......to their own devise and company.....and know that when I come back...Ninja will be at the front door to greet me...and for his usual attempt at sneaking out...and Guts will be waiting quietly in his new safe place...the rocker...

Great Divide Sun Set

As day sets in these my mountains
so does night rise...
to the west Great Divide is
a majestic silhouette aglow in light...
her spine crowned with a fiery purple haze
radiating...no...pulsating...
into the great unknown...
the magnetic beauty of this moment
compels me to stop moving
and absorb the gift before me...
sun's parting offering to moon...
who seems only half herself
this time around....

Autumn's Paint Brush

Autumn...paints...wisps of yellow magic on light green aspen...leaves shimmering as the humming wind shifts through....bright red splashes accentuating kinnikinnick's summer coat......ripples of roaming wild rose budding ruby hips...... butterfly and dragonfly dancing daringly close......dandelion puffs whirling and twirling in the cool clean air.....hints of swirling cloud fluffs dotting the deepest of royal blues...... and...of course... squirrel and chipmunk scurrying ...cheeks stuffed...to bury their winter treasures...........

Autumnal Stirring

A gentle breeze gathers closer
bringing a blessing...
I will wait for it
to wrap me in
the autumnal stirring coming
to spark my heart.......

Meditations for Peace

I heard a holy man speak Tuesday
sitting unassumingly and unmoving
crosslegged for hours
on a platform which...looked...hard
Thich Nhat Hanh....
amidst the stillness
of brown robbed monks and nuns...
in a voice quiet and lulling
spoke
of the oneness of people
and the power of thought...
especially a collective one...
sent out in healing...
of taking time...precious time...
to be a 'mindful' person
in all acts of life
and through each deliberate breath...
of taking a walk neither
from here nor to there...
that is
focusing on the walking
not the arriving...
and of how one's ability to listen
to a differing view without interrupting...
even when confusion or anger surrounds...
contributes greatly
to the attainment of peace......
As I close my eyes...and listen...brought
on the edge of a trance
by the singing chant of the monastics in brown...
the sporadic gonging of a summoning bell
and the soft melodiousness
of his gentle persuasive voice
punctuated with humour...
another's words and voice track
side by side and
I vision an earth where
all are brought to calmness and tranquility
even within adversity's glare......
In these moments
only the words and the calming voice
sieve through the silence...except
for an out of place cough or two
intermittently echoing through the audience
as if testing his and our focused concentration...
and time has slipped unnoticed
by this gathering of diverse strangers
here for a glimpse
into this blessed man's sight.........
When his last has been passed
our evening together is completed
with a bittersweet acappella...
an elder sister's verses
both english and french
of a smile she will spread
through the here and the now
into and beyond the next life...
not to ignore or look away from
suffering ugliness or pain
but to dispel the worst
within and around...
bring us to a harmonious earthly path...
and to an acceptance of life
with all its enfoldings...
I cannot but leave heart and mind joined
in the knowing
that the so called leaders of nations
should be compelled to hear
and incorporate these lessons
and that...were the predator-spirited...
disillusioned...evilminded...and selfish...
as well as the kind and loving among us...
to practice the daily meditation on life...
listen to the wisdom earned over time and...
learn these exercises focusing every moment...
on our...humanity...here...on this planet...
peace and goodness on earth would truly come
to be nurtured by human beings
until the last of our days...........

Gathering Winter Heat

Yesterday...spent most of the day...gathering wood to burn in my wood stove these coming seasons... ‘Gathering’ is perhaps the wrong word to use here...as the process is a little more... complicated...than that. When I first moved up to these mountains...with only the wood stove for heat...I heard a lot of horror stories about people being stranded at home...in raging days-long snowstorms... without an adequate supply of wood for their only source of heat...and having to take down and burn their fences to stay warm...Now...that’s pretty drastic...but not unbelievable in a place where the snow can continue for days without end...leaving up to 7 feet of the white glitter in its wake. Although...for many reasons...I now have electric heat as a primary heating source...I still use the wood stove regularly as it takes the chill out of those really cold windy days...and also helps to cut down on the cost of electric heat...which is exorbitant...and climbing. Plus...there’s nothing quite like the smell of the burning wood to make a house seem cozy and warm...especially on days when the snow blankets the outdoors...
For me the yearly wood getting process usually begins in the late spring/early summer...when all the snow has finally melted from these mountain grounds and it’s a simple activity to walk around to see and locate trees that have breathed their last during the winter months...and are ready to be cut down. Trees available in this area are basically aspen, pine and spruce...each one having their particular wood burning characteristics...and all usually used at some point in the burning “mix.” Factors which count in determining the trees to be cut are...size - large enough to make the effort worthwhile but not so large that they can’t be cut down with a hand saw...degree of ‘deadness’- the drier the better...proximity to the house - all cutting however usually requires a fair amount of distance trekking back and forth to the house...and finally...whether I’m alone in the task or have help...
Having walked around the land many times this summer...I had spotted numerous potentials ripe for the saw...some new and some left over from last summer’s ‘gathering.’ Besides the standing trees...I noticed many which were downed last winter...either struck by lightning...wind...or by some other unknown natural phenomenon. I knew where I wanted to start yesterday...first stop was at two trees which had fallen just feet from the house. Although they were not completely dry yet...they had to be removed because of their proximity to the house...and the fire hazard potential. They were big ones...and took their share of time to be cut down into carryable sections. These two presented a special challenge during the cutting...when the wood is not dry...it is not unusual for the trunk to ‘bind’ back into the saw as you’re cutting...making it a real challenge to finish the cut and pull the saw out before it gets “stuck” in the trunk. One way to avoid this dilemma is to have a wedge which can be put into the cut as you’re making it...but of course...this being my first tree of the season...I didn’t think of it at the time. By the time I was working on the second of the two trees my daughter and her companion had arrived to my aid. We finished cutting the branches off the trees and carried them off to a safe distance for future processing...dried needles and branches can be used to light and start the fire...and cut down the rest of the tree trunks and carried them to an area where they can dry in the next few months.
Next in the plan were the three trees I’d seen downed at the back of the property...two massive pine and a spruce...one had been hit by lighting and had taken the other two along with it on its ride down to the ground. We started by cutting branches so we could see exactly where each tree began and ended...and which one was the driest. We ended up getting one of the pine and a portion of the spruce...and will have to “gather” the rest next time...at which time we will hopefully have the gas chain saw up and running to tackle the larger portions of the trunks which can’t be handled with the bow saws. It took many trips...straight uphill... back to the house to carry all the logs we had cut down from these two fallen ones...where they were added to the pile for cutting down into burnable logs. Most of the cutting from this point on will be done with an electric chain saw...but this would have to wait till another day...since the sun had begun to set by the time all the trunk portions had been brought back up....and my helpers were beginning to balk......
Getting wood...has many rewards...one of which is getting to know and see “the tree for the forest.” It’s also a great opportunity to be out in nature...checking out among other things which creatures have passed through recently...saw lots of elk sign yesterday...and of course there’s the physical challenge and workout involved in the activity....keeping one young and healthy...and the lessons it brings for remembering the harshness of life without the convenience of being able to just “turn up the thermostat”...... After this session, it looks like there’s a lot of wood...but knowing how fast it can burn on a cold windy wintry day...I know it will take a few more days such as this one to feel comfortable with the stock piled. Speaking from past experience...of getting caught short-handed...it’s not my favourite thing to have to engage in the getting and hauling of trees in the middle of the winter...when there’s two or three feet of snow on the ground...it’s much nicer to be able to just step out on those cold snowy days...and reach into the wood box for the day or night’s supply of cut wood...heat...ready for the burning............

Night Falls on Big Easy

Night falls dark
moving quickly and quietly
over the mountain...
I see its blueblack denseness
pierced by no shards
of moon's light tonight...still...
all is tranquil...here.....
but in another darkness...another place...
a bloated evil is afoot...
gorging on the hungry...the desperate
and those driven to...play their preying
parts in the jarring nightmare..........
the sudden cataclysmic
breaching of their...realities...
having vortexed their...consciences
across the edge...of...sanity...........

Spirals Into the Deep

In the coolness
of the mountain afternoon
white tail and red tail circle
together in endless blueness
spotted only with white
puffs of cloud cotton...
my gaze shifts momentarily...
and when I look skywards again
second eagle has stepped
into the dance now spiraling
deeper into the depths of the vastness...
below...in the eagle home by the lake...
one white head waits...perhaps watching...
like me...the play of flight
steadily vanishing from an earthly view...